HIGGINS GROUP INSIGHTS

I was at JPM last month. Over six days, I probably had 50 one-on-one conversations and meetings in a variety of settings: restaurants, bars, conference rooms, coffee shops, and several hikes and long walks between events. Every one of those conversations included some discussion of the human factors involved in the workplace. Maybe that’s not […]

I had a call last week from Claire (not her real name), an executive in a midsize, Boston biopharma. The call was a surprise. Even though I placed her in a previous role about six years ago, and despite having checked in with her regularly over the years since then, she has never been open […]

Rappelling 30 stories down the side of a Philadelphia skyscraper is a good way to learn how fast your heart can beat — and where, exactly, it is located in your chest. Looking down as I prepared to exit the window, was terrifying. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t scream, and my legs felt like Jello. […]

A few years ago, I did a six-month leadership class with one of my heroes, Lynne Twist. One of her (many) pursuits is working with indigenous people to help protect the Amazon rainforest. As part of our program, we went to Ecuador and lived with a tribe for five days, deep in the forest. It […]

I was in Berlin for a few days at the end of the summer, visiting my son and his girlfriend who live there. We came back through Copenhagen, where we stayed for another five days. It was a terrific trip all around, I may be moving! JK!… The only travel snag happened as we arrived […]

Growing up, I spent my summers living and working in a hotel — a rundown, 36-room establishment in Wildwood, New Jersey (think Beverly Hillbillies, not Paris Hilton). My father bought it with no money down from a guy in a bar after the intended buyer suddenly died and the owner became desperate. I was six […]

Like many people, I have lately been using ChatGPT more and more. Don’t worry, I am aware of the downsides and am not letting my brain rot. But one thing it keeps highlighting to me is the quality (or, in some cases, lack thereof!) of my communication and how much the answer I get changes […]

As a student of leadership, my head has been spinning these past several months as I have watched the current occupant of the Oval Office “lead” our country. It’s been a real-time — not to mention horrifying — lesson in what NOT to do. But this is not a political post. It’s about what it […]