In honor of Tina Turner’s recent passing and Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras tour, I give you a blog today about music. There are countless others who have written eloquently about music. According to Leo Tolstoy, “Music is the shorthand of emotion.” Hans Christian Andersen wrote: “Where words fail, music speaks.” And William Shakespeare penned: “If … Continue reading Music Stimulates the Mind and Soothes the Soul
I never had a good answer to that question. As a child, I certainly would not have said “IBM CIO” or even technology executive…because I honestly didn’t know what that was. I was jealous of those kids who knew, definitively, that they wanted to be an astronaut or veterinarian or teacher. They seemed to … Continue reading What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?
Before COVID, many of us made frequent business trips to meet with clients, partners, and colleagues. Love it or hate it, we didn’t have a lot of choice about it. Business travel was a required part of our jobs. That changed abruptly in 2020 when many countries went into pandemic lockdown, most companies halted travel, … Continue reading A Conflicted Return to Business Travel
It’s been nearly 78 years since the end of the Holocaust, a devastating period in which more than six million Jews were systematically killed, eliminating more than two-thirds of the European Jewish population and a third of all Jews worldwide. There are fewer than 300,000 Holocaust survivors still alive today, with an average age over … Continue reading Never Forget
On the heels of Jacinda Ardern’s surprise declaration that she is stepping down as New Zealand’s Prime Minister, the BBC ran an article with the headline, “Can women really have it all?” After getting backlash for the anti-feminist take, the headline was changed…but the sentiment persists. It’s an unfortunate spin, but not an unexpected one. … Continue reading Yes, Women Can Have It All (But That’s Not the Point)
December is often a whirlwind of end-of-year activities. For me, this includes demanding work responsibilities like supporting the quarter close, wrapping up the prior year, and planning for next year. On the personal front, it’s a flurry of holiday concerts, sports games, Christmas decorations, Hanukkah candles, gift exchanges, potato latkes, seven fishes, and more. Simply … Continue reading New Year, Fresh Start
“How do we compare to the best in the industry? Have we benchmarked ourselves?” A best practice when assessing the performance of a program is to “benchmark” it against others. Is it bigger or smaller? More efficient or less? Higher growth or lower? There’s both an art and a science to benchmarking, which can provide … Continue reading Benchmark This
I’ve written in the past about my love of books. At any given moment, I’m typically engrossed in three different stories: a physical book, a digital book, and an audiobook. The physical ones sit in a tall stack on my nightstand and come along with me on trips. The digital ones are on my phone, … Continue reading Book List 2022
I’m home alone tonight, which is unusual. My daughter returned to college this afternoon, after we spent the morning together casting early ballots and walking through fallen leaves. My older son is at a Halloween party with his friends, after working with me on his college applications. My younger son is at a professional hockey … Continue reading How Our Kids Change Us
It’s that time of year again. Dashing to the mall for back-to-school clothes. Scrambling to finish summer reading assignments put off in favor of outdoor play. New backpacks, sneakers, and school supplies at the ready. I’ve always loved fall in the U.S. northeast. The leaves change color, there’s a bit of a chill in the … Continue reading Back to School
Mother of Invention 