Zconomy

I just finished reading Zconomy: How Gen Z Will Change the Future of Business - and What to Do About It by Jason Dorsey and Denise Villa, which Amazon describes as "The most complete and authoritative guide to Gen Z, describing how leaders must adapt their employment, sales and marketing, product, and growth strategies to attract and keep this important new generation of customers, employees and trendsetters."  I heard Dorsey speak at the annual meeting of the Children's Hospital Association meeting this past November.  He reported the findings of a number of workforce studies, including one specifically focused upon the different generations currently working in children's hospitals.  The meeting organizers were kind of enough to hand out free copies of his book, which he co-authored with his wife, Denise Villa, who is the Founder and current CEO of The Center for Generational Kinetics.  

Dorsey defines "generation" as "a group of people born about the same time and raised in about the same place."  As of 2023, there are five generations in the workforce - Traditionalists (also known as the "Silent Generation"), Baby Boomers, Generation X (Gen X), Millennials (also known as Generation Y), and Generation Z (Gen Z).  I've always found it difficult to compare and contrast the supposed differences in beliefs, attitudes, and motivations between the different generations.  I've even questioned whether researchers are making more of these supposed differences than truly exist.  However, after listening to Dorsey's talk and reading Zconomy, I have a new appreciation for the so-called 5 Generation workforce!

First, it's important to recognize that every generation has something unique to offer the workplace environment.  Second, as I mentioned in my post "Talkin' 'bout My Generation" last year, we should try to avoid using stereotypes to describe every individual who was born in a certain era.  Dorsey emphasizes that "generations are not a box."  Instead, he views generations as "powerful clues on where to start to faster understand, connect with, build trust, and drive influence with people of different ages."  Third, and perhaps most importantly, we are all affected by what was happening in the world around us during our formative years.  For example, individuals from my generation (Generation X) can remember watching television in black and white on just three channels, "hanging out" at the local shopping mall, using a handheld calculator for the first time, playing Pong, or listening to music on their Sony Walkman.  Contrast our experience with that of GenZers, i.e. those individuals born between 1997 and 2012.  These individuals have never known a world without smartphones, social media, and instant communication being a part of everyday life.  While the Challenger disaster, the end of the Cold War and fall of communism, Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, and the Columbine shooting were defining moments for my generation, GenZers can't remember a world when the U.S. war on terror didn't exist, when same-sex marriages were not legal, or when the U.S. economy was not struggling.  The defining moment of their generation was the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dorsey also defines what he calls "cuspers" as those individuals who are born within three years of any generation's beginning or ending birth year.  "Cuspers" often (but not always) exhibit characteristics of the generation before or after.  Importantly, "cuspers" are "bridging generations" because they are more empathetic to the generations immediately before or after their own.  

While Millennials are currently the largest generation, Gen Z is the fastest growing generation in the U.S. workforce (the same is true for the children's hospital workforce).  That's important for several reasons.  First, Gen Z believes that a leader can most positively impact their professional lives by (1) believing in them (and trusting them), (2) inspiring them to grow, and (3) providing them with good advice.  In other words, Gen Z is motivated more by the intangibles than they are by fancy titles or trinkets.  Second, Gen Z is committed to social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion.  More importantly, they expect their organizations and leaders to be committed to social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion.  Gen Zers will demand that leaders treat everyone equally and fairly by providing them with equal access to opportunities and applying rules clearly and consistently across the board.  Third, Gen Z wants to work in organizations with a culture of respect, as demonstrated by flexibility (i.e. more control over their work schedule, the ability to work remotely, etc), work-life balance, and mutual respect and trust in leaders and co-workers.  Fourth, Gen Z wants stability.  As a group, they actually save their money for the future.

Overall, I thought Zconomy was a great read.  I do feel like I have a better understanding of Gen Z than before.  One of the last things that stuck with me from the lecture and the book was one of Dorsey's closing comments.  He said, "Every generation is equally important and equally valuable, but only if we give them the space to be themselves."

Happy Father's Day to All!

I wanted to wish all the fathers out there a Happy Father's Day with a post from the past:

A few years ago, I wrote down some of the leadership lessons that I have learned from my father (see Fatherly Leadership).  This year, in honor of Father's Day, I'd like to add to that list some of the leadership lessons that I have learned while being a father as well.

1. Silly (and corny) dad jokes are a thing. 

There's nothing like a corny dad joke to get a laugh at just the right time, even if it is just a sympathy laugh ("Oh, Dad...").  The fact that all four of adult children still laugh at my silly dad jokes tells me one thing - a child's love is unconditional and forever.  And that is one of the greatest gifts of being a father.  We should all repay that unconditional love right back to our children.

2.  No matter what you think of the next generation, they won't let you down.

I can't tell you how many times that I have heard an older adult tell someone from the next generation on down, "When I was your age..." (fill in the blank - it's usually something like "we had to walk to school through ankle-deep snow, up hill both ways" or something like that).  I've said it myself.  It's easy for older adults from Generation X to look at Millennials or Generation Z, shake their heads, and question whether the future is in good hands or not.  Preceding generations said the same thing about us!  I look at our children and have nothing but hope for the future.  I know we are in good hands.  I am proud of the individuals that each of our children have become.  They have never let me down, and I don't think their generation will ever let us down.

3.  Pride is forever.

As I look back over the years, some of the best moments as a father were sharing in the triumphs and successes of our children.  I vividly remember the day that each of them rode a bike for the first time without training wheels just as clearly as I remember the times that they graduated from pre-school, middle school, high school, and college.  But I also remember, with just as much pride and joy, how they each handled the failures and disappointments that came along the way as well.  Failure is a part of life - we can either dwell on our failures or move on and learn from them.  They used their failures as a learning moment, and they never let failure stop them from moving forward.  In a sense, I've learned and grown just as much from sharing in our children's experiences with success and failure as they have learned.

4.  Never stop learning.

As it turns out, you can teach an old dog new tricks.  Our children have taught me that there's no time like the present to learn something new.  I've watched them take up new hobbies or re-invigorate old ones.  You are never too old to learn something new.  Never stop learning.

5. Being a father is the best job I've ever had.

I am so thankful and lucky to be a father to these four adults.  Their words and actions continue to amaze and inspire me, and more importantly, they remind me that being a father is the best job that I've ever had.

Thank you to our four children - I am lucky to be your father.  And to my own father, you were the first man I ever met and the greatest man that I have ever known.  Thank you for being my Dad and showing me the way.

