Brian Allain

discernment is not a step-by-step program or a systematic pattern. Rather, it is a regular discipline of listening…

From “Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life” by Henri Nouwen with Michael J. Christensen and Rebecca J. Laird Discernment follows Nouwen’s journals and other writings, focusing on what he has to say about discernment and vocation for today. Characteristically informed by biblical insights and patterns of the church year, the book is divided into

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The Economics of Trust

From “The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything” by Stephen M. R. Covey A cynic might ask, “So what? Is trust really more than a nice-to-have social virtue, a so-called hygiene factor? Can you measurably illustrate that trust is a hard-edged economic driver?” I intent to answer these questions emphatically in this

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Team of Rivals

From “Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success” by Adam Grant In the 1830s, Lincoln was striving to be the DeWitt Clinton of Illinois, referencing a U.S. senator and New York governor who spearheaded the construction of the Erie canal. When Lincoln withdrew from his first Senate race to help Lyman Trumbull win

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Listen for Him

From “Listening to Your Life: Daily Meditations with Frederick Buechner” by Frederick Buechner THE QUESTION IS not whether the things that happen to you are chance things or God’s things because, of course, they are both at once. There is no chance thing through which God cannot speak – even the walk from the house

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HDTV and YouTube

From “Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation” by Steven Johnson Consider, as an alternate scenario, the story of Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, three former employees of the online payment site PayPal, who decided in early 2005 the Web was ripe for an upgrade in the way it handled

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