This past Saturday morning, my family and some friends ventured down to the area around the Cleveland zoo, where the city had announced that they were going to demolish a bridge that was almost 100 years old.
For those of you who have never been to the Cleveland Zoo, when you walk through parts of the zoo, you walk under this enormous old bridge. I remember being very young walking under that bridge.
I will miss that bridge ... there was something strangely comforting about walking under the shade of that structure on a hot and sunny visit to the zoo.
But back to Saturday.
Over 700 pounds of explosives were supposed to be detonated at about 8:00 a.m. EST, causing the bridge to collapse in about 5 seconds.
The problem was: it didn't happen that way. It took several attempts to blow up the bridge, and my understanding is that part of it is still standing today, three days later.
Here's a video from YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g_ndpXYRp8
The lessons for leaders?
How something is planned and how that same plan is execute are often two very different things. Emotionally intelligent leaders plan for such a series of events.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Friday, April 20, 2007
Leaders and Maps
In November 2007, the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History will be presenting what promises to be a spectacular cartography exhibit entitled "Maps: Finding Our Place in the World."
As reported by Yahoo News, the exhibition promises to focus on how maps reflect the reality of the mapmaker.
As the article quotes:
'"Any map," said exhibit curator Robert W. Karrow Jr., the Newberry's curator of maps, "even a modern map, even the most scientifically rigorous modern map, comes packed with a whole bundle of cultural propositions that regulate how it's going to look."'
Why is this important for leaders?
Whether you are leading a team of explorers across the Polar Ice caps or managing a team of lawyers in New York City, every leader needs to be aware of their own 'cultural propositions'--which I called worldviews in Leading People the Black Belt Way. These worldviews can be particularly damaging to organizations when leaders use them without examining them.
As a leader, how aware are you of your 'cultural propositions'?
The fate of your organization may rest of your answer.
As reported by Yahoo News, the exhibition promises to focus on how maps reflect the reality of the mapmaker.
As the article quotes:
'"Any map," said exhibit curator Robert W. Karrow Jr., the Newberry's curator of maps, "even a modern map, even the most scientifically rigorous modern map, comes packed with a whole bundle of cultural propositions that regulate how it's going to look."'
Why is this important for leaders?
Whether you are leading a team of explorers across the Polar Ice caps or managing a team of lawyers in New York City, every leader needs to be aware of their own 'cultural propositions'--which I called worldviews in Leading People the Black Belt Way. These worldviews can be particularly damaging to organizations when leaders use them without examining them.
As a leader, how aware are you of your 'cultural propositions'?
The fate of your organization may rest of your answer.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
A must-read book for every leader!
I'm very excited! Dr. Riane Eisler, an author who's work has profoundly influenced my own, just announced a new book entitled The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics. I've even had the priviledge of speaking to her and I've found her to be warm, caring and deeply committed to making this world a better place.
Based on what I've read about Dr. Eisler's book, it's sure to be important reading for every leader.
The Real Wealth of Nations is available on Amazon and through other booksellers right now.
Here's the announcement about The Real Wealth of Nations:
FOR RELEASE APRIL 16, 2007:
BESTSELLING AUTHOR RIANE EISLER INTRODUCES THE REAL WEALTH OF NATIONS: CREATING A CARING ECONOMICS
Los Angeles--April 16, 2007-- Dr. Riane Eisler first captured world attention with her bestselling book, The Chalice and the Blade. With her new book, The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics (Berrett-Koehler Publishers; ISBN-13: 9781576753880, $24.95, April 2007), she offers a new way of thinking by transforming "the dismal science of economics" into a practical plan for solving global warming, poverty, and terrorism. Hailed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu as "a template for the better world we have been so urgently seeking," by business guru Peter Senge as "desperately needed," and by Gloria Steinem as "revolutionary,' The Real Wealth of Nations proposes a "caring economics" that is more cost-effective, humane, and sustainable.
"My work has been moving more and more toward practical solutions," said Eisler. "Present economic systems, both capitalist and socialist, aren't solving our problems - from chronic poverty and environmental devastation, to the loss of good jobs in the US and the stress put on families by the absence of decent parental leave. We have to start with basics: that the real wealth of nations isn't financial; it's the contributions of people and nature."
The Real Wealth of Nations details a new strategy for an economic system that gives visibility and value to the most essential human work: the life-sustaining work of caring and caregiving whether it's done in the home or the workplace. Eisler cites powerful statistics regarding the real value of the unpaid work in households. A 2004 Swiss government survey reported the value of this work at 162 billion Euros or 190 billion dollars (US) - 70 percent of Switzerland's reported gross domestic product. Salary.com estimated that a fair wage for a typical stay-at-home parent would be $134,471 (US) a year. But while this is compelling, Eisler says that there is much more that we have to pay attention to. In The Real Wealth of Nations, Eisler provides examples of how the current economic system in the US is achieving negative results: In its 2004 Global Competitiveness Report, the World Economic Forum found that the US trailed the much smaller Finland in economic competitiveness, which Eisler shows is largely due to the fact that Nordic nations, where women have higher status, invest in their human capital, starting in early childhood and the US does not. According to a 2006 CIA report, the US ranked 42nd in child mortality, behind Cuba and many other poorer nations because money is allocated for prisons, weapons, and wars, and not healthcare, childcare, and other caring activities.
