Cup of Joe
Curated Bits for Contemplation
0021: STEPPING UP TO THE LINE
Motivation is expressed by a simple equation that computes the delta between what we want and what we have. Most often people attempt to equate this to monetary wealth and material accumulations. Earn $500k, you want to earn $1M. Have a nice house, you want a bigger...
0020: WE WILL BE ALL RIGHT
Huddled with colleagues on the cobblestone in front of Delmonico’s. The island rumbled with the South Tower giving way to her damages. Ominous and iconic dust engulfed downtown like a plague riding the morning breeze. “It’s coming!” she shrieked; covered, we walked....
0019: PEAK PERFORMANCE IN THE BEDROOM
Before everyone starts drawing back their bows, there is a typo in the title. It should be Boardroom. Let’s start here: we all appreciate a nice, strong agenda. Innuendo aside, we are all on some sort of mission and the longer it takes to declare that to our audience,...
0018: MICRO-BURNING THE SHIPS
To use the parlance of our times, one might go “all in” when speaking metaphorically about full investment in achieving a particular professional outcome. With a hybrid WSOP meets YOLO mentality, we may begin to navigate a trail through the woods of distraction that...
0017: AMBER WAVES OF GRAIN
Lightning rods are designed to attract naturally occurring electrostatic discharges in the atmosphere. When two electrically charged regions equalize themselves, a massive, bright, spontaneous crackle of energy is produced. Lightning is attracted down from the clouds...
0016: FOUR LETTER WORDS
GOLF I love golf. It was not always this way - I used to only admire golf, and simultaneously be wildly frustrated by it. Now it is a full blown love affair. It started as an opportunity to spend some time with my dad, lugging his old clubs around Eisenhower Park on...
0015: ORIGINAL THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Mark Twain exhibited great humility and presence of mind in his pre-pre-pre-digital age autobiographical declaration: “There is no such thing as a new idea… We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they...
0014: PIERCING THE SOCIAL BUBBLE
Occasionally the cosmic tumblers align and multiple separate and distinct conversations gravitate toward one central theme. These seemingly coincidental occurrences have likely increased of late due to the influence of social media algorithms. However, they have been...
0013: STREAMS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
People now largely crave immediate, tangible knowledge over repetitious historical references. Why are we still calling it a market “correction?” Downtrend in university model will accelerate, force hand of administrations to pivot to automation/AI and e-learning at a...
0012: CHANNELING TOM HAGEN
Robert DuVall (Bob to those who want to sound like they know him personally) delivered an A+ performance as Don Vito Corleone’s consigliere Tom Hagen in The Godfather. Hagen was a lawyer with a special practice - he only had one client. While I would never condone...
0011: KEEPING YOUR HEAD ON A SWIVEL
Coach Chris Deeks was adamant about his players being squawk boxes on our high school lacrosse field. As a defensive midfielder, this meant spending my shift not only isolating the opposing offensive star and attempting to snatch the ball away, but vocalizing...
0010: EVALUATING RELATIONSHIPS & ACTIVITIES
For those familiar with the NYC Subway, the pic accompanying this post likely prompted you to reach for the nearest bottle of sanitizer and pump way more than the recommended quarter-sized dose all over your hands. Everyone else who did not experience a Pavlovian...
0009: THIS YEAR, GIVE ALMS
Tis the season to give alms. According to Wikipedia “Almsgiving involves giving to others as an act of virtue, either materially or in the sense of providing capabilities (e.g. education) free. It exists in a number of religions and cultures.” I was saddened to...
0008: HARNESSING OPPORTUNITY
I was a curious attendee of the circus that day, enjoying the feats of acrobatic agility and amazed by the uncharacteristic coordination of animals performing human tricks. Having consumed enough popcorn and cotton candy to stuff the Russian bear after his rounds on...
0007: PERFORMING REGULAR ENGINE MAINTENANCE
Riding along in my automobile... with no particular place to go. Classic lyrics from the late Charles Edward Anderson Berry were melodic in my head as we passed a car on the roadside with its hood up. This prompted a conversation with cannoli number one and two (terms...
0006: BABY TOMATOES
Quentin Tarantino has a special talent in writing films. One of his most creative expressions might be the scene in Pulp Fiction where he has Mia Wallace (played by Uma Thurman) relay a humorous double entendre to her mob boss husband’s henchman Vincent Vega (John...
0005: NO, THANK YOU
I married well. Almost too well. If you have met my wife - or know her family - you can validate the accuracy of this statement. One basis for this perspective is the weekly tradition of family dinner. On all but a handful of Sundays (literally only a handful), we...
0004: PICK UP THE PHONE, GET AN ORDER
Seemingly all day, we communicate with our world via text, chat and DM. We are largely dependent upon the instant and informal “ping” as a means to not necessarily disrupt the other party’s day. Our message sits there, like a digital Post-It expecting some sort of...
0003: DRIVING OUTCOMES IN THE VIRTUAL REALM
Business development pros often attribute a portion of their success with closing business to their unique artistry as a “people person.” Charisma, storytelling and a bright smile have forever been linked to superior results. While certainly contributing factors, we...
0002: COVID19 SILVER LININGS
Calling: David Letterman! In the tradition of Italian-American NYers - a little sarcasm at the expense of our peculiar-ness during #CampQuarantine. Here are my Top 10 COVID19 Silver Linings (feel free to join in below): #10: For the WFH set: Guilt-free reset...
0001: SOCRATES & SADIE HAWKINS
At the closing bell on Friday 29 February 2008, I grabbed my gym bag and darted toward the marble stairs off the Main Room floor of the NYSE. Out to Broad Street and onto JFK airport I hustled, to catch the shuttle to Boston to meet my then-girlfriend, Maria...