Weekly insights on leadership, teamwork, and personal growth from the iMap team.
I did something this last weekend that I haven’t done in ages. I read an entire book just for fun. There was nothing educational, inspirational or business worthy about the book. It was pure entertainment from cover to cover. I started on Friday and ended on Sunday. The pleasure was all mine.
May 26, 2026
There are not too many people in this world that I haven't been able to get along with. But there have been some. I also spend a fair amount of time listening to other people about those that they "can't stand". The most...
April 21, 2026
Over the last several weeks I've been interviewing coaches and consultants about what they are encountering in their practices. Given all the changes in the work world, I'm interested in hearing their observations on how...
April 14, 2026
I've been sitting in the airport waiting for my delayed flight to take off and I amused myself with some YouTube videos of talent competitions. There are quite a few to choose from! What I love to watch are the faces of ...
April 7, 2026
Let me go on the record to say, I am one of the worst gardeners in my neighborhood. As hard as I try, I always do something wrong and end up hurting myself or the plants I'm trying to nurture. Besides, there are so many ...
March 31, 2026
Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
March 24, 2026
If you were traveling at all this week then you know it's been really bumpy. The weather from the Midwest to the East Coast has caused the flights I was on to rock and roll. You know, those flights that the pilots announ...
March 17, 2026
March is Women's History month, and I think it has a lot of unrealized potential. Women's success stories are often unreported and yet when you start digging in a little, there are some remarkable, accomplished women tha...
March 10, 2026
Travel is built into my DNA. As a child my family moved a lot, and as an adult I kept it going. I had an advisor in grad school that suggested that I at least put some roots down to use as a home base. I took his advice ...
March 3, 2026
As you might have picked up from a previous Tuesday Tip, a lot of my time recently has been focused on providing 360 feedback to executives. This is where a manager, peers and direct reports are asked to share their perc...
February 24, 2026
Last week was a doozy. But everything fit together perfectly. At least on paper. Flights, rental cars, meetings, four different hotels, multiple clients to spend time with, lots of meaningful conversation. It all came to...
February 17, 2026
I was watching a You Tube clip of this man/comedian/magician who was auditioning for a spot in a talent show. As part of his act, he enticed onstage a celebrity judge to participate. The performance involved each of them...
February 10, 2026
A good portion of the people living in the United States have been experiencing what winter was like before climate change. It has been snowy and often accompanied by sub zero temperatures. I found it amusing to watch th...
February 3, 2026
Not too long ago, I was on one of those trains in the airport that transport you from terminal to terminal when a woman hopped on just before the doors shut. My eyes were immediately drawn to her name tag which was engra...
January 27, 2026
We're almost through the first month of the New Year. This is the time when strategies, budgets and organizational structures are often reviewed and tweaked to ensure that end of year goals are met. Usually there is a se...
January 20, 2026
Nearly all of us welcome the start of each New Year with reflection and resolutions about the year ahead. The resolutions are typically filled with good intentions, but we often miss the mark without a robust plan to get...
January 13, 2026
One of the things that I love about this season is getting all of the holiday greetings from friends and relatives that I don't have much contact with throughout the year. I keep the cards, whether they're the old fashio...
January 6, 2026
We're almost at the 2025 finish line, and this is a time when we start checking whether or not we've hit our goals for the year. For me, this years assessment is quite unique because it is the 35th anniversary of iMap St...
December 30, 2025
I'm spending a fair amount of time doing things I rarely have had the opportunity to think about which is color selection. We are building a new house and there are so many decisions to make about color. Interior, exteri...
December 23, 2025
It's that time of year.....the time when people in management roles are responsible for providing feedback to those on their teams as to how well they have done throughout the year. I know a lot of companies have been tryi...
December 16, 2025
Anyone who knows me may also know that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is the one holiday everyone can be included. Your religion, politics, ethnicity, gender, where you live, what you do or who you work for does...
December 9, 2025
Have you ever been with someone who was intent on advertising their accomplishments? Maybe I was thinking about this because of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. It's not uncommon when there is a large family gathering ...
December 2, 2025
It's not so much that we're afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it's that place between that we fear. It is like being between two trapezes. It's like Linus when his blanket is in the dryer. There's not...
November 25, 2025
One of the fun things I was able to do this fall was attend a soccer game played by six and seven year olds. What a riot! One boy, playing defense, spent his time practicing cartwheels. A couple of girls who were guardin...
November 18, 2025
I'm going leaf peeping today because I love the fall with all of its glorious colors. There's even a unique smell in the air along with some crisp breezes. So, I'm going to take some time for visual renewal and drive o...
