Sublime

The challenge in seeing a person, therefore, is to adopt the kind of double vision I mentioned in the chapter on hard conversations. It means stepping back to appreciate the power of group culture and how it is formed over generations and then poured into a person. But it also means stepping close and perceiving each individual person in the midst

Max de Pree, retired CEO of the Herman Miller furniture company, said his vision for Herman Miller was “to be a gift to the human spirit”—by which he meant not only Herman Miller’s products, but its people, its atmosphere, and its larger commitment to productive and aesthetic work environments.4

Maria Popova, who writes the popular site The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings), spends her days reading old books and essays. She’s passionate about finding ideas, beauty, and wisdom in these texts and then connecting them in her own unique conversation with the world.

But this prodding would no longer come from a set-apart holy man, consecrated by enchanted oil or a Yale degree. Rather, Henry’s prodding was done as “one of us.” Henry threw off any sense that he was a class above or beyond, as so many clergy embodied.

my ultimate goals (What do you want to offer the world?), my skills (What are you doing when you feel most alive?), and my schedule (How exactly do you fill your days?).

legendary figures of personal development as Tony Alessandra, Les Brown, Nido Qubein, Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy,

We live in a world rich in success but impoverished in meaning. A life of relentless work without meaning is brutal and dark. Most of us will never have the depth of love in our daily work that Manchester had with his fellow Marines. But we can move closer to it by building a culture where people depend on people.

The Beryl Cares committee manages a website and database that keeps track of everything from important dates (birthdays, anniversaries, and such) to any news relevant to each employee, such as any deaths or sicknesses in the family or even a recent accomplishment (finishing a marathon, for instance). When an important event or date occurs, the syst

Managing, by the former head of ITT, Harold Geneen.