Bill Berthel

Long ago, I was having a conversation with the CEO of an organization and asked him a question: What is your most important leadership trait, the one you rely on the most? He answered with a question, asking if he could avoid the “obvious answers” like trust, honesty, loyalty, purpose, and clear communication. I was…

Have you ever been in a meeting where the agenda was not well followed, or else completely ignored? Maybe there wasn’t a formal agenda in the first place, but just a vague sense of why the meeting was called. And maybe you’ve experienced the frustration of facilitating a meeting that gets side-tracked by seemingly random…

I’m an aspiring naturalist. Whenever I can, I enjoy the beauty of the outdoors by hiking, biking, fishing, and kayaking. But I’ve become increasingly aware that my time in nature results in unintended consequences. As a Boy Scout, I learned and practiced the value of leaving a place better than you found it. My father…

Newness is relative. When a scientist discovers a “new” plant or insect, they are, in reality, finally noticing a neighbor who’s been on the block much longer than we have. The flora and fauna that evolved here in North America were new to the ancients who made their way from Asia, and new once again…