Eisler provides in her book a structure for business leaders and politicians to transform our economic system into one that values human effort and nature and leads to improved levels of health and education among people of all socioeconomic strata, reduced employee turnover and absenteeism, environmental health, and greater productivity for businesses and our country. She provides hard evidence to show that companies with caring policies achieve a higher return on their investment for shareholders. For example, one study showed that offering employees childcare yielded a return on investment of 521 percent in four years.
Eisler, who as a child fled Austria with her family during Nazi occupation, has been on a lifelong quest to probe the human condition, examine the root causes of many of society's challenges, and provide solutions for them. Her other books include the award-winning The Power of Partnership and Tomorrow's Children, Sacred Pleasure, a reexamination of sexuality and spirituality, and Women, Men, and the Global Quality of Life, which documents the key role of the status of women in a nation's general quality of life.
Eisler holds degrees in sociology and law from the University of California, taught pioneering classes on women and the law at UCLA, and is a founding member of the General Evolution Research Group (GERG), a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science and World Business Academy, and a commissioner of the World Commission on Global Consciousness and Spirituality, along with the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and other spiritual leaders. She is co-founder of the Spiritual Alliance to Stop Intimate Violence (SAIV), www.saiv.net and president of the Center for Partnership Studies, www.partnershipway.org, dedicated to research and education. She is also the author of over 200 essays for both popular and academic publications.
The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics will be available April 16 at major booksellers everywhere.
Based on what I've read about Dr. Eisler's book, it's sure to be important reading for every leader.
The Real Wealth of Nations is available on Amazon and through other booksellers right now.
Here's the announcement about The Real Wealth of Nations:
FOR RELEASE APRIL 16, 2007:
BESTSELLING AUTHOR RIANE EISLER INTRODUCES THE REAL WEALTH OF NATIONS: CREATING A CARING ECONOMICS
Los Angeles--April 16, 2007-- Dr. Riane Eisler first captured world attention with her bestselling book, The Chalice and the Blade. With her new book, The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics (Berrett-Koehler Publishers; ISBN-13: 9781576753880, $24.95, April 2007), she offers a new way of thinking by transforming "the dismal science of economics" into a practical plan for solving global warming, poverty, and terrorism. Hailed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu as "a template for the better world we have been so urgently seeking," by business guru Peter Senge as "desperately needed," and by Gloria Steinem as "revolutionary,' The Real Wealth of Nations proposes a "caring economics" that is more cost-effective, humane, and sustainable.
"My work has been moving more and more toward practical solutions," said Eisler. "Present economic systems, both capitalist and socialist, aren't solving our problems - from chronic poverty and environmental devastation, to the loss of good jobs in the US and the stress put on families by the absence of decent parental leave. We have to start with basics: that the real wealth of nations isn't financial; it's the contributions of people and nature."
The Real Wealth of Nations details a new strategy for an economic system that gives visibility and value to the most essential human work: the life-sustaining work of caring and caregiving whether it's done in the home or the workplace. Eisler cites powerful statistics regarding the real value of the unpaid work in households. A 2004 Swiss government survey reported the value of this work at 162 billion Euros or 190 billion dollars (US) - 70 percent of Switzerland's reported gross domestic product. Salary.com estimated that a fair wage for a typical stay-at-home parent would be $134,471 (US) a year. But while this is compelling, Eisler says that there is much more that we have to pay attention to. In The Real Wealth of Nations, Eisler provides examples of how the current economic system in the US is achieving negative results: In its 2004 Global Competitiveness Report, the World Economic Forum found that the US trailed the much smaller Finland in economic competitiveness, which Eisler shows is largely due to the fact that Nordic nations, where women have higher status, invest in their human capital, starting in early childhood and the US does not. According to a 2006 CIA report, the US ranked 42nd in child mortality, behind Cuba and many other poorer nations because money is allocated for prisons, weapons, and wars, and not healthcare, childcare, and other caring activities.
Eisler provides in her book a structure for business leaders and politicians to transform our economic system into one that values human effort and nature and leads to improved levels of health and education among people of all socioeconomic strata, reduced employee turnover and absenteeism, environmental health, and greater productivity for businesses and our country. She provides hard evidence to show that companies with caring policies achieve a higher return on their investment for shareholders. For example, one study showed that offering employees childcare yielded a return on investment of 521 percent in four years.
Eisler, who as a child fled Austria with her family during Nazi occupation, has been on a lifelong quest to probe the human condition, examine the root causes of many of society's challenges, and provide solutions for them. Her other books include the award-winning The Power of Partnership and Tomorrow's Children, Sacred Pleasure, a reexamination of sexuality and spirituality, and Women, Men, and the Global Quality of Life, which documents the key role of the status of women in a nation's general quality of life.
Eisler holds degrees in sociology and law from the University of California, taught pioneering classes on women and the law at UCLA, and is a founding member of the General Evolution Research Group (GERG), a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science and World Business Academy, and a commissioner of the World Commission on Global Consciousness and Spirituality, along with the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and other spiritual leaders. She is co-founder of the Spiritual Alliance to Stop Intimate Violence (SAIV), www