Ed Foppe

My former colleague, Ryanne, organized a ride this past week as a fundraiser called Pedal for Pride. The goal was to raise funds for Affirmations, an LGBTQ center supporting the Detroit area. I had a dozen reasons I could have declined Ryanne’s invite, but I felt this is a community that has been under attack the past couple years and they could use all the allies they can get. Overall, I am glad I leaned in to participate and super proud of what Ryanne was able to orchestrate.

We rode about 415 miles over 5 days, climbing 10,217 feet over all types of Michigan roads and trails from Traverse City to Detroit. The bikes were rolling for just under 30 hours. More importantly, the team raised $20,465 for the center. I was raised $3,400. I think for these not-for-profits, more than the dollars it is the number of donors, which can be reported to larger funders to show more broad support for their organization.

Ryanne’s vision for the ride was based on her experiences with the AIDS/Lifecycle ride in California, a 7 day ride from San Francisco to LA. The ride ceased operations in 2024, so Ryanne wanted to duplicate the experience in Michigan. For this first year she limited the group to 7 riders, but unfortunately 3 had to cancel, so it was 4 of us doing the ride. Another 2 riders wanted to participate in fundraising and do a some of the ride, so they rode the last 30 miles. Overall, epic ride with memories to last a long time.

Sunday 8/16, we met at the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City and headed towards Interlochen. There is a famous music school there and overall lush country-side to roll through. We headed past Christal Mountain adjacent to a ski resort and a nice area to bike through. We stopped in Onekama for lunch, which was beautiful biking near inland lakes and bays of Lake Michigan. Some friendly people here asking about our ride and a super friendly black lab. The ride into Manistee was magical with a smooth, tree-lined road. Manistee, on the other hand, was the most unfriendly place we rolled through. We stopped for a quick stretch and everyone who walked by that I waved to passed by with no acknowledgement of my existence and then a car went by and the back passenger, a young, overweight male with full beard flipped me off completely unprovoked. I get the sense not many people like cyclists, but especially in Manistee. We ended a 95 mile ride at Kibby Creek Campground just outside Luddington. Overall, scenic day with rolling hills and nice views.

Monday 8/17, we left Luddington for the most scenic day of riding down the coast towards Grand Haven. Pentwater was a cool town to pass through near Lake Michigan with its own sizable lake. We made our way to Silver Lake with some amazing lake views and in town there was a group assembled to watch others netting fish, which I found out was a regular occurrence as there is not much life in the lake due to an adjacent sand dune that covers much of the lake’s plant life. We caught a trail out of Whitehall for about 25 miles, which was nice to be away from vehicles. Before the trail and after, we were on Bike Route 35 which was generally a smooth ride with less traffic. We wrapped up the 95 mile ride passing through some picturesque communities of Norton Shores and Grand Haven to arrive at Camp ’89.

Tuesday 8/18: now we needed to head east towards Detroit. Some rolling county roads leading into Grand Rapids where we connected with a nice trail, but then a lot of city riding through downtown and beyond. After that there was mostly county highways again, which some were sketchy with little shoulder and a lot of traffic. Construction in places made it feel dangerous as large pickups seemed to pass just inches from me. Though most cars gave a 3-5’ berth on these roads, there were several that did not. After 75 miles we arrived at Lakeside RV park in Ionia where I was in charge of dinner. I made a one pot dish of creamy zucchini and basil and had Tom assist by grilling some brats.

Wednesday 8/19 had us continuing east with more highways, but this day had better shoulders. We pulled into Westphalia for a rest at a grocery store tended by one of the meanest looking people on the route. No public restroom, which made me regret that second cup of coffee. Off to the nearest cornfield was I with my 58 year old bladder. Today’s route took us to the state capital for a photo opp, but first we had a small pile up of 3 distracted bikers. No bikes or riders were injured. A scenic ride through Michigan State where Ryanne summarized 4 years of college in less than 4 miles of biking. My wife and I were married at MSU in 1999, but I did not feel the need to divert the ride to the chapel. The love is real, the nostalgia less so on a long ride. After 83 miles and 10+ miles on a super busy highway we reached Taylor’s Beach campground in Howell. I have heard Howell is a hot bed of white suprematist activity, but thankfully nothing was visible.

Thursday 8/20 was the easiest and shortest ride from Howell to Ferndale. Though we had to jump back on the previous day’s super busy highway for 12 miles at what felt like morning rush hour, we then jumped on a nice bike path which was paved most of the way. The last 18 miles was through moderately trafficked residential streets with overall nice, green scenery. There was a really nice reception at Affirmations and was touching to have all the staff come out for us. As expected, a welcoming community and I felt very appreciated.

We got a tour of the facility and Q&A with the executive and marketing directors. These are hard times for the LGBTQ community and I am glad I could be an ally. I then was able to check in to a Hyatt for a real shower and a nap on a real bed. The camping was not as bad as I thought it would be, but a hotel was welcomed. I walked around Royal Oak, which was bustling with a great vibe. I found a nice place to get a burger and over a couple glasses of wine I took some notes to reflect on the journey. Epic might be a stretch, but a great ride.

When I came up with this idea to provide a parting thought at the end of each class, I would ask friends and past colleagues if they had any pieces of wisdom from their career they thought I should share. Having coffee with Jill Walker, a PwC parter, she shared her advice which became the parting thought for my 6th lecture:

“Feedback is a gift, treat it as such. Even if you disagree, take into consideration the perceptions. “

Feedback has evolved from when I started work. I felt I received a significant amount of feedback early in my career, but it was often delivered in a pretty harsh manner. Though I would never want that delivery style to come back, I learned and developed significantly. I feel now the pendulum has swung too far the other way where if the feedback is not “great job”, followed by a triple explanation point the feedback receiver is devastated.

