I recently highlighted my enterprising grandson, Liam, and his interest in inventing. We now have a box at our house that is filled with failed electronics and other interesting things that is set aside specifically for Liam. Sometimes he takes things apart (with permission) just to see how they are constructed. Other times he harvests […]
Tag Archives: life lessons
Have a Young Innovator? Give Them Creative Space!
My ten-year-old grandson, Liam, has a creative and inventive mind. When he is at Camp YaYa (i.e., over at our house), he is constantly looking for materials he can experiment with. Sometimes he builds with no specific project in mind, but he’ll continue to create until he ends up with something, like a cardboard fort. […]
Remediating a Problem or Crisis, it’s Really Simple
Every July, I get the honor to teach at the Graduate School of Banking held at the University of Colorado in Boulder. If you are in financial services and want to position yourself as a future CSuite executive, this is the school you should attend. Check it out here. During my technology class in a […]
The Consequences of Not Planning Ahead
My wife Samantha and I love the sea. We try to boat, sail, or generally get into the salt water as much as we can. We recently had an opportunity to spend a week on the island of Antigua (we were scouting for a 2020 sailing trip) and we did a lot of snorkeling. We […]
What’s In a Name?
While vacationing on the island of Antigua, I could not help but notice a particular restaurant we passed by every day. Here is the restaurant: So my question is, would you eat at Good Luck Restaurant? Now, if you took “good luck” to mean that if you eat there, you will receive good luck, then […]
Don’t Inadvertently Limit Innovation
I asked 16 payments executives to draw a vase. Let me explain… I have been facilitating strategic planning for 20 years for one organization, PaymentsFirst. P1st is a nonprofit payments association headquartered in Atlanta, and serves financial institutions and corporations in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. Their executives are some of the most well-respected […]
“What are you doing” – A Continued View on Perspective
It may be a coincidence, but I seem to be on a bit of a perspective kick. While in church on Mother’s Day Sunday, our associate pastor told a story about Christopher Wren, the architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. One day, as Christopher was making his rounds examining the work he had laid […]
Plan Ahead to Avoid Bone-Head Moments
As part of attending the FinTechSouth conference at the Mercedes Stadium in Atlanta, GA, I was asked to participate in a short video interview with Titania Jordan. Titania has a popular online channel called CONNECT, and along with her associates from 3Ci, she was interviewing numerous payment professionals in town for this show. FinTechSouth is […]
Change in Perspective Reveals New Insight
Something fun I get to do with my wife Samantha is go to the west coast of Florida and just chill out. We like the area of Bald Point and Alligator Point near the town of Panacea. We keep a small fishing boat at the marina in Panacea so we can have a down-and-back trip […]
Being Creative in Any Situation
I recently needed to have an online meeting while I was at the Oklahoma City airport. While I wouldn’t normally schedule this type of presentation with the knowledge that I would be in a public space, circumstances aligned that this could not be avoided. I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare […]