“When the System Forgets the Human”
Career clarity doesn’t just come from books or coaches. Sometimes, it hits you in the gut.
On Thursday, January 4, Renée Nicole Good — a 37-year-old mother of three — was killed during a federal law enforcement encounter in Minneapolis.
I didn’t know her. But I’ve been sitting with her name. Her story. Her absence.
She was a writer. A mother. A person trying to build a life.
And now, three children are growing up without her.
This isn’t about politics. It’s about the deeper truth so many of us feel — that we’re trying to build careers inside systems that don’t always see us, hold us, or protect us.
If you’re navigating change, questioning the path you’re on, or feeling the weight of a world that moves too fast:
🧭 Your career is not separate from your life.
💡 Your value is not tied to your title.
❤️ And the way you lead — even quietly — makes a difference.
I’m thinking about Renée’s children. Her family. And all the people out there trying to stay human in places that forget what it means.
Be good to yourself. Be good to others. That’s it.
Ron, thank you for sharing these words. It is a good reminder about value of life in a bigger sense. And the importance of not getting numb to what is going on.
Coach Ron. thank you for sharing this. As you know, I live in the Twin Cities. My son and his family live in South Minneapolis, about a mile from where this tragedy occurred. It's not just that systems don't protect us, but that citizens are being targeted by the very systems that are supposed to protect us. It's a very different level of betrayal. We have large groups of citizens who are staying silent and even limiting their time away from home out of fear of reprisal from their own elected government. That is not right. I completely agree with you that this transcends politics. In circumstances like this, it is more important than ever that leaders (especially those who are not directly threatened) make their upport of positive, equitable, and empethetic communities explicitly known. Through these micro assurances of commitment and support we can try to make our small communities a supported and protected place. While it is not a solution to an ugly and extreme situation, our leadership can make a difference. I think of it as a movement of "grassroots humanity."