The Links Of Syria

A participant in my recent Workshop on leadership and credibility asked a great question: what are the key historical connections with the Syrian civil war and the US interaction with it? Super question. Here is my thought: five jump to mind. First, the current situation in Syria points to something I've been pounding on for the past three years. We are reliving the replaying of the late 1930s. … [Read more...]

Obama And Circularity

No political point-scoring. I'm not interested. What does interest me very much is to note something that I think you'd agree is a weird part of life. Circularity. How many times have you seen or watched something at one point in your life, perhaps criticized the person or people involved, and then discovered that at a later point many of the same circumstances and issues suddenly find their way … [Read more...]

Syria And The 1930s

I've made the point numerous times that we're living in a bit of time warp. To me, it feels like a replay of the 1930s. I won't belabor all the reasons for why I think this. Let me focus for the moment on the current situation in Syria. Italy was one of the focal points of unfolding international controversy in the 1930s. Its expansion into northern Africa was done as a junior partner in an … [Read more...]

Sand Lines, Numerical Thresholds, And Other Stuff From The Future

We spend a lot of time in the future. Maybe more than we realize. The future is a major part of leadership. Because of that, we would do well to be more aware of how frequently we refer to the time that is ahead of us. I’ll give you two examples from current events. First, the Obama Administration has announced lately that the government of Syria won’t be allowed to use chemical weapons against … [Read more...]