By John Y. Brown III, on Fri May 9, 2014 at 12:00 PM ET  I just got asked by a friend (jokingly)
“What will you do with yourself now that you are over the hill?”
My answer: “Find a new hill.” (Seriously)
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What if life really isn’t like a box of chocolates?
Then what?
Do I try to make a paradigm shift in my world view at age 50?
Or am I too old to hassle with a world view paradigm shift and better off just continuing to insist life really is like a box of chocolates?
Frankly, I hope I never have to make this choice but this is the burden of having a deeply philosophical mind.
Even if you are shallow.
By Julie Rath, on Fri May 9, 2014 at 8:30 AM ET This week’s style briefing is all about saving you some dollar bills. I’ve scoured the interwebs with you in mind, looking for deals to help keep your pockets lined. Below are 6 sale finds I’m rather excited about. Remember, selection is limited when it comes to sale items (particularly those that come in sizes), so if any of these appeal to you, don’t sit on them for too long.
 1) Mismo tote bag $477.15 $334
Both the linen blend and blue color of this bag make it a no-brainer for Spring. If you haven’t heard of the website Farfetch, check it out. It’s an easy way to get hard-to-find items from small boutiques around the world. It also makes ordering from overseas cost-effective and simple because import duties are included in their prices.
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 2) Zanellato satchell $875.95 $613
Looking for a more conservative and mature bag than in #1? Check out the Zanellato bag above. I am loving the rich brown leather and weathered gold hardware. Another bonus about this bag is if you’re tough on your things, its grainy leather can withstand a beating.
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 3) Boglioli sweater $1150 $459
When looking at sale items, it pays to be flexible. Sure, a heavy sweater is something you’d mainly think to wear on cold winter days, but a cardigan like this is also good for transitional months where it’s too warm for your winter coat, but there’s enough of a bite in the air that you need something. On top of that, Boglioli is one of my favorite brands — sprezzatura at its finest!
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 4) Billy Reid polos $88 $61
It strikes me as odd for polos to be on sale now, at the start of Spring, but perhaps these are left over from last year. Either way, it’s a good deal on a staple. These polos from Billy Reid fit trimly but are comfortable.
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 5) Rag & Bone pants $185 $130
I stocked up on these soft pants with a one-on-one client at the Rag & Bone store in NYC last week. This is another sale item that has me scratching my head, as the material feels quite Spring-y. Note: the material on these pants stretches, so if you’re in between sizes or unsure, go down a size. Also, they come in other colors like grey and navy.
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 6) 7 for All Mankind jeans $189 $129 + 10% off if you sign up for their newsletter
The start of a new season is a good time to reassess your staples. Do you need a new pair of dark rinse jeans? If so, I like the color and non-contrast seaming on these from 7 for All Mankind. If the standard classic fit isn’t for you, there are plenty of other cuts on sale (for my primer on finding flattering jeans, click here). $20 from each pair purchased will be donated to Movember.
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Keep in mind when shopping sales to look at the fine print. Often items on sale (like the cardigan above from Barney’s) are not returnable.
Have you had any exciting sale finds recently?
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu May 8, 2014 at 12:00 PM ET “Oh.”
I’m not sure when it started but recently I have noticed that the above word has become BOTH the most common word in my vocabbulary.
And my most commonly used sentence.
Note: Finishing a close second in both categories is the word and sentence: “Sorry.”
And sometimes I even find myself combining the two, I.e. “Oh. Sorry.” Or the less common but equally effective, “Sorry. Oh.”
By Josh Bowen, on Thu May 8, 2014 at 8:30 AM ET
Let’s be straight with each other, nothing in life is easy. It never has been and never will be. If you watch the video above, the voice overs talk about greatness, insatiable desire and not letting ANYTHING stand in your way.
“Your motive will push you, with no motive there is no push.” So what is your motive? What is your why? And is your why powerful enough and do you believe in it enough to propel you to greatness. Or will you make excuses?
Most people’s roadblock falls into three categories:
1. Afraid of failure- So many people are afraid to fail so they fail to try. Failure is inevitable but it’s not final. You fall on your face, you get back up. You fall on your face again, you get back up, again. No excuse for not trying. If you are afraid to fell you don’t want it that bad.
