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Museums and Galleries

In our post on “Culture”, we mentioned a trip that the Dye & Eskin, Inc. team was planning to two well-known museums in the greater Washington DC area.

On February 22ND, we visited both the National Gallery of Art and the Spy Museum. Two museums, radically different from each other, but equally impactful. Not impactful because it was a day from work (well…. maybe), but because of the power of those institutions.

Since that trip, we’ve been thinking about museums – their purpose, their work, and importantly their impact on the people, like us, who visit.

Museums have an interesting history having started as places of contemplation and morphing to places for philosophical discussion. As time passed museums transitioned to something akin to places of learning (possibly universities) and then became collections of curiosities and finally buildings housing cultural material.

Overtime, though, one common goal emerged:

“The preservation and interpretation of some material aspect of society’s cultural consciousness.” It is this “cultural consciousness” that we responded to as we progressed through each institution.

Museums and galleries provide an insight into the history of mankind. They are tangible evidence of humankind and the environment. Items housed in a museum are often unique and constitute the material for study. Think about what a magical opportunity visiting a museum can be if you engage.

Museums are the keepers of history and our links to other worlds. They are vital to our ability to both interpret the past and understand our place in the future. They have the power to transform the world around us and are excellent places to learn. They catalyze wonder, interest, and curiosity.

Museums teach history not necessarily taught in school. They encourage questions and build our listening skills. They provoke our imaginations.

John Falk is the Executive Director of the Institute for Learning Innovation. Here is a summary of one of his many thoughts on the impact of museums:

“Museums…inspire awe and appreciation for the best of natural and human creation, and under the best of circumstances serve as guides to a better, more well-informed and creative future.”

We’re adding more museums to our quarterly field trips!

Ikigai

In Japanese, the word Ikigai translates to “reason for being.”
Ikigai is the intersection of what someone is good at doing, with what they love to do, and with what the world needs. It is an imperative for the workplace and the source of personal fulfillment.

We stumbled on “Ikigai” while contemplating the concept of lifelong learning, a critical practice for succeeding in a knowledge-based economy. Lifelong learning is something in which we engage and which we encourage throughout our organization.

Lifelong learning, whether in a business or personal context, is continuous and self-motivated. While it can be formal or informal, it is the basis of our knowledge economy and leads one to open their thinking to a world beyond where they are. It enhances social inclusion, active citizenship and individual development. It is not one size fits all.

Professional development allows you to learn on the fly in any situation. It opens our thinking to the world around us and connects us with those who can make the future happen. Knowledge gives us the mental strength to bounce forward and seek outgrowth experiences.

Lifelong learning also helps maintain brain plasticity. New activities force you to think and learn keeping the brain healthy.

The consulting firm McKinsey identifies seven essential elements of a lifelong learning mindset:

Focus on growth
Become a Serial Master
Stretch
Build your personal brand
Own your development journey
Do what you love
Stay vital

All of these are straightforward except being a Serial Master. Serial mastery is a deep and detailed understanding of a very specific area.

The challenge, though, is not allowing mastery to make us myopic. The goal is to continuously discover new passions which lead us to mastery along different paths. Philosophically and practically, some find generalists more valuable in innovative settings.

Freeman Dyson, an American theoretical physicist, believes that masters and generalists are much like frogs and birds.

Frogs are usually in the mud paying strict attention to all the little things going on about them. Birds are in the sky surveying and looking for the next opportunity.

Bottomline, we need both. A lifetime of learning gets us there.

Find your Ikigai!

Culture

We are confident that we know the meaning of a word until we try to define it for someone else. That was where we found ourselves with the word “culture. “Turning to Google for help resulted in an amazing 962 million search results in 58 seconds.

As luck would have it, one of the first definitions we liked was from the anthropologist, Christina De Rossi at Barnet and Southgate College in London:

“Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with loved ones and a million other things,”

Among those million other things, art and architecture, literature, philosophy, and history are of special appeal to us as ways to expand our understanding of and empathy for others.

Fully embracing the complexity and richness of cultural nuances requires experiences outside of the “culture” within which we reside. Dye & Eskin has always been a proponent for creating those experiential opportunities among our team. Over the past three years, the limitations imposed upon all of us by Covid put us on “pause” with our quarterly field trips.

We are excited that in the third week of February we once again return to the road to broaden how we see the world.

Our itinerary will take us first to the National Gallery in Washington DC. This institution houses over 150,000 items, spans the history of Western art, and showcases some of the triumphs of human creativity. We are on our own during this exploration.

