The most important meal

The phrase “part of a balanced breakfast” is on the sound track of my childhood. It was included in every super sugary cereal commercial during my decade-long consumption of Saturday morning cartoons. If Cookie Crisp is part of a balanced breakfast, then there had to be some really healthy stuff to go with it to balance it … Continue reading The most important meal →

The lost art of listening

Hello, my name is Lance, and I have listening problem. This week I attended one of those four-hour workplace training sessions on emotional intelligence. It included an exercise on active listening. I was horrible. The humiliating experience caused me to reexamine a fundamental assumption about myself. Deep down, I believe that I have pretty good … Continue reading The lost art of listening →

One year and counting

Today marks the first anniversary of my joining Georgia Tech Research Institute as director of communications. I kept mentioning it to people all week because in some ways, I just couldn’t believe it. A year had flown by, and I have alternatingly felt like I have always worked at GTRI and it is my first … Continue reading One year and counting →

‘Yes’ and ‘No’

The argument usually starts with this admonition from my wife: “You need to learn to say ‘No.’” The problem is that by the time this conversation happens, it’s too late. I’ve already committed myself to a number of conflicting responsibilities. At the moment I say “Yes” to anything, I’m starting down a path that will … Continue reading ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ →

The favorite part of my day

With so much noise in our lives in the New South, I often fail to listen to my children. Now that school has started again, I have a daily opportunity to engage with my boys on a meaningful level each night at the dinner table. It's the favorite part of my day. This week we … Continue reading The favorite part of my day →

My semi-annual appraisal

There are two times a year I evaluate the direction of my life: New Year’s and my birthday. New Year’s resolutions are somewhat cliché, but the start of a new calendar year is a natural time to take stock of your life, look at your goals and determine course corrections. My birthday falls nearly eight … Continue reading My semi-annual appraisal →

A Father’s Wish

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to spend four uninterrupted hours in the car with my oldest son. There were certain topics I had decided ahead of time that I wanted to discuss with him to take advantage of this gift of time alone.We had no trouble talking about how he spent his week with … Continue reading A Father’s Wish →

Wedding faux pas?

Weddings in the New South bring up all sorts of issues never before encountered in the history of weddings. Last weekend, Carla and I took our oldest son, Barron, to his first wedding -- the marriage of his youth minister, Matt Hester, and our friend Courtney Phillips. It was a beautiful and somewhat unorthodox ceremony and reception that … Continue reading Wedding faux pas? →

My little brother the leprechaun

Tomorrow is March 17, a date that looms large for my family. No, we’re not Irish. Well, we're a little Irish, but not THAT Irish. You see, 39 years ago on St. Patrick’s Day, my little red-headed brother was born. He would end up being my first little brother, but none of us knew that … Continue reading My little brother the leprechaun →

Here’s to you, January birthday person

Conventional wisdom is that folks with December birthdays have it the worst. Their special day gets lost in the run up to Christmas, and those with Dec. 25-31 birthdays are completely overshadowed. I think we have a contender for most under-appreciated birthday month people: that would be the January folks. After looking at our calendar for the … Continue reading Here’s to you, January birthday person →