Kristin's Blog
![Kristin writing on chaise](http://kristinkaufman.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Kristin-writing-on-chaise-1024x684.jpg)
Did Jerry Maguire have it right?
It seems like every time I turn around I am reading a blog, an article, or hearing someone talk about ‘networking’ and ‘making contacts’ to develop your business. Frankly, I have never felt comfortable with the words ‘networking’ or ‘contacts’ – they seem so impersonal. I have developed a passionate view around this topic and…
Aligning together: Creating magic in challenging times
A year ago a friend of mine asked me to co-chair a charity event with her. At the time I said yes, I did not know I had been accepted into Georgetown University for my advanced certification program nor had the recession hit in full force. Thus began a year of growth, challenge, and discipline!…
Alignment, the secret to authentic power?
Oprah and I have agreed on many things over the years; yet, imagine my surprise when I was reading her ‘What I Know for Sure’ column in this month’s magazine to find her expose on personal power. I quote: “The secret is alignment: when you know for sure that you’re on course, and doing exactly…
Creativity-the key ingredient for today's leaders?
My last blog focused on the underrated trait of ‘raw kahunas’ or bravery in our leaders today. Today, I want to focus on what I perceive to be another kindred quality in short supply these days: creativity. I think most of us in business, (certainly those with children who are missing out on creative courses…
Bravery: an Overlooked Leadership Quality?
As I watched the coverage of the 40 year anniversary of the Apollo lunar landing last week, one thought kept entering my mind: these men were so brave! Can you imagine going into space in a lightweight craft traveling at 25,000 miles per hour? Can you imagine landing on the moon with literally only 20…
Truth, Trust, and Transparency - Where's the line for you?
Mary is an up and coming leader in a Fortune 50 company. Over the course of her career, she has managed to zig zag her way into a nice position of great authority and power. However, of late, due to a significant corporate acquisition, she is now maneuvering new executive additions to her organization, and…
Seriously, though ...
The situation is this: Bob is an executive who doesn’t believe he is taken seriously by his new immediate manager (an SVP of a publicly traded company) and his manager’s associated leadership team. His boss disagrees with his ideas and approaches for the business, and questions his overall ability to ‘think strategically.’ He categorizes Bob as…
Are your Strategies Aligned for Action?
Southwest Airlines, Whole Foods Markets, and Target are just a few companies whose stores (or planes) I frequent. I began to wonder, particularly in this recession, how these companies were continuing to perform relatively well – despite people’s reduction in discretionary spending. Every time I head to Love Field in Dallas the Southwest terminal is buzzing and…
Philanthropy in the broader sense - a source of renewal and meaning
Bruno Bettelheim was a Holocaust survivor who achieved fame and fortune through his work as a child psychologist. The opening line in his book The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (Penguin Psychology) is: “If we hope to live not just from moment to moment, but in true consciousness of our…
More than a Horse Story
I love a great “feel good” movie. Many of our wonderful feel good movies revolve around sports – Hoosiers, Rudy, The Rookie … we all have our favorites. Mine is about a horse (still athletic, just four not two legs). It was 1938 – a year of monumental hardship and challenges, not unlike 2009. People were…