On a side note, I never use explanation points. When I was coming up through the ranks the number of explanation points following feedback was the level of annoyance / anger the supervisor was feeling. I found them harsh and have never been able to use them or switch it in my mind to be a positive. In today’s world, if I was angry enough to use an explanation point I would discuss it with the person through some clarifying questions and never put it in writing.

Each year leading up to the end of my time at PwC I did find it sad that I gave less feedback each year. I was faced with a number of experiences where those I was providing feedback would get so upset and defensive, I wished I would not have bothered. Though I felt I was doing this in a constructive manner, it regularly seemed like I was the problem, not providing the feedback appropriately or not creating the right environment for the person to succeed and have to have been given the feedback I gave.

I share with my students that it was sad I was not providing feedback to people who likely needed it. To be successful you need to be coached and in many instances this needs to be done through feedback on suboptimal performance. I ask my students to seek out feedback as it is a gift and take it well. I share that I did not agree with all the feedback I received and I likely did not always give the right feedback. You do not have to agree with it, but you should take it in and at the very least acknowledge that there likely is a perception there to consider.

This past weekend I did a 3 day ride. Four of us left south Minneapolis heading to a buddy’s northern Wisconsin cabin, biking 58 miles north on a Friday and then 52 miles the next day. I decided to bike all the way back 105 miles on Sunday. In mid-August I am doing a charity ride that is 400 miles from Traverse City, MI to Detroit, so I felt this would be a good test to see where my capabilities were. The weather and air quality were not optimal, but not enough to cancel the trip.

I was a little perplexed with my anxiety leading up to the ride. I have done these types of rides over a dozen times and almost as many 5 day rides. I knew I could do it, but: 1) what if I learned I needed to be in much better shape for the 400 mile ride, 2) what if the guys I was riding with could not do the 2 day ride, or 3) general anxiety of a multi-day ride and the associated risks. The risks are real in bike touring, from minor issues like mechanicals or injuries to getting hit by a distracted driver. When that phone pings, who is going to blame the driver for picking up their phone even if it means some biker dies? I would.

I have found bike touring depends on 3 components - body, bike and knowledge - with an overriding dimension of attitude. For the body, do you have a fitness level to get through the miles. For the bike, do you have the equipment to efficiently move through the miles in a reliable way that minimizes mechanicals. And then do you have the knowledge of the route, where you can get nourishment, where you can stay the night, if anything goes wrong what contingency plans do you have. Finally, spending several days on the road with a rider with a bad attitude amplifies all problems and spending those days with friends with good attitudes smoothes out all the problems and amplifies all the great moments of the ride.

So where was my anxiety coming from? Likely a little of all 3, and like anything that is hard the anxiety was probably healthy, but in retrospect not justified. I got through all the miles and now have the confidence for the 400 mile 5 day ride. The guys I rode with all have great attitudes, which I knew, and their fitness and bikes were just fine for the ride. Though a couple guys had almost no knowledge of the ride, all went well and it was nothing to stress about unless my stress was that if anything did go wrong it would have been all my fault, which means if I am mentioning it that was probably real. The ride was about 70% on trails, so the risk of the distracted driver was lower, but again enough time on roads for that distracted driver to take out a couple bikers. At this point would that even make the evening news?

In the end a really good bike tour. Though the anxiety in retrospect may not have been justified, it’s a good thing to do something that makes you nervous. At 58, I should be proud I can still agree to do things that scare me.

I feel there are 3 types of locations you can vacation to - urban, beach and mountain. A good vacation for me combines 2 of these with varied levels of intensities. If my vacation was simply to hang out on a beach I will get bored quick. However, if I did a great hike or rambled through a city and then headed to a beach to relax, I would find that a great mix and a recipe for vacation success.

Walking a vibrant city has become one of my favorite vacations. On a recent trip to New York I found it magical to walk in and out of neighborhoods, stopping from time to time at a cafe or bar, and then move on. I had it in my mind I was in a massive art museum and each neighborhood was a gallery room and there were art exhibits everywhere. This does get exhausting at times and every city is going to have some challenges. If you can then get to a beach before or after that can certainly take the edge off. But I have found most cities will also have some green space as a good respite, which is what they are designed for.

Living in a major metropolitan area there is always a call to the mountains. Getting out in nature and breathing in some forrest is always good for my soul. The hiking or snowboarding I plan seems to always have a level of intensity, so while I physically still can hike and snowboard I should plan more of these trips, with maybe some beach after the hike. I can hit the hot tub after snowboarding.

In general, I am not a fan of places where as a visitor I am the means of livelihood for the place I am visiting. This dynamic seems to come into play for so many of the beach vacations I have experienced. I get the argument that you are bringing a livelihood to a place where there might not be one. However, I seem to have an aversion to the attention. But maybe the larger issue is that I feel the biggest issue of our time is the wealth and income inequality gap. Traveling to places where there is a key delineation between the haves and the have nots and I am the have makes me feel like I am the problem. I also fear the tourism industry in these locales drive unnatural decision making by the government and law officials. How these officials deal with incidents with tourists so that the industry is not harmed I can imagine would make most people cringe.

I also assume the local population not involved with tourism are annoyed with the tourists. I like to get out in the morning for a run. I feel it allows me to get a lay of the land to set my bearings and get a feel for the place, especially as the location and me wake up to start the day. I have found that places where not all locals are bought into tourism you can sense it quickly. Nodding to a local walking down the street or cars giving you a berth while on the road can be clear indicators of how the locals feel about you being there.

