Climate Change, Controversy, and Leadership

By | April 1, 2014

[April 01, 2014]  The United Nations’ report issued yesterday declared that future global warming impacts will be “severe, pervasive, and irreversible.”  Many expected this conclusion but it is certainly not without strongly differing opinions.  Yet, how leaders conduct themselves in the mist of such strong controversial issues and how they deal with dissent, tells us much about that… Read More »

Hero: Jeremiah Denton

By | March 30, 2014

[March 30, 2014]  There are many events from the Vietnam War that we all remember; most about heroes, some about leadership, and a few so unique and inspiring that we can never forget them.  In 1966, one involved a captured U.S. serviceman who was on international television answering North Vietnamese interviewer’s propaganda questions.  Jeremiah Denton did so while… Read More »

Post Traumatic “Growth” Syndrome

By | March 29, 2014

[March 29, 2014]  Leadership sometimes means standing up for controversial and unpopular positions in your organization.  The effect of combat on troops is one where I personally deviate from chosen line.  In this case, I have made the argument that the impact of combat has positive as well as negative effects; a position that gets me into some… Read More »

Political Corruption and Destroying Trust

By | March 28, 2014

[March 28, 2014]  Two more senior-level politicians were in the news yesterday for corruption and other crimes: a state senator and a big city mayor.  While there are many levels of corruption, those who have the public’s trust are the most egregious violators because they destroy the relationship between people and their leadership  A book definition says that… Read More »

Off Topic: Introducing New Topics

By | March 27, 2014

[March 27, 2014]  Beginning this week, in addition to the senior leader blog, I’ll occasionally introduce new topics that are joined to senior leader issues, but not so close that it deserves a leader tag.  My first “off topic” will be about Baseball – it requires “heart” to play (passion), practiced study of the opponent (patience and intelligence),… Read More »

Core Values: TD Bank

By | March 27, 2014

[March 27, 2014]  The “financial crisis of 2008” saw the U.S. Government loan banks billions of public dollars in what was unofficially known as “bailout money.”  Formally called the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the full amount loaned has never been revealed or paid back in full, but ranges from $700 billion to over $7 trillion in loans. … Read More »

Lessons in Leadership: A Child Teaches Us

By | March 26, 2014

[March 26, 2014]  Learning about leadership can come in the most unexpected ways, from surprising sources, and at inconvenient times.  Such was a leadership lesson in compassion that Colorado school administrators learned the hard way earlier this week.  What happened?  A 9-year old Colorado student shaved her head to show compassion for her friend who was bald from… Read More »

Reading List (Update)

By | March 25, 2014

[March 25, 2014]  Another good read, this time by economist William Easterly published in 2013.  I just had time to order the book and began reading it on my Kindle but wanted to get it on my favorite lists quickly.  The timeliness of the book is great, given the current debates on poverty.  Congressman Paul Ryan was the… Read More »

Malaysia Flight 370: Leadership Fail

By | March 24, 2014

[March 24, 2014]  The world’s media is in full hype and speculation mode about MH 370’s whereabouts.  One cannot watch a television show, listen to radio, or read a newspaper without Malaysia Flight 370 being front and center.  But this is not as important as the outright leadership failure of the Malaysian government’s lack of keeping the investigation… Read More »