I'm working with an organization that is just a few years old. Their leaders, four of them, are determined to start a culture among their employees. They want a culture. I applaud them. Good goal. Tough goal. Not an easy goal to know that you've reached or continue to reach. But it's a very worthy thing to pursue that will pay real dividends to those involved. Culture matters because it helps a … [Read more...]
June 30, 2014 by
June 30, 2014 by
Shouldn't do it but I will. I am. I'm thinking there are things about the near-term future that we can know with confidence. First, a deal will be made to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. That deal will have forms of increased revenue. Second, a pledge of spending reductions will be made. It will not be finalized, not be actualized. It will be promised. Third, an element of public mood will … [Read more...]
June 30, 2014 by
You’ve simply got to find a copy of today’s Wall Street Journal. In it you’ll find a front-page article on the current state of the Benghazi, Libya issue. That’s the event where the radical Islamic terrorists killed four Americans on September 11, 2012, including the US Ambassador to Libya. The Journal article, a lengthy and detailed piece, is a compelling exploration into the development of the … [Read more...]
June 30, 2014 by
I don't want you to make the mistake that Hillary Clinton appears to have made in the recent tragedy in Benghazi, Libya. It's a key point for leaders and leadership. As you may know, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, visited five talk shows on the Sunday following the killings of four Americans on September 11, 2012. Rice said, wrongly, that the event resulted from spontaneous … [Read more...]
June 30, 2014 by
I wonder if the Affordable Care Act, known to many people as Obamacare, will become the 21st century equivalent of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Before you either curse me or cheer me, let me explain. I'm not comparing the health care law as tantamount to the potential expansion of slavery and slaveholding. Not at all. What I'm wondering if whether one of the major political parties of the … [Read more...]
June 30, 2014 by
Five months ago (December 5, 2012), I wrote about a leadership mistake by Hillary Clinton. It involved the tragedy in Benghazi, Libya where four Americans died. I wrote that then-Secretary of State Clinton performed poorly as a leader because she side-stepped clear responsibility and ownership of the incident. I was wrong. It was much, much worse than I said. We now know that her mistakes preceded … [Read more...]
June 24, 2014 by
A little later this evening I'll be presenting on buy-in and leadership. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite topics and modules. The history here is the 96 hours that Abraham Lincoln lived, October 1 through October 4, 1862. Several people have asked me to write a book around this stretch of days. I think they're right. I should write a book. In fact, maybe I'll broaden the topic slightly … [Read more...]
April 17, 2014 by
We all feel swept up in a tide of change sometimes. I bumped into an interesting response in my reading last night. I'm looking at the life of Jonathan Edwards, the great theologian in the British colony of Massachusetts during the 18th century. In 1742 Edwards was part of a massive up-swell of religious fervor. Along with the rapid growth of spiritual enthusiasm came a drive to change … [Read more...]
