New Year's Greetings:

Even casual readers of Beyond the Horizon will acknowledge that well North of 99% of the time, I adopt an optimistic, take-the-high-road, half-glass-full attitude.  Just this once (ok, you’ll note a few frequent frustrations), let me “vent” and ask the occasional, “WTF”?  I bet these drive you crazy, too…….

…why do I need a different portal for my dentist, primary care doc, bone doctor, dermatologist and whatever specialist I see?  Each invites me to set up an account to be “better served.”  (Just one of the many annoyances in our health care world)

…People using cell phones in the gym.  ‘Nuff said.

...This is terribly old-fashioned, but what’s the deal with football (mostly NFL) players celebrating a tackle, a first down, a six-yard catch, recovering a fumble, or putting on a helmet without help?  It seems like there’s a puffed-up chest or self-aggrandizing histrionic of self-congratulation on almost every play.  What happened to just doing your job?

… (You knew this was coming) Ghosting.  WTF!  The lack of response to an email (not a campaign or AI-generated!) or voice-message is simply unacceptable.  In the last month, a Sales VP for a very well-regarded major metro recently provided me a digital intro to a colleague in the organization to vet one of my offerings and asked them to find time to visit.  So far, three emails and calls.  Nothing.  Zip.  Crickets.  How can this be tolerated?  Sooner or later, he’s going to ask, “What happened?”

…Life is not (repeat NOT) a zero-sum-game.   When you “lose”, someone doesn’t automatically “win”.  If I happen to come up with a “good” idea that a client uses, that does not mean another idea is “bad”.  Think nuance; not black-and-white!  And, yes, this applies to politics, too – One party isn’t evil/wrong and the other good/right.  (That’s as political as I’ll get but get me offline….)

…We all hear the phrase, “…change is inevitable”, yet everyone reading this and the organizations we work (ed) in are all frighteningly change resistant.  Even when there’s a screeching cry and compelling reason for a new mindset and doing things differently, we ALL resist. Will someone please explain this to me?  Why isn’t your hair on fire?!

…Most humans – I'm talking 99.99+% - are good, decent and don’t mean you or the world any harm.  Having said that, everyone has the inevitable bad day, gets distracted, or is dealing with a really significant something.  Which means they might forget look in the rear-view mirror before changing lanes or they’re rude for the first time in 20 years.  What to do?  Give them the benefit of the doubt.  It’s remarkably easy to do and the world will be a better place if you just let it (whatever it is?!) go.

…Finally (though this could be a much longer list) social media is, without a doubt, one of the two worst developments in my lifetime.  I don't see any way that “genie” gets put back in a bottle or for legislation (Federal or State) to moderate it, but we HAVE to somehow limit the damage and stop letting it ruin our lives.   Talk to someone, why don’t you?  Please.  Now.  You won’t regret it.

Here’s to everyone kicking ass and taking names in 2026.  By golly, we frigging deserve it!  Thank YOU for reading!

P.S.  Let me wrap up with a quote I loved from Colleen Keating, CEO of Planet Fitness.  “I think it important to put ourselves in situations where we have more questions than answers.”