Happy Father's Day to all!

The keys to life...

If you've been paying close attention, you will have noticed that I've been making a lot of references to Admiral (retired) William McRaven lately.  Within the last few months, I've finished reading Admiral McRaven's books, all of which were fantastic!  All of his books discuss various topics on leadership, most of which Admiral McRaven learned while on active duty as a Navy SEAL and during his time as Chancellor at the University of Texas in Austin.  The book, Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations is part memoir and part leadership handbook, making it slightly different from his other books.  I came across one particular passage in this book, which I felt perfectly encapsulates the keys to living a good and successful life.  Admiral McRaven wrote, "I realized that life is actually pretty simple.  Help as many people as you can.  Make as many friends as you can. Work as hard as you can.  And, no matter what happens, never quit!"  It's great advice, and I can't think of a better way of stating it.

Here are Admiral McRaven's keys to a successful life:

1. Help as many people as you can.

2. Make as many friends as you can.

3. Work as hard as you can.

4. No matter what happens, never quit!

His is a simple, yet elegant, formula!

Clutch

I recently came across a great article in USA Today by Staff Writer Josh Peter on Indiana Pacer's star player Tyrese Haliburton ("Tyrese Haliburton NBA Postseason heroics renew debate: Does 'clutch' play exist?").  The Pacers (my favorite professional basketball team growing up) are currently playing the Oklahoma City Thunder for the NBA championship.  The Thunder are the clear favorites to win, making the Pacers the underdogs (see my recent post "There's no need to fear..." for what it means to be an underdog).  They are playing much better than anyone expected, and most experts didn't think that they would actually be playing in the NBA Finals.    And now, they are leading the series two games to one!  With just a few exceptions, Haliburton has been outstanding throughout the play-offs, and his "clutch" shooting has been a big reason why they are playing for the championships.

Peter asked the question, "Does 'clutch' play even exist?"  It's an age-old debate that has actually been studied extensively.  The quick answer is that there is probably no such thing as "clutch performance", where athletes excel under pressure.  The cognitive psychologist and author Dan Ariely wrote an article for Huffington Post several years ago ("The irrational side of corporate bonuses"), in which his team conducted a series of experiments (covered in greater detail in his 2011 book, The Upside of Irrationality) to answer this question.  Ariely collaborated with Racheli Barkan and former Duke University men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski ("Coach K").  They asked a group of professional basketball coaches to identify "clutch players" in the NBA (most of the coaches agreed about who was and who was not a "clutch player").  They next watched and analyzed game footage from twenty of the most crucial games in an actual NBA season ("most crucial" was defined as a game that ended with a point difference of 3 points or less).  They analyzed how many points the "clutch player" scored in the last 5 minutes of the first half of each game, when the pressure to perform was relatively low.  They compared each player's points in the last 5 minutes of the first half with the number of points scored in the final 5 minutes of the game, when the pressure to perform was much higher.  They also analyzed "non-clutch" players as a control.

Non-clutch players scored more or less the same number of points in the final 5 minutes of each half.  However, the clutch players scored a lot more points in the final 5 minutes of the game versus the last 5 minutes of the first half.  On the surface, those results seem consistent with "clutch play".  However, when they looked further, they found that these clutch players took a lot more shots during the final 5 minutes of the game compared to the last 5 minutes of the first half.  In other words, they didn't actually improve their ability to score, they simply had more opportunities to do so!

One study doesn't prove anything, particularly one that hasn't been published and subject to the peer review process.  However, Ariely's and Barkan's findings are consistent with other published studies in both professional basketball (see "Home certus in professional basketball?" and "Performance when it counts?"), FIFA World Cup football (soccer) (see "Nerves of steel? Stress, work performance and elite athletes"), and major league baseball (see "Clutch hitting revisited").  The next logical question is whether these findings translate to business and medicine.  "Clutch performance" in sports is one thing, but how do leaders outside of sports work under pressure?  Is there such a thing as "clutch performance" in the business world?

I suspect that what's true for professional athletes is true for the rest of us.  There's probably no such thing as "clutch performance" for leaders, at least on a consistent basis.  For a related topic ("choking under pressure"), please see two of my posts in the past on the inverted U hypothesis and one of my all-time favorite Ted Lasso quotes, "Be a gold fish!"

I'd love to hear your opinion on this, so feel free to leave a comment!

Solitude

Last year around this time, I talked about the need for leaders to take time for themselves and read, think, and reflect about what it means to be a leader and what they need to further grow and develop as a leader.  I named the post "Fortress of Solitude", which referred to my childhood hero, Superman's place to relax, recharge, and reflect (see this great video clip from the 1978 Superman movie starring the late Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, and Gene Hackman).

Thomas Edison once said that "the best thinking has been done in solitude."  The Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho (who wrote, The Alchemist) said, "If you are never alone, you cannot know yourself."  Finally, the Belgian writer May Sarton contrasted solitude with loneliness (which I also posted about in "The Loneliness Epidemic" and "Ubuntu") and said, "Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."  In other words, solitude is not loneliness and is probably a necessity for all of us at least periodically.

I suspect that Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins knew a thing or two about solitude.  Recall that Collins flew the Apollo 11 command module Columbia around the moon thirty times in 1969 while his two crewmates Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon.  During each orbit around the moon, Collins would lose radio contact with Earth for approximately 48 minutes, while he traveled on the dark side of the moon.  Collins never felt lonely though.  He wrote in the mission log, "not since Adam has any human known such solitude."  Rather than loneliness, he described his feelings during these 48 minutes as "awareness, anticipation, satisfaction, confidence, almost exultation."  

Collins admitted to himself, "I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life."  During his time on the far side of the moon, he famously wrote down, "If a count were taken, the score would be three-billion-plus-two over on the other side of the moon, and one-plus-God-knows-what on this side."

Astronaut Michael Collins took this photo of fellow Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin returning from the surface of the moon in the lunar module, Eagle.  With the Earth behind the Eagle, Collins is the only human in the world not in this image!

As leaders, we may never experience the degree of solitude that Michael Collins experienced during the Apollo 11 mission.  However, what's important to recognize is that despite being the only human on the dark side of the moon, Collins didn't feel lonely.  Again, he described his feeling as "awareness, anticipation, satisfaction, confidence, almost exultation."  Just imagine what even a small amount of solitude can do for us!  