November 11, 2025
A few years ago, I was facilitating a workshop for a team of cross-functional leaders who were there to make some very important strategic decisions. There was quite a bit of tension going into the meeting because there ...
November 4, 2025
A remark I frequently hear from others is "it's obvious you love what you do". It's true. I have been working with executives and their teams for 30+ years, and it has yet to get boring. It's sort of like snowflakes, n...
October 28, 2025
I was facilitating a workshop for a client last week on process mapping. It was two days of intense focus on restructuring some critical parts of their business that had just been through a reorganization. The CEO had be...
October 21, 2025
Last weekend I had the fun experience of being "crew" for my niece who was running her first ultra marathon; a 35K. Mine was the easy job which basically involved being at various places along the course to cheer her on ...
October 14, 2025
I did something this last weekend that I haven't done in ages. I read an entire book just for fun. There was nothing educational, inspirational or business worthy about the book. It was pure entertainment from cover t...
October 7, 2025
We have a new member of our household. A Portuguese Water Dog named Schooner. An eight week old puppy is something that really changes your life! Schooner is a ton of fun and we haven't laughed this much in a long tim...
September 30, 2025
I'm writing this Tuesday Tip on my way home from an absolutely fabulous adventure where I spent 12 days and 11 nights on a remote island in the Indian Ocean. It was only about a mile in length and entirely self-contained...
September 23, 2025
I was talking with my brother this weekend about his upcoming trip to Spain where he will be walking El Camino. This journey is an ancient pilgrimage with a variety of routes all ending in Santiago de Compostela. It typi...
September 16, 2025
We often hold iMap certification classes for team leaders and facilitators. A good portion of the time is spent learning about the Map and how to help other people understand it. There was one time when I really ramped u...
September 9, 2025
It's hot out there! If you live in North America, chances are that unless you work outdoors, you have the benefit of air conditioning. I was talking with one of our iMap consultants in the UK who informed me that most pe...
September 2, 2025
Last week was a blast. I was able to spend it with friends and family doing everything from picnics at the beach to a sail on a schooner. I was orchestrating the comings and goings of many people and I have to say, every...
August 26, 2025
It happened to me. Has it happened to you? Recently I crashed. There was a build-up of more and more bad news in the press. Work projects stalled. People weren't returning calls. Emails went unanswered. Our vacation plan...
August 19, 2025
I am a dreamer. Ever since I was little I was able to imagine things as if they were real. I even had two friends, KiKi and Dodie, who were my besties. Although they only existed in my mind, I interacted with them as if ...
August 12, 2025
One of my favorite places in the world to be on the 4th of July is the western corner of Massachusetts in the Berkshire Mountains. It is quintessential Americana. Home of Norman Rockwell, the famous artist who captured i...
August 5, 2025
Last week we had a really bad storm that knocked out our power. After waiting it out for a couple of hours with no change, we decided that we might as well get out of the house and go somewhere where the electricity wa...
July 29, 2025
My new car, with just less than 9000 miles, has a 'glitch'. My dashboard has started to go out from time to time. Visible one moment, black - or is it blank? - the next. No rhyme or reason. Sometimes 'short' sometimes 'l...
July 22, 2025
I had the absolute best day of my life last week. I was in Maine and got to spend it on the beach at low tide with miles of coastline in view. The weather was perfect, the water was warm, and because of all the new san...
July 15, 2025
I just spent two weeks in Italy, and not the part that most people go to. Instead, I was on a journey with some family-in-laws who were tracing their roots in the Abruzzo region on the Adriatic coast. Now, as you may alr...
July 8, 2025
Not too long ago, I reconnected with someone I had worked with in the past, but had not seen in more the ten years. We literally had no contact in many, many, days, weeks, months so when we did finally get together, ther...
July 1, 2025
This has been an absolutely terrible year for travel. The worst ever. About 80% of the flights have been late and not by a few minutes. It's usually hours and hours. In fact, one time when a fight from Boston to Philadel...
June 24, 2025
Did you know that for over one hundred years there have been formal studies on what makes people happy? The scientists have looked at socio-economic variables, behaviors, positivity, social media and even genetic markers...
June 17, 2025
The other day I was rushing to catch the open door of an elevator and, as I quickly jumped on board, I lost my shoe. Now this wasn't just any shoe, it was a very nice sling back with a two inch heel. Perfect for the seas...
June 10, 2025
Here's what I'd like you to do. Before reading any further, take a minute and jot down on a piece of scrap paper ten of your strengths. Don't overthink, rethink, critique or analyze your choices. And, if you don't happen...