Another problem I have with international travel, which has only been to Europe and Asia though I imagine this would be found most places outside the US, is that every worker seems to have their job description and they strictly stick to it. So if you are at a restaurant ordering drinks and the bartender is swamped, no one will go behind the bar to help, like pouring beer and soft drinks. If the wait staff are slammed, the bartender will not lend a hand to deliver the drinks. I feel this is less so in the US where you would see more people pitching in. Internationally, I feel like I am constantly looking for the wait staff, especially when it is time for the check. I get it you do not want a customer to feel rushed to leave, but getting the check in these places is just ridiculous.

One good thing I have found is to book a tour guide the day after landing. Not only to immerse yourself in the tour theme (markets in Istanbul and Acropolis in Athens), but also to have a local you can bounce questions off of regarding life as a local and to get recommendations for the rest of the trip.

Overall, glad to have taken a big vacation like this with my family. Generally we got a long. No underlying familial issue brewing that surfaced after a week being constantly together. However, I am unsure how well I’m suited for international travel, especially exotic locales where you cannot drink the tap water or asked not to flush toilet paper. Maybe some day I’ll learn how to use a bidet. There seems to be a number of downsides to these places. My hydration is one of them. But there is also a whole host of other things that go with it.

We arrived mid afternoon which gave us some time to explore the city. Nearby there was a recommended restaurant where we had a couple drinks and some appetizers. This is my preferred way of eating, but I do not get a sense this is how many Europeans eat. It seems more a full meal wherever you go. This provided us the nourishment needed to stroll through Athens. We went first to the National Garden, which was beautiful and good to be in the shade on a toasty day. We then went through the Plaka neighborhood to Monastiraki Square. A lot of people out and a lot of shops. We embraced the European custom of dining late with a 9pm reservation at the hotel restaurant. Great meal, but having a full dinner prior to going to bed is just a bad idea. Maybe the Europeans don’t go to bed right after a 9pm dinner.

We had a tour guide the next day to see the Acropolis followed by a food tour. The Acropolis is impressive when you think about the different occupiers and its habitation of over 3 millennium. The food tour was really good with pies, kababs, a wine tasting and pastries. Our guide was more than happy to share what it is like for everyday Grecians. Grocery prices for example will be similar across the EU, but salaries in Germany will average 3 times the average salary for a Grecian. It was also interesting to hear her perspective on the Greek financial crisis (2009 - 2015). She was young and felt it did not have an effect on her, but she can remember the adults freaking out. She also provided a couple recommendations for places to go near our hotel which was helpful later on.

After the tour we returned to the hotel for a quick nap and swim. We then strolled through the Kolonaki neighborhood. This felt less touristy and able to see a bit of what normal Athenian life is like. We stopped into a book store noting the price of books seemed half of what they were in the US. The food seemed similarly priced to the US, so it made me wonder where price difference were. We followed that up with a couple glasses of wine at a corner wine bar (Warehouse). Our main destination was Lycabettus Hill, the highest point in Athens, for a partial view of the sunset as some clouds rolled in.

For the last day we simply meandered through Athens. Started by heading up to Areopagus Hill, where St Peter spoke to Athenians before heading to visit the Corinthians - I believe he had some letters for them. On the way we ended up stumbling on a flea market, which I found really interesting to see all the used items each vendor was trying to sell. We last traveled as a family to Europe 11 years ago and in Paris on a Sunday we also stumbled on a flea market, which I also found interesting. As if I was participating in a local’s daily life.

After selfies on Areopagus with the Acropolis in the background, we continued on through the neighborhoods stopping for a beer at what felt like a Sunday hang out for the neighborhood pensioners. We made our way back into Plaka finding a random place for some apps and wine, which were both rather tasty. Then we were on a mission for halva. Our tour guide made a recommendation for Wild Souls. The halva, which is dessert like but not sweet - think of the inside of a butterfinger in consistency, was really good and the first thing on the trip I felt I wanted to take back.

After a quick dip at the hotel pool we decided it might be fun to try a bar crawl. We started out at the Clumsies where they claim their Augean Negroni was the 2019 Worldwide Best Cocktail. It was a damn good cocktail, but I do not drink many cocktails so I will not weigh in on the validity of the claim. Cross central Athens we went to Bretto, which was a cool place where they were making their own liquors, including Orzo. We wrapped up the night with some Greek frozen yogurt (not much of a bar crawl), which was fine, but I’ll admit I am not a fan of frozen yogurt and the Greek version just amps up the tang. Glad I tried and also glad to be going home after 2 weeks. Great trip, but looking forward to home.

With a hectic 3 days in Istanbul and a travel day to Crete, I was looking forward to some relaxation. We stayed at an incredible resort. The water here is beautiful at a refreshing temperature. The tap water was drinkable, the food was good not great, and our package included a hospitality package so I could have a glass of wine whenever I wanted. The objective of this part of the trip was to relax and this place delivered.

We did book one tour - a sail in the large bay our resort was in. The captain and his mate were limited in their English, so it was actually nice to just enjoy the boat and not have someone constantly talking. We made a couple stops to swim / snorkel, sailed around an island that was a Venetian then Ottoman fort which at some point became a leper colony, and a stop for lunch at a nice seafood restaurant. Overall, just nice to be out on the water for a day.

My wife and I also got out for a hike. A 4.5 mile loop on the Spinalonga peninsula taking us through goats grazing, a significant number of rock fences, down to a beach for a swim and consistently amazing views of the Mediterranean Sea. We also on a couple other days explored the adjacent town of Plaka for some shopping and a drink.

