Mom’s six-year journey unfolded in five acts. Stage Directions are the lessons I wish I’d had. “Do I look beautiful today?” The question came out of nowhere. Mom was 95 and in her final weeks. Alzheimer’s had slowly taken her independence, her voice, and much of her connection to the present. Yet her face was …
Last year, my well-planned schedule was turned upside down by one frightening phone call that told me to “grab a pen and paper to take notes about a malignant tumor.” What followed was a whirlwind of scans and biopsies. I won a lottery I never wanted to enter, joining the “one in every eight women” …
Read more “Co-Navigating a Medical Crisis with ChatGPT— my tutor, guide, coach, and confidante”
I was thrilled to be invited to join the NACD’s Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) for technology governance after five years of focusing on director education as an NACD chapter leader. Still, when the bios of my fellow commissioners arrived (IBM fellows, former CIOs/CISOs, technology company directors, etc.), I wondered if I was a hiring mistake! …
Read more “Energizing Technology Governance: A Quick Start Guide for Board Directors”
Mark Twain once called travel a cure for prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. If that’s the case, it’s a prescription from which many could benefit. I believe international travel is less about leisure and more about learning. One of the most eye-opening side effects of visiting a foreign land and immersing yourself in someone else’s culture …
Read more “Experiencing Japan: Lessons learned between landmarks”
Tokyo Hakone to Takayama Kanazawa Hiroshima Kyoto
After a successful executive career, with each successive promotion charting your upward march to the C-suite, the early days of the portfolio stage of your career can leave you feeling like a solo circus performer spinning plates. Progress is intermittent, often coming in fits and starts. The path to success is tangled and poorly marked. …
Read more “Momentum matters: Tapping into the flywheel effect to power your board service career”
As a casual pianist, I often see patterns in life that remind me of those in music. If the past four years of parenting my aging parents have been a variation on the theme of raising our daughter, the recent passing of my father has become a coda all its own. Those final months echoed …
A longtime Man of La Mancha fan, I identify with a hero on a quest. Few things are as satisfying as losing oneself in pursuit of a new goal – the more demanding, the better. Little did I know when I scanned the New York Times best-seller list in search of my next Audible book to multi-task during Charlotte …
Read more “My latest quest: Growing old without becoming elderly”
After decades of imagining and over two years of construction, my husband Peter and I are proud to confirm that dream homes do come true! As a child, I always dreamed of watching sunsets over the ocean. But, as with any dream, twists and turns abound. You rarely end up exactly where you planned. Embracing …
I lived my early adult life in a hurry — graduating from a combined five-year program with my BS and MBA, getting married three weeks later, and starting an all-consuming career at McKinsey the following month. Looking back, I realize how lucky I was to have wagered so much of my time on career pursuits — …