Actually, not a very auspicious beginning for this blog, since I haven't blogged since October.
But a pretty decent segue to the question of why I'm called the professor. (Segue: to make a smooth, almost imperceptible transition from one state, situation, or subject to another). Segues are cool when they are actually smooth, and I enjoy creating them. It's one of the many unusual pursuits I have. Put another way, its one of the zillions of things I'm interested in, that catch my fancy. The result is I know a lot of stuff about a lot of things, and I know it. So I'm a little arrogant sometimes, and the fact is, I'm usually right.
I get this from my Dad, who I can't recall ever being wrong. There was an early family joke that he walked on water, including a doctored picture of his doing this by the Bay Bridges. All my three brothers are the same way (no sisters). I probably butted heads with Dad more often than the others, but now I realize Dad and I are much the same. And it's interesting to watch how my son, Christopher, seems to be following in the family footsteps.
But a pretty decent segue to the question of why I'm called the professor. (Segue: to make a smooth, almost imperceptible transition from one state, situation, or subject to another). Segues are cool when they are actually smooth, and I enjoy creating them. It's one of the many unusual pursuits I have. Put another way, its one of the zillions of things I'm interested in, that catch my fancy. The result is I know a lot of stuff about a lot of things, and I know it. So I'm a little arrogant sometimes, and the fact is, I'm usually right.
I get this from my Dad, who I can't recall ever being wrong. There was an early family joke that he walked on water, including a doctored picture of his doing this by the Bay Bridges. All my three brothers are the same way (no sisters). I probably butted heads with Dad more often than the others, but now I realize Dad and I are much the same. And it's interesting to watch how my son, Christopher, seems to be following in the family footsteps.
Bottom line, I'm the ultimate handyman, a renaissance man (sexist cliches - I wish we had more eponymous terms - what should they be?). I take some pride in being mistaken at the American City Building for a picture of Einstein at the entrance to Tai Sophia. Although obviously not nearly the genius, I did qualify for membership in Mensa. I recall being cast as a character, Eggbert, in a high school musical, and the Kuder career inventory I took about the same time suggested I should be a scientist. Later, the wall street attorney father of a girl friend suggested I would make a great lawyer. Instead I was drawn to social work, to which one college professor commented I would one day be Dean of the School of Social Work at Catholic University.
In the face of all those possibilities, I sometimes feel like I missed my calling. But it's been a satisfying life. My social work career actually began with a part time job in 1973 as the office clerk at the National Catholic School of Social Service at Catholic University. By 1983, I had my MSW degree; my integrative paper on Interorganizational Relations in the DC Mental Health Service System. I loved working with folks with severe mental illnesses, who were brilliant in their own way and taught me a lot of what I know. My favorite was Ernie, a Goddard scientist who had a mental break in the 70s. He continued to be the philosopher/scientist, associated with the bizarre ideations of schizophrenia. Another had severe agoraphobia but came to work for me and taught me to love opera, the thing that kept him sane while he was terrified to leave his apartment.
In the course of running programs, then an agency, I learned how to be a business man - had a great mentor, Treasurer on my Board, who was a no nonsense owner of a contracting company. I soon became an expert on nonprofit organizations, which began a close association with the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations and Nancy Hall. I now work with Nancy in her consulting firm, 501(c)Solutions. Of course, at Tai Sophia Institute, beginning in 1998, I did everything, working my way up, down, and all around the organizational chart. That's where I met Dennis Keilholtz, then Tai Sophia Vice President for Business and Finance, now my partner at bearsolutions, LLC.
I constantly meet people who are smarter than I am, and plenty of people who are dumber but "more successful" than me. Both encounters keep me humble, as they remind me that we're all just trying to make our way in life, with our own individual gifts and challenges. In this context, I decided to call this The Professor's Management Blog, figuring I have some wisdom to share with the rest of the world. Trouble is, I haven't been able to think of anything that I thought anyone would read. So I guess the place to start is at the beginning, the first cause, my personhood, with experiences that have taught me something. So what if this never becomes the most popular blog on the planet. In the words of a famous popular writer (and adopted by my mother, a less-famous but still popular painter) "I write for myself and God and a few close friends."
In the face of all those possibilities, I sometimes feel like I missed my calling. But it's been a satisfying life. My social work career actually began with a part time job in 1973 as the office clerk at the National Catholic School of Social Service at Catholic University. By 1983, I had my MSW degree; my integrative paper on Interorganizational Relations in the DC Mental Health Service System. I loved working with folks with severe mental illnesses, who were brilliant in their own way and taught me a lot of what I know. My favorite was Ernie, a Goddard scientist who had a mental break in the 70s. He continued to be the philosopher/scientist, associated with the bizarre ideations of schizophrenia. Another had severe agoraphobia but came to work for me and taught me to love opera, the thing that kept him sane while he was terrified to leave his apartment.
In the course of running programs, then an agency, I learned how to be a business man - had a great mentor, Treasurer on my Board, who was a no nonsense owner of a contracting company. I soon became an expert on nonprofit organizations, which began a close association with the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations and Nancy Hall. I now work with Nancy in her consulting firm, 501(c)Solutions. Of course, at Tai Sophia Institute, beginning in 1998, I did everything, working my way up, down, and all around the organizational chart. That's where I met Dennis Keilholtz, then Tai Sophia Vice President for Business and Finance, now my partner at bearsolutions, LLC.
I constantly meet people who are smarter than I am, and plenty of people who are dumber but "more successful" than me. Both encounters keep me humble, as they remind me that we're all just trying to make our way in life, with our own individual gifts and challenges. In this context, I decided to call this The Professor's Management Blog, figuring I have some wisdom to share with the rest of the world. Trouble is, I haven't been able to think of anything that I thought anyone would read. So I guess the place to start is at the beginning, the first cause, my personhood, with experiences that have taught me something. So what if this never becomes the most popular blog on the planet. In the words of a famous popular writer (and adopted by my mother, a less-famous but still popular painter) "I write for myself and God and a few close friends."
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