I have been working a lot lately with organizations and, in
particular, with their cultures and attempts to change them. Given my
growing interest in the culture of aging, I have been paying a lot of
attention to what people say about how the ‘retirement’ process works,
particularly in the Public Service and other large bureaucracies. The
gist of what I hear is that people do their darnedest to ‘get away’
from all the bullshit, while still ‘hanging
All posts by Jim Selman
Fork in the Road
I am 64 years old. Somehow the number seems significant, although I
don’t know why. Everyone I have ever spoken to about age agrees: they
feel a lot younger than they imagined they would feel like at this age
(however old they might be).
It’s almost as if we reach a ‘fork in the road’ age-wise—a
particular moment in time, usually in middle age, when we experience a
total disconnect between what we see in the mirror and what we
experience in our mind. I think
The Secret
Just finished reading Andy Wibbel’s comments on The Secret,
the latest new internet movie. I pretty much agree that this
extravaganza has high production values, very much along the same lines
as What the Bleep. But the whole time I was watching, I kept waiting to
hear ‘who’ was behind
Too Tired
By Shae Hadden
Bio
It’s the battle cry of couch potatoes everywhere: “I’m too tired to do anything but watch TV.”
The secret language of couples that says so much more: “Not now, honey, I’m too tired…”
Parent’s pat excuse for eating fast food: “Let’s order take-out tonight. I’m too tired to cook…”
Employees incessant murmur: “I wish I could retire…I am so tired of this bullshit….”
With all this
Choice
I was leading a seminar today in St. Lucia for about 80 people. We
were talking about organizational culture, but I was showing them that
culture is culture…the only difference is the perspective and scope of
the conversation. So the culture of an organization, the culture of a
country or the culture of a society can be viewed as the same
phenomenon—simply different levels of what people say about ‘the way it
is around here’. In other words, my view
Serene Ambition
I was talking with a fellow recently who was asking why this blog is called Serene Ambition™.
He thought that the two words didn’t seem to go together. He could get
‘serenity’ and also understand ‘ambition’, but together they made no
sense to him. In our normal way of relating to the world, you can have
serenity (meaning inner peace, calmness, maybe even joy) or you can be
ambitious (meaning committed to creating or accomplishing
Exceptions Prove the Rule
My AARP magazine arrived today…the October issue with Sally Field on the cover. She is great, and as the article said over and over, she’s still
a pretty powerhouse at 60. It was an inspiring story, but then I have
always been a fan of hers. As I was thumbing through, however, I
First Impressions
I arrived in St. Lucia yesterday after an all-night flight and
grabbed the first taxi in line. The driver was an “old” guy who wasn’t
talkative and didn’t seem too happy. We had a 90-minute ride to the
hotel on the other side of the Island, so after a while I tried to make
conversation by asking some inane questions like “How many people live
here?” and “Have you lived here all your life?” The driver’s responses
were more like New York City
Living Passionately
Visiting with my long-time friend Dan this weekend, I shared with
him what I’m up to these days re. the aging conversation. The fact is,
he is one of the reasons I am passionate about growing older. I truly
admire the fact that he is becoming more ‘alive’ as he ages…
Check out our conversation at Curmudgeon’s Corner.
Intergenerational Dialogue
By Shae Hadden
Bio
On Conversation Street, there are no age limits, and traffic can flow in both directions simultaneously.
Musing on intergenerational
conversations today. I’ve always been drawn to talk with people older
than myself. Perhaps this is because I’ve never felt comfortable with
my peers. I could blame it on the educational system (I was thrust
ahead of my age group in school to keep me interested in learning and
never