In the best selling book, Good to Great, Jim Collins writes about businesses who went from good to great. One attribute of these companies that Collins points out is not just that they had different people on their "bus" to complete work effectively, but they had the "right" people on the bus. Work can be accomplished most efficiently when talented people are able to share their talents in positions that are best suited to highlight and use their skills in the workplace. In the long run, companies will benefit from the work production of these happy employees.

This has also made me think about the people in my village, meaning the community in which my sons are growing up and the "right" people who are in it---those who have helped to shape their morals, values, and beliefs. I often say to my dear friends that I know that it takes a village to raise a child, and I am grateful that they are in mine.

In his memoir, Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, Michael J. Fox described all the members of his family as having "oversized personalities in undersized bodies". I wonder if we are related.  :0)

It's August 1st, a definitive marker to note that summer will soon be over. Last night I had a chance to reflect upon the summer with my two sons. For the last couple of years, I have asked my sons to set summer goals--
1) to learn something new, 2) to improve in something they already know how to do, and 3) to complete a service project. I began encouraging them to do this years ago because I didn't want the summer to pass and have them realize that they had remained stagnant and had not grown in any way. Society expects men to know certain things--from fixing cars to repairing things around the house to knowing how to be a leader in many different contexts. But in raising my sons, I have learned firsthand that men don't just naturally learn these lessons--they must be taught through intentional efforts. So in the past couple of summers, my boys (men) have learned valuable lessons like how to fix a flat tire, how to repair a squeaky door, cook a meal, plant and maintain a garden, and how to set up a time to volunteer at a our local food pantry. These are small steps in our overall goal to prepare our sons to thrive in the world. I hope that my sons will one day (either now or later) stop to think about how their summer goals have contributed to the men that they are becoming.