Our second stop will be the International Spy Museum also in DC. A different kind of learning experience this museum is dedicated to the history and contemporary role of espionage. Over 600 artifacts and devices used to spy are on display. The building architecture is interesting in and of itself as is the “Deny Everything” theme. We are on a guided tour.

These two visits are at opposite ends of cultural experiences. This diversity of experience is critical to what we call see as:

THE CULTURE OF DYE & ESKIN!

It is more than just business.

Nelson Mandela says Sports has the power to change the world

SPORT HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD

In August 1921, KDKA, a Pittsburgh radio station, broadcast the first professional baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies.  That broadcast set the stage for the role of sports in America to change dramatically from newspaper-reported, local entertainment, to a national economic force.

Dye & Eskin, Inc. is a hotbed of sports enthusiasts with all our employees being active participants. Starting with Rick Eskin, the Dye and Eskin “team” actively participates in basketball, competitive powerlifting, tennis, hiking, and is a passionate supporter of local professional and college sports franchises. 

Our interest, however, goes deeper into the ways in which sports break down social barriers, stereotypes, and prejudices. Sports present the perfect opportunity for team building and conflict resolution that helps bring positive change to society. We did some research going back to 1936. The goal was to find defining moments where sports impacted history in highly significant and positive ways.

 Here are a few from the very long list we compiled:

jesse owens picture
jackie robinson
john wooden
magic johnson
Geno
aaron judge

Jesse Owens

Jackie Robinson

John Wooden

Magic Johnson

Geno Auriemma

Aaron Judge

1936 – Jesse Owens, a Black Olympic gold medalist, who overcame Hitler’s notion of a superior race

1947 – Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in professional baseball

1960’s and 70’s – John Wooden whose skill and dedication lead UCLA men’s basketball to 10 consecutive   NCAA titles

1991 – Magic Johnson, a premier basketball hero who courageously revealed an HIV diagnosis

2017 – UCONN Women’s basketball accomplishing a 111-game winning streak under a male coach who    never quit on the opportunities for women

2022 – Aaron Judge, a highly skilled but quiet and humble player who broke a 61-year-old major league record

We have other favorites on our achievement list: Tennis hero Roger Federer, the height of skill and civility; pro golfer Tiger Woods, the epitome of commitment and persistence; and Olympian Michael Phelps, a survivor and example for others suffering mental health challenges.

 Sports have the power to inspire and unite people in a way that little else does. Maybe most importantly, sports speak to young people in a language they understand. 

Benita Fitzgerald Moseley says it eloquently in this quote from July 11, 2022, “There’s an athlete within all of us, and what sports teaches us is that there’s also a leader, strategist, teammate, competitor and more just waiting to be unleashed.”

 

Sports Matter!

DOZER, BLUE and GHOST!

Dozer
Blue
Ghost

 

The First In a Series of Dog Tales

A dog is man’s best friend… King Frederick of Prussia, 1789

Pets are humanizing. They remind us that we have an obligation and responsibility to nurture, care for, and preserve all life.

In 1983, Dye and Eskin, Inc. bought the office building where our business continues to be housed. Concurrent with that purchase, we concluded that dogs matter and would always be welcome.

Today over 20% of all companies have dog friendly policies year round. Large organizations like Meta and Amazon have used their dog-friendly policies as recruiting tools and now smaller companies are following their lead.

Sure there are challenges to maintaining a dog-friendly workplace:

  • Dogs bark, whine and snore which can be somewhat disruptive
  • Co-workers may have phobias or allergies
  • There can be disruptions as dogs may or may not like every dog they meet at the office
  • Dog bites, although few in nature, can lead to lawsuits

At Dye and Eskin, Inc. we think the benefits of dogs are substantial and far outweigh potential downsides.

Early in the pandemic, the Times of India ran an article about loneliness, the loss of loved ones, and the uncontrollable stress created by the rampage of Covid. They reported on how dogs come to our rescue during extraordinarily stressful times. Dogs are faithful, charming, whimsical, loyal, and loving companions. They are psychological healers whose interactions with humans generate neurochemicals in our brains which regulate a positive mood and happy feelings (scientificamerican.com). Not to mention the cardiac benefits of having to exercise with our dogs on a regular basis several times a day!