I quickly got in the habit of waking up for a short workout - jog, yoga, or some weights. Breakfast with the family at 9:30. Beach and some level of activity filled the late morning and afternoon, which then rolled us into happy hour and dinner. It was nice to have the time with our daughters to hear what is all on their minds. I thought they might be smokers, but now I know and even enjoyed partaking myself every evening. A couple conversations ventured into politics, I am left of center and the rest of the family is progressive, so the political discussion is similar to the pull within the Democratic Party.

Though taking about 22 hours to get from our home in Minneapolis to the hotel in Istanbul, it was not as bad as I thought and I was able to get a fair amount of sleep during the flights. We are staying near the Hagia Sofia, which is a wonderful area to just walk around. Though the Hagia Sofia is under renovation you can still get a feel of its grander, and the Blue Mosque, especially lit up at night, was super impressive. I was super excited we chose to go here after reading 1453 by R. Crowley and my daughter had it on her list as she took an architecture class that focused on three mosques in the old city.

After arriving, we walked through the streets and had dinner at Galeyan Restaurant, a 10 minute walk from the hotel based on a recommendation from our driver. It was a perfect night sitting outside on a relatively quite street. Great food with tzatziki sauce, pita bread, pide (flatbread), and kababs. We even tried raki, a high alcohol wine with an anise flavor.

The next day, we booked a tour of the Grand Bazar and Spice Market. Emere, our tour guide, was amazing and had many historical stories and tidbits of the markets and Istanbul. He wisely started the tour with a stop at a coffee shop to get a feel of why we wanted a tour to provide recommended stops. This was nice as for those items we were thinking of buying, he could direct us to specific shops. He ended the tour at a local lunch spot which felt very authentic with more kababs and lahmacun, a popular dish I would describe as a thin pizza with a tomato sauce and ground meet that you eat by rolling it up.

After lunch we toured a cistern from the Roman era which was impressive with 100+ columns in a cavernous underground water storage facility from the 500s. We continued a walk through the neighborhoods, stopping for a beer at a comfortable outdoor cafe. After a nap we walked along the Bosporus and made our way to dinner at Garden 1897, which was a traditional Turkish spot in a beautiful garden setting. This was our tour of the old city. Not ready to turn in just yet and looking for a hookah smoking experience, we went to a place our tour guide suggested. Over a couple beers with the FIFA cup in the background, we spent an hour smoking a hookah. It felt like smoking very ultra light cigarettes. So this fall when I go for my physical and they ask if I smoke I can say no, except that night I smoked the hookah in Istanbul.

The next day started with a Turkish bath at the Hurrem Sultan Hammam. I was expecting a wet sauna (hot), but it was more a shower and then a very soapy massage followed by a rinse. Very relaxing and a great way to start a day. The architecture of the hammam and woodwork inside was incredible. My daughters hit the market and we met up after to walk through the Hagia Sophia and Blue masques. These too were architectural amazements and their sheer size is hard to describe. The Blue mosque had more information. My Catholic upbringing did not offer much on the Muslim faith, so it was good to get some education.

We took the tram over to the new part of the city making our way to Galata Tower. We were getting a bit overwhelmed so we found a quiet rooftop bar for drinks and an app. The views of the city and waterways were amazing so we decided to explore less in the new part of town. The walk back over the Galata Bridge was interesting. Two tiers with a lower lever full of restaurants and top tier with dozens of fisherman. We found another rooftop bar for more drinks and appetizers instead of dinner which offered another set of amazing views from a different perspective and the added bonus of sunset. Not ready to turn in we popped in to Palladium Cafe near our hotel for a couple beers. The head of the place was super friendly, gave us some watermelon, which was in season, and offered us a hookah. He then came by with a water bottle with the bottom removed, which he dipped in soap water, drew from the hookah and made smoke bubbles. We had some good laughs, especially when my daughters gave it a try.

For our last full day, my daughters wanted to go back to the markets for some more shopping. I simply enjoyed the architecture and scale of all the vendors. This is a city for the shopper. We then took a ferry over to the Asia side, which ended up being even more intense for the shops and restaurants. But seemed less touristy and a significantly younger crowd. The best part of the visit for me was the murals, which were some of the best I have ever seen. We popped into a bar for lunch and had burgers, as it seemed like a good idea to try something we were familiar with in a foreign country. Good burger, but the patty had significantly less fat than an American burger, but good nonetheless. Feeding cows corn certainly has its benefits. The narrow streets and intensity of the shops had drained us, so we decided to just head back to the ferry and take a rest at the hotel. I’m also glad we just did the ferry, which took about 20 minutes, than to do a tour.

For the last night we wanted to get some seafood, so headed to a Trip Advisor rated place called Rainbow Seafood. It was a nice father / son run place with great energy, but the seafood was lacking, which was kind of a bummer as the whole time there we were surrounded by water. On the way there, we bumped into a guy for the third time who was trying to get us to his shop. He was funny and very persistent. As the shop was on the way we stopped by as he seemed to have earned it. They had us try some Turkish delight and tea. My daughters were quickly drawn to perfumes for sale. My wife picked out a couple teas and they said it would about $46 USD. We all wished each other well and we were on our way. Later noticed the credit card got hit for $460. A nice little scam, which hopefully can be sorted out with our credit card company.

Overall, I was impressed with Istanbul. No homeless and felt like little to no crime, except for the scammer. Easy to walk the old city neighborhoods. The streets had traffic, but not overly crowded, except the Asia side. Cats were everywhere, but cute and not a nuisance. I generally felt appreciated for visiting. The call to prayers from the mosques 5 times a day were also powerful to hear, except for the one just before sun rise. The history is off the charts with eras of Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and then modern Turkey with its growth, vibrant youth and its place to this day as a trading center for Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. With the 3 sections of the city - old, new and Asia, I felt you need a minimum of 3 days to spend a day in each. If you are super into the history, more time is necessary, but if the crowds can be a drain on your energy, 3 seemed enough and for me 3 seemed just right.

