Today: Fred Haberman, chief executive and co-founder of his marketing and public relations agency, Haberman. A keen outdoor interest is hockey: He founded the popular U.S. Pond Hockey Championships, which just marked its 15th year on Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis.
Reading
I just finished Elton John's autobiography and am currently reading "Slowhand," a biography of Eric Clapton (shown). I love music and play guitar, so books about music and musicians are frequently on my to-read list. Actually, anyone who follows their passion inspires me, and I find the raw, authentic stories of their lives compelling and memorable.
Following
I tend to follow topics rather than people. This approach helps me uncover the stories we are telling ourselves. It also assists me in taking more of an objective, anthropological approach to understanding competing narratives — which then hopefully helps me to identify new ways of solving old problems. I'm closely following the proposed sulfide-ore copper mines in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness watershed. I also follow climate science and what's happening at the poles, in particular how changes are affecting wildlife. I'm an avid reader of the New York Times and local newspapers, so at any given time I'm tracking a variety of topics.
Watching
In the wintertime, I watch the weather to see if my fellow pond hockey rink rats and I are going to have good conditions outdoors on the ice. In the summer, I keep an eye on the wind to know what to expect biking to work or around the lakes. And on the screen, I can't say enough about "Fleabag," an Amazon original. Pure creativity — and hilarious. Also, I'm a "Jeopardy" addict. I record multiple shows and binge-watch to see if I can compete. Most often I can't.
Listening
My playlists include an enormous amount of blues, rock and Motown. I'll turn up Curtis Mayfield or the Grateful Dead or Phish, and play along on guitar. The Meters are a current obsession. And if it's not music, I'm probably listening to "The Moth" — true stories told live — which I think presents the most human, inspiring, well-developed storytelling you can find on the planet on a consistent basis.
Doing
I try to get outdoors as much as possible. Just recently, we had our annual outdoor hockey banquet. Meaning, hockey outdoors plus an outdoor banquet. We fired up the grill at 8:30 on a Saturday morning, and were wearing homemade, vintage USA Olympic jerseys and hats. We reminisced about where we were 40 years ago when the U.S. men's team skated away with the big win over the Soviet Union in the Olympics. Todd and Tony Smith brought their dad's 1980 USA Olympic Hockey coat. He was a trainer on that 1980 U.S. team. It was an incredible morning of outdoor hockey and camaraderie, all punctuated by an eagle flying multiple times over the creek next to the outdoor rink where we were playing! True Minnesota winter perfection.
