[April 22, 2014] In the previous two parts of this series (Part 1 andPart 2), I proposed the idea that people who experience frequent stressors in their lives, have greater mental resilience. Today, I’m proposing that many of these bureaucratic programs designed to reduce stressors will ultimately fail in achieving their goals. One thing we know but rarely… Read More »
[April 21, 2014] Senior executive leaders are always willing to learn new things to improve on the way they work. One technique I learned to ensure the success of a good idea was to get buy-in as early as possible. The point is to “socialize” it with the major stakeholders – get them used to the idea without… Read More »
[April 20, 2014] The statement that senior leaders should not lie is rather clear … and the results of lying can be devastating to a country or community. The latest caught “fudging the numbers” is the Chicago Police Department. An investigation was conducted by Chicago Magazine and the results of Chicago’s drop in crime are an illusion because… Read More »
[April 19, 2014] As a simple experiment over the past few years I asked a number of women, over age 50 and who work in Manhattan the following question. “When you worked in Manhattan in your 20s and 30s, tell me about how people treated you?” Oh boy, did I get an earful. But their responses were not… Read More »
[April 18, 2014] Everyone knows the story of Pinocchio, the little puppet-boy who lied and his nose grew longer with each lie. Lying is a problem in our society because it breaks the bond between people and leaders. And now we have a poll just released1 that claims that most Americans believe that President Obama “lies on important issues.”… Read More »
[April 18, 2014] Protecting people (teenagers, employees) from little stressors in life will lead to a greater downside when a tragic event occurs. By shielding people and preventing them from being tested under stressful circumstances, we are actively weakening their abilities and their resilience. Leadership demandsthat we allow those small stressors to push and pull on people so… Read More »
[April 17, 2014] Leadership is about having a vision and being able to bring forth the resources (people, money, processes) to see it accomplished. We are always looking for examples of leaders who truly show vision. Richard Branson is that man. Delta Sky Magazine (yes, I fly a lot with Delta so I read their magazine), in their… Read More »
[April 17, 2014] Picture just for the moment, the proverbial drill sergeant screaming into the face of a young recruit. The purpose has always been to “toughen ‘em up” and to “get their full undivided attention.” And of course, that is exactly what it did – both – made them more resilience against stress (mentally stronger) and also… Read More »
[April 16, 2014] The news coming out of Nevada on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) standoff with Cliven Bundy has been rather thin on facts. What we do know is that Mr. Bundy has defied a number of court orders and has twice lost in federal court. We also know that BLM senior leaders made poor decisions… Read More »
[April 14, 2014] Work standards have been a sensitive subject over the past few years because, when applied, the impact on workers is not equal. The federal government has been looking closely at the affect that implementing standards in the workplace have on people; in particular, as the impact applies to identifiable categories like race, gender, ethnicity, etc. … Read More »