“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.”
-Howard Thurman

YogaKula’s Berkeley studio approached me with a challenge.  They needed to partition their space for two small classes to run concurrently or one large space for workshops and gatherings.  The wall/partition needed to span 30 feet, sloped from 9′ to  11′ and had to hang from a non-load bearing wall.  Our solution was a 4″ thick aluminum framed, pink foam-filled, luan-veneered, tripartite, piano hinged folding wall.  Dubbed “The Hanuman Wall” after the changeling Hindu Deity who leapt across the ocean.

This is the Final Presentation video for my undergrad Product Design “thesis” at Stanford.  An exploration of and implementation for the need to breath in emergency situations.

I’ve been a dedicated student of Jim Collins since I heard him speak about Good to Great at The RealTime conference in Phoenix 2002.  His book Good to Great is my all-time number one read and recommendation.

I was moved by an interview with Obama and McCain in the July 7, 2008 issue of Fortune “How I’ll Fix The Economy”.  I have heard people draw parallels between Obama and Abraham Lincoln — and Collins refers to Lincoln as one of the few Level 5 Presidents in US history.  While I believe that even an 8 year Presidential term will not be sufficient to ‘fix’ the problems our country and government are facing, I believe that a Level 5 President will set the stage for lasting change.  In the excerpt below you will notice a Level 4 approach in McCain (Eisenhower was a fantastic Level 4 leader), and distictly Level 5 qualities in Obama’s response.

Q: How would your management style differ from that of the current occupant of the Oval Office?

McCAIN:  I have a very credentialed group of economic advisors that have the experience and knowledge to give me the right kind of advice and counsel.  And I do not pretend that the buck doesn’t stop a the President’s desk.  But I’d like to specifically recall one administration that doesn’t automatically spring to mind– Eisenhower, who really installed the entire decision-making process as far as national security is concerned, [based on] the years of expeirence that Eisenhower had commanding the largest invasion force in the history of warfare.

OBAMA:  I insist on the suppression of ego.  What I look for is to bring the smartest, most capable people together in an environment in which everybody shares a comon vision, but there’s no ideological predisposition in terms of how to achieve that vision.  And so I think the biggest difference in my management style is that I want a robust discussion with a lot of different viewpoints and a firm footing in the facts.  I think a President has to make sure that people aren’t heisitant to bring bad news.  I always want bad news first.  Good news takes care of itself.