In my upcoming leadership development session on Ronald Reagan, the Challenger disaster, and leadership in tragedy, you have two very important strengths to add to this experience. Because of these two strengths, this session will be especially useful to you and your fellow participants.

First, as I’ve written elsewhere on this blog, you may have lived through this event. You can participate as a first-person witness through memory. It’s a very significant contribution that you can make to the overall learning experience.

Second, and this is new, you likely have your own experiences of tragedy and leadership. You were involved in such an event in some way. You may have seen the positives and negatives in that leadership moment. And you either remember them clearly or this session will call them back to mind. As such, your contribution will again be important.

I’m constantly amazed and impressed by the cross-learning that occurs in my sessions. This seminar on Reagan, Challenger, and leadership in tragedy will be among the most fertile examples of cross-learning yet. I’m looking forward to it, Hope you are, too.