Today Dr. Rob features author, Tracy Brower, who was the presenter last week at Rob Pasick’s Leaders Connect Breakfast at Zingerman’s Roadhouse (sponsored by Zingerman’s and Bank of Ann Arbor). At a time when American workers are stressed by the increasingly impossible demands of their employees, Dr. Brower’s message is about how creating a supportive and humane work environment is good for business. This is essential reading for our leaders to consider.Dr. Rob Dr. Tracy Brower is the author of Bring Work to Life by Bringing Life to Work: A Guide for …
Last week, the Michigan University Musical Society, lead by Ken Fischer, was honored with the National Medal of Arts from President Obama at the White House. For my friend, Ken, this was the fulfillment of a dream come true. In my classes at the Business School and the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan, I teach my students that we all have an opportunity to make our dreams come true. As an exercise, I ask the students to share their dreams with their fellow …
Students are flocking back to Ann Arbor and campuses all across the country to start the new school year. Once again I will be teaching a course on Interpersonal Relationships and Personal Development at the University of Michigan Ross Business School. In addition, I have just been asked to teach a similar course for graduate students at UM College of Engineering for the Center for Entrepreneurship. I have designed the curriculum to help students develop positive relationships, improve their emotional intelligence competencies, …
Sit right down and write your 21-year-old self a letter Today, as I prepare to teach this fall, I have an unusual assignment for you. Here is the assignment: Compose a letter to your 21-year-old self with the advice about how to manage his/her career. You might wonder why I am suggesting this assignment. Here is my rationale. This fall I will once again teach an upper level course for the University of Michigan’s Ross Business School. The purpose of …
People often have trouble recognizing their unique gift or special talent. Sometimes if we pay attention, we can learn to recognize the secret of our unique talent early on in life. This was brought home to me in dramatic fashion recently at our 50th year high school reunion. A friend, Donna Gillespie, gave me a copy of an article from the June 1964 Ferndale Eagle Newspaper. The article described a program that I had started at age 16, during my senior year. As …
When I first moved to New York City in 1968, after graduating from the University of Michigan, I was alone. Unless I could find a teaching job I was going to be drafted into the Vietnam War. It didn’t take me long to realize I was becoming depressed and anxious. Having been a psychology major, I knew psychotherapy could help, but I could not afford it. In college I had admired the work of Psychologist Albert Ellis, and his development of Rational Emotive …