Corporate CEOs aren’t paid to solve the worlds’ problems, protect communities, or look out for the long-term well-being of employees or suppliers. Milton Friedman told us that in 1970. Anything you do to protect the [...]
Imagine wearing a large button with the words “Leader” and “Liar” written in opposite directions so that one of the words is always readable to others. How would those you wish to influence position that [...]
What companies are getting it wrong today? More important, what can you learn from them? The Five Friends share their ideas.
I have stayed away from any direct public comment about the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. I don’t know the facts, and any comment would be pure conjecture. But, I do know what [...]
I saw the movie Lucy this weekend. If you like a good sci-fi action movie combination put this one on your list. It isn’t amazing, but it will make you think. At one point, Lucy [...]
The lack of confidence in the institutions that define our collective culture is threatening the civility, economic prosperity, and standing of the United States as a world leader. Let’s start with the government. The President’s [...]
The 1971 Oscar in the Short Film, Cartoon category went to a piece titled “Is It Always Right To Be Right.” It was directed by Lee Mishkin, narrated by Orson Welles, and written by Warren Schmidt. The opening words of the film are: There once was a land where people were always right. They knew they were right and they were proud of it. It was a land where people stated with confidence, "I am right and you are wrong." These were words of conviction, courage, strength, and moral certainty. In this fictional land, any attempt at cooperation and understanding were viewed as cowardice and weakness. Everyone was so convinced of their rightness that no one dared to utter words such as, “You may be right” or “I may be wrong.”
These days it seems that we’re all so busy, overcommitted, and information-obsessed. Our never-ending to-do lists are long and we run around trying to “keep up” or “be important,” and in the process stress ourselves out. Unfortunately, it often takes something bad to happen to slow us down, wake us up, and force us to focus on what truly matters most in life.
How do you define integrity? Is there an absolute definition? Or, do you find yourself quoting the phrase made famous by Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart: “I know it when I see it”? We know that it appears at or near the top of every list of desirable leadership traits. It is the essential ingredient for building and sustaining trust with others. Go ahead—take a stab at it. Integrity is . . . It is more difficult to define integrity than you thought, isn’t it?
There has to be something we can learn from Washington’s failure to address the debt limit, right? There are three very important lessons about leading change you can take from the chaos over approving the federal budget and raising the debt ceiling.
Liars – we've all seen them, fallen victim to them, and if we are truthful, joined their ranks from time to time. Some do it for malicious reasons. Others do so out of a sense of kindness or benign indifference. But, we all do it. There are times when that article of clothing makes us look fat. There are times when we feel like crap, and there are times when we feel the pressure to say what is untrue to cover for our lack of performance. And that is why you need to read The Truth About Lies in the Workplace.
The Gallup organization just released its latest survey results about the perceptions of honesty and ethics for 22 professions. There are honest and ethical people in every profession. Rankings such as this reinforce a very important principle: Scandal paints with a roller not a brush. When enough people in any profession act dishonestly and unethically, it hurts everyone in the profession.
The people who have moved from success to significance in the personal lives don’t give because they are successful. They are successful because they give. They are not merely thankful for their success. They are thankful for the opportunity to strive. Research cited by Dr. Robert Emmons in his book, Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier, suggests that people who operate from a heightened place of gratitude and thankfulness typically experience better overall health, fewer physical symptoms, higher income, more energy, larger social networks and stronger marriages.
This blog was first published in 2010. Considering we are near the end of perhaps the most divisive Presidential elections in recent U.S. history, it is an excellent time for all of us to reflect and ask ourselves - are we leaders or liars?
What would you do to secure your 15 minutes of fame? How about to increase your financial well-being? Would you exploit your child on national television? Would you reinforce and applaud behavior that is likely to create lifetime problems for your child? Would you become the family that everyone loves to ridicule? For the parents of Honey Boo Boo, the uber-precocious child with her own show airing on TLC, the answer is yes and a lot more.