Thoughts about life, learning, and leadership... especially for leaders who want to involve the people they lead in creating and implementing strategies for change, improvement, and innovation
NOTE: I have relocated my Blog -- and recommiited to posting stuff that will provide a little lift and hopefully brighten your day a bit. It's part of our new website. If you would like to continue reading my posts, please resubscribe at http://growthworksinc.com/Blog.html. -- Brian
Jeanne Robertson is a speaker and humorist. Her message: Life is better if you can find things to smile about. A sense of humor, she says, is more than a laughing matter. It's a strategy for success. The story in this video is drawn from an experience with her husband, who she refers to as "Left Brain."
NOTE: I have relocated my Blog -- and recommiited to posting stuff that will provide a little lift and hopefully brighten your day a bit. It's part of our new website. If you would like to continue reading my posts, please resubscribe at http://growthworksinc.com/Blog.html. -- Brian
ft? How about this precious 5-minute reminder from a 4 year old about doing what you love and dreams coming true...<br /><br />
<iframe width="425" height="349" frameborder="0" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wwAbtizFCzo"></iframe><br /><br />I'm not sure what Kaitlyn has been up to since she made this appearance, but I hope she's still singing and still doing it because she loves it.<br /><br /><em>Work on purpose. Make a difference,<br /><br />Brian<br /></em>
You can view this Post at the new site...
Need a lift? How about this precious 5-minute reminder from a 4 year old about doing what you love and dreams coming true...
I'm not sure what Kaitlyn has been up to since she made this appearance, but I hope she's still singing and still doing it because she loves it.
Good leadership is tough to define. I’m beginning to think the term is so complex it’s impossible to pin down. It’s one of those “you know it when you see it” things… and we all see things so differently.
Forgive the unoriginal approach to making a point, but a two-tenths-of-second web search on “leadership” turns up 138 million citations. A “scholarly” search turns up 1.7 million hits. And if you’re looking for something to hold in your hands to read, you’ll be glad to know Amazon has more than 60,000 titles to choose from.
One of those books begins, “Leadership isn’t rocket science. Our experience says that great leadership is far more complex than that…”
My friend and colleague Steve Boehlke puts it this way in the introduction to a “little book” he published, 50 Lessons on Leading for Those With Little Time for Reading (each page is essentially a one-sentence thought provoker): “Whether reading the ancient wisdom of Lao Tzu, the power politics of Machiavelli, or the insights of today’s leadership guru Jim Collins, authorities on leadership abound. While humans have been attempting to define leadership for centuries, a clear and simple definition remains elusive. We are often left with the feeling that leadership is beyond ourselves--something we seek, but is beyond our reach.”
The work we do at GrowthWorks with leaders focuses on linking creativity, knowledge, and the human spirit. There are hard core business types who dismiss this kind of "soft" stuff. The evidence is growing, however, that successful leadership is not an either-or proposition when it comes to hard stuff and soft stuff. Both are required.
This interview with the Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business is a great indicator of where leadership is headed. (Email subscribers click here to watch the video online.)
Make a Difference,
Brian
Click here to learn more about the work I do helping leaders develop their own unique approaches to getting leadership right
Some will disagree with the change. Others will even scoff at the significance of the gesture.
The News: The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) is closing the Bush-era loophole in the Title IX legislation that some argued made it easier for colleges and universities to avoid complying with requirements to provide equal opportunity for female athletes. (NYTimes)
I say it's a good day for the planet.
The world can be an unfathomably unfair and hostile place for those born female.
I spoke about leadership issues in the finance industry this week with a female executive who said it takes a thick skin for women to get ahead in her field because of the offensive bawdiness some of the boys still bring to the workplace.
I learned at the world premier in Minneapolis of a documentary film, Power and Control: Domestic Violence in America, that a woman is assaulted every 18 seconds in America by the man she loves.
