Blogs

It is believed that Napoleon Bonaparte countered criticisms about his reliance on luck in battles by stating, “I prefer lucky generals to skilled ones.”Napoleon ignored his Foreign Minister Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord’s advice against the invasion of Russia in 1812 where he lost the war to “general winter”. The lessons of history reveal that excessive reliance on luck and neglecting constructive criticism can exhaust one’s lucky streak.

Dirk Nowitzki’s speech at the 2023 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famewas a standout event that transcended the speeches of his remarkable fellow inductees. With eloquence, the Mavs icon delivered an inspirational universal blueprint for success and artfully dissected his journey, laying bare the core qualities and values that fueled his rise to greatness*.

It was a cold bright winter day in Cleveland Ohio but inside the Weatherhead School of Management campus at Case Western University it was warm and fuzzy. In the first lesson on Appreciative Inquiry (AI), Dr. David Cooperrider taught us the principles of the Appreciative Interview which is a key activity of the Discovery stage at ‘the heart of AI’.

“Turkish Airlines flight TK 209 to Istanbul is delayed by an hour and a half” said the announcer at the lounge. “Don’t worry, you will make it to your connecting flight” said the purser as I boarded. Upon landing, I sprinted nearly three kilometers to the gate, only to witness the plane pulling away. I exhaled “Ay Ya Ya Yai” and raced another 1.5 kilometers to the lounge to find an alternative flight.