I had the chance to lead a leadership workshop at the United States Army Garrison Yongsan in Seoul, South Korea. This was my first chance to work with the military, though I felt particularly motivated after lunch with Frances Hesselbein last summer, who has worked with West Point and the White House for decades and holds many there in the highest regard, and after interacting with an NYU-based project with[…] Keep reading →
I can’t tell you how exhausted I was when I got home yesterday. Traveling meant about five hours of sleep in the forty-eight leading to last evening’s sleep. Telling a client about burpees and Sidchas recently, when I mentioned doing them when tired, drunk, or otherwise discouraged, he asked, “wait, you do them then too?”, implying that for a long-term activity, you don’t have to be a stickler for rules[…] Keep reading →
No politician or nation, no matter how belligerent, considers itself the attacker—not the most authoritarian dictator any more than the most democratically elected leader. One simple statement, used by nearly every one, summarizes the trick: We will not attack first, but if attacked, we will defend ourselves. Every leader says it their own way. Once the population believes it, they can feel justified in attacking, feeling and claiming innocence. Neither[…] Keep reading →
Did this clause of the Constitution confuse you when you first learned it, in particular that part about treaties: This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the US., shall be the supreme law of the land The part about treaties puzzled me when I first learned it. We’re[…] Keep reading →
Many people look to technology to solve problems. Technology has solved many problems. It helps us travel around the world, communicate with people anywhere instantly, makes amazing special effects in movies, and all that stuff that dazzles us. I think a lot of people see technology as something that sprouts out of laboratories or the minds of people so unlike them they call them geniuses and consider them superhuman. I[…] Keep reading →
Yesterday I asked readers for their ideas of the opposite of leadership. Christmas is probably not the best time to ask for feedback, but a reader suggested the following Reacting or doing something without awareness, like why one is really doing it and what its effects could be. Looking at one aspect of something and thinking it’s the entire picture. Allowing others to confuse or intimidate me into adopting their[…] Keep reading →
What do you think the opposite of leading is? I think most people would reflexively say following, but since both leaders and followers are trying to achieve the same goal, I don’t think they’re opposites. More like complements. I have an idea or two that I think tell a lot about leadership. I’m curious what my readers might think, so before I share what I’m thinking, I invite readers to[…] Keep reading →
Politicians tell you America is “losing ground” to other countries all the time. A search on “America is losing ground to China India” returns tons of results, many fear-mongering. This language comes from a misguided belief that business and trade are zero-sum competitions, that if someone elsewhere gets a deal then you lost it. If you want votes and don’t mind sowing fear, anxiety, and xenophobia, great. But people succeeding[…] Keep reading →
As soon as I saw this scene in the movie Boyhood, I knew I had to post about it. Any man who grew up with a sister experienced the frustration you learn to live with of society (represented by parents in the context of a family) considering you guilty first and responsible for problems. His sister taunts him. When the mother enters, his sister fakes tears and victimhood and their[…] Keep reading →
