Band of Brothers
I have promised that I will not turn Leading Thoughts into a marketing piece and I won’t. In this edition, though, I want to tell you about a new little book I’ve written. Then, I’m going to show you some of the text from that book and provide an opportunity for you to buy it at a discount. There. Full disclosure. And next week, back to normal. You know I’m concerned about the state of men today, and you know that I’ve written a book called Mansfield’s Book of Manly Men. Now, I’ve written a companion for this book. It’s called Building Your Band[read more]
Speech-Making
I’ve recently been working with a number of our clients on their speech-making. We’ve had tremendous breakthroughs in the last few weeks and largely because of a few tactics we’ve employed. I want to tell you what these are. You know how much I believe that great leadership is tethered to skilled public speaking, so I’m eager to list these tactics for your use. The Core Thought I do not believe in mantras but I do believe that “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” This has led me to urge speakers to have a “core thought”[read more]
Belief In What You Are Doing
Let me ask you some questions that may be among the most important of your life and leadership. Do you believe in what you are doing? I’m the first to understand that not all the jobs we hold, in every phase of our lives, are ones we deeply believe in and light us up with passion. However, one of the arts of life and leadership is to put the roles we hold into perspective so that they have meaning for us and draw from us our best. The job you had at that burger joint in high school wasn’t supposed[read more]
Leading Thoughts is not about politics
Leading Thoughts is not about politics, but I don’t mind using happenings in politics to illustrate principles of leadership. So, let me reflect a bit upon something that happened at the recent GOP convention. I’ve written a lot of political speeches in my life, so I was keenly interested in the stir created by Melania Trump’s speech on the GOP’s first night in Cleveland. I’m sure you heard that in her speech there were almost direct quotes from Michelle Obama’s speech in the last Democratic convention. I’m not interested in rehashing all the controversy about Mrs. Trump’s speech, but suffice it[read more]
Low Grade Global War
I want to ask you some questions in this Leading Thoughts, but before I do I want to make some assurances. I want you to be assured that I am neither a survivalist nor someone preoccupied with global apocalypse. The truth is that if something horrible happens anywhere near me, I’m running towards it to help people. I’m not running away and hiding in a titanium shelter on a mountain. So, what I’m about to say is rooted in faith not fear, rooted in optimism not visions of devastation. I believe we are all living now in a low grade global[read more]
Where am I a coward?
There is a question all leaders ought to ask themselves. It is a question I strive to answer not only about myself but about everyone I advise on leadership. The question is simple: “Where am I a coward?” The word “coward” is so jarring that we recoil from it. Let me frame it up a bit, and then let’s apply it to the way we lead. I like the Mirriam-Webster definition of cowardice: “fear that makes you unable to do what is right or expected.” This is certainly part of our answer. Cowardice is based in fear, and it prevents[read more]
Police Training
Let me draw a surprising leadership lesson from some of the horrible events of last week. Our nation is in an uproar over race, and it should be. We’ve lost ground in the battle for racial unity, and we are all, I trust, in grief over it. However, let me offer a perspective on a few of these tragedies that may help you in your leadership. After the two videos of police shooting black men went viral last week, I called a few of my DC detective friends. They are all black. I asked them what they thought. I trust[read more]
July 4 -2016
The Fourth of July has always been the middle of summer for me. Here’s why. Schools in the U.S. tend to let out in May. Even if they don’t do so everywhere, the weather in May tells us that summer has begun. Then there is all of June. By July 4, we are about six weeks into “emotional summer.” We are also about six weeks from the start of the new school year. If you need confirmation, let me report that the first Washington Redskins’ pre-season game this year is August 11. Notre Dame’s first regular season game is September[read more]
the forest for the trees
You have probably heard a comment something like this: “That guy can’t see the forest for the trees.” It’s a way of saying that someone is focused on the details to the exclusion of the big picture. They’re missing the macro because they’re too preoccupied with the micro. The implied solution is that the person hyper-focused on the trees needs to “look up” and see the forest. This has never made sense to me, though. If you’re in the middle of a forest and the trees are all you can see, you can’t simply look up to see the forest.[read more]
Less Is More
We have all heard the maxim, “Less is more.” I wonder if we have applied it to our lives? Or to our styles of leadership? Or to our companies? Capable people love to challenge themselves. They find satisfaction in throwing themselves into the wind and seeing what comes of it. They like the admiration they get in return. They also like the adrenaline rush. “Look at all the things I can do,” they seem to be saying with their lives. They should save it for the ski slope or for sailing. They should give themselves to an extreme sport or[read more]