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Victims, villains and rescuers
Dudley Do-Right was the hero of a segment of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, a cartoon entertainment show from my youth. Dudley was a dim-witted but cheerfully optimistic Canadian Mountie who was ever trying to[...]
Political correctness is killing business
Top photo: Dad on left in "Ol' B29" amtrac. Bottom: Dad marked with "x" - "Chow time on Saipan" Click on picture to enlarge. During the morning of February 19, 1945 my father[...]
Who do you trust?
We encounter people in life who give us – with the best of intentions – advice and counsel that is inherently biased. In the 1967 movie, The Graduate, we find Mr. McGuire (actor Walter Brooke)[...]
Three secrets for improved performance in today’s economy
Times are tough and the economic seas are rough. The future is rife with uncertainty. So, what else is new? We, who are beyond a certain age, have seen much of this before. By the[...]
What do your subordinates say about you?
This story is told by David Kirk Hart, former professor at Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management. It comes to me by way of my good friend and storyteller, Jim Ericson. "During World War II,[...]
Are you a good lie detector?
According to TIME magazine article "Lies, Lies, Lies" (Oct 5, 1992), "Lies flourish in social uncertainty, when people no longer understand, or agree on, the rules governing their behavior toward one another." Whew! That was[...]
When you look, what do you see?
Have you seen this email? It has been making the rounds for a while: A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January[...]
Your momentum is taking you somewhere. Take notice.
The first time I saw people shooting pool (playing pocket billiards) I was hooked. Perhaps is was having seen The Hustler with Jackie Gleason as "Minnesota Fats" or maybe it was a manifestation of male adolescence.[...]
Leader, are you tired?
The business owners and senior managers I know who are really good leaders are frequently tired. It’s a good tired, but tired nonetheless. It’s a lot like the tired you get from a spirited game[...]
Sadness in the Steve Jobs biography
Today, Walter Issacson's authorized biography of Steve Jobs will be released to the general public. Many interesting "leaks" from pre-lease copies have been published over the past few days. Steve Jobs excelled in thinking differently. Apple iPods[...]
The US economic problems will improve…
Or not. At least one organization (the Economic Cycle Research Institute, ECRI) with an exceptionally good track record says another recession may already be here. Over the last 15 years, it has gotten all of[...]
Leadership and unconditional love
A little over three years ago we decided to add a dog to our family. My wife is a city girl and I'm a country boy. I'd like a barnyard full of pets and she'd[...]