Since I’ve been reading and posting more on LinkedIn over the past few months, I want to capture some of the threads that might be worth revisiting. I’ll add as I go.
Quote of the Quarter
“Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument.”
Amplifying this wisdom. [link]
Remaining posts appear in order they were posted.
3/31/26: So looking forward to this. As a strategic collaboration architect pivoting into democracy revitalization, I’m most interested in hearing Ford Foundation’s high-level gameplan for the year ahead.
Beyond the vision, I’m curious how Heather Gerken and her leadership team are thinking about resourcing the platforms—the operational architecture—required to bring it to life. In mapping the democracy ecosystem, I see a significant gap in the "connective tissue" between grassroots work and nationwide strategy.
Standing on the Boston Common on Saturday, I was struck by the massive opportunity to align local groundswells with a few simple goals shared broadly across the electorate—ensuring any national strategy is both driven by and calibrated to voters' wishes.
How is the Foundation identifying and resourcing the 'stage-setters' who are building a cohesive national strategy to unite civic and corporate leaders and move them from the sidelines into collaborative solution-building?
3/31/26: Skimming Hannah Fried's feed after her "Executive Override" briefing today with Ben Berwick of Protect Democracy, I came upon this article summarizing recent threats to basic voting rights in the United States:
"These were not offhand comments or idle frustrations. They were a signal. A test. A warning shot meant to normalize something that is flat-out illegal and deeply dangerous."
When Ben & Hannah described the unglamorous work of maintaining democratic infrastructure, it made me think of how I must consistently tend my garden. 🌱 (I know, it’s a common metaphor… but it's where my mind went. My peeps know I LOVE bad metaphors!) While it can be tempting to dismiss pesky weeds, I ignore them at my garden’s peril.
That’s when Hannah brilliantly flipped the script:
Voting integrity isn't just about security; it's about inclusivity.
As I dig into this field, I've (so far) mostly heard about democracy revitalization from a defensive posture—a constant "battle" to stem the tide of small infringements and procedural challenges.
I love the shift from a reactive to a proactive and visionary position. Of course, we gardeners don't love weeds, but there is immense satisfaction in removing them when it’s in service of something beautiful. 🌻
When we tend to the "invisible infrastructure" of basic voting rights, we aren't just checking boxes or getting lost in legalese. We are validating a shared American belief in voting. I think we forget to celebrate that.
This underscores a vital truth I’ve carried since my very first assignment at Harvard Business School reading Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter's work on power and influence:
🎯 We all know that power corrupts, but we too rarely consider how powerlessness corrupts, as well.
Huge thanks to Hannah and Ben (among many other unheralded election officials) for their tenacious leadership in tending our democracy and for reminding us that the most unglamorous work is often the most critical. 🌟
I've been guilty of taking voting rights for granted (a privilege to be sure), minimizing their foundational role in democracy.
Yes for badass platypuses! [link]
Those [fancy schmancy tips for getting into hard conversations from Manal Sayid] are awesome! [link]
“They [Disney Imagineers to manage ‘idea fairies’ according to Leah Kral] use three separate rooms for three separate kinds of thinking. Three designated spaces. Three mindsets. Deliberately kept separate. All equally essential.”
That last line is the most important! 🎯 [link]Ooh - can't wait to dig in! [to Daniel Laurison’s favorite example from the book The Other Divide, by Yanna Krupnikov & John Barry Ryan. The “divide” they’re talking about is between people who are highly politically engaged (which for them means not only voting regularly but following politics closely and doing other kinds of political activity, such as donating to causes and volunteering for campaigns). [link]
Ooh - great list, Katherine!
⚡ Confusion
⚡ Boredom
⚡ Chills
Excited to hear of more. (Etta - I bet you have more) [link]This [Structural change and behavioural change have different speed.] is so well said. [link]
The Woman Who Never Did Anything [link]
Ooh - that's good too. though there is something really provocative about concentration. on the other side, divergence isn't as strong as breadth. AI suggests comprehensive, big picture, or expansiveness...but the real winner is spotlight vs floodlight!
