When employers no longer offer secure full-time employment with benefits, then it's hard to expect employees to be loyal, engaged, and maximally productive.

Young men now want to be caregivers as well as earners so they have joined with women in demanding a different compact at work; they want flex and time for family too.

Family, community, and the realm of the private self - your mind, body, and spirit - are all important sources of the inspiration, support, and ideas we all need to lead the lives we want.

There are many structural changes, both in organizational practice and social policy, that must also change to enable men and women to have the freedom and support to pursue the lives they want to lead. Fortunately, many more people are today engaged in these efforts than when started working on this issue decades ago.

No one can have it all, at the same time. I've never seen that.

In my teaching and consulting practice, I encourage people to learn to experiment with confidence and to see themselves as scientists in the laboratory of their lives, continually trying new ways to pursue what matters most to them and to the people who depend on them. Smart, small wins are crucial to this approach, as is devoting time and attention to reflecting on what works and what doesn't.

"Leading" is about mobilizing people toward valued goals.