On the downside, I enjoy walking a city and Istanbul, though beautiful, was hard to walk as there constantly is a man asking you to come into his shop. For the majority of the time, a friendly “no thanks” was the end of their pursuit, but some were pushy. One guy even gave me a hug. And then getting scammed on the last night really made me want to leave and never come back. I feel I am also done with traveling to cities where you cannot drink water out of a tap. Part of it is dehydration, but there are a number of other correlations you can make.

Students in college are notoriously late and there is nothing resembling a dress code. I do not have a problem with this, but I also do not get a sense they are being told this will likely come to an abrupt end upon taking a job, especially a good one with an established company.

For my fifth lecture, I had the quote:

“Life is hard, get the easy stuff right.”

My mother had a view that being late was disrespectful and she did not tolerate being late, so if I was late there was a valid reason. This served me well in my professional services career as many middle managers at my clients did not want anything to do with an outside party at their company and any reason given to them to deliver harsh judgement, they took it. I remember someone once explaining that on time is such a small sliver of time it is not worth considering - you were either early or you were late and in most situations you could choose.

I felt there was always a colleague who chose late. Unsure if it was their ego that they felt better than everyone or some perverse idea of being cool. Likely a mixture of both, but it seemed like nothing said being hip to them like being late. I saw this also with how people presented themselves. This seemed like an easy thing to get right. But there was always someone who wanted to push the boundaries or wanted to go with the disheveled look. I am sure again this could be attributed to ego and / or a need to be hip.

I share with my class they are going to find themselves on projects where the manager underestimated the effort and you will have to work with a disappointed client to get through the work as best you can. That is hard. There will be projects where you are under skilled and you have figure it out quick. That is hard. You will be on a project where a coworker cannot do their work due to illness or other issues. That is hard. Get the easy stuff right and show up a little early and be presentable. Working through the hard stuff when those you are working with are already annoyed because you are late and / or presenting yourself in an odd manner is just exponentially more harder.

As my daughter has been attending school in California we have been making numerous trips to visit over the past 4 years. I hear so many people say, “what a wonderful place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.” Living most my life in the midwest I find that is where I am best suited to live. Maybe it’s the whole midwestern values thing, but unsure how much that really holds true. I am sure it is just a familiarity with the pace, style and attitudes. It could also be a defensive mechanism that midwesterners generally think coastal people are elitists who believe there is nothing in fly over country.

I do find California unique. The coastal beauty, hiking in the interior, visiting wine country or the State and National Parks have been amazing. Add in the tech, entertainment, agriculture, and other industries it is simply an impressive place. But then there are the people. Terms like entitled and the nanny state do seem to have some resonance, but I have not been there long enough to judge, and who am I to judge.

The oddity for me is the striking display in full view of the haves and have nots. To so clearly see the wealth and income inequality gap to me is painful. And then the more I think about it I get the vibe that not all the haves likely have what they are appearing to have. And then I also get the sense that the have nots seem to feel entitled to have some of what the haves have as California’s greatness provided them what they have. I would not argue with that, but something also seems fundamentally wrong with it also. This also raises the odd perspective that the have not’s want some of what the haves have, but many of the haves may not have what they appear to have. A little messed up from my perspective.

With my daughter moving back to Minneapolis, I will be visiting California much less. However, any chance I get to visit I will take it, but no plans to move there.

I am in California for my daughter’s graduation. I felt I should have been more excited and emotional leading up to the event. What a great milestone for her. However, it is not my milestone, through I am a contributor. Also, it is one of those milestones where there is a long lead up, so when the day finally comes it is a great moment but there was ample time to think about it. Of course once the event started and we could see her in the procession it was quite emotional. The speakers also delivered and had some points that struck some emotional chords. The reading of the names is also pretty cool to see all the students have a big life moment and then the final procession brings the emotions back. Great stuff.

I am very proud of her as it is a great school and I get a sense it was not an easy path to finishing in four years with a solid GPA. With a degree in physiology I have no doubt she is poised to do great things for a number of people in their times of need. So I am excited as she launches into a new chapter. I also feel some sadness for the group of friends she has as they all have to disperse to different places. But there is also hope that these are long term friends that stay in touch and get together regularly.

The value of a college education is being questioned. I certainly see many instances where those who have the ability to earn a college degree are doing so and then being positioned for a career which requires a degree. With the average salaries for those with a college degree earning at $135K and those without around $65K, that is a significant difference. Especially when you think about most people spending 40 years in a career. Of course there is the 4 years of not working and the cost of a college education. But choosing to not pursue a degree if you have the opportunity seems like a really bad idea.

I can see the disappointing scenario where a person pursues a degree and is not well suited for the academic rigor, wastes a significant amount of time and money only to exit school for a career that does not require a college education. I assume this is where more people are questioning the value of a college education. I have experienced this with my students. When I have shared with my students in one-on-one discussions my frustration with the disengaged, distracted students, several of them have shared that there are many students who absolutely do not want to be there.

I think about the student with a grandparent who did everything they could to have their child go to college. The student’s parents get a degree in technology and have a successful career. So when it comes to their child approaching college age, they tell them they are going to go to college and get a degree in a technology field. This in turn likely has all the makings of a college student who wants to do anything but study technology. Likely why they are doing so in a business school.