June 3, 2025
Have you ever had a time when life seemed really dark? It's sort of like being on an airplane that's taking off in the fog. As the plane rises in the air, you keep hoping that you will at some point see the sun, but some...
May 27, 2025
You've tried everything you know to motivate your team to deliver.......cash bonuses; clear targets with significant rewards for meeting them; pizza parties complete with beer; off-sites at cool places where you can get to k...
May 20, 2025
There was a study done several years ago about what makes a great team. They evaluated all types of teams from people in manufacturing to surgical teams, business teams and even cockpit teams that fly airplanes. What the...
May 13, 2025
Not too long ago, I had to deliver a report to the Division VP on people's perceptions of what it would take to win a major proposal for a large, multi-year project. There was a lot of good news. People were committed to...
May 6, 2025
Last weekend I was at a birthday party for a friend of mine. It was one of those murder mystery parties where everyone is assigned a character, and you come dressed for the occasion as that person. Over dinner, and wit...
April 29, 2025
It's always fun for me to introduce a team to their combined iMap profiles. After explaining what each of the four symbols mean, I then display the Map for each of them. The first reveal is usually accompanied by an au...
April 22, 2025
In case you missed it, last Saturday, March 8th was International Women's Day. The intent of this day is to bring focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. As a...
April 15, 2025
Last weekend I had fun seeing a play by Noel Coward called Hay Fever. It was essentially about a dysfunctional family of four, Mom, Dad and two adult children. They each had invited someone unknown to the others to spend...
April 8, 2025
Back during the Holiday season, I hosted a family dinner at the hotel I stay in when I travel to Maine. It was the first Charles Family Christmas celebration in a long time and all the nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cou...
April 1, 2025
Last week the weather was pretty challenging in many parts of the nation. I went from -11F in Idaho to a snowstorm and 5F in Wisconsin. And I forgot my gloves. Steering wheels are sure difficult to hang on to with you...
March 25, 2025
Not too long ago, we held an iMap Certification class for team leaders and facilitators. A good portion of the time was spent learning about the Map and how to help other people understand it. Pressure in the class was r...
March 18, 2025
If you read last week's Tuesday Tip, you'll remember that it was about being happy while on the journey, not just when you reach your destination. It sounds good, doesn't it? However, the reality is that sometimes we jus...
March 11, 2025
There's a Facebook group for the teeny tiny town where my parents grew up in upstate New York. To join, you have to apply and, after someone checks out your lineage, you are invited to become a member. The group was form...
March 4, 2025
Yesterday we witnessed an event that occurs once every 4 or 8 years. A new President is sworn in and there was a transition of leadership. While our country does this somewhat infrequently, and only in January, in your b...
February 25, 2025
I recently have had more opportunities to spend family time with the up and coming generation of new relatives. As I watch and wonder, it has amazed me how education has changed. Language immersion schools, algebra in el...
February 18, 2025
I am just now on my way back from my holiday vacation which was spent in Costa Rica. It was my first time visiting the country and it was certainly nice to have a couple of weeks out of the cold artic air that was in the...
February 11, 2025
I was going through some of the Tuesday Tips that I had previously written and came across this one about Joy. Since, "tis the season", I thought it would be worth a rerun. The interesting part about this is that it st...
February 4, 2025
My worst nightmare. A cross-country flight in a middle seat. That was my fate last week. I had to make a last-minute travel change and the only thing left was a fully loaded plane with no decent seats. I tried to use poi...
January 28, 2025
I was on a call yesterday with a colleague and we both agreed that it can't be December already. It feels like this year has blown by at an unprecedented pace. Of course, everything has been "unprecedented". I'm rather ...
January 21, 2025
Feeling Good.
January 14, 2025
Last week I was in New Hampshire teaching an iMap Certification class for a HR team. I left the hotel fairly early for a short drive in my rental car to where the class was going to be held. Not having had my usual kicks...
January 7, 2025
I was recently in Washington D.C. for a meet up with some family. It was the kid's (6&9) first visit to the Capitol and they were truly impressed. They made it through several museums and visited the Lincoln, Jefferson a...
December 31, 2024
Last week I was on an early morning flight that took off just as the sun was starting to make an appearance. There were no weather or mechanical issues so for once there weren't any delays. Right at the end of the board...
December 24, 2024
We were out for a walk this weekend and a daughter of a neighbor was in her front yard setting up Halloween decorations. She was very excited about the upcoming festivities and we chatted a bit about trick or treating, f...