The Enlightenment era poet Alexander Pope wrote in his Ode on Solitude, "Happy the man and blest, who can unconcernedly find hours, days, and years slide soft away, in health of body, peace of mind, quiet by day, sound sleep by night; study and ease, together mixed; sweet recreation; and innocence, which most does please, with meditation."

Nurses are once again the most trusted profession in America...

Gallup released the results of their annual Honesty and Ethics of Professions survey this past January, and once again nursing ranked as the most trusted profession in America.  The poll was conducted December 2-18, 2024 and asked U.S. adults which professions that they thought were the most honest and ethical.  Three out of four Americans consider nurses highly honest and ethical (76%), making nurses once again the most trusted profession.  As I've mentioned in previous posts (see "Annual Gallup survey on honesty and ethics among professionals" and "Nurses are first...again!"), nurses have earned the highest rating every year since Gallup added them to their annual survey in 1999, except for one year, when firefighters were rated highest in the 2001 survey in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.  

Grade-school teachers ranked second (61% of U.S. adults rated them high or very high on honesty and ethics), while military officers, pharmacists, and medical doctors also earned high or very high trust from the majority of Americans.  It's important to note that the Gallup organization has measured honesty and ethics among the different professions since 1976.  While the list of professions included in the survey has changed over the years, the list has remained fairly consistent since 1999, which was the year that the nursing profession was first added to the list.

What's concerning is that the overall average of very high/high honest and ethics ratings among the most consistently surveyed group of professions has declined over the years, from a high of around 43% in 2001 to a low of 30% in 2024.  Even trust in the nursing profession has decreased by approximately 6 percentage points during this same period of time.  The trust decline in the professions mirrors that of the long-term decline in the general public's confidence and trust in U.S. institutions.  We are becoming a less trusting society as a whole (see a new report from earlier this month by the Pew Research Center on "American's Trust in One Another").

I want to save a discussion on the decline in trust, both for professions and for society in general, for another post.  Instead, to finish off today's post, I want to offer an explanation for why I think nursing remains the most trusted profession overall.  Perhaps most importantly, nurses spend a lot of time with patients and family members.  Because they spend so much of their day at the bedside, they have the opportunity to get to know their patients.  They are true advocates for their patients, and they are always there to answer questions or help interpret a doctor's instructions or care plans.  They also educate their patients and families about how to manage health conditions and promote health.  Nurses are often the first point of contact for patients (either in the hospital or clinic setting) and the face of healthcare in any health care setting.  Nurses' unwavering commitment to patient care, coupled with their compassionate nature and high ethical standards, makes them the most trusted profession every year! 

"There's no need to fear..."

"There's no need to fear, Underdog is here!"  Underdog was a cartoon superhero who appeared on Saturday morning television during the 1960's and 1970's.  Underdog was to Shoeshine Boy like Superman was to Clark Kent.  He used to appear whenever his love interest Sweet Polly Purebred was being victimized by such villains as Simon Bar Sinister or Riff Raff.  It was a great show that I remember watching when I was young.  

"Underdog" was probably a good name for a cartoon canine superhero.  The word "underdog" came into common use long before the cartoon first appeared.  The word actually started being used in the 19th century and referred to an actual dog who lost in a dogfight (dogfighting was hugely popular back then).  Since that time, it's been adopted in a broader sense to refer to any person or group who is expected to lose or fail in a competition.  Similarly, the phrase "dark horse" comes from the sport of horse racing and refers to a previously lesser-known person or team that emerges to prominence in a competition.  We now use the words "underdog", "dark horse", and "Cinderella Story" interchangeably.

Every year (except for maybe this past one), there seems to be an unheralded, low-seeded team (a "Cinderella") who surprises everyone by making a deep run during "March Madness", the annual NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament.  Television ratings for the tournament always increase when there's a "Cinderella Story" still playing.  America loves to root for the underdog or dark horse.  We love the rags to riches story.  We always root for David to beat Goliath.  We want to see Rocky Balboa knock-out Apollo Creed.  We cheer on Sea Biscuit to beat out War Admiral.  We love movies like "The Karate Kid" or "Cinderella Man" or "Miracle".  We can't help but smile (or even cry happy tears) whenever people like Susan Boyle or Jourdan Blue blow the judges away on shows like Britain's Got Talent or America's Got Talent. 

As Joseph Vandello, Nadav Goldschmied, and David Richards write in their research article "The Appeal of the Underdog", "Some of the most enduring figures in history, literature, mythology, religion, cinema, and sports are those who have faced daunting odds, were given little hope, or were expected to fail.  These figures have a great appeal, largely because of their status as underdogs."  But why?  If anything, research in the field of social psychology would predict that we would favor the expected winners versus the losers, the "top dogs" if you will.  Vandello, Goldschmied, and Richards found that support for a sports team or group does indeed increase when it is perceived to be the underdog.  Further, they found that our intrinsic desire to root for the underdog stems from our need for justice and fairness in competition.

I recently came across another blog post ("Why We Love Underdogs - And  What It Means for Leadership") which talked about how leaders can leverage this love affair with the underdog.  First, we need to remember that talent isn't always obvious at first.  We should look beyond traditional markers of success.  Second, rules should serve people, not control them.  As leaders, we should encourage risk-taking and challenge the status quo.  Third, consistent with the aforementioned study, people rally around fairness.  We should strive to foster a culture of trust, not fear.

"The more we sweat in training..."

When I was on active duty in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps, my Department Head used to tell me, "The more we sweat in training, the less they bleed in war."  We used to run through various mass casualty and emergency scenarios at the Navy Hospital.  We were encouraged to take these training simulations as seriously as possible, and I always found them to be very realistic.  Practice may not always make perfect, but it certainly goes a long way towards preparedness.  

I was reminded of this phrase after watching a video that went viral on social media.  The video shows a Chinese police officer taking down an alleged perpetrator using what can only be described as a martial arts move.  It's very impressive!  The caption that went along with the video states that it was a training simulation for an active shooter or terrorist scenario.  What's just as impressive to me is how serious everyone in the video is taking the simulation.  I can't imagine what the "active shooter" was thinking when he was aggressively taken down.  Even if staged, it's clear that the Chinese police were adhering to the principle, "The more we sweat in training, the less they bleed in war."

If you are leading a training simulation or drill, make it as realistic as possible.  Similarly, if you are a participant in a training simulation or drill, take it very seriously.  "The more we sweat in training, the less they bleed in war."

