Author Archives: hprager

About hprager

Father, husband, brother and son. Delighted to be friends and mentor to so many wonderful people. Passionate about: leadership, learning and development, education, nature and the environment, youth, music, jazz, the tuba, Israeli dancing, networking and helping others, humor, laughter, swimming, hiking, the Cubs, Northwestern athletics, theater, musicals, concerts, traveling and making new friends wherever I go. Helping the world be a better place when I leave it.

Beyond Category

Posted on November 14, 2018

Duke Ellington, one of the greatest jazz musicians and prolific composers with thousands of compositions, created a category for those individuals that were so exceptional they were, as he called them, “Beyond Category.”  Some musicians he referred to with this … Continue reading →

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Simple is Best

Posted on August 8, 2016

Why do we always try to complicate things? The simpler, the easier it is to do, to remember, to teach.    Last night at Midwest Speaking Professionals, my friend Stephanie Kurokawa reminded me of this fact that I know so well … Continue reading →

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Take Time For Learning

Posted on April 4, 2016

I just saw a youtube video that’s from 2011. It’s all about creativity and takes only 2 minutes to view. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPbjSnZnWP0 Spoiler alert: I’m going to be talking about what’s in the video! Today more than ever we are trying to … Continue reading →

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Ten lessons learned living a life well lived

Posted on February 24, 2016

I hope you’ve been following me on LinkedIn, ATD, and CLO where I have posted blogs the past several months.  Time to come back home and share some thoughts. We learn in the most unusual ways, in the most unusual … Continue reading →

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Oh say what do you see, and what do we not see?

Posted on July 5, 2015

Fireworks are fun to watch.  Once again I took off my glasses for half the show and instead of pinpoints of light, sparkles, and gorgeous displays, I saw giant snowflakes, molecules, and honeycombs of all sorts of colors.  The single … Continue reading →

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The Crisis in Leadership Development

Posted on May 23, 2015

With hundreds of classes and programs by hundreds of organizations offering many types of management and leadership training formally and informally, classroom and online, you wouldn’t think we would be in a crisis.  With US$15 Billion spent annually on leadership … Continue reading →

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What’s the Purpose?

Posted on February 9, 2015

As I’ve been working to define and build my business, I am reading voraciously studies, results, reports, and analysis on learning. The one piece that I see in common that’s too often missing is the purpose. What’s the purpose of … Continue reading →

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Straight talk – Connecting leaders with employees

Posted on December 10, 2014

I’m just reading the Towers Watson 2014 report on the Global Workforce.  Some real insights that could impact companies significantly in the next year. The headlines: A) the disconnect between what employees want from work and what management thinks they … Continue reading →

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Gaining Trust

Posted on December 4, 2014

Trust – it’s the first point of the Scout Law.  It’s what enables everything from businesses to families to work together successfully.  It’s a necessary ingredient for a good business-provider partnership.   Yet it’s something we so readily either skip … Continue reading →

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Advance Learning through Learning Strategy

Posted on October 6, 2014

Learning strategy is critical as knowledge is compounding as fast as doubling every 12 hours according to IBM. Mapping options available and helping learners choose the way they learn best for the content and situation is necessary for successful learning acquisition.
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