A few weeks ago, my eyes filled with tears as our daughter, Lisa, told those whom we call the Macaronis, that she was struggling to decide between her current occupational choices (yes, she’s that talented and in demand); what she really wanted to do was work more closely with my wife, Carole, and me. I imagine that is the kind of comment any parent would love to hear. Her comment inspired me to write this column.

The Macaronis are a small group of organizational development (OD) consultants whom Lisa introduced to us several years ago just because we like one another. We get together every couple of months to have lunch and converse at the Macaroni Grill—hence the name we call ourselves. As an aside, the Macaroni Grill is a great place to eat because they give you crayons and a paper tablecloth so you can develop and capture any crazy ideas you might come up with over wine and good Italian cuisine. The Macaronis, in fact, gave me the rest of the story.

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