"Vintage Historical Solutions, as a leader you left with a lot more than you came with." That was the unsolicited feedback from one of the participants in yesterday's Leadership Now Workshop. As you may know, our topic was tragedy, leadership, and Ronald Reagan's Challenger Speech. We went for 3 hours, using my river metaphor for learning leadership from history. The group was excellent, a … [Read more...]
February 1, 2011 by
January 31, 2011 by
Today is a day I've been eagerly awaiting. I have a group of good people gathering to delve into the leadership experience of Ronald Reagan and the Challenger explosion of January 1986. And herein lies the two enormous reasons for my excitement--one, the opportunity to ride the river of a fascinating historical event and, two, the chance to spend time with good people. I'm the proverbial person … [Read more...]
January 28, 2011 by
Heads-up. I'm in the process of writing my book review of Tony Dungy's "Uncommon." I thought you might be interested, given his fascinating involvement with the Colts and his overall Christian sense of purpose. I'll let you know when it's up and ready for viewing in the On My Bookshelf part of my website. … [Read more...]
January 24, 2011 by
In a week, I'll be offering my 2nd iteration of a Leadership Now Workshop. It is on Ronald Reagan, the Challenger Experience, and the Leadership of Tragedy. This morning I decided upon five key parts of the workshop. Here they are: 1. What Tragedy Is To You 2. Reagan and the Tragedy of December 1985 3. Reagan and the Challenger Experience 4. The Rest of His Week 5. Tragedy and … [Read more...]
January 24, 2011 by
The term "forgotten war" is usually attached to the Korean War of 1950-1953. Sandwiched between World War II and the Vietnam War in the American experience, historians and commentators believe that the public memory has relegated the Korean War to the periphery. Perhaps. I saw last week an article that invoked the same term, using it to suggest that the current war in Afghanistan may go the way of … [Read more...]
January 21, 2011 by
I applaud loudly for Scott Liell, author of this book. He tries to take a single writing and writer, Common Sense by Thomas Paine, and show us nearly two hundred forty years later its meaning and significance. Liell skates on the thin ice of few sources but regardless: applause all round. I read Liell’s book at the best time of year for such a topic, the summer and its high national holiday, … [Read more...]
January 21, 2011 by
Two things strike me at this point, a couple of weeks out from the horrific shootings in Tucson, Arizona. First, when you deal with unspeakable tragedy, don't say the first thing that pops in your head. Even if you're just moments from the event itself and someone shoves a microphone in your face, take at least a few seconds to reflect. Separate your gut, instinctive response from what you really … [Read more...]
January 10, 2011 by
This past Saturday, before the Colts' debacle, I delivered a leadership development session. It was noteworthy for its firsts. It was the first time I had done a session utilizing the life of Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States. It was the first time I had done a session where the setting was actually related to the historical content--we met in Harrison's home on the near … [Read more...]
January 6, 2011 by
You'll see in my upcoming video on Ronald Reagan and the Challenger that I mention "we all know what tragedy means," or words to that effect. In thinking about it today, I'm not so sure. Tragedy has a lot of different looks, more than one meaning. The result is that tragedy may act in various ways in various leadership situations. As I think about my upcoming open-to-the-public workshop on January … [Read more...]
January 5, 2011 by
One of the hard truths about leadership is that tragedy is among the most crucial moments for leaders. In times of tragedy followers are looking carefully at their leader, watching, listening, weighing, and concluding the leader's actions and words and gestures. Tragedy is perhaps the pivotal test of a leader's abilities. And the next hard truth is this: tragedy is always headed right for you; … [Read more...]
