[April 19, 2014] My best friend in high school owned a 1962 Chevrolet Corvair – before the end of our senior year, the car was a heap of trash because of its propensity to roll in a tight turn. That was when I first heard of Ralph Nader, a man who made car safety a calling that eventually… 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 15, 2014] Today is tax day. But I digress. I won’t be sarcastic by referencing ethics and taxes in the same sentence (oh). From many mentors throughout my military career I’ve been given counsel to “Never do anything illegal, immoral, or unethical.” While it certainly provided me with successful and practical guidance, the ethical advice never seemed… 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 »
[April 13, 2014] Over the past decade there has been a transformation of food quality production, distribution, and service to the customer. Whole Foods Market is one of the organizations that has played a major leadership role in the transformation and can be said to be America’s Healthiest Grocery Store™ (at least according to them and they have… Read More »