Kudos to those in the Obama administration who guided the DOE to this decision. It's a step in the right direction. A question for all of us, though: What can each of us do to help clear the path for the success and well-being of the girls and women in our lives?
Full disclosure: I have a daughter. She's in the Peace Corp. Yup,
I'm biased, but I think she's pretty amazing. (Callie's
Blog) And I'm
posting this article and link in part because I want her to have a great life, but also because I believe the investments made in
her so far have helped make the world a little better place. But I would have written this article no matter
what, because I believe investing in girls makes the world a better
place for my son, too.
Along with all the bucks and kudos filmmaker James Cameron is reaping from his record-shattering movie, Avatar, he also is being credited for "emotionalizing" the world's environmental plight. Think about this...
Cameron's story about greedy business people devastating nature for
profit has stirred hearts, his own and those of millions of others. There's a lesson in this perhaps-unexpected development from this giant Hollywood movie -- and in the tiny-but-also-compelling video attached -- about what it takes to lead change. If you think about it, isn't it stirred-up hearts that so
often provide the inspiration, energy, creativity, and endurance people
need
to go make things different... to make things better?
Pay attention in coming months for more stories about Cameron like the
one in the New
York Times chronicling his crusade against the proposed Belo Monte
dam project in Brazil, and watch for others to rally to this and other
ecological causes... all because one man told one moving story.
After you watch this one-minute-and-twenty-nine-second video, try to convince me you'll be able to ignore it's life-saving message.
And then, think about the difference you're trying to make and the stories you can tell or the steps you can take to tap into your own heart and the hearts of others you need to follow your lead...
I've spent a lot of time around educators -- as a student, of course; as an engaged parent with two kids who went K-12 through an urban public school system; as an admirer of friends who've dedicated their lives to working in classrooms; and as a facilitator and consultant helping build plans for future-focused teaching practices.
Teaching is a tough job. It's an under-valued profession. And, in the workplace, it's an under-attended role of leaders.
Versions of this inspiring Taylor Mali poem have made the rounds on the web. Mark Sturgell reminded me it's worth watching again. Seth Godin reminded him. Somebody named Rod reminded Seth. And here I am...
I'm sending it directly to some teachers I know, and an ex-boss or two... to say thanks. Watch it. Pass it along.
I'm working with a lot of leaders dealing with change, including figuring out what the #%$*! to do about the never-stand-still world of marketing via "social media."
There are some who are wrestling with figuring out if Facebook and Twitter and YouTube and the Blogosphere are a fad or for real. They're wondering if they have to get into the game or if they wait long enough, "This too shall pass."
It's for real.
Need persuading? Check out this video, and hold onto your hat for four minutes and twenty-two seconds. It's a promo for the book, Socialnomics: How Social
Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business. Not only does it punch out a potent message, it's a perfect example of what's happening in this new world of persuasive communication.
A mother was driving in afternoon rush-hour traffic, having just picked up her 7-year-old daughter from school. While Mom drove, the little girl worked quietly, drawing pictures in a notebook on her lap.
After a few minutes, the little girl raised her eyes, looking a little confused at her mother and asked quizzically, "Mom, where are all the jerks and idiots today?"
Mom said, "Oh honey, they're only out when your father is driving."
...the world is a different place.
I'm not the kind of guy who recites affirmations in the mirror to start my mornings. But anybody who's been involved in a project I facilitated can tell you, I am a big advocate for making the choice to go through life not seeing the other drivers as jerks and idiots. I've seen the difference it can make in a life or a business when someone chooses to approach most days with hope and optimism. And I'm so glad there are kids around to remind us what a good idea that is.
Make a Difference,
Brian
P.S. Thanks to Jim Clemmer for sharing this story during a recent webinar.
A one-minute-thirty-six-second artistic and moving reminder to make every day your next great adventure.
Be forewarned: It's a commercial for high-end handbag and luggage-maker Louis Vuitton, but you won't know that until you've watched almost the entire video. I'm challenged and inspired every time I watch.
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