I want to write a little more about the presentation by my friend Ronald Heifetz, leadership professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Ronnie offered a wide-ranging look at how followers expect their authorized leaders to meet their needs. He offered historical examples like Roosevelt in the great depression, and also comparisons from the world … Continued
Friends,  I had the wonderful pleasure as the chair of the spouses of the National Governors Association to bring in my friend and mentor, Ronald Heifetz, who teaches leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. I asked a few of the spouses what ideas from his speech they were going … Continued
My RFL this week entitled The Way of Toyota, Great Companies, and Mary Zatina generated some really interesting comments about Mary Zatina and about the theme of focusing on your people on the RFL blogsite. You can read them here. As usual, readers write some cool things. But RFL did not stay within its own … Continued
Friends, Â Because I am married to the great governor of Michigan, I have had the chance to be a fly on the wall (generally a quiet and unobtrusive one) during meetings with executives from Toyota. These Toyota execs are like those I have gotten to know from Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work … Continued
Friends, Â Today’s lighthearted reflection begins with a story. I was sitting almost directly beneath my wife as she delivered the State of the State speech last week. Jack, our 9 year old son was next to me and our girls were next to him. We rose in standing ovation from time to time as … Continued
Friends, My wife and I tend to display the yin and yang of life. With her State of the State address tomorrow, she is completely focused on big picture problems and opportunities. Meanwhile, I have found myself at the other extreme, involved in multiple conversations about the microcosm of leadership, not about leading large groups, … Continued