Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Whats In A Name?

There is nothing more frustrating than forgetting a name, especially one you just heard a moment ago. Or you are at a conference and this smiling face comes up to you and says "Shahriar! How are you? Its been a long time!" and you are thinking to yourself I know this guy, whats his name again? And the impression it leaves on the person is pretty bad, somewhere between disappointment and feeling insulted...

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Remembering Apollo 13

Exactly 30 years ago on April 13, 1970 astronaut and mission commander James Lovell spoke those infamous words “Houston, we’ve had a problem” from the spacecraft Odyssey, better known as Apollo 13. What transpired over the next 72 hours is well known and documented in history books and in the Tom Hanks film Apollo 13. But in remembering the story of how 3 astronauts found themselves stranded on a malfunctioning spacecraft and were guided home by a team of engineers on the ground in Houston’s Kennedy Space Center, I stumbled on a remarkable story of leadership the likes of which we have not seen too many times since.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Spring Leadership

Its April and Spring has arrived, my favorite time of year. Its not just the change in weather that makes this a wonderful time of year, but also the change that happens in everything and everyone around us. It doesn’t matter what you do, the start of the second quarter of the calendar year means we shift gears up and push the gas pedal on whatever it is we are trying to achieve in our lives.