🔦 Spotlight: depth, concentration, precision, efficiency, mastery of details
🔦 Floodlight: range, breadth/expansion, connection & context, mastery of relationships
[playing with Katherine and polarities - link]
Book Lists for Working Parents
Parenting doesn’t come with a manual, but these books are the next best thing. 📚👇
After years of trial and error, I’ve realized that the best advice usually isn't about being "perfect"—it’s about being practical. Whether you're navigating toddler meltdowns or tech-addicted teens, here are the books I recommend most often:
⭐ MY TOP THREE ⭐
📍 Confessions of a Slacker Mom by @Muffy Mead-Ferro — My absolute #1 for keeping perspective.
📍 Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense by Ellyn Satter — Life-changing advice on power dynamics: The parent decides WHAT and WHEN; the child decides IF and HOW MUCH.
📍 The Good Sleep Guide by Angela Henderson — Written years ago, but still the best advice I’ve found by a mile.
📖 THE SURVIVAL LIBRARY 📖
✅ Good Enough Is the New Perfect by Becky Beaupre Gillespie— Just title is good enough!
✅ Just Let Me Lie Down: Necessary Terms for the Half-Insane Working Mom by Kristin van Ogtrop.
✅ The Winter of Our Disconnect by Susan Maushart— An inspiring look at how we involve kids with technology. Excellent working mom story.
✅ Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic by Martha Beck.
✅ Raising Financially Fit Kids by Joline Godfrey — Especially relevant once they hit age 5 and start asking about allowances!
✅ Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids by Kim John Payne.
✅ I Brake for Meltdowns: How to Handle the Most Exasperating Behavior of Your 2- to 5-Year-Old by Michelle LaRowe.
✅ Raising a Sensory Smart Child by Lindsey Biel and Nancy Peske — The definitive handbook for sensory processing issues.
✅ Bringing Up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman — A fascinating American take on French parenting.
✅ Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua — An interesting look at the challenge of learning humility.
What’s the one parenting book that changed the game for you? Let me know in the comments! 💬 [link]
Habits
I've been thinking a LOT about habits these days, and I love this reframe Mark. Just a few recent sparks:
Rachel Carrell on adding friction to our dopamine culture: "Don’t try to quit your phone. Make your worst habit annoying!"
Kate Bennis on using breath, warm-ups, and intentions to elevate our communication: "what one practices, one becomes."
Colby Kultgen on 7 habits that actually changed his life including: "not bringing his phone to bed." (This hasn't stuck with me yet.)
LBee Health's team on using habits as clues and healing practices. [Too many examples to pick one.]
In sum, according to Gemini: "These perspectives all point toward a fundamental truth: we don't rise to the level of our goals; we fall to the level of our systems." [link]
Gorgeous!!! RIP Rev. Jackson. ❤️ [link]
"Not new rules. New tools."
"Instead of creating new prohibitions on abusive behavior, which could just as easily be ignored, they simply empower Americans with new legal pathways to enforce the rights they are already supposed to have." [link]
This incredible resource: www.standwithminnesota.com
"If they're fun, you be serious.
If they're fast, you be slow.
If they're cheap, you be expensive."
So true. [link]
Love this distinction. [link]
"We can't recruit people into aliveness. We can only awaken them to it."
"What if this isn't a recruitment crisis, but a spiritual and societal reckoning?"
Wow - those two lines hit me right in the feels, Abby Falik ✨. [link]
The Bulwark Article
This is so well written. My favorite three lines for those in a rush: (their article was posted on 12/19/25)
"This is not merely a political crisis. It is a spiritual one."
"Such an awakening would not ask us to agree on every doctrine or policy. It would ask something at once both simpler and harder: that we recover a shared moral horizon. That we remember democracy is not only a system of government but a practice of mutual regard. That decency is not weakness, and inclusion is not a threat. That freedom untethered from responsibility corrodes the soul of a people."
"Every great awakening in American history arose not because conditions were ideal, but because they were intolerable. People sensed that the old ways were failing, and they dared to believe that renewal was possible."
Thank you Ian Bassin and Paul Brandeis Raushenbush for your eloquence.
[link]
Another fantastic read for the New Year, delivered in Vu Le's signature (AWESOME) style. 🦄 [link]
Love this invitation to resist external pressure to start January with "speed, certainty, and spectacle." Instead, be present, find your rhythm, and trust that "growth comes through practice, not polish." Happy New Year! [link]