2. Afraid of success- What happens if I am successful? Then what? More responsibility and expectations shy people away from trying. Do not let this be you, keep pushing and when you start to succeed push harder. Do it for yourself…you’ll thank me one day.
3. No initiative- How many people do you know that walk through life with no plan and no direction, never capitalizing on their unique talents? In every person is the capability to be great at something. That something takes massive initiative and a specific game plan. For example in 2007 I went from training clients to operating 23 fitness clubs in 3 states…at the age of 23. Initiative is what allowed me to take that position, for which I sacrificed money, time and spend 275 days on the road…but I wouldn’t be where I am without taking that step.
The greats in every industry in every corner of the world have failure…many times. The difference between those that fail and those that are successful is very simply picking yourself off the ground and going back at it again. Driven by your why, consumed by your purpose and invigorated with enthusiasm, these are things that get you to any place worth going. Do not short change yourself, do not sell yourself short. Go out in the world and dominate it. There are no shortcuts. You want something bad enough? GO. GET. IT. Let nothing or no one stop you.
My rant is over…
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed May 7, 2014 at 12:00 PM ET One more reason it is good to be a gal.
My theory is that when we meet St Pete guarding the Pearly Gates the conversation with us is going to sound a lot like the conversation we have with a police officer when we are trying to talk our way out of a traffic ticket.
We concede we made mistakes but that that it wasn’t deliberate –and we try to focus on the good things about our driving and driving history and how much respect we have for the law, etc, etc and then try to make an emotional appeal to their sympathy.
But women, I suspect, have a much higher success rate than men do at talking their way our of traffic tickets. And I also suspect that is a transferable skill that can be used on St Pete, too.
By RP Nation, on Wed May 7, 2014 at 10:00 AM ET  Bruce Tuckman first introduced the Form, Storm, Norm, Perform model of Team Growth in 1965. He maintained these stages were not only predictable, but necessary and inevitable in order for a team (and I would say an organization) to achieve peak performance. Over the years, I’ve used this model in a variety of settings and continue to be amazed at its far-reaching applications. The following is a brief explanation of each stage:
Stage 1. Form
Individual behavior is typically driven by a desire to be accepted by others and avoid controversy or conflict. Individuals gather information and make initial impressions about each other. The form stage is important as team members have a chance to get to know each other, exchange personal information and establish relationships.
Stage 2. Storm
Most teams will eventually encounter conflict where personal agendas are revealed and interpersonal hostility is generated. If successfully managed, this period of storming leads to a new and more realistic setting of objectives, procedures and norms. The storm stage is necessary to the growth of the team. It can be contentious, unpleasant and even painful to members of the team who are averse to conflict. Tolerance of each team member and the appreciation of differences should be encouraged.
Stage 3. Norm
At this stage, team norms, common practices, policies and procedures start to emerge. How decisions are made, the degree of openness, trust and confidence is established. Team commitment builds during this key transitional stage.
Stage 4. Perform
Only when the three previous stages have been successfully completed will the team be able to achieve true peak performance. Even the most high-performing teams can and do revert back to earlier stages in certain circumstances (new leadership, introduction and/or exodus of team members, crisis situations, frequent change).
One of my favorite movies is Hoosiers starring Gene Hackman as Norman Dale who arrives in the rural southwest Indiana town of Hickory to become a high school teacher and head basketball coach. This movie is not only a classic; it’s a wonderful illustration of Form, Storm, Norm & Perform. For example:
Form: At his first practice, Coach Norman Dale immediately dismisses the interim coach. And minutes into addressing the players, he dismisses two players for not paying attention when he speaks. He then begins drilling the remaining five players with the fundamentals and the need for conditioning. True to the Form stage, Coach Dale is direct, establishes the ground rules and let’s the team know who’s in control.
Storm: Locals from the town of Hickory intrude on a team practice and demand to know what the Coach is doing. Norman Dale remains steadfast when one of his star players disobeys him and shoots without passing, benching him and playing with only four players after another fouls out. The coach alienates the community with a slow, defensive style. By the middle of the season, an emergency town meeting is called to vote on whether Coach Dale should be dismissed. Intuitively and courageously, Coach Dales realizes he can’t take his team to the next level without going through the Storm stage.
