#30
September 27, 20910
#1
We have had 25 days without rain in September here in Columbia. When you walked across the lawn, it crackled. Dry is an understatement. The grass was as brown as a paper sack, lifeless, unattractive. Scorched by the daily 95+ temperatures we have had. Record number of days above 90 for September (Al Gore excepted!!).
#2
I flew back last night from Baltimore. By the time I landed in Columbia it was pouring rain. By 10 o'clock this morning the grass was already showing signs of recovery - that memorable 'green' was emerging, colorful, succulent, refreshing like the rain itself.
God's goodness is like that. There are persistent 'dry times' in our life spiritually. We long for refreshing. When it comes, like the 'greening of the lawn' we know that He has visited us. He has once again poured His indescribable favor upon us. We breath a sigh of cool relief. Thank you Lord!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Taking Responsibility as a Leader
#29
September 20, 2010
Failure to Accept Responsibility is a Failure to Lead
It was caused by forces out of our control. That line is not from a 1950s sci-fi movie in reference to aliens taking over the world. Rather it seems to be the assessment of many senior leaders in the financial services industry as to the causes of the economic meltdown.
"Nobody was prepared for this" is what Robert Rubin, a senior official at Citigroup, told the Wall Street Journal. "Maybe there are things, in context of the facts [the board] knew then, we should have done differently," Rubin admits.
Not acting "differently," however, caused Citigroup to lose $20 billion over the past year and to receive $45 billion in federal assistance. Although Rubin turned down his 2007 bonus, he has earned $115 million from Citigroup since joining the firm in 1999. As for "regrets," Rubin told the Journal, "I guess I don't think of it quite that way... If you look back from now, there's an enormous amount that needs to be learned."
One thing that may need to be learned (or re-learned) is a lesson in responsibility. It rests on three principles.
1. Be aware. Every leader needs to take a moment to drink up the action. You need to step back from the day to day flow and assess what is happening. Acknowledge what is going well as well as what is going poorly. Always be aware that things are not always as they seem and be prepared for surprises.
2. Accept consequences. Few executives need schooling in taking credit, but too many need some reminding about what happens when things go wrong. Accepting the consequences for failure is not a sign of weakness; it's a measure of leadership. While no one likes to fail, the sooner you accept what happened, the sooner you can move forward.
3. Resolve to improve. Some crises are too great for the current leadership to continue. We are seeing replacements of CEOs in nearly every business sector. But the majority of senior executives have their jobs, or new ones, and so they will need to discover ways to improve things. That starts with a resolution to make a positive difference. In crisis it means sacrificing short-term gains, e.g. bonus compensation, for long-term growth.
Behavioral scientists teach us that the first step in recovery is an acknowledgement of responsibility. But sadly too few executives are holding themselves accountable. This is not only bad for the future of our economy. It sets a poor example to younger managers and those about to become managers. Forget what you might have learned in school (or from your parents), these executives seem to say, do what you want to do and deny responsibility.
"The price of greatness," said Winston Churchill, "is responsibility." Something that all of us facing tough times need to remember.
This article is from 2008 and relates to the Finance Industry. It has wide and
legitimate application for many disciplines. Take Responsibility!!
September 20, 2010
Failure to Accept Responsibility is a Failure to Lead
It was caused by forces out of our control. That line is not from a 1950s sci-fi movie in reference to aliens taking over the world. Rather it seems to be the assessment of many senior leaders in the financial services industry as to the causes of the economic meltdown.
"Nobody was prepared for this" is what Robert Rubin, a senior official at Citigroup, told the Wall Street Journal. "Maybe there are things, in context of the facts [the board] knew then, we should have done differently," Rubin admits.
Not acting "differently," however, caused Citigroup to lose $20 billion over the past year and to receive $45 billion in federal assistance. Although Rubin turned down his 2007 bonus, he has earned $115 million from Citigroup since joining the firm in 1999. As for "regrets," Rubin told the Journal, "I guess I don't think of it quite that way... If you look back from now, there's an enormous amount that needs to be learned."
One thing that may need to be learned (or re-learned) is a lesson in responsibility. It rests on three principles.
1. Be aware. Every leader needs to take a moment to drink up the action. You need to step back from the day to day flow and assess what is happening. Acknowledge what is going well as well as what is going poorly. Always be aware that things are not always as they seem and be prepared for surprises.
2. Accept consequences. Few executives need schooling in taking credit, but too many need some reminding about what happens when things go wrong. Accepting the consequences for failure is not a sign of weakness; it's a measure of leadership. While no one likes to fail, the sooner you accept what happened, the sooner you can move forward.
3. Resolve to improve. Some crises are too great for the current leadership to continue. We are seeing replacements of CEOs in nearly every business sector. But the majority of senior executives have their jobs, or new ones, and so they will need to discover ways to improve things. That starts with a resolution to make a positive difference. In crisis it means sacrificing short-term gains, e.g. bonus compensation, for long-term growth.
Behavioral scientists teach us that the first step in recovery is an acknowledgement of responsibility. But sadly too few executives are holding themselves accountable. This is not only bad for the future of our economy. It sets a poor example to younger managers and those about to become managers. Forget what you might have learned in school (or from your parents), these executives seem to say, do what you want to do and deny responsibility.
"The price of greatness," said Winston Churchill, "is responsibility." Something that all of us facing tough times need to remember.
This article is from 2008 and relates to the Finance Industry. It has wide and
legitimate application for many disciplines. Take Responsibility!!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Sense in an Age of Senselessness
September 6, 2010
#28
Bill Gates speech: 11 rules your kids did not and will not learn in school
by Kent Summers on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 8:34am
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
This should be required reading once per week in every calssroom in America. THANKS Bill.
#28
Bill Gates speech: 11 rules your kids did not and will not learn in school
by Kent Summers on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 8:34am
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
This should be required reading once per week in every calssroom in America. THANKS Bill.
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