"A shepherd should smell like his sheep"

I've always liked the 2006 movie "300", a fictionalized retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in the Greco-Persian Wars that lasted from around 499 BC to 449 BC.  The Battle of Thermopylae was fought in 480 BC between the Persian Empire led by King Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under King Leonidas I.  At least according to the movie, King Leonidas I leads 300 Spartans into battle against  Xerxes I and his army of more than 300,000 soldiers.  Actually, Leonidas led the a Greek army of approximately 7,000 soldiers.

Thermopylae was (and still is) a narrow pass near the modern day town of Lamia in central Greece.  The narrow pass allowed the Greek army to block the only road by which the massive Persian army could traverse the narrow pass.  The Greeks successfully kept the Persians bottled up in the narrow pass for about two days, before a local resident named Ephialtes betrayed his homeland and revealed to the Persians an alternative route that would allow them to flank the Greek army.  Leonidas ordered the bulk of his army to retreat, save for 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, 400 Thebans, and close to 1,000 helots (Spartan slaves).  In one of history's most famous last stands, Leonidas and the rest of the Greek rear-guard fought to the last man (with the notable exception of the Thebans, who reportedly surrendered).  

Steven Pressfield wrote a bestselling novel about the Battle of Thermopylae called Gates of Fire.  He tells the story slightly differently than the movie, "300".  In his novel, the Persians leave one last Spartan alive and bring him to Xerxes.  Xerxes asked the sole survivor why the rest of the 300 Spartans had sacrificed everything for their king.  He asked what it was about Leonidas that made him such a great leader, so great in fact, that his men were willing to die for him.  The last Spartan replied, "A king does not abide within his tent while his men bleed and die upon the field.  A king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep when they stand at watch upon the wall.  A king does not command his men's loyalty through fear nor purchase it with gold; he earns their love by the sweat of his own back and the pains he endures for their sake. That which comprises the harshest burden, a king lifts first and sets down last.  A king does not require service of those he leads but provides it to them..."

As I have shared in the past, one of my former mentors used to say that he would never ask us to do something that he wasn't willing to do himself.  We talk about leaders "walking the walk" and "talking the talk" all the time, but the concept here is very different.  What I am talking about is more than just "managing by walking around" (MBWA).  Good leaders are clearly visible to their front-line teams.  Great leaders do even more - they experience what their front-line teams experience.  Leonidas didn't just ask his Spartans to give up their lives for the greater good.  He actually died fighting alongside them.

The late Pope Francis said, "A shepherd should smell like his sheep."  Admiral (retired) William McRaven, writing in his book, The Wisdom of the Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy) calls it "trooping the line" - leaders at all levels (even those in the C suite) need to step out of their offices and engage with their teams in their day-to-day tasks.  He tells the story of a time that he participated in PT (in this case, a hard, long run with the rest of the team) as a Navy SEAL after he had promoted to Admiral.  A young officer ran up to him and told him that he didn't have to run with the rest of the team - he had already proven himself during a long and distinguished career.  He refused to stop, writing, "The day you no longer believe you have something to prove, the day you no longer believe you must give it your all, the day you think you are entitled to special treatment, the day you think all your hard days are behind you, is the day you are no longer the right leader for the job." 

By refusing special treatment, Admiral McRaven showed the rest of the team that he was not above doing himself whatever he would ask them to do, at that moment in time or any moment in the future.  He showed his team that he cared, and as a result, they trusted him.  As I reflect on the last few years as a leader, I recognize that I have an opportunity to be a better leader by experiencing firsthand, what the rest of our physicians, nurses, and staff get to experience every day.  Leonidas I of Sparta, Pope Francis, and Admiral McRaven, as it turns out, have a lot in common.  And they have even more to teach us.

Slow means fast...

Last year I posted about one of the phrases commonly used by the U.S. Navy's elite special warfare units, the Navy SEALs, "Slow is smooth and smooth is fast".  My wife was teaching about the transitive property of equality to some of her mathematics students the other day, and I was reminded of this phrase (don't ask me why - my brain acts strangely at times).  Even if the term "transitive property" doesn't mean anything to you right now, I guarantee that you will remember it if I tell you: If a=b  and b=c, then a=c.  In other words, if slow is smooth, and smooth is fast, then slow means fast!  By deliberately taking your time, being careful, minimizing mistakes, and doing the job right the first time, you save time in the long run.  It's all about deliberate action and precise execution!

I came across a post by the American author Daniel Pink that made a slightly different point, although it's equally as important.  Pink called it the "Pottery Class Paradox", but I've also heard the story as "The Parable of the Pottery Class".  Either way, the story goes like this.  A pottery class teacher split his large class into two groups.  The first group was told to make a single perfect pot by the end of the semester.  The second group was told to make as many pots as possible - quality didn't necessarily matter.  The pottery class teacher called the first group, "Quality" and the second group "Quantity".  

At the end of the semester, the pottery class teacher graded all of the pots that were made by the two groups.  Which group do you think made the better pots?  Would you be surprised if I told you that the best pots, in terms of creativity, beauty, and actual quality were made by the "Quantity" group?  What happened?

The "Quality" group obsessed over building the perfect pot, while the "Quantity" group learned to build a better pot through trial-and-error.  They made many mistakes along the way, but each time they made a mistake, they learned.  They changed their approach, ever so slightly, to refine their technique.  By the end of the semester, their pots were exquisitely crafted.  In other words, they learned from their mistakes and became experts at their craft.  Meanwhile the "Quality" group obsessed over every detail in their design.  They planned and planned and planned.  Rather than learning by doing, they tried to learn and practice by drawing up the perfect design.  They never perfected their craft, and so their pot was inferior to the "Quantity" group.

It's an interesting paradox and perhaps a little difficult to reconcile with the first part of today's post, which emphasizes that "slow means fast".  I think the key is that we are already dealing with experts in the first half of the post - certainly the U.S. Navy SEALs are an elite group of experts at their jobs.  In this situation, careful planning and preparation, followed by deliberate action and precise execution leads to a superior result.  Admiral (retired) William McRaven, whom I've mentioned a number of times in recent posts, apparently wrote his Master's thesis at the U.S. Navy Postgraduate School ("The Theory of Special Operations") and found that the key to success for any special operations mission involved extensive preparation and practice.  In other words, rehearsing the mission over and over, learning from any mistakes, and honing and refining the plan until the special forces unit is ready.  That sounds a lot like the "Quantity" group in the "Pottery Class Paradox" to me.  However, once the mission begins for real, slow and deliberate execution is the order of the day - "slow means fast..."

