PLATITUDE, n. The fundamental element and special glory of popular literature. A thought that snores in words that smoke. The wisdom of a million fools in the diction of a dullard. A fossil sentiment in...

words failed.” But words were not failing us at all. It was not true that there was no way to describe our experience. We had plenty of language to talk to each other about the...

I should and can play better. That is going to be the challenge for me.

Some of that means that in your public statements, … you end up trafficking in public platitudes more than you’d want to do at home.

Base words are uttered only by the baseAnd can for such at once be understood;But noble platitudes — ah, there’s a caseWhere the most careful scrutiny is neededTo tell a voice that’s genuinely goodFrom one...

Leadership obeys the principle of Hooke’s law to the very bone. It explains:When an elastic material is stretched, it returns to its original position. But when it’s over stretched beyond its limit point, it loses...