To end on a positive note, I do think about the person who has the ability to earn a degree but is not in the situation financially or for other reasons to go to college. I have to believe with all the aid programs and not-for-profits working on this issue that there are fewer people in this situation every year. At least I hope so.

I find value in action versus deliberating on the optimal course of action. I’m the ‘Ready - Fire - Aim’ type. In most situations, in tech and in business in general but maybe not healthcare, once you are progressing on a path there are opportunities to reflect and course correct where the progress made has the benefit of forward momentum which gets you to a place where a clearer course can be seen. I feel most instances where people want to deliberate on the course of action are doing it more out of procrastination, or fear of choosing the wrong path, than really caring about the best course.

For my fourth lecture, I had the quote:

“Behaviors should advance strategic aspirations. They are important because it’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than to think your way into a new way of acting. In other words, it’s easier to lace up your shoes and go to the gym than to make yourself believe you love going to the gym.”

Maybe the opening paragraph and this quote are a bit different, but the message I was trying to impart to my students is one rooted in leadership. Taking initiative to act in situations will in most instances be better than thinking about it. Far too many situations I have seen people want to drive consensus for the best course, but then find themselves in a place where it is paralysis by analysis.

I want to acknowledge this might be an overly male point of view, and my observations are biased. There is also value in driving consensus to have more people bought in to the action needed. I also have to acknowledge that in a world of AI where a generative AI tool can provide you a suggested action, this drive to act might be dangerous. However, I go back to the idea of forward momentum has value. And sitting by the sidelines deliberating on a best course of action can be debilitating.

I provide this quote as a key skill of leadership is to take action, especially when there is a lack of all the information you may have hoped for. Students really need to be equipped with leadership skills along with teaming, communication and critical thinking, especially in a world dominated by AI. I do feel these students are getting a fair amount of soft skill development. The school claims students will on average do over 20 group projects before they graduate. The students I have spoken to feel like that is a low number. Most classes, including mine, will have multiple writing assignments. Between case competitions and various clubs, there are ample opportunities for communications skill development. They now created a class for critical thinking in the age of AI. I could probably use that one. The plausibility trap is certainly real for me.

For my daughters’ 18th birthdays I got each of them a nice journal. Journaling has served me well and I hoped it might help them. I took the liberty of writing the first entry. Turning 18, they had both done well in high school, had accepted college offers, knew what they wanted to major in, and generally had an idea of what they wanted to do with that major. I took the opportunity to say how proud I was of them and how the world needed more people in their chosen professions (artist and health worker). I then ended with a quote which I felt was good advice for them.

My one daughter’s quote was as follows, and was my 3rd lecture’s parting thought:

“All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer.” – Niccolo Machiavelli

She was very much into tattoo’s and had been experimenting with the stick & poke technique. So yes, prison tattoos were being performed at our house. You cannot go to a tattoo artist in Minnesota until your 18, so she made an appointment for the evening of her birthday. She had drawn a simple animal figure which looked nice. However, when returning home she stated she had a last minute change of mind. Moved by the quote, her tattoo was “Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer. – Niccolo Machiavelli”. My reaction was that it was just a piece of advice, not meant to be permanently written on her body.

Over my years in professional services I was always taken aback at how many people were paralyzed by having to make a decision. Consultants get a bad wrap for not really doing anything, but in the end they typically have the ability to simply make decisions when so many people cannot. I feel there are too many people who choose to wallow in a suboptimal existence than to try to find the strength to put themselves on a path to a better place.

I also notice too many situations where no one wants to put a thought out there, but once one is developed most people seem to be fine with critiquing it. Almost as if the critiques are as valuable as the creation. Maybe I should learn from my artist daughter and put more value on the critique. A huge value of art school is the ability to provide feedback and take it. Critiquing is a large portion of the curriculum and the students get good at it.

The last slide of each of my lectures are titled, “Parting Thought”. I thought this would be helpful for the students to know when class is about to be over and maybe naively thinking they would ponder the thought as they made their way to their next thing. With the number of students putting on headphones as they leave the classroom, this is likely not many. However, I have received some positive feedback regarding my parting thoughts.

For my second lecture, I simply had in the middle of the slide:

Be Balanced

I shared with the class that I feel everyone should strive for a sense of balance in their lives. I also firmly believe everyone needs their own definition of balance that is right for them. For context I shared with them my definition of balance, which the key components are Mind, Body, Soul, Social.

I never felt the need to put much focus on the mind dimension as most of my work life challenged me mentally as a knowledge worker. If it was in professional services working with client issues or in an academic setting, there is always the opportunity to learn something new or simply study a technology topic. I have prided myself for being, and have the goal to be, a lifelong learner. With that being said, I have always had the goal to read a book once a month and weekly journal, which seems to add to this dimension.

With a life in professional services and academia, there is no contribution to improving the body. It is a sedentary existence. This is the dimension I focus on the most and dominates the annual goals I set for myself. I workout 6 days a week and push myself to be active throughout the day. In a typical year I will move 2200 - 2400 miles and have over 2000 miles of biking. I feel without movement no one can say they have balance.

I am somewhat a social person, so this dimension has never been a challenge. However, when I journal weekly I do seem to comment regularly if the week was a good one for being out in the world connecting with others or a weak one. I have even kept a spreadsheet of those I want to make sure I am staying connected to, which I refer to regularly.

The soul dimension has challenged me the most. I am not religious. However, I do not feel out of balance due to a lack of effort towards this dimension. Over the years I have questioned whether it needs to be part of the balance equation. In the end, I have simply pointed to some of the other activities I am doing which likely fulfills this dimension. My weekly journalling is mainly a reflection exercise on what is going well and where I can improve. If there is anything that I am struggling with I typically lay it out on paper in the journal. Most of my exercise allows me to reflect on what is right and wrong in my life and in the world, which seems spiritual. Since Covid I have worked on meditation, but I imagine I am the world’s worst meditator as 2-3 minutes in I am out for a nap.

