I had lunch with the mayor of a major city yesterday. He is a democrat. He is also innovative, charming and erudite. He said he targeted getting big companies into his city because he believed they could be generous donors to worthwhile causes and charities. “Mayor,” I said, “that sounds like a Republican sentiment.” “That’s…
Thanks to my friend Joe Scarlett for sending the following: During this political season let’s be reminded of these wise words: You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by…
We often use “voice” to refer to a leader’s message and style. Today I’m referring literally to your voice as used in your ability to speak. One of my dearest friends has lost his voice. He is a professional speaker in the advanced stages of cancer and side-effects from the disease have left him unable…
Now that it appears Obama has locked up the democratic nomination, it is important to give careful consideration to his qualifications, not just his ideas (and the same is true for McCain). Although a political activist prior, he was first elected to public office in 1996. From first elected office to president in 12 years?…
Improvement without change? It doesn’t happen. Not all change is an improvement, but all improvement requires change. I’ve been involved in an effort to improve some significant processes within an organization. Most everyone want to improve the processes; few are willing to actually change them. Recently someone threw up the old “change for the sake…
My friend John Maxwell has another excellent book just out called Leadership Gold. In it he contradicts a popular leadership myth: if it is lonely at the top, you’re not doing it right. Effective leaders should be surrounding themselves with good people and building strong relationships. While there are decisions that ultimately the leader must…
James Cagney never said “You dirty rat” in any of his films. Nor did Humphrey Bogart say “Play it again, Sam” in the movie Casablanca. The Caesar salad isn’t named after Julius Caesar. It was named for its creator, Caesar Gardini who first prepared it in his restaurant in Mexico. The cashew isn’t technically a…
If you are truly leading, you are truly learning. If you aren’t learning much, you aren’t leading very effectively. I am working on an article for a friend’s ebook. The focus will be on “what I wish I had known about leadership at the beginning.” Here’s an insight learned over many years of leading: “How…
That is the focus of The Journal Report in today’s WSJ. The section provides some interesting insights into the dollars and cents of ethical behavior. Such questions, however, miss the point: if ethical behavior didn’t pay, should it be abandoned? What’s the alternative? I know business professionals are interested in the implications of ethical behavior,…
Aristotle believed in the golden mean, the midway point between too little and too much of anything. Just as wordiness is too much, sometimes brevity can be too little. If you find yourself defending your brief communications, the clue phone is ringing for you. Recently a friend was justifiably incensed by something he read online.…