Americans' perceptions of their elected officials are at a record low. Only 28 percent view the federal government favorably. That was before the Senate voted down a bi-partisan agreement on universal background checks for gun buyers. 90 percent of the country favored passing that legislation, which...

A couple weeks ago, I read a fascinating article by Joshua Green in Bloomberg Businessweek about those oddly familiar, PG profanity laden fundraising emails you may have received from the Obama campaign (er, the president himself). Some of the subject line classics included: "Would love to...

David Gelb's inspiring documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi tells the tale of 85-year-old Jiro Ono, arguably the world's preeminent sushi chef. Ono runs a tiny sushi bar tucked in a Tokyo subway station whose modest appearance belies its three star rating from Michelin. He has dedicated his life...

When the NYPD evacuated Zuccotti Park, forcibly removing the protesters who had made the public space their nerve center, organizational laboratory, and home for more than two months, they brought to a close a significant chapter of the Occupy crusade. While its populist message of frustration with government dysfunction, financial...

There's something unsettling about volunteering for more work, and for good reason. Taking on greater responsibility can expose volunteers to the anxiety of learning something new, the possibility of failure and, perhaps more importantly, a lack of return on one's investment of time and effort. An aversion to more "work"...

My parents (both psychologists) frequently attend a conference called Creativity and Madness hosted by Los Angeles-based psychiatrist Dr. Barry Panter. Mental health and medical professionals share presentations with titles like "Tragedy, Loss, and Transformation within Bruce Springsteen's Work" and "Iggy Pop, Narcissist, Shaman and Wounded Child." The theme...

In a recent Possibilities post called "Nobody Remembers the Naysayers", my colleague Karen Strauss calls pessimism the kryptonite of innovation, and for good reason. Anyone aiming to invent the future gets nowhere by focusing on what can't be done. Dream killers are easy targets. At some point we've...

Glenn, a friend of mine from the office, went skiing with his girlfriend in Maine last March. It was ten below zero for much of the weekend, but the conditions didn't bother him much -- Glenn's from Boston. But paying nine dollars for a greasy grilled cheese sandwich at the...

For years, forward thinking business leaders have espoused the virtues of involving employees in decision-making as a means of driving engagement. Give them a voice, the mantra goes. Don't talk at them; facilitate a meaningful dialogue. Then along comes social media (content created by the people, for the people) to...