Author Archives: ghartke

Steady on the helm

ghartke   August 23, 2017   No Comments on Steady on the helm
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Mother Nature was angry and she was punishing us with heavy winds, high seas, and the kind of rain that stings when it hits your face. Dad was at the helm and I was trimming the sails. We were about three hours from home and the only choice was to keep going. I’d never been in conditions like this and I was scared. I looked to my left and could see that dad was not. […]

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Go to the agreement

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I’ve always been afraid of disappointing people. Early in my career, I naively thought if I did everything right, worked harder than the next guy, and had a solid plan, I could avoid having to encounter people who were unhappy. Now, fifteen years into my consulting career, I know better. People are people. People get disappointed. People get angry. People get frustrated. It’s no easier on my heart and soul, but one of the best […]

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The best conversations happen in kitchens

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I was about a year into my divorce journey and thought I’d be further along in my grieving process by that point. But my grief was coming out like a child with a balloon who is just letting little bits of air slip through the hole. I was sitting at her island in her kitchen creating a puddle of tears. Again. I said, “I feel like I am standing on the shore of this huge […]

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And here I thought I was just racing boats

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It was one of those perfect race days on Lake Michigan… sunny, 10-15 knots of wind out of the East, and I was crewing for one of the best skippers in the fleet. On the hard, he was an approachable prankster with a twinkle in his eye. On the race course, he was a fierce competitor and one heck of a sailor. When you sailed with him, you wanted to do him proud. But, as […]

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