Category Archives: Leadership

The Bias Against Achievement

By | November 30, 2013

[November 30, 2013]  One would logically expect that in a nation that values and rewards achievement, that any bias regarding success would be in favor of the characteristic.  In reality there exists, in many cultures, a bias against achievement.  Senior leaders should make themselves aware of this peculiar social phenomenon. Everyone has experienced the classroom show-off, whose interaction… Read More »

Profile: The Reverend “Billy” Graham

By | November 29, 2013

[November 29, 2013]  Reverend William “Billy” Graham, Jr.  is a Southern Baptist minister, who rose to celebrity status in 1949 reaching a large constituency across the U.S. and the Christian world.  He held large indoor and outdoor rallies; sermons were broadcast on radio and television, some still being re-broadcast today. He is a great communicator with a consistent… Read More »

What Leaders Don’t Say …

By | November 25, 2013

[November 25, 2013]  On January 12, 1950, Secretary of State Dean Acheson gave a speech in which he explained America’s Asian Policy, specifically saying that certain countries (e.g., Japan, Philippines) were inside the United States’ protective sphere.  South Korea1 was not mentioned in his speech and five months later, North Korea2 invaded. Acheson was severely criticized for giving… Read More »

Characteristic #36: Immense Adaptability

By | November 23, 2013

[November 23, 2013]  To paraphrase Charles Darwin, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”  Although written for a theory to explain how species survive, the idea has applicability to success in human organizations.  Adaptability is at the core… Read More »

Senior Leader Transitions

By | November 22, 2013

[November 22, 2013]  Fifty years ago today in 1963, US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.  The nation was shocked and grief stricken.  Nevertheless, there was an orderly and peaceful leader transition to the new President, Lyndon B. Johnson. Organizations transition senior leaders for a variety of reason.  While it can be a good thing when replacing an… Read More »

Insulated Leaders

By | November 21, 2013

[November 21, 2013]  Everyone has probably seen the classic 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz.  One subplot is about the problems that occur when the Wizard of Oz (a senior leader) is naive about what is going on around him.  It is a risk to senior leaders, protected by well-meaning staffs, to find themselves insulated or protected from… Read More »

The Gettysburg Address Vision

By | November 19, 2013

[November 19, 2013]  150 years ago in the mist of the American Civil War, US President Abraham Lincoln gave one of the best known, most quoted speeches in American history – known today as the “Gettysburg Address.” President Lincoln is recognized as one of the greatest senior leaders in American history.  The Gettysburg address is an example of… Read More »

Secret Information is Not Secret

By | November 18, 2013

[November 18, 2013]  Leaders have trouble remembering that “secret” information is not truly secret, especially in this age of evolving communication’s technology.  If you tell someone about anything, put it in writing, or place it where it can be seen, it will eventually become public and no longer secret. Most people will remember US Representative Anthony Weiner D-NY,… Read More »