LEADERSHIP NOW WORKSHOP: Leading During Tragedy—Ronald Reagan and the Challenger Space Shuttle Dr. Dan Miller The Issue You are in a unique position of having to help people deal with tragedy. No matter how hard we try to avoid it, despite all the planning and prevention, tragedy strikes. And people turn to you to help understand, respond to, and make some sort of sense of tragedy. Tragedy is … [Read more...]
December 19, 2011 by
December 19, 2011 by
LEADERSHIP NOW WORKSHOP: Down the Rabbit Hole—Leadership, Succession, and the Deeper Story of Peyton Manning Dr. Dan Miller The Issue Unless tomorrow’s leaders are in place, or you know where they’ll come from, your organization is at extreme risk. Leaders leave. Always, be it by retirement, resignation, removal, or something else. You must, absolutely must, have a clear and solid idea about … [Read more...]
December 14, 2011 by
I'm reading a book right now that involves a leader who played an important role in two community tragedies, 29 years apart. In the first instance--we'll call that Event A--he has the potential to do the right thing and then turns away to do the wrong thing. In choosing the wrong path people died needlessly; a different choice on his part and there was a chance they or some of them would have … [Read more...]
December 13, 2011 by
You may recall that a week or so ago I wrote a post about the Hubble effect. I referred to the current European financial and economic crisis and the fact that we, as Americans, can use the situation to travel back to the 1780s and 1790s when the Constitutionally-based national union began. My point was to say that you can use current events to relive history, or to re-experience in the present … [Read more...]
December 12, 2011 by
During ten years three leaders shared the pursuit of one objective. The ten years spanned 1979 through 1989, the three leaders were Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II, and the one objective was the downfall of the Soviet Union and its sponsorship of communism world-wide. This is the story ably told by John L. O’Sullivan in The President, The Pope, and the Prime Minister: Three … [Read more...]
December 12, 2011 by
You might like to know a little more about a very revealing aspect of Lewis and Clark and their expedition of 1802-1806. It may be one of the most powerful connections between their history and your life. After they finished their history-making journey, life took two very different turns for the pair of leaders. Meriwether Lewis lapsed into alcohol and drug use. He died just a few years … [Read more...]
December 9, 2011 by
· Jefferson’s political allies nagged and hounded him during August and September 1782 about returning to political debates and issues. He refused, staying holed up in his wife’s bedroom and in the small temporary office near the bed. He had insisted on being present for every childbirth and for every child death. They were a devoted husband and wife. · Get ready for a shocking point—Sally … [Read more...]
December 9, 2011 by
I sense that a lot of people are waiting for the next shoe to drop on the economy. They fear that some event will happen and drive the economy downward, or perhaps downward at a still faster rate. It's a form of pessimism that is uniquely its own. I believe that such a shoe will come from one of two sources, both of which are east moving west. One will be in the Middle East, likely involving … [Read more...]
December 9, 2011 by
If you’re ever a little curious about my approach to history, here’s a quick story about it. Before I tell it, you might want to download and listen to Ralph Stanley singing a song entitled “Little Mathie Grove.” This song illustrates my approach to history. To begin, it is itself historical. The original version dates back to the 17th century, in the era of Shakespeare. That’s when it was … [Read more...]
November 30, 2011 by
As we watch the temporary or lasting rise of Newt Gingrich as the key Republican candidate for president, I'm struck by a comment that I've heard or read several times. Many pundits and/or people familiar with Gingrich will talk about the "good Newt" versus the "bad Newt." Good Newt is that side of Gringrich that is open-minded, intellectually curious, and a seeker of knowledge. Bad Newt is that … [Read more...]