At the end of my first semester it dawned on me that while I shared a number of stories from my career to bring various subjects to life, I really did not part any wisdom from a 32 year career. So on my last lecture, which was a recap of the class, I spent the last 20 minutes sharing several lessons learned from a 32 year career in professional services, which felt like a lot to share in a short amount of time. Since then I have spread the advice out.

My idea was that after each lecture, I would end on a parting thought. As this is a half semester class, I only lecture 10 times and the other 4 meetings are quizzes, guest speakers and a software simulation exercise. So I came up with my top 10 thought pieces to share with my students as they prepared themselves to head out into the world.

My lead off was a quote I heard early in my career that has driven my state of mind when dealing with most situations. I heard it when I was living in Chicago, so every time I say it in my head it is with a Chicago accent, so I shard it with the class in my best Chicago accent which garnered a couple chuckles. If you know what it is like to be in front of a group of college age juniors and seniors, a chuckle would be the equivalent of a solid laugh at a dinner party. The quote is:

Take it as it happens, but make it happen like you want to take it.

My interpretation has a several dimensions. First, if you are faced with a situation where you can influence the outcome or experience, do whatever you can make happen like you would want it to. Conversely, if you conclude you have no influence on the situation, such as, most world events, just chill out and take it as it happens. Don’t let it consume your state of mind. I have also found this to be a great reflection tool when things do not happen as I had hoped. It is good to reflect on what I could have done to influence the outcome or experience - to make it happen how I would have liked to take it.

Too many people seem to be consumed by that which they have no control over and then shy away from taking action on that which they can control.

After 5 semesters of teaching, I still feel compelled to tell anyone who will listen how the distracted, disengaged student has a profoundly negative effect on my teaching experience. After 5 semesters, it seems like I should have moved on. Reflecting on why I feel so compelled to share this negative point, I can only think there is some subconscious hope that everyone who hears me will go out and coach all the college students in their life to not be distracted as they move through life and to be engaged in those endeavors worthy of their attention. My class being worthy, of course.

As I have sought advice on how to move past this annoyance, the consensus advice is to focus on the engaged students who care and dismiss those distracted, disengaged students. However, this advice does not strike the right chord and I find myself wanting to bring everyone along and not leave a student behind. Another line of thinking is to just focus on delivering the course and let the students consume the course to the degree they wish, which I am unsure is a recipe for success either.

This past semester I did try some new teaching techniques. I recorded a couple key concepts and had students watch the videos before class. I thought of this as embracing TikTok. I also had a survey tool employed for students to rate other group members’ engagement. These led to some marginal improvements. I will continue to tweak the delivery to see where it goes and maybe the joy of teaching at some point will surpass the annoyance of the distracted, disengaged student.

On a final note, I did get a real boost by participating in the graduation ceremony. As an adjunct, I would not typically be invited to the stage, but many faculty had conflicts and they asked if I would robe up. It was a much more powerful experience than I expected. The ceremony started by the faculty creating a gauntlet for the students to walk through. High-fiving and fist bumping many past students was exciting. The student and commencement speakers were both inspirational. Seeing many of my students walking across the stage completely lit up with excitement was great to see - they did have a pulse.

After a 32 year career with PwC I wanted to try one more thing. I had 4 ideas as to what I wanted to do for Retirement 1.0. Two fizzled out quickly, one did not materialize and one stuck.

I earned a contract to deliver a course at the University of Minnesota in the Carlson School of Management. The course is titled IDSc 3104 Enterprise Systems, a 2 credit course delivered over 8 weeks in the second half of a semester (B Term), offered 3 times in the fall and twice in the spring. It delves into large business transaction systems, focusing on one used by very large companies, SAP. If you are getting a Management Information Systems (MIS) degree you may take this your junior year and if you are working on an MIS minor, you likely take it your senior year. MIS majors their junior year in the fall are far more enjoyable to teach than MIS minors in their senior year in spring about to graduate.

I have met people over the years with a strong desire to lecture at a university. This was not top of mind for me and certainly not a goal when wrapping up my time at PwC. I regularly guest lectured at an introduction to IT class at Carlson, which entailed speaking to a couple class sections during one week per semester. Practically, it had a recruiting dimension, but it also felt good to be in front of students conveying the benefits of pursuing a career similar to mine. After leaving PwC, I had the opportunity to shadow a professor and the energy of being on campus felt like it would be a great opportunity to give back and fulfill a purpose I may not have realized was available for me to fill.

The time and effort to deliver a university class is much harder than I imagined. I did not think it would be easy, but since most my materials were inherited from the previous lecturer, I would be assigned a Teacher’s Assistant (TA) to handle most grading, and an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (UTA) for each section to assist students with hands on exercises, I did not think it would be too hard. However, preparing and practicing enough to feel comfortable owning a room averaging 40 students who are counting on you to fulfill their learning needs is no small effort. There is also the administrative burden to be the recipient of 200 students in my 5 sections. Between illness, illness of family members, religious holidays, accommodation coordination, and a host of miscellaneous questions along with those who should have gone to the TA or the UTA is a much more time consuming effort than I would have thought.

Not often, but from time to time I have heard someone make the comment about how easy teachers have it. There are what seem like rather naive points of view on the limited hours of teaching and all the time off during seasonal breaks, especially summer. The next person who makes this comment near me will likely get an ear full. The course design, prep, delivery, student interaction and grading are serious time commitments and big energy drains. And I am teaching college juniors and seniors, so I cannot even fathom what it takes to teach at the elementary and high school levels.

