Author Archives: Harry Katz
The Palace of Illusions
Reading The Palace of Illusions felt like seeing the ocean for the first time. It’s beautiful and vast and awe-inspiring. It’s unexpected and unforgettable. And it beckons with the promise of undiscovered worlds beneath the surface and over the horizon. … Continue reading
Who Can You Trust?
Who Can You Trust? How Technology Brought Us Together and Why It Might Drive Us Apart By Rachel Botsman Public Affairs, New York, 2017 Trust is like engine oil: when it’s present everything runs smoothly, but when it’s not they … Continue reading
Radical Candor
Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your HumanityBy Kim ScottSt. Martin’s Press, New York, 2017 Search the web for “top 10 reasons people quit their jobs” and you’ll find “bad boss”, “terrible boss”, or “relationship with boss” at … Continue reading
Super blood wolf moon lunar eclipse
Tonight’s rare “super blood wolf moon” lunar eclipse coincided with an equally rare clear January night in Seattle. My little point-and-shoot digital camera didn’t do it proper justice, but it gives you an idea of what we saw. Eclipses are … Continue reading
Dare to Lead
Brené Brown’s latest book, Dare to Lead: Brave Work, Tough Conversations, Whole Hearts, is about courage. The book is pitched towards managers and executives to help them build the courage they need to lead their organizations. But I think the book could just as easily have been titled Dare to Live because it applies to many aspects of our lives. Continue reading
The Deepest Well
The Deepest Well is a book about the life-long health impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Continue reading
Origin Story
Every religion, every culture, and every nation has its origin story. Origin stories tell us who we are, where we come from, how we got here, and how we should live with one another. They give us a common understanding … Continue reading
On Writing
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft By Stephen King Scribner, New York, 2000 I’ve posted before that there are two kinds of books about writing: those that focus mainly on the craft of writing, and those focused on the … Continue reading
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan is brilliantly written and utterly harrowing. During World War II, an estimated 200,000 Asian civilian laborers and 60,000 Allied prisoners of war were used as forced labor by the Japanese … Continue reading
Informal Leadership: Leading Without Authority
During a lunchroom conversation at work the other day, a colleague asked how you can lead without authority. How can you be an effective leader without having the formal or positional authority of a VP, director or manger? It’s a … Continue reading
Unsolicited Feedback 