1: When Diane Button was new to end-of-life care, so many questions flooded her mind.

“I wondered if I would ever get to a place where I would feel comfortable stepping into the home of a dying person with ease and grace,” she writes in her wonderful book What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living.

Fortunately, she had a mentor. “Hospice chaplain Clarence Liu was was … continue reading

1: Psychologist John Gottman can predict who will eventually get divorced a stunning 94 percent of the time.

In a pioneering 1992 study, John and his team interviewed fifty-two married couples.

They asked each couple “a variety of questions about how they met, why they decided to get married, and what changes their relationships had been through and observed them as they took part in a fifteen-minute discussion about a … continue reading

This week and next we are exploring Sahil Bloom’s concept of “Social Wealth” as outlined in his book The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life.

Today we turn to a list of “Social Wealth Hacks I Wish I Knew at Twenty-Two” which Sahil put together with Arthur C. Brooks, social scientist, Harvard Business School professor, and number one New York Times bestselling … continue reading

1: What we feel impacts what we see.  And hear.

“People who are scared take in a scene differently,” David Brooks writes in his book How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen.

“Our ears, for example, immediately adjust to focus on high and low frequencies—a scream or a growl—rather than midrange frequencies, which include normal human speech,” David notes.  “Anxiety narrows … continue reading

1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.

Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations.  On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.

One of my goals for the year is to experiment with different approaches and tools to strengthen my relationships with the people I love and care about.  

We will revisit … continue reading

“A great conversation is between two people who think the other is wrong.  A bad conversation is between those who think something is wrong with you.” -Micah Goodman, Professor at Hebrew University

1: The person sitting across from us is angry.  

We are debating a new marketing strategy.  At first, both of our intentions are clear.  We both want what’s best for the firm.

But as the conversation unfolds, a … continue reading

1: “You know that pitcher?” 

The question was asked by one of the coaches of the Johnson City (Tennessee) Cardinals, the St. Louis Cardinals major league baseball team’s lowest-level minor-league club. 

The Cardinals are “renowned for their culture and their ability to develop young players into big-league talent,” Daniel Coyle writes in his book The Culture Code.  [Note: as a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, it pains me to share … continue reading

1: Gramercy Tavern. New York City.

The lunch crowd has lined up on the sidewalk, waiting to get in.

“Whitney Macdonald was minutes away from a moment she had long anticipated,” Daniel Coyle writes in his book The Culture Code.

“It would be first-ever shift as a front waiter. and she was excited and a bit nervous.” 

Gramercy Tavern is a legendary New York restaurant “whose staff ranks as … continue reading

1: General Curtis LeMay’s mission “was to make the American nuclear force a perfectly functioning machine,” Daniel Coyle writes in The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups.

“All rubbed up, no corrosion. Alert,” Curtis once wrote.

He was a larger-than-life figure. Life magazine called him “The Toughest Cop of the Western World.” 

“One time he stepped into a bomber with a lit cigar,” Daniel writes. “When a … continue reading

1: “Dear [name], It has been a short time since you were here at Newcastle Mater Hospital, and we hope things are going well for you. If you wish to drop us a note, we would be happy to hear from you. Best wishes, [signature]

So read one of the short notes in a series of postcards sent to half of the 772 patients released from an Australian hospital after … continue reading