"First they came"

I visited the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston several years ago.  Two of our children went to school in Boston, and we walked to the Memorial during one of our many visits to the city.  The Memorial consists of six glass towers.  Visitors can walk beneath each tower and look up and all around, reading  quotes from survivors of each camp.  The walls on the outside of each tower display groups of numbers representing the more than 6 million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust.  There is also an engraving of the poem, "First They Came", by the German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller.  I've posted about the poem once in the past (see "A life of privilege - part I"), but I wanted to retell the story of the poem and its author today.

Niemöller was born in Lippstadt, Germany on January 14, 1892.  He was the son of a Lutheran priest, but he joined the German Navy in 1910 at the age of eighteen.  During World War I, he was assigned to a U-Boat and eventually rose to the rank of commander.  After the war, Niemöller decided to follow in his father's footsteps and started to train to become a priest.  

The Weimar Republic (officially known as the German Reich) was Germany's democratic government from 1918 to 1933, during which Germany was a constitutional republic for the first time in its history.  Weimar is the city which hosted the assembly that established the new German government following the end of World War I, which led to the unofficial name of the government.  Unfortunately, the Weimar Republic was unable to effectively deal with the severe economic and political problems Germany faced due to the harsh terms of surrender following World War I.  Niemöller had to take a part-time job working for the railroads in order to earn enough money to stay in school.  

Life for most Germans became even worse during the worldwide Great Depression, and as a result, support for radical groups like the Nazi Party ("Nazi" is the shortened name for the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei , or National Socialist German Workers' Party)  increased.  Adolf Hitler, who led the Nazi Party, blamed the country's difficulties on Jews, foreigners, and the weakness of the Weimar government.  Niemöller was an early supporter of the Nazi party, and after being ordained as a priest in 1929, he became an ardent supporter of Adolf Hitler.  

Niemöller initially believed, like many others, that Hitler would provide the kind of leadership necessary to restore Germany to its previous greatness.  He also believed that the Nazi Party would return Germany to the Christian ideals and morals that had been abandoned after World War I.  He even referred to Hitler as an "instrument sent by god."  

Niemöller would become disillusioned with the Nazi Party when they started to control the German Protestant Church and changed the text of the Bible to remove what the Nazi's saw as "Jewish ideology."  Niemöller met with Hitler in January 1934, which opened his eyes to the true nature of the Nazi Party.  Initially, he would criticize the German government for interfering with religious matters, while ignoring the discriminatory laws forbidding Jewish people from marrying non-Jews and having jobs in government.  His own personal views were antisemitic at first.

Niemöller was arrested several times for opposing the Nazi Party, and he became increasingly critical of Hitler and the Nazis.  He was arrested and jailed without trial for 8 months in July 1937, and shortly after his release, he was arrested again and sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.  He was transferred to Dachau concentration camp in 1941, where he would spend most of the remaining years of World War II.  He was transferred one last time to a concentration camp in Austria, which was liberated by U.S. forces in April 1945.

Just a few months after the war ended in October 1945, Niemöller headed a group of church leaders who admitted that they did not do enough to oppose the Nazi Party.  He would write in 1946, "We must openly declare that we are not innocent of the Nazi murders, of the murder of German communists, Poles, Jews, and the people in German-occupied countries...And this guilt lies heavily upon the German people and the German name, even upon Christendom.  For in our world and in our name have these things been done."

He would write and use the poem "First They Came" in several lectures beginning in 1947 and after.  His poem has inspired people across the world to speak up for others.  Personally, it's one of my favorite poems.  The message is important and just as timely today as it was when Niemöller first wrote it.  What I also find relevant is the fact that Niemöller led a somewhat controversial life, first supporting the Nazi Party and even its antisemitic views.  Apparently, he even volunteered to join the German Navy while imprisoned in concentration camp in 1938 and again in 1941.  His life story suggests to me that people can and do change.

Here is the text of the poem, once again:

First they came for the Communists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the Socialists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me

And there was no one left

To speak out for me.

Political Animals

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote in his book Politics that "man, is by nature, a political animal, and a man that is by nature and not merely by fortune citiless is either low in the scale of humanity or above it."  Note that he says that we humans are political, not social.  Bees are social.  Ants are social.  Even birds are social.  But humans are political.  What does that exactly mean?

I am currently listening to another Great Courses lecture series called "Democracy and Its Alternatives", hosted by Dr. Ethan Hollander, who is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana.  Dr. Hollander defines politics as "the way groups of people make decisions, even when people in the group want different things." Humans largely live, work, and exist in groups.  We are by nature communal.  And as I have stated in a number of previous posts, we are actually happier when we are part of a community.  But as Dr. Hollander emphasizes in his lecture series, being part of a group requires us to make trade-offs.  When we are working in a group, we have to balance our own self-interests with those of the broader group.  How we do that - how the group balances these competing interests between members - is exactly what politics is all about!  Dr. Hollander says, "Politics is how we may make decisions in a group when the individuals in the group want different things."

Think about it.  Suppose you and your best friend decide to order a pizza.  There are lots of decisions to be made.  Should you order a thick or thin crust pizza?  How large of a pizza should you order?  Which restaurant do you want to order from?  What toppings do you want to add to the pizza?  It's usually fairly straightforward to make all of these decisions when you are only with one other person.  And, if there are disagreements, you can easily make trade-offs (for example, you can order sausage on your pizza if your friend doesn't like pepperoni).  But what happens when you are trying to order a pizza for a larger group?  Unless you order more than one pizza (which may be necessary, depending on the size of the group), you will have to make trade-offs.  There's a good chance not everyone will like the same kind of pizza.  You may actually have to take a vote on what kind of pizza to order with the majority vote making the final decision.

Winston Churchill reportedly once said, "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others."  That may not have been his exact quote.  During a speech in the House of Commons on November 11, 1947, Churchill did, as a matter of record, say, "Many forms of government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time..."  Regardless, the meaning behind the words are perhaps more important than the words themselves.  In essence, Churchill is stating that as a matter of record, democracy isn't perfect.  

Going back to the pizza example above, what happens if the group votes to order a pizza with the classic "meat lover's pizza" (ham, sausage, pepperoni, prosciutto) and someone in the group happens to be a vegetarian?  Or to use a less extreme example, what if the group votes to order a pepperoni pizza and one individual hates pepperoni?  The group overall is better off, but at least one individual is left worse off.

