Tending To The Vine

Picture of the week: The Dunning-Kruger Effect graph —prompted by the overconfident young associate who had three “Mount Stupid” moments in one week, leading to a much-needed reality check.   Overall: A dynamic week balancing  major professional milestones, personal wins, and intellectual engagement —from  Catherine’s onboarding and EOC prep  to  Rahul’s promotion and a book group discussion.  Despite a root canal, caregiving challenges, and Boston’s treacherous ice, the week remained productive. Key themes included  strategic positioning (postdoc hiring, EOC influence), leadership insights (mentorship, overconfidence), and balancing priorities (work, home, and personal growth). Takeaways from Week Catherine’s onboarding  is progressing as expected, with initial bumps but a long-term focus on integration. EOC panel prep  received universal leadership support, setting the stage for a high-impact session next week. Gen Z research interview with...

Overall: An epic week—high-impact, filled with big moments, and topped off with a compensation message. I felt in the flow, comfortable in my skin, and at the top of my game. Takeaways from Week 6: • Kicked off with the Eagles’ Super Bowl win and victory parade—Rocky 2x energy! • Delivered a strong talk at the ACE board dinner in DC. • Presented Chancellor Mildred García with the Hesburgh Award at the Kennedy Center. • Moderated a last-minute fireside chat like it was planned all along. • Supported Brookings in setting a fresh direction for their Retirement Security Project. • Presented our new Future of Higher Education in the Era of Longevity report at ACE. • Ended the week with my compensation message—a real cherry on top! • Progressed through one full page of Pachelbel’s Canon—teacher happy with progress! Behavioral Takeaways: 1. Feeling completely in my element at work—engaged, confident, and flowing. 2. Spontaneity paid off in DC when I stepped in to moderate ...

Overall:    A full week and was at home by myself with Mini in Philly attending to her mom. Takeaways from Week 1: Learned a lesson about being carried away by good news.   Had a great session with the CEO.   Attended a magical concert.   Made collaboration with "Ava" special this week. Behavioral Takeaways Oy vey - yet again a minor tiff with my Dad on his lack of humor Excellent connections at work - especially the FLY EAGLES FLY group!  :-) Continued solid feedback New role at EOC in Miami coming up (exciting) NOTES: Work: Had a "jam session" with Thasunda and Claire.  Man, did that go well or what!  Kept Micky in the loop. Micky's review included praise for my team's work (although Micky downplayed it in the bigger team meeting - where she did bring it up but labeled it "recency bias."  I made note of it but choose not to react internally or externally.  Hey, I received an outstanding-outstanding review - what do I have anything to c...

  Overall:    What a week!  Had a chance to spend 1:1 time with our CEO, Thasunda Brown Duckett (who we refer to as "T") Takeaways from Week 1: Preparation paid off (as always) for my 1:1 with T   Banging away on gAIt (LLM) Felt good about vitamin and supplement regime Did not feel good about either exercise or music practice Behavioral Takeaways Preparation, preparation, preparation Loose, but coherent NOTES: Work: Had great 1:1 with T Completed 2025 goal setting for direct reports Got great news that Catherine Reilly verbally accepted the offer to join my team as my 5th direct report Got great benefit from working with gAIt (LLM) - amazing tool - truly!  Can't even fathom where this technology and capabilities are headed Home: Mini was away in Philly for her Dad's annual ceremony Rahul was busy in Cambridge I had the house to myself (yay!)  Health & Fitness Vitamin and Supplement regime was good Walking was good in terms of climbing stairs. ...