Welcome to Improvleadership

 Only 18% of Americans? 6/7/25 - Twice in less than a week there was only one person on staff that knew how to drive my car and at the time they weren’t there. First at a wedding in Chicago while valeting my car and then at the Niles Costco while having my tires rotated. I Googled it - approximately only 18% of Americans know how to drive a manual transmission – really? It also happened to me a few years ago when I stayed in Indianapolis – I pulled up to the hotel and asked the valet if he could drive a stick and his reply was, “sort of.” I asked “where should I park it?” – turns out right in front. Growing up we had a 1952 Willys Jeep that had a three-speed manual transmission that my mom drove – tell me how my mom could drive a manual, but you can’t (sorry we need to take your man card away if you can’t)? People don’t realize what they are missing – like going through the gears to leverage the most out of the available horsepower or increasing the size of your left leg when sitting in traffic. But what is the most positive thing about driving a stick (in addition to getting special parking spots at hotels and events) – no one is going to carjack you or steal it – they will get in and not know what to do – best anti-theft device! 

 Look at your hand 5/31/25 – Palmistry (the practice of interpreting one’s character or predicting their future by examining the lines of their hand). This looks at four major lines, your heart line (emotional self), your head line (thought process and mental state), your life line (vitality and energy) and your fate line (your destiny). What does this mean? 1) No need to go to the doctor – just look at your hands to see how you are doing, 2) Reduce the number of times you shake hands – this could wear the lines off and then your future is in real trouble, 3) Instead of lip augmentation, Botox or other cosmetic surgery on your face or other body parts – plump up your palms OR get line enhancement OR get a hand enlargement to make your lines healthy looking, bigger, longer and more youthful looking, 4) Take regular photos of your palms to compare to previous photos to detect any changes that may signal problems, 5) Don’t show people your palms – it is like revealing your PHI (Personal Health Information) and lastly 6) Take care of your palms with lotion (regularly) to keep them well moisturized, and to keep your lines from cracking! 

Characters 5/24/25  – Is it just me or does everyone do this? Based on what I am wearing and where I am it puts me into a certain character mode. For example, when I am in a suit and have my Army officer’s overcoat on it makes me feel like a hit man (but if I have my military black beret on with the overcoat, I am Special Forces). I just got new sunglasses and when I wear them, I feel like the villain in a movie. When I wear my black suit with the thin black tie (at weddings in particular) and I am on the dance floor, I get a little Blues Brotherish in my step. When I wear my Chicago police leather jacket (yep you guessed it) I feel like an off-duty police officer, and I stare at people in stores to keep them from shoplifting. When I approach an expressway entrance ramp, I put my car into sport mode, and I am instantly a race car driver (the title of the movie I am in is Honda versus the other car – unless it is a Tesla – I don’t race those). Lastly, in the Fall and Winter when doing outside work I usually wear fatigue pants with my M-65 field jacket (and yes, I am retired military doing yard work). My motto - why waste a vivid imagination and the world of make believe sometimes is much more interesting than reality. I think I simply like to dress up more than just once a year on Halloween. I basically sense a certain look and naturally come up with a character (and act accordingly)!