Overall, a great experience. However, the next time you are introduced to a teacher, please thank them for what they do and comment on how hard their job must be.

At the beginning of the year we were able to get away to Santa Barbara, CA where my daughter attends college. The motivation for the trip was to celebrate her and her twin sisters’ 21st birthdays. I did not expect to be celebrating their 21st with them as I would certainly not have thought about celebrating my 21st with my parents. It was a celebration where I had so much I had to give some back. Right on the cobblestone streets at the Landing in St. Louis, back in 1989 when it had a vibrant bar / restaurant scene.

My sister-in-law Carrie was able to join, which is always great to have her along. She stayed with us for the couple months at the beginning of Covid and is certainly a member of our family. Santa Barbara is as beautiful a place as you would expect. The place we rented had bikes, so were able to do a nice campus tour by bike and it was not too far from the ocean, so we had some very pleasant walks.

I feel in past trips we were more about the hiking or getting out to surrounding wine country. This visit was more focused on seeing Santa Barbara. There are some great restaurants in this town and we ate well on this visit. The Lark and Sama Sama Kitchen were both amazing. If I did reviews I would give them both 5 stars.

The eve of their birthday there was party at their apartment. I spend $150 on alcohol and Angie and I were treated like royalty. They wanted to go to a bar at midnight, so we went to a speakeasy style place nearby called the The Imperial Lounge. A super trippy place that seemed like it was out of a David Lynch film. A great find and fun to have cocktails with the group.

If ever in Santa Barbara, I cannot say enough great things about Lotusland. It is an amazing property with so many varietals of plant life and overall great background story. Highly recommended, but unfortunately it was closed that time of year. I will plan to go every time I visit.

I am recommitting to blogging for the second time. Hopefully the last. This medium seems right for me. As many who blog, I have soured on social media and overall enjoy story telling and long form writing / journalism.

I have been fairly good at goal achievement, so I have had to do some soul searching why I have not been consistent with this blogging goal. In the past, I have found the best way to achieve a goal is to put it out into the world - mainly to family and friends. The fear of telling those close to me I did not achieve a goal is typically enough motivation to put in the work towards achieving the goal. With blogging, I seem to be over indexed on getting a style right prior to sharing it. Therefore, I am going to commit to creating a couple more posts this month and send a message to family and friends introducing my blog. Once it is out there, hopefully I will become a more consistent blogger.

I need to share some thoughts on books recently read, recent trips, and other random thoughts I have gathered.

I am now lecturing at the University level and it has been an interesting experience thus far. I am 4 weeks in to an 8 week course. As the last week is simply the final I am over half way through. I definitely have some observations, but I will save them for subsequent posts.

Last week the Wall Street Journal had a cover article on more high school graduates forgoing college to join a trade. It highlighted several high school graduates who went into welding, an electrician and a construction site supervisor. It shared what they were making and how they were in a great place without student debt.

Over the past several years this topic has come up several times in conversations and I find it a little too simplistic. I clearly believe college is not for everyone, but I believe there is great value in a four year degree. A couple months ago I attended MN Tech Association’s Tech Talk where Ron Huesman from the University of MN shared his research on the value of a four year degree. The overall message was confirming to my viewpoint that in the long run a graduate with a bachelor is going to have much greater earnings potential than those who do not go to college - see picture attached.

Not revolutionary I know. If I had to think of a 4 box analysis on this topic I imagine on the vertical axis you have the benefits derived from a four year degree and the horizontal axis is split with those not attending and those attending a college institution (left / right respectively). The top right quadrant contains those who are in college, have the ability to graduate with a degree and will get the expected benefit. They are correctly aligned. Also correctly aligned are those in the bottom left quadrant who not in college and potentially would not get benefit from being there and are hopefully pursuing a trade.

This topic seems more relevant when thinking of the other 2 quadrants. The bottom right quadrant are those who are in college, but will not get the benefit of a degree. Right or wrong, I picture in my mind the greek life, partying, class skipping brat from an affluent family. More troubling I find is the top left quadrant. The young person who would derive the benefit of a four year degree but has been denied the opportunity. I picture less affluent members of society who cannot make college happen for not only economic reasons, but I imagine a whole host of other societal reasons. I do get the sense this situation is improving over time, but I could be wrong.

After starting to blog I felt I needed to reassess how my entries would be presented. For some past posts I felt I was going on far too long and then I felt I corrected and was writing too little. This led to just not blogging, which was unfortunate.

I have made no progress on a style, but I do get the sense I simply need to be spending more time blogging so at some point I figure it out through experience. Probably a lesson in life there somewhere.

We had a great trip to Albuquerque last week for a wedding. The couple did an amazing job planning events throughout the entire weekend for the out of town guests. We spent most of the weekend in Old Town having some good southwest cuisine and then on Sunday got out of town to Santa Fe. There were also ample galleries and craft shops, which get old to me quickly. In general, I do not like going into a business where I have no intention to buy anything. The weekend weather was great so it was good to be out and about.

It was a nice getaway to a part of the country I have not been to. It was my 48th state. Many of the popular states I have been to for fun, but the less popular states I have visited were through work. So now I am down to less popular states which do not have many large companies. I have South Carolina and West Virginia remaining. Asking the couple’s family what were some of the main industries were, they listed out oil, tourism and a large Air Force base where they train astronauts. Then someone joked, methamphetamines - a nice nod to Breaking Bad.

Overall, it was great to be with family, especially having dedicated time with my wife and 2 daughters.