Leaving something is never easy, particularly when I hadn't actually looked for a job in over 13...
Leadership topic - The Avett Brothers

The Avett Brothers – are. Unlike say the Thompson Twins, or Pink Floyd (…which one is Pink?), they are ACTUALLY brothers. Raised in Concord, North Carolina, they had no intention of playing what most people call Bluegrass – Hillbilly Jazz.
They both had the typical High School rock bands that went no-where-ish… and after both failed, they left to start noodling around together, and realized together they had something. It was not unexpected: their Grandmother and Father were both musical. After working for a few years, they had enough of a following to record an album of their own – on their own nickel.
So they have been an 18-year “overnight success”. There is an amazing documentary about the Avetts that I would offer as alternative programming. While May it Last will spoil some stories coming up, you get the sense that the band really is a “family”. It permeates all of their music – the sense that this journey is better because they are all together. And they don’t paste over the bad patches – they are in there. Divorces, disabilities – you know – real-life… live, unplugged, and much of it like these years, unplanned…They are the perfect soundtrack for our consideration of Thanks and also Promise.
Can Thanks manage?
Before I left IBM, my new Boss needed me to come to a very important kickoff meeting before I was...
Who are you Thanks partners?
When I arrived at Fannie in 1992, there were about 400 developers/contractors… and we used about...
Thanks-observing
Happy Thanksgiving! ….and, of COURSE I have a story - actually more than one. Come on - it is...
The wonder of Thanks…
Fannie Mae was located off of Wisconsin Ave in a HUGE palace of a building - fitting for the “home...
executing Thanks…
After playing for a few years, particularly around Church, people got to know a bit about what we...
renewing your Thanks…
We spent about as much time at Church as we did at home during this season. Some of it was...
engaging the Promise…
Our group was “Advanced Technologies”, doing cutting edge work with the Promise of Object...
Management Promise…
I thought my career was over. I had not meant to land in Ops, and nearly everyone there wanted the...
The Promise of partners…
The nicest people I have ever worked with had 1 thing in common. For years I noticed it, then I...
The Promise of observation…
Like children, you don’t really have favorites on a Team… or shouldn’t. It is where the analogy...
wondering about Promise…
I once asked a team of 30 whether they had ever been on a good team. Anywhere ... work, church, a...
How does a Promise execute?
We were again in my office, which you are going to soon think is more a Disaster Recovery...
renewing Promises
A teammate once bet me I would never get the team back together. We had done it for 10 years,...