Even the original representatives to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in the early days of the United States of America understood this concept.  They wanted to avoid setting up a government that would create a "tyranny of the majority", which refers to a situation in which the preferences and interests of the majority dominate the decisions of the whole group, potentially sidelining or repressing minority groups.  James Madison wrote about the "tyranny of the majority" (even if he didn't use those exact words) in Federalist No. 10.  He wrote, "If a faction consists of less than a majority, relief is supplied by the republican principle, which enables the majority to defeat its sinister views by regular vote: It may clog the administration, it may convulse the society; but it will be unable to execute and mask its violence under the forms of the constitution. When a majority is included in a faction, the form of popular government on the other hand enables it to sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest, both the public good and the rights of other citizens."  

Madison contrasted a pure democracy with that of a representative democracy (i.e. a republic) when he wrote, "The two great points of difference between a democracy and a republic, are first, the delegation of the government, in the latter, to a small number of citizens elected by the rest; secondly, the greater number of citizens, and greater sphere of country, over which the latter may be extended."  He later suggested that when representatives are elected by the citizens from a larger geographical area, then the "tyranny of the majority" is even less likely to occur.

Interestingly enough, the political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt recently wrote an excellent book (Tyranny of the Minority) that argues that our system of government has potentially resulted in a "tyranny of the minority", in which a smaller faction ends up making all of the decisions for a much larger group.  The book builds upon their previous book on a similar topic, How Democracies Die.  No matter which side of the political fence you stand upon, both of these books are compelling reads.

I don't necessarily want to end today's post talking about U.S. politics, so I won't.  I think the take-home message from today is as follows.  Unless you work by yourself with no one else around, you are likely to be a part of a group.  As such, as a member of a group, there is no way that you will be able to escape politics.  Politics, again, is about how a group makes decisions when the individuals in the group want different things.  Politics, then, is a normal part of our everyday lives.  We are, as Aristotle suggested so many centuries ago, political animals!

The price of freedom...

I started watching the World War II television miniseries Band of Brothers for at least the umpteenth time a couple of weeks ago.  I happened to be watching Episode 7 "The Breaking Point" last night.  This particular episode is narrated by Easy Company's First Sergeant Carwood Lipton, played by the actor Donnie Wahlberg.  The men of Easy Company have survived the siege of Bastogne in the Ardennes Forest during the Battle of the Bulge, and they are now preparing for the assault on the German held town of Foy, Belgium.  

There's a powerful scene at the end of the episode.  Easy Company is resting for the night in a convent.  They are all sitting in pews while listening to the abbey choir.  As the narrator (First Sergeant Lipton) reads off the name of each soldier wounded or killed in battle, the soldier sitting in the pew fades from view.  By the end of the scene, the pews are half empty.  As I was watching this scene, I was once again reminded of why we need to celebrate Memorial Day.  It seems appropriate that I was watching that particular episode, which I've probably seen at least ten or so times, at this particular time of the year.

Today is Memorial Day in the United States.  Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day is a federal holiday that honors those military personnel who have lost their lives in the line of duty.  While not known for certain, Memorial Day has its origins following the Civil War, when flowers were placed on the graves of fallen soldiers.  Tradition has it that John A. Logan, the third Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, Civil War veteran, and politician from Illinois, first called for a "Decoration Day" in 1868.  While Memorial Day was celebrated on May 30 from 1868 to 1970, the United States Congress standardized the holiday and changed its observance to the last Monday of May in 1971.

It's been a few years since I've written a post on Memorial Day, which is unfortunate.  I think I last posted on Memorial Day in 2021, which was entitled, "Rest Easy Shipmates, We Have the Watch..." (please see my previous Memorial Day posts from 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 - see also "Decoration Day, "The Chimes of Freedom", and "The last full measure of devotion" for related posts).  Once again, I am asking myself how can we best honor the fallen soldiers and sailors of the past, to which I answer, "We can honor them by cherishing our freedom that they purchased with their lives and continuing their fight for freedom."

"Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high." [In Flanders Fields by John McCrae]

"It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.  It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the greatest task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." [The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln]

Ours is a cause worth dying for.  Our work has only just begun.  Our toughest days lie ahead, but we are up to the test.  "Rest easy shipmates.  We have the watch."

Perfectenschlag

As you have probably guessed from a number of my posts in the past, I am a huge fan of the American television show "The Office".  What's surprising is that I never watched the show when the series was actually running.  Instead, I binge-watched the show during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I have frequently watch the re-runs on Comedy Central.

The other night, I watched Season 8, Episode 14 "Special Project".  The character Dwight Schrute is given a special assignment and feels that his life is coming together perfectly.  He uses the German phrase (note that it's not a real German word) perfectenschlag to describe his mood (here's the video clip).   Here's the transcript:

Dwight: The Schrutes have a word for when everything in a man's life comes together perfectly. Perfectenschlag. Right now, I am in it. I finally get a chance to prove myself to corporate. I am assembling a competent team. I am likely a father. I am so deep inside of perfectenschlag right now. And, just to be clear, there is a second definition, "perfect pork anus", which I don't mean.

We should all strive for perfectenschlag.  Life is good.  

Make your attitude your greatest asset...

My wife sent me a link to a photograph of a page from John Maxwell's book, The Difference Maker: Making Attitude Your Greatest Asset.  It's worth repeating and sharing.  The passage begins with a question, "What usually separates the best from the rest?"

Denis Waitley wrote in his book The Winner's Edge, "The winner's edge is not in a gifted birth, a high IQ, or in talent.  The winner's edge is all in the attitude, not aptitude.  Attitude is the criterion for success.  But you can't buy an attitude for a million dollars.  Attitudes are not for sale."

Legendary football coach Nick Saban said that "your attitude is critical to success. Having a positive attitude can have a tremendous effect on how you react and respond to challenges, successes, and failures."  

John Maxwell wrote something similar, stating "For years I have tried to live by the following statement: I cannot always choose what happens to me, but I can always choose what happens in me.  Some things in life are beyond my control.  Some things are within it.  My attitude in the areas beyond my control can be the difference maker.  My attitude in the areas that I do control will be the difference maker.  In other words, the greatest difference my difference maker can make is within me, not others.  That is why your attitude is your greatest asset or liability.  It makes you or breaks you.  It lifts you up or brings you down.  A positive mental attitude will not let you do everything.  But it can help you do anything better than you would if your attitude were negative."

