Yeah, I know what day it is. President's Day. Still, I rise in defense of the often indefensible—the U.S. Congress. Well, sort of. Indirectly. And with a whole bunch of other qualifiers. Here we go. For all of the understandably negative press Congress receives, we have forgotten that it was Congress—or the version at the time, the Continental Congress—that was at the foundation of founding … [Read more...]
February 20, 2012 by
February 20, 2012 by
I've been having private conversations with folks about succession. It's clear that succession is a very sensitive topic with leaders. They're really rather shy about it. I think several things cause it. They are uneasy with thinking about their own mortality, organizationally speaking, that is. They're nervous on the timing of it, assuming that all heck breaks loose if anyone dares utter a word … [Read more...]
February 9, 2012 by
MORE ON LAY DOWN SALLY Her name was Sally Cary Fairfax. She was the oldest of four Cary children. Vibrant, effervescent, and vivacious were words often used to describe her. And of course, beautiful and stunning were equally common terms from the guys around her. Both the Cary and Fairfax families embodied every stereotypical image you have of wealthy, plantation-based Tidewater colonial … [Read more...]
January 13, 2012 by
Earlier this week a local philanthropic organization gave millions of dollars to a university’s school of business. I saw in a sub-headline that one of the school’s officials speculated that with this money, it would be very soon when a group of college students studying business in Indiana could huddle around laptop computers and, with the latest in video-communication technology, interact with … [Read more...]
January 11, 2012 by
My upcoming Leadership Now Workshop on Peyton Manning, quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts will feature a very unusual look at history. This might intrigue you. I’m not referring to either sports or the current/present status of the subject matter. I’m planning on exploring history in three different forms. The first form will be the fresh history of the topic itself—the injury to Manning. … [Read more...]
January 6, 2012 by
Success, Paterno, and LeadershipWe’ve all seen the horrors of the recent Penn State football scandal. I’d like to add a comment on leadership as it pertains to success. It’s a feature of the Penn State story and all too often a feature of success in coaching and other fields.It seems every successful coach—and I’m talking major success here, multiple championships, scads of victories, year after … [Read more...]
January 5, 2012 by
Here is an exercise in leadership development for you. I got the idea from an officer’s memoir of the Civil War.Take a brief block of time. Let’s say it’s the past week or two weeks. Write down in bullet format the major things that have happened—decisions, actions, communication, things done or not done, people met, and whatever else rises to the level of “major things.” It might even include … [Read more...]
January 4, 2012 by
A long time ago people cared about the books and articles written by this man. Now, hardly anyone would know who he was, let alone what he wrote or said or thought. Yes, it was a long, long time ago. At first, this review was all about tribute. I wanted to honor someone whose writings I had first read in my days in graduate school. Samuel Eliot Morison was one of the three or four most … [Read more...]
December 23, 2011 by
I'm already ruminating on additions to my recent entry into the Commonplace Book, entitled "The Second Shoe." This piece has earned a lot of attention since I distributed it at the start of the week. If you haven't read it or want to refresh your understanding of it, go to My Writings and click on The Commonplace Book. Look for Second Shoe. A leadership lesson that I omitted was the importance of … [Read more...]
December 20, 2011 by
Want to know how we’re feeling today? I think I’ve discovered it. From all of my wanderings I’ve picked up the palpable belief from people that they expect a second shoe to drop in the economy. They’re waiting for, dreading, and are somewhat planning or preparing for some event that will cause the second shoe to drop and the economy to do another tailspin like September 2008. Let me tell you … [Read more...]
