Dear Drama Observers, Most of us have heard that freedom of speech in America comes with a caveat: “You can’t shout ‘fire!’ in a crowded theater.” The phrase originated with Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ 1919 U.S. Supreme Court opinion on the limits of free speech in which he wrote, The most stringent protection of free […]
Dear Drama Observers, A couple of years ago, I asked a friend if she’d be willing to share what it was like growing up in a family headed by narcissistic parents. I had heard her say many times, “I was raised by wolves.” Somehow, that phrase caught my attention and when I asked her to […]
Dear Drama Observers, This past week, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing which happened just before my senior year in high school. At that time, I was smitten… I wanted to be an astronaut so badly. I read everything I could get my hands on about astronauts and the space […]
Dear Drama Observers, Some weeks, the subject about which I want to write is crystal clear to me. Through listening to drama tales in my office or watching dramas play themselves out in our culture, an idea floats to the surface of my brain which then makes its way down my arms, through my fingertips, […]
Dear Drama Observers, A few weeks ago, I was invited to talk about my book, How to Solve Your People Problems, on a podcast called Talk of Change. Here’s a quick description of the show: The Talk Of Change podcast is a show designed to inspire and deepen your life and leadership both at home […]
Dear Drama Observers, A few years ago in Manhattan, I was conducting a seminar on manipulators. That particular trip coincided with my wedding anniversary, so my wife flew up to meet me, and we spent a couple of days doing the NYC tourist thing. As a very nice gesture, our kids bought us tickets to […]
Dear Drama Observers, Many of us have family traditions and we certainly have ours. Every Thanksgiving night, we watch Home Alone, I suppose as a way to officially usher in the Christmas season. Every Christmas Day, we watch It’s a Wonderful Life because, well, that’s just what you do on Christmas. And every Fourth of […]
Dear Drama Observers, I had actually planned to skip this week’s Drama Review as my wife and I are at the beach for a few days of relaxation. But on the way here, we had a drama encounter I’d like to tell you about. We stopped in Montgomery, Alabama to visit the Legacy Museum, a […]
Dear Drama Observers, A theme upon which I plan to expound in my upcoming book has to do with the collective participation in dramas. We’ve all gotten sucked into the dramas of individual Drama People, but there’s also such a thing as group participation. Recently deceased theologian, Eugene Peterson, once observed: Classically, there are three […]
Dear Drama Observers, Every now and then, a theme emerges to the stories being told in my office. This past week, the leitmotif of my client drama tales would be revealed in the following sequence: Act 1: Drama Person says or does something offensive. Act 2: Drama Victim expresses displeasure. Act 3: Drama Person utters […]