I am reminded of a post that I wrote a long time ago ("The Man Who Thinks He Can") about a poem that my parents posted on our refrigerator door when I was growing up.  The poem was written in 1905 by a man named Walter Wintle and is called "Thinking" (the poem is also known by the title, "The Man Who Thinks He Can").  Here it is again:

If you think you are beaten, you are;

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you'd like to win, but you think you can't,

It is almost a cinch that you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost;

For out of the world we find

Success begins with a fellow's will

It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you're outclassed, you are;

You've got to think high to rise.

You've got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win the prize.

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man;

But sooner or later the man who wins

Is the one who thinks he can!

Attitude is everything.  As John Maxwell writes, it can either be your greatest asset or your greatest liability.  The choice is up to you.

Liberation

I recently read a post published last year on Medium by Komal Vaghela entitled "Embracing Freedom: My Journey of Quitting Social Media: Rediscovering Self, Embracing the Present, and Pursuing Passion".  After doing so, I decided to take my own leap and begin to wean myself from social media.  My reasons for doing so had absolutely nothing to do with politics, but everything to do with the fact that over the last few years, the amount of useful information that I've read on social media has significantly and progressively decreased.  Conversely, the amount of garbage on social media has significantly and progressively increased, especially since the various social media sites stopped fact-checking their content.  

I started out by deactivating my account on Facebook.  I never used Facebook for anything other than personal connections, but I can't really say that there was a lot of information on Facebook that I didn't hear firsthand from friends and family members.  I wasn't really a very active participant anyway.  So, shutting down Facebook for me was relatively easy.

My next step was to stop posting the content of Leadership Reverie on X (formerly known as Twitter).  I also recently deactivated my account on X, and if I don't log back on for the next 30 days, my account will be permanently erased.  There is a certain nostalgic loss here, as I've been fairly active on Twitter for the past several years.  However, I have increasingly found that most of the posts that show up on my feed are from bot accounts.  I have also noticed that many of the individuals that I previously followed are no longer actively tweeting.  Most of the news items that come across my feed are highly suspect.  At the end of the day, it's no longer useful for me - either personally or professionally - to be active on X.    

I've never had an Instagram account.  I've never used Snapchat or TikTok either.  I still use LinkedIn for professional reasons, but I have noticed that the content has lately changed, not necessarily for the better.  I would like to keep active on LinkedIn, but I will be monitoring things closely for now.

Vaghela ended her post by writing, "Quitting social media has been a transformative experience for me. It has allowed me to break free from the constant noise, embrace the present moment, and refocus on what truly matters. By eliminating unnecessary distractions and reconnecting with my passions, I have found a renewed sense of purpose and fulfillment. While it may seem challenging at first, taking a break from social media can lead to a more balanced, mindful, and meaningful life."

My own personal experience so far leads me to fully agree...

The AmeriCorps Pledge

AmeriCorps (officially known as the Corporation for National and Community Service) is an independent federal agency for national service and volunteering established in 1993 after Congress passed the National and Community Service Act of 1990, which was signed into law by then President George H.W. Bush.  AmeriCorps members participate in a variety of service activities, including after-school tutoring or homebuilding. They complete 1,700 hours of community service over an eleven month term.  After successfully completing their term of service, AmeriCorps may be eligible for an education award that may be used to pay for college or to pay-off existing student loans.  Despite its long history and track record of success under several U.S. Presidents from both political parties, roughly 75% of the agency's employees were placed on administrative leave last month by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

I have to be 100% honest that I didn't know too much about the AmeriCorps program itself.  I listened to a talk radio show last week that discussed the history of the program.  What impressed me was the oath of service that each AmeriCorps member takes at the beginning of their term:

I will get things done for America – to make our people safer, smarter, and healthier.

I will bring Americans together to strengthen our communities.
Faced with apathy, I will take action.
Faced with conflict, I will seek common ground.
Faced with adversity, I will persevere.
I will carry this commitment with me this year and beyond.
I am an AmeriCorps member, and I will get things done.

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in government had to pledge to "get things done for America"?  Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in government would work together to strengthen our communities?  Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in government worked to find common ground whenever they were faced with conflict?

The AmeriCorps pledge represents a commitment to service, as well as a commitment to perseverance.  It's also a commitment that calls its members to action (see my recent post, "Have a bias towards action...").  Service.  Commitment.  Dedication.  Action.  Perseverance.  Resilience.  These are the ideals and aspirations of each and every AmeriCorps member.  They are the ideals and aspirations for all leaders everywhere.

Deference to expertise builds trust...

As I mentioned in a post earlier this month ("The bullfrog is wise..."), I recently read The Wisdom of the Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy) by Admiral (retired) William McRaven.  Admiral McRaven is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL who served as the ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) from August 8, 2011 to August 28, 2014.  Admiral McRaven is credited for organizing and overseeing the execution of Operation Neptune Spear, the special operations mission that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011. Following a very popular commencement address at his alma mater on May 17, 2014 (and of course after his retirement from the Navy), Admiral McRaven would go on to serve as the chancellor of The University of Texas System from 2015 to 2018.  I've posted about Admiral McRaven in the past (see "If you want to change the world, don't ever, ever ring the bell!", "Early morning brain teasers?!?!", and most recently, "The bullfrog is wise...").

Admiral McRaven has now written a number of short books on leadership.  Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World, which is based upon his 2014 commencement speech.  The Wisdom of the Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy) is based on some of the lessons he learned during his more than 37 years as a U.S. Navy SEAL.  The title “Bullfrog” is given to the Navy SEAL who has served the longest on active duty.  Admiral McRaven was received this honor in 2011 (and held that distinction until his retirement in 2014).  

There's a short chapter in The Wisdom of the Bullfrog on trust.  Admiral McRaven starts every chapter in the book with a quotation from a great leader in history.  The chapter on trust starts off with a quotation from Abraham Lincoln, who said, "The people when rightly and fully trusted will return the trust."  I thought this was an interesting quote.  As it turns out, there are a few more quotations like this one.  The ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi (popularly known as Lao Tzu) said, "The one who does not trust enough, will not be trusted."  The American educator and author Booker T. Washington said, "Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him."  Finally, the American author Ernest Hemingway said, "The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."

