As the year 1776 drew to a close, the American experiment was in trouble. In recent months the Colonial forces had suffered much at the hands of the British troops and Hessian mercenaries. They had been routed from Long Island, chased from Manhattan across New Jersey into Pennsylvania. Boston, New York and Rhode Island were [...]
In Good to Great, Jim Collins researched and codified a surprising fact: that leadership matters a great deal in taking organizations from good to great. He said that good-to-great leaders seemed to come from a completely different mold when compared to high-profile leaders with big personalities who make headlines and become celebrities. Self-effacing, quiet, reserved, [...]
In the movie, The Hunger Games, North America has been destroyed by some unknown apocalyptic event and the nation of Panem exists in its place. Pamen consists of a wealthy Capitol and twelve surrounding, poorer districts. As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 [...]
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 apprehend his nemesis, Snidley Whiplash. Dudley was romantically interested in the lovely Nell Fenwick, daughter of Inspector Fenwick, commander of [...]
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, a British war correspondent had gone into Normandy. He was particularly disgusted by the fact that the generals were living [...]
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 of tennis, a fairly serious jog or, in my case, a long bike ride. It’s not a “lay down on [...]
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 prefer... not. We compromise. We decided on a "small, sweet, loving, rescue dog." So we set out to find one who met [...]
When the conversation heads towards professional boxing, it frequently involves the heavyweight division. These are the people who have the potential for a sudden, surprising or even spectacular ending to any fight. Foreman. Frazier. Louis. Liston. Marciano. Ali. Tyson. These guys give new meaning to "heavy hitters." ESPN Boxing recounts a 1988 match between Michael [...]
“I did not get on the bus to get arrested. I got on the bus to go home.” - Rosa Parks On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was seated on a Montgomery, Alabama bus. When the driver ordered her to give up her seat so a white passenger could take it, she refused. This simple [...]
My boss had the corner office. From his lofty vantage point, with it's windowed walls, he could look out on a large section of the St. John's river. My office was next to his. One day the Boss had his chair wheeled around and was gazing down the river when one of my employees walked [...]