Norm: Ultimately, the town of Hickory unanimously decides Coach Dale stays as coach. Players start to listen to Coach Dale, understanding, appreciating and trusting him and his coaching abilities.
Perform: Hickory becomes an unstoppable team and shocks the state by reaching the championship game and taking home the 1952 Indiana state championship.
I’m reminded of this year’s University of Kentucky Wildcat basketball team as recent illustration of Form, Storm, Norm, Perform. The Wildcats Formed, Stormed and stayed in Storm perhaps longer than most had wanted or envisioned. In fact, they may have skipped Norm all together going straight to Perform during the SEC Tournament and throughout the NCAA tournament, darn near winning the National Title!
Closer to home, what can be said about our Legislative Sessions? Do they go through the predictable stages of Form, Storm, Norm & Perform? Should they? Could they? Maybe here’s what it could look like:
Form (First 15 days of a 60 day Session): Legislative Session starts after a long winter break with welcomed orientations, leadership elections, committee assignments, new members/staffs arriving, etc.….
Storm (Second Quarter): Heated, but civil debates about issues facing the Commonwealth occur and legislation introduced that solves problems and moves our state forward. And like Reagan and Tip O’Neil after their Storming, we too respect each other, have a coke upon adjournment and remain friends!
Norm (Third Quarter): Compromise takes hold. Working together to iron out differences becomes the norm. We’re starting to catch our stride!
Perform (Last 15 days): Legislation passes through both Houses in a timely and respectful manner. The Conference Committee process runs smoothly. Partnerships have emerged. Kentucky moves forward in a big way. Session ends on a high note!
Perhaps the greatest value of this model is simply knowing where we are, where we need to go and the potential we have in achieving true peak performance for the Commonwealth.
Greg Coker is the director of organization development for Capital Link Consultants. He is the author of “Building Cathedrals: The Power of Purpose” and travels the country delivering keynote speeches and conducting workshops based on the principles of leadership, employee engagement, culture and purpose, the focal point of his book. His upcoming book, “Moving the Needle: Activating the 55% and Saving the 19%” is scheduled for release in 2014.
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed May 7, 2014 at 8:38 AM ET  It’s time to fight back.
The campaign to win Dancing with the Lexington Stars has degenerated into absurd ugliness. First the mysterious viral campaign attack ad that labeled me a steroids user and degenerate gambler. (Both true, but…) And now this email from Christian Laettner.
Due to this brutal campaign, I have fallen into second place in the voting. And I need your help before the Big Dance this Saturday, May 10.
So I will honor the grand old tradition of Kentucky politics — and try to buy your vote. Not with whiskey…even better…with UK basketball tickets!
Every time you vote for me between now and Saturday, you will be entered into a raffle, the winner of which will receive two lower Rupp Arena tickets to an early season 2014-15 UK men’s basketball game. And man, that team is stacked.
It is painfully easy to win:
1. Vote for me here. Each vote costs $5, and all the money goes to benefit an extraordinary charity, Surgery on Sunday. If you cast more than one vote (Vote early and often!) you will be entered in the raffle once for each vote. So if you contribute $100, you will get 20 entries into the raffle.
2. After you vote, you will receive a confirmation email from PayPal. Forward that email to me here as proof of your vote(s).
That’s it. You get a chance to win two terrific UK bball tickets (my seats are awesome), you benefit a great charity, and best of all, you get to stomp on Christian Laettner. What could be any better? Do it now!
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ICYMI, here’s the despicable ad:
By Lauren Mayer, on Wed May 7, 2014 at 8:30 AM ET Who’d have thought that the latest celebrity would be a mild-mannered economics professor? Whether you agree or disagree with it, no one can dispute that Thomas Piketty’s Capital In The 21st Century has become a major sensation. It is the number one best-selling book on Amazon.com, and demand was so high that it’s sold out and Harvard University Press is scrambling to print more. (Which is not a common occurrence for the home of works like Homeric Performance in a Diachronic Perspective, Molecular and Cellular Physiology of Neurons, and Proceedings Of The Harvard Celtic Colloquium.) (And I mean no disrespect to academic publishing, so don’t react like art history majors did to President Obama’s semi-insult. It’s just that academic books don’t tend to outsell murder mysteries, diet books, or bodice-rippers!)
