Dorrier Underwood

"I think I finally got it, McVadon," he said on his typical early morning call to me during what he calls "windshield time." What's that? "Getting it to come out of THEIR mouths, by shutting mine for long enough!" It had been a long time coming, this moving of Adam's understanding of the concept, which came quickly, into being able to produce the phenomenon in reality. It had sounded simple enough, something like "shut up for longer, don't overwhelm them with your facts and spreadsheets and irrefutable logic, and listen and ask strategic questions based on what you hear." But nothing was simple in the six-person partner group of the newly-merged accounting firm. Each person was easily threatened and vying to show their value, so their strengths frequently showed up in the extreme, and became their weaknesses. In Adam's case, his ability to synthesize a lot of material into a cogent argument supporting a clearly stated propo...

Hi Jane, I w anted to share this with you and thank you for the ability to inspire others. YOU are the one who made this possible for me and I will be forever be grateful.  Don Such was the note that arrived from Don Holzworth, Executive in Residence at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, earlier this week, sharing a message from a young woman who is committed to living a life that matters. Dear Don, I trust you are well and surviving the very cold winter you are having in NC. Perhaps you recall that we met about a month ago when you presented to my UNC DrPH cohort (9) on leadership. We spoke briefly after your dynamic session that left us all spinning (in a good way!), and then again at your home for the DrPH gathering. First of all, thank you for your investment of time that week to deliver what I felt to be timely wisdom. I was most intrigued by your focus on imagination and how to best cultivate this amid an often chaotic and demanding environmen...