Can you think of a time when you learned something so obvious you couldn’t figure out why anyone had to explain it to you? That’s how it is with the lesson behind The Motive by Patrick Lencioni, a book recommended to me by our soon-to-be-retired Fire Chief Tracy Fox. How often do we associate our job…
For most of us, finding fault is the most natural and immediate response to the world around us. This is the result of something called “negative bias,” and it has a long history of serving to protect us. This fascinating concept seems to make so much sense when explained, so if you feel bad for…
My son and I often build things with his Magna-tiles , and I love to watch as he catches on to what parts are essential to ensure our creation stays standing after we let it go. Recently, I was thinking about some downtown redesign conversations we had when I was the City Manager in Commerce,…
In a recent post, we talked about the marble run that my son and I love to play together. There are so many fun varieties of this game. The one my son has is fairly straightforward, but some have magnetic connections or some are designed for much younger children . Depending on your goal, there…
My son loves video games, but we regularly need to take breaks from the screen and play something else. He has a mountain of toys, but one of his favorite things to play with is his marble run. It’s also one of my favorite things to play with him. I don’t have the mind of…
After the last day of school this year, I planned to take my son on his first camping trip beyond the backyard. We went to Brazos Bend State Park, and we had a great time. I was thrilled to finally make use of the Coleman Evanston 6-person tent with Screened-In Porch that I bought on…
When I was younger, one of the popular Christmas gifts from family members was always the multi-tool. You know that thing that looks like a pair of pliers had a kid with a Swiss army knife? One of the best ones that I ever received was the Leatherman Wingman, but I can honestly say I…