Relating this to our workplaces, there is documented evidence that pet friendly offices are:

  • Happier with better work/life balance and reduced stress
  • More creative and productive with lower tension and better team cohesion
  • Employee retention is higher
  • Workplace relationships improve with shared responsibility for pet walk and other care
  • Rates of absenteeism are lowered
  • General health improvements include lowered blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and decreased feelings of loneliness

A pro-pet policy sets the tone for an office as comfortable, open, and flexible. We know that reflects Dye and Eskin’s approach for both our employees and clients.

Of course nothing is perfect and the most important rules for a pet friendly office are that everyone keeps their teeth to themselves and remembers where the fire hydrant is.

One last thing to think about:

“Dogs are leaders of the planet. If you see two life forms, one is making poopee and the other one is carrying it for him, who do you assume is in charge?”—Jerry Seinfeld                                                           

Dozer, Blue and Ghost RULE!

All Dogs Matter!

WHY MUSIC MATTERS!

Think about these names: Mozart, Tschaikovsky, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Frank Sinatra, Sir Elton John, Michael Jackson, Andrea Boccelli, Judy Garland, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Lady Gaga. Regardless of your age and the genre you prefer, you are likely able to hum something they either wrote, sang or both. Music is immeasurably impactful.

Here is a fun musical fact about Rick Eskin.

With the strong belief that “Music can change the world because it can change people” (Bono), Rick Eskin has studied and played violin since he was 17, developing proficiency as a jazz violinist. His commitment reflects a personal belief that art, culture, entertainment and knowledge enhance all people’s lives regardless of their socio- economic status. The neo-Aristotelian philosopher, Marsha Nussbaum, argues that “music, like stories and plays, communicates emotions in a particular way, and can therefore perform a distinctive ethical role in our lives.”

Music at its essence is the art of arranging sound. It exists in all human societies and transcends walls and boundaries with a unique language. It allows us to feel all human emotions. Music changes our mood, sharpens our thoughts, transports us to places we have visited and helps us re-live special moments in our lives. It lessens stress and pain and brings us to positivity and calmness.

Music is a universal language that keeps us more connected as family, friends and as part of a larger community. Remarkably, music also has the power to positively impact health:

  • Music improves mental health giving very young children a way to communicate and people of all ages an outlet for creative, positive self-expression
  • Music has cognitive benefits for children of all ages who demonstrate greater academic results to older folks for whom music can be a prudent intervention to promote memory enhancement
  • Music represents a remarkable meeting point of intimate and social realms – self-identity and collective identity

Given those attributes, the question “what is distinctive about music as a form of communication” must be asked. The answer is two-fold:

  • Music often feels intensely and emotionally linked to the private self and
  • It is also often the basis of collective, public experience through live performances

Music’s relationship to affective experience and to emotion and feeling is distinctive and important to human flourishing. Music can reach where ordinary language cannot.

Consider this quote from Jon Batiste: “With so many ways to communicate at our disposal, we must not forget the transformative power of a live music experience and genuine human exchange.”

Keeping music central to our lives matters!

LONGEVITY, REFLECTION, INTEGRITY

Businesses that thrive for over forty years under the same leadership don’t happen by accident.

Dye and Eskin is privileged to enjoy that position along with being able to point to the second generation of Eskins as the ultimate succession to this business legacy.

After forty-two years in business, and as we look to our future, we reflect on the critical choices, made years ago and continuing today, that have gotten us here.

Successful businesses start from ground zero both financially and morally. There is no question that early financial stability is critical to staying power. The moral commitment, however, is what allows a business to grow and gain professional prominence.

Reflecting on our early history, we made the conscious decision to rigidly adhere to the highest standards of our profession as insurance advisors. We knew that credibility could not be achieved overnight but we were committed to creating a track record of passion, and professional excellence.

As the business grew and the model matured, we grounded ourselves in principles and values that are unambiguous. Honesty, fairness, and decency underpin all decisions. We keep promises and expect to be held accountable.

INTEGRITY is a highly complex topic but is the core value from which all decisions and behavior at Dye and Eskin evolve. Our goal is to do the right thing in a reliable way without wavering.

INTEGRITY is the critical connection between ethics and moral action. We strive to live in accordance with our deepest values and keep our word.

INTEGRITY rises in times of adversity, requires moral courage, and is the bedrock upon which good character is built.

INTEGRITY also includes a component of pride when you care about outcomes, work hard to get it “right,” and know that you’ve made a valuable difference.

Dye and Eskin believes that INTEGRITY MATTERS. Our firm and ITS FUTURE are based on those values.