"The time has come," the Walrus said,

"To talk of many things:

Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--

Of cabbages--and kings--

And why the sea is boiling hot--

And whether pigs have wings."

Following the plot of the Jabberwocky poem, these immortal and inviting words inspire four fresh-faced young oysters to leave their native sea-bed and accompany the Walrus and the Carpenter on a walk down the beach. The oysters are treated to conversation and beach vistas before becoming a snack for the philosophers -Walrus and Carpenter. Our business and socio-political landscape is littered with the remains of broken promises, misguided intentions and half-baked truths that lead to nowhere. In this confusing morass the issues that emerge predominantly are Leadership and Alignment. 

I read a statistic recently that shocked me. "A third of the workforce retired last year - mostly in leadership positions." New York Times, Aug. 2016. I started reading and have concluded this trend of leaders achieving retirement status and choosing to exit the workforce is real. Couple that with the well-publicized divisiveness in this country as seen so dramatically during the recent presidential election and two vital themes emerge: Leadership and Alignment.

The caliber of leadership in the business world matters to the lives of far more people than anything that may or may not happen in Washington. Anyone who has ever had a job or will have a job is impacted by the relationship with their immediate boss as well as all other leaders in the organization. The larger the organization, the greater the spheres of influence  most leaders have. In the lives of average Americans and by extension the international community, the events of their jobs, their work, how they grow a career and make a livelihood determines the quality of life, the likelihood their children will attend college, how secure they and their family will be in the face of aging and geo-politics.

With the loss of leadership expertise through attrition and a severely divided society, leadership and alignment are the challenges of today. Masterful leadership and the ability to align individuals and organizations are not only the keys to individual success but the critical imperatives of our time. With this information as a backdrop, we at Tri I are re-focusing our energies and offerings toward developing skills, tools, techniques in leadership ad alignment. Exciting new adventures are in the pipeline including a new location to invite our clients and colleagues to experience. We look forward to increased dialog this year and beyond.