All of these quotes are supporting the High Reliability Organization concept of "Deference to Expertise".  The U.S. Navy SEALS undoubtedly qualify as a High Reliability Organization in my opinion.  By trusting team members to do the job, leaders are creating a virtuous cycle (see the "Trust Cycle" below) that engenders further trust.  "Deference to Expertise" creates mutual trust.

Admiral McRaven writes, "To be a great leader you must be trusted by your employees.  If they do not trust you, they will not follow you.  It takes time to build trust, but it is time well spent if you intend to lead effectively."  He suggests that leaders follow three key points to build trust:

1. Foster a culture of action, allowing the rank and file to take the initiative and fix problems that need addressing.

2. Accept the fact that this will lead to zealousness and the occasional screwup.  This overenthusiasm is better than a culture of inaction.

3. Praise those who attempt to solve the problems on their own, even if the results are not as expected.

All of this sounds a lot like "Deference to Expertise".  The second point above is all about creating conditions of psychological safety, so that team members feel empowered to take risks.  Even if they fail or merely make a mistake, they will learn as a result.  Empowerment leads to professional growth and development, which further builds psychological safety and trust.  

"The importance of nothing"

Legendary Hall of Fame college football coach Nick Saban is a walking soundbite.  He always has something to say, and it's usually inspirational.  As I mentioned in a recent post ("Five Choices"), I recently had the opportunity to hear Coach Saban speak at the Becker's Hospital Review 15th Annual Meeting (I even got to shake hands and get my picture taken with him).  He had a lot to say about leadership, some of which I've heard him say before in the past.  Here are just a few of his most famous quotes, which I heard him repeat at the Becker's conference in some shape or form:

"It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice."

"Smart people learn from their mistakes; wise people learn from other people's mistakes."

"Mediocre people don't like high-achievers, and high-achievers don't like mediocre people."

"There are two pains in life.  There is the pain of discipline and the pain of disappointment.  If you can handle the pain of discipline, then you'll never have to deal with the pain of disappointment."

"What happened yesterday is history.  What happens tomorrow is a mystery.  What we do today makes a difference."

"Process guarantees success.  A good process produces good results."

"Eliminate the clutter and all of the things that are going on outside and focus on the things that you can control with how you go about and take care of your business.  Take the other team out of the game and make it all about you and what you do."

Today I want to talk about another famous quote from one of his press conferences.  I don't remember exactly what season it was, but Alabama had an important game scheduled for later that week against their SEC rival, the Arkansas Razorbacks.  Coach Saban wanted to get across the point that his players should be working harder.  He stepped up to the microphone and said, "OK, y'all ready for a lecture?"  The topic?  "The importance of nothing."

He said, "You get up every day, you’re entitled to nothing.  Nobody owes you nothing. You could have talent, but if you don’t have discipline, if you don’t execute, you don’t focus, you get nothing. If you’re complacent, and not paying attention to detail, what does that get you? Nothing."

He looked around and then said, "Nothing is acceptable but your best.  Everything is determined by what you do and you trying to be your best, so that you can build on positive performance.  That's the only thing.  There should be nothing else but that, for everybody."

Legendary advice from a legendary coach.

Someone else...

I came across a social media post the other day that I thought was worth sharing.  I've spent a lot of time this year reading and writing about happiness.  It's truly been transformative for me, both personally and professionally.  Today's post builds upon that theme.

The social media post was simple, yet incredibly powerful.  It was a photograph of a dry erase board, which contained an important message for us all:

Someone else is dreaming of the job you hate, the home you complain about, the smile you forget to wear, and the health you take for granted.  Don't let difficult times make you forget your blessings.

There are times when I occasionally lose sight of the fact that I have been very fortunate in this life.  Count your blessings.  Take comfort and solace in the positives and leave the negatives for another day.

Happy Mother's Day

I wanted to wish all of the moms out there a very special "Happy Mother's Day!"  Here is a post from a few years ago on three simple lessons on leadership that I learned from the mothers in my life:

Mother's Day Leadership Lessons

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of the moms (especially the ones in my life!) out there for everything they do, each and every day!  As I sat down to think about what I could write about today, it really became abundantly clear - mothers are really the perfect models of leadership!  While there are many lessons on leadership that I could talk about, I would like to keep it simple and focus on three.  And while I would like to honor all mothers today, I wanted to focus on the three that I know best - my mother, my wife, and my mother-in-law (who died several years ago).

Lesson #1: Never stop learning.  All three of the mothers I have mentioned lived or are currently living lives filled with opportunities to learn, and in each case, they took advantage of these opportunities to the fullest.  My own mother graduated from college at a time when many women did not, starting out a career as a teacher and going on to earn a Masters degree.  One of my earliest memories is going to my mother's commencement ceremony at Butler University (maybe because it was an awfully long time for someone my age to sit still and behave!).  My wife started out in marketing and sales after college, took several years to stay at home full time and raise four kids, and went back to school to earn her Masters in education.  She is now the best middle school math teacher I know!  My mother-in-law also graduated from college at a time when many women did not go to college and worked as a nurse.  She spent the next several years working and going back to school, earning a number of Masters degrees in nursing, counseling, and pastoral care.  These three wonderful women have taught me to never stop learning.  If your dreams require you to go back to school so that you can reach your goals, then do it.  But even if you don't go back to school, never, ever stop learning.  Leaders should never stop learning.

Lesson #2: Take care of your own.  My mother raised two of us, my mother-in-law raised 8 children, and my wife raised four children.  They say that a mother's love knows no bounds - a mother's love is endless.  No matter what you do in this life, your mother will always be there for you.  You can always count on your mother.  These three women have taught me to always, no matter what, take care of your own.  Support your team.  Protect your team.  Be an example for your team - inspire, motivate, nurture.  Leaders should always take care of their team.

Lesson #3: Make it fun.  I had a great childhood - I am sure my mother made things fun for my sister and I when we were growing up.  I want to focus here on my own wife, the mother of our four children.  She always made things fun for the kids.  She always came up with fun ways to teach our kids lessons about other cultures, other countries, and life in general.  She is a natural - even though all of our kids have grown, she continues to make math (not the most exciting subject in school, at least in my opinion) fun for her students.  Work isn't always easy, but it should be fun.  Keep a positive attitude.  Be happy.  Keep things loose and lighthearted, even in times of stress.  Leaders should always make it fun.

Today, I wanted to thank the mothers in my life for teaching our extended family these three great lessons.  Never stop learning.  Take care of your own.  Make it fun.  Happy Mother's Day!