December 17, 2024
It was not that long ago that we were all preoccupied with the pandemic and the many constraints that it brought to our daily lives. Kids were schooled at home. Zoom became the communication tool of choice. We wore masks...
December 10, 2024
One of the hazards of travel is losing things. Throughout my career I've spent a lot of time on the road and have lost jewelry, cell phones, laptops, purses and every type of clothing. I even left behind a brand new dr...
December 3, 2024
Ever had a total disconnect with one of your colleagues? I'm sure you have. We've all been there. The clean-up from misunderstandings, people feeling offended or a team that spends hours/days working on the wrong priorit...
November 26, 2024
If you read last week's Tuesday Tip, then you'll know that I've just completed a major trip to parts of Europe. Two weeks were spent on the island of Crete enjoying some R&R with friends. It is an amazing place to hang o...
November 19, 2024
I have been on the road in Europe for almost three weeks now. My travels have taken me through Switzerland, Norway, Greece and to my last destination in Denmark. What I love about travel is being exposed to how people l...
November 12, 2024
November 5, 2024
Back in 2019, 181 of the nation's top CEOs agreed that driving shareholder value was no longer their sole business objective. Apparently at the Business Round Table (BRT) a document was created acknowledging that there w...
October 29, 2024
Last week I did a workshop at the Department of the Air Force Technology Conference in Montgomery, Alabama. I was a little nervous about the presentation, not because of the content, but instead because I had a new Surfa...
October 22, 2024
The unofficial end of summer is upon us. Labor Day Weekend has long been associated with our final fling with summer before turning our attention back to school and business. The back to school part is already underway ...
October 15, 2024
Early this morning I opened my front door to head out on my morning walk and was greeted with a big surprise. It was 58 degrees and the humidity was heading down to 50%! After weeks of sweltering weather in the 90s with ...
October 8, 2024
I had a recent flash back to when I was seven years old and ran away from home. While I don't remember the details of what triggered this bold action, I do recall that it had something to do with getting my feelings hurt...
October 1, 2024
Earlier in my career I became known for the "toys" I would use as part of the workshops I led. Some of these events were very memorable and I'll share a few with you for your amusement:
September 24, 2024
The Tour de France, which recently celebrated its 111th year, took center stage in the sports world in July. While many were fixated on the start of the Paris Summer Olympics, this renowned cycling event never fails to ...
September 17, 2024
I have an upper deck that looks out on our backyard where a line of ten ginormous spruce trees separates our yard from the neighbors. When we planted these trees, they were six feet tall and now they go up over 40 ft. Th...
September 10, 2024
Have you ever met someone and just clicked? Several years ago, I was attending a conference at Disney World in Orlando and had an instant connection with a woman I was introduced to. We talked for hours. We even blew off...
September 3, 2024
I just got back from two weeks on a catamaran in the Virgin Islands. It's one of my favorite vacations because I love bopping from island to island and finding great places to anchor in the middle of paradise. This was o...
August 27, 2024
I was STARVING! And anyone who has worked with me knows that my brain goes into shut down mode when I'm out of food. Not a good situation. It was half way between breakfast and lunch and my choices were; Jack in the Box,...
August 20, 2024
"You write your life story by the choices you make."
August 13, 2024
"Meetings are indispensable when you don't want to do anything."
August 6, 2024
July 30, 2024
We have lived in the same neighborhood for 30+ years and it has been amazing to watch the growth of everyone's landscaping. That small cherry tree planted by the side of a house is now so big it blocks the windows. The s...
July 23, 2024
Ever have a nagging problem and you couldn't find a solution? I was in that boat last week. Maybe you were there with me.
July 16, 2024
Back in the days of black and white TV there used to be a television game show called To Tell the Truth. A panel of celebrities would question three guests who all claimed to be the same person. The goal was to figure ou...
July 9, 2024
Ever watch a three-year-old have a melt down? I was at the airport on a recent trip and observed a young girl, who was done with travel, laying on the floor of the gate area kicking and screaming. Her parents picked her ...
July 2, 2024
I just got back from Maine where we are starting to explore what will some day be our new home. I absolutely love the culture, people and their history. However, as much as I appreciate the area I will never really belon...
June 25, 2024
June 18, 2024
I was recently out shopping with some grandnieces and I was bombarded with "can we get this?" or "how about this? Pleeease." It was exhausting. I can't remember when I've said no so many times in such a short period of t...
June 11, 2024
This little ditty was something we were taught to say whenever a childhood bully called us something mean like stupid, ugly or some other childish slur. This was supposed to be an anthem of confidence that indicated no o...
June 4, 2024