Have you lately heard the ringing cries for blood?! The Obamacare debacle lies before us. Major mistakes have been made — on the one hand with the President’s terrible misstatements about “keeping your health plan,”and in the large-scale system planning disaster on the other. In an attempt at remediation last week, he said about the … Continued
Although we battle with some adversaries, e.g., Obama v. Assad; most of our difficulties – truth be told are with allies, those in our tent: Boehner with the Tea Party, mom with dad, CEO with COO, boss with worker. We forget that we’re on the same “team,” because it sure doesn’t feel that way. So, … Continued
Hannah, my great TA and I are in the middle of reading eight cases a week of “leadership breakdowns.” The fact-patterns are diverse but a handful of themes continually recur. These student cases are strikingly similar to “real life” adult cases, including breakdowns I have personally wrestled with as a manager, and many more breakdowns … Continued
I’m 55 and a voice in me groaned quietly to hear it again. I’ve been going to church more or less religiously (forgive the pun) on Sundays for those 5+ decades. And when I heard “A man had two sons,” I knew the story nearly by heart. Add in an older priest as reader and … Continued
Today, I ask two questions, seeking your input — both to get you to engage in the question I’m asking (gosh that sounds pedantic), and so you can help us learn from a broad group about an important issue. I write RFL and teach students with one constant assumption: It’s not about whether you are … Continued
RFL Two weeks ago: really examine yourself before you start correcting someone else. RFL Last week: there is no reality, so “get” their reality. Their reality – their perceptions, recollections, evaluations — are completely independent of yours. Their view need not threaten you. Just GET IT and then many problems will go away. Now: You … Continued
Friends, Oh, did I screw up last week! I’ll tell you what I did, how I made it worse, and what I’m still learning about it. I turned in my grades for my awesome undergrad leadership students. A frustrated email quickly arrived from a student, saying there must have been a mistake. Then a second … Continued
Friends, On Wednesday, I had one of the most fun times I have ever had presenting to a group. Nate Butki invited me to speak on a panel in L.A. at the Great Places to Work Conference. If you’re not familiar with them, they’re the brains (and the heart) behind Fortune magazine’s January issue which features … Continued
Friends, Have you been watching the new Pope? Like all great leaders — would that be YOU??? — he demonstrates a powerful sense of symbols to model a way for others. His actions remind me of the line attributed to the awesome spiritual leader, Mahatma Gandhi, “be the change you hope to see in the … Continued
Friends, In Sunday’s New York Times, the great novelist Elmore Leonard (University of Detroit High School, 1943) imagines what his father would say to Elmore’s mother about the current situation at the Vatican: “You see, we’re gonna have two popes at the same time — both infallible — and you don’t think there’s gonna … Continued