Who are the people you pull close to yourself in times of good and challenge? Who do you tend to look out for and want to help if you can? Who do you find easy to trust and care about? To work with? Some people talk of having a tribe as a means for moving ahead in ones career, to develop a tribe made up of those folks who help us, open doors of opportunity for us, and have our back and vice versa. An article covering tips for life and work, posited that excelling at work and life aren’t about merit, but actually the tribe mentality. The author claimed men better understood than women that merit and fairness don’t really matter or factor into someone getting a raise or promotion etc. If you are part of a tribe that looks out for you and vice versa, that is how many people succeed.

Is that a tribe in the Whitehouse? If a leader trusts his tribe, like his family, then naturally he would bring them along with him and together they have that belief, history and practice.

Whose your tribe? Or do you believe that doing good work, meeting deadlines, coming within budget alone, that merit will matter? Meritocracy is a myth according to some people. It  makes sense that having people to function as a tribe of sorts, can lift everyone. Is that what we see in fraternities, government parties, families that run organizations and countries? When is a tribe healthy and unhealthy? Loyalty is good but could blind loyalty get in the way of one’s own inner compass and values if you had to ignore how you felt in order to go along with the tribe?

A supportive tribe, with healthy opportunity for dissent and problem-solving sounds ideal. And working together to bring the tribe along, using all the various gifts, talents and experience for the greater good is something worth supporting. If the tribe is open, curious and welcoming to new members, then perhaps within that model merit also would have its’ place, and would matter.

What is the comfort in sitting in front of a roaring fire? Fire is one of the basic elements along with water, that many of us enjoy being near. I’m sitting in front of a fire this cold afternoon right now. Ahhhhhhh.

Growing up we had a pretend cardboard fireplace for Santa when we lived in apartments. At 3 and 4 years old I believed Santa used that fireplace to visit us. My 9 year old brother obviously had to go along with it. It didn’t burn or work in any way. It just was a picture of a red brick fireplace and black mantel on cardboard, that folded it’s sides to stand up along a wall. It was cute and just a Christmas time decoration. Some executive was creative to think of that and my mother to buy it. I don’t recollect seeing one since.

When we moved into a real house, it had a real fireplace in the living room. Learning to build a fire and keep it stoked is an important lesson for all northerners. How to be patient, add enough paper, air and kindling to create a starter heat and flame before logs can be added. Patience is key. And the right draw of air and circulation going up the chimney. The art from of building a good working fireplace and chimney key. And now sitting in front of the fireplace to enjoy the crackle, heat, wood smell and orange flame is a reminder of simple home pleasures from the past through to this moment.