The Petersen Papers

Papers

Short essays on leadership and life — written for the decisions leaders actually face.

September 3, 2026
You Can Retire From Your Job. Don’t Retire From Your Purpose.
Why financial security is not enough — what work quietly gives us, and the five questions worth answering before leaving a career.
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August 31, 2026
Are You Good Enough to Sing Second?
What a Naval Academy tradition can teach us about leadership, winning, and legacy.
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August 8, 2026
Why Good People Leave Good Organizations
The Leadership Cost of Unnecessary Friction
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August 7, 2026
Beyond the U-Curve
What economics can measure and what life must teach — the U-shaped happiness curve, its recent disappearance, and the change in seeing that leadership, coaching, and philosophy can bring forward.
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July 13, 2026
The Leader Who Laughs
Why great leaders create moments of levity — and why humor is not a soft skill but a serious capability that strengthens every dimension of the Petersen Leadership Model.
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June 20, 2026
The Leadership Training Problem
Companies do not have a leadership spending problem — they have a leadership development problem. Why organizations need coaching, practice, and a practical leadership system, and how PBCA and Diversified Professional Coaching address the gap.
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June 18, 2026
The Years We Miss While We Are Living Them
The happiness illusion — and the case for paying attention to the life you actually have.
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June 18, 2026
The Cost of Being Right
What political breakups reveal about how we think — and what to do about it.
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June 18, 2026
How to Get Better at What You Already Do Well
Most people who want to improve begin with the same question: What am I doing wrong? Here is a different way to think about deliberate practice.
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June 17, 2026
The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow
And cardiology is catching up — a study links structured positive psychological practices to measurable cardiovascular benefits, reinforcing the case for fulfillment as a leadership discipline.
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