by Tom Esch | Jan 3, 2017 | Uncomfortable Conversations, Blog
Have you heard the one about the monastery where the monks can only speak two words every ten years? A monk, after his first ten years, went to the abbot and said “Bed hard.” The abbot said “Bless you my son, go in peace.” Another ten years followed and the monk...
by Tom Esch | Nov 10, 2016 | How to Handle Polarizing Topics and Challenging People, Blog
Well some of us here in the USA woke up jubilant and some woke up depressed recently. Shock, anger, disappointment and fear on one side. Joy, happiness and excitement on the other. This election process was so polarized, so split on values and so full of the...
by Tom Esch | Oct 20, 2016 | How to Handle Polarizing Topics and Challenging People, Blog
This last Presidential debate made me think of an article recently written by author and speaker Charles Eisenstein. In “The Lid is Off” he talks about how it is getting harder to keep a secret these days. He refers to Trumps “locker room” comments,...
by Tom Esch | Jul 20, 2016 | How to Handle Polarizing Topics and Challenging People, Blog
July 2016 It has been a rough week in the USA. When so many innocent men are murdered, in the context of racial fear and revenge, it is frightening. The killings of Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota (about a mile from where I grew up), the Dallas...
by Tom Esch | Feb 22, 2016 | How to Handle Polarizing Topics and Challenging People, Blog
Unresolved cultural and racial tension is expensive on multiple levels. Are you worried about keeping good workers? Have some residents moved out? Are you concerned that your staff are not friendly enough Do they see their differences more than similarities? Do some...
by Tom Esch | Feb 8, 2016 | Interpersonal Communication, Blog
How to be both direct and truly nice? This is a conundrum for many of us. I am half Scandinavian and half Germanic, a classic Minnesotan. Fortunately I have lived in a few other places (including Africa and Guatemala) and have let other styles of communication rub off...