Since the book is on back-order, we all have an excuse for not reading it (although several reviewers, who one assume got copies, managed to trash the book without reading it as well . . . ). But in a nutshell, he uses 200 years of data to show that when the rate of return on investment (which helps the wealthiest) outstrips the rate of economic growth (which boosts the rest of us), wealth inequality gets even more entrenched, in ways that are not good for society or the country, which is why we’ve entered a ‘second Gilded Age.’ Oh, and he disproves the Kuznets Curve (which was a 1950s graphic illustration of the way market forces supposedly straightened out income inequality all by themselves).
So now you can participate in the incredibly heated discussion – liberals swoon over Piketty, while conservatives accuse him of being a socialist wealth-hater who is the second coming of Karl Marx. Naturally, as a liberal, I’m a fan – but I also love the fact that his writing is surprisingly accessible and he even manages to include references to Jane Austen. Plus he’s boyishly handsome and French! (Although he had me at the Jane Austen . . . .)
Since – to the best of my knowledge – no one has ever written a love song to an economist, I thought it was about time.
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue May 6, 2014 at 12:00 PM ET Thank you– to a real public servant.
Louis Hall, a quiet and unassuming man, who went to work every day at our State Capitol for 62 years, retired today.
Louis never held elective office. And never aspired to.
Louis never helped shape public policy or wrote a Supreme Court decision or issued an executive order. And that was fine with him.
But Louis was a personality, a smile, and a sunny disposition who did his job dutifully every day in our state Capitol and made it a little bit better place to work. And has been doing so since Alben W Barkley was the vice-president of the United States and presidential candidates relied on corny musical jingles like “I like Ike” to get elected.
Lewis was a friend to everyone who took the time to say hello back to him. As well as a friend to those who didn’t. And in a place where friendliness can often be suspect, there was never an ulterior motive with Louis.
He was a constant fixture at our state Capitol for over six decades. While history was getting made –or not getting made– Lewis was quietly and graciously doing his job and never failed to deliver a kind word or humorous remark whenever he had the opportunity.
And those things are important in ways that are difficult to measure and are never fully appreciated –until they are gone.
Monday morning will start off like every other Monday at our state Capitol, for those who work there. But by lunchtime –or certainly by late afternoon–something will feel like it is missing even though it will be hard to put your finger on what that something is.
It will be the daily smile you took for granted and the friendly face you always enjoyed seeing as you turned to walk down a hallway at the state Capitol.
And could never imagine not being there.
By Erica and Matt Chua, on Tue May 6, 2014 at 8:30 AM ET Our Couchsurfing host asked us, “why do people visit Santiago?” Almost interrupting himself he clarified that he believed his city is a great place to live, but that there isn’t much for tourists. Having been there over a dozen times myself I wondered if anyone actually makes Santiago a destination. Then I remembered that one of my friends actually visited Santiago and at the time I wondered: why? Is Santiago worth a couple of days?
Do people visit for the views? Probably not. Even though one of the world’s great mountains is unbelievably close, you probably won’t see it because the city’s smog often obscures the view. OK…then is it the city itself?
The city of Santiago is clean and functional, much like Omaha or Minneapolis. There is as little to dislike as there is to thrill. Considering that the city was founded almost 500 years ago, it lacks the antiquated charm of other colonial towns in South America. It has neither the distinctive European charm of Buenos Aires nor the grittiness of La Paz. Even worse, it’s bested on both sides by it’s easily accessible neighbors of Valparaiso, Chile and Mendoza, Argentina. Head west 90 minutes and you are in the literal San Fransisco of South America, Valparaiso, which rises from the Pacific in a kaleidoscopic collage of precariously placed buildings. Head a few hours to the east and you’re in the Napa Valley of South America, Mendoza, which treats it’s visitors to over sized glasses of wine paired with overflowing Argentine barbeque. Pity poor Santiago, the city serves better as a gateway to other places than a destination in it’s own right.
Read the rest of…
Erica and Matt Chua: Skippable Santiago Chile
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