about the book
Observations at the Speed of Life
Observations at the Speed of Life is a collection of stories that have been shared with others throughout a career of mentoring and motivating friends, family, and coworkers. Sometimes humorous, sometimes inspirational, and occasionally packed with wisdom. They are all about aspiring to be the best version of yourself. Some of the essays are very personal, and some are philosophical, but regardless, each one packs a message about hope and the value of persistence.
This book is a result of more than forty years of preparing and writing weekly messages to the teams Ed managed. Those messages consisted of his workplace observations about performance, motivation, management, leadership, and integrity. They were timely lessons that could be applied immediately. When Ed transitioned to full-time consulting, those messages continued but in the form of a Wednesday Weblog to an international audience.
The stories range from working as a pipefitter, third-class unskilled, during the Vietnam War to an all-night production session with Larry Bird making a television commercial, to befriending an eighty-year-old usher at Fenway Park, to running the Boston Marathon for the first time at the age of seventy, and everything in between.
