Steve Fernlund and The Long Way Home

Asking questions is part of a leader's job in church, politics, schools, or business. Much is written in books, blog posts, and magazines about being a leader who asks and keeps asking questions. Hopefully, that’s you. But you also want people in your organization who ask challenging, even annoying questions, and you better listen. After thoughtful consideration, you’re beginning a new customer service policy, technology, or compensation plan. The county board you’re serving on is looking at projects that will cost significant sums.  You’ve consulted your advisers, who tell you it’s a great idea. Your management team, for not all the right reasons, perhaps, says you’re on the right track. You believe you looked at all the alternatives, and your decision is rock solid. As the leader, you are brimming with confidence that the folks on the front line, along with your customers and constituents, will immediately see the benefits of your wise decision. And then…someone asks, “Why are we...

As we tend to do, I talked to someone last Friday about resolutions. When she asked about mine, I said, “I gave up on resolutions before I quit staying up until midnight on New Year's Eve, which was a long time ago.” Studies show that a relatively small percentage of people stick to their New Year's resolutions. Like Daylight Saving Time, we make a big deal for a day or two, and then life goes on. When we moved back to Cook County in 2016, the Bohunk and I resolved, with no thought to it being a New Year res, to go through all the bins of stuff we’d moved, but never unpacked over our last half-dozen relocations. We thought it would be a good winter project but always managed to procrastinate. We got off the line this year, and I’m happy to say we’re making progress. Since we moved from Grand Marais for the first time in the oughts, both of our mothers have died. We were diligent about getting rid of the routine household things they had, a considerable task, but we packed away ...

Now that Christmas 2024 is over, I find myself reflecting on our family's holiday traditions, including Christmas.  When our kids were young, we lived in the Twin Cities. We counted on a tradition my dad began, unknowingly, to celebrate Memorial Day, Labor Day, and even the Fourth of July. There was no real pre-planning for those days. My dad would call the house in the morning and say, "Yeah, shall we have a picnic today?" Having no other plans, because we knew the tradition, we always said, "Sure. When and where?" I don't know if that counts as tradition or habit, but we'd always get together for beans, chips, and hotdogs on those days. On the Fourth, after the picnic, we'd go to Veteran's Park in Richfield to sit in the grass, munch popcorn, dodge firecrackers and sparklers, and watch the fireworks. We lived in the Twin Cities for the first twenty-plus years of wedded bliss. So did my parents and sister and both sides of the Bohunk's famil...

It’s that time of year. The stress of the holidays and winter when I shuffle like an old man (I am an old man) to avoid a broken hip while pushing a wheelbarrow full of firewood. And my computer is acting weird again, interrupting my stream of consciousness. My family has thought I was a descendant of the late Ebenezer Scrooge for many years because my holiday spirit is sometimes quite dark. Some have told me I could get the lead role if they ever make another movie of The Christmas Carol. This morning, after complaining about something my ancient body was doing, I apologized to the Bohunk. “I’m just Grumpy this morning,” I said, followed shortly after with, “Sometimes I’m also Sleepy and Dopey.” Not to let an opportunity pass, she chuckled and said, “But you’re never Bashful.” My good friend in Las Vegas, Ed Fishman, is a big fan of Festivus, the holiday favorite of Seinfeld fans. He’s also a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, but more on football later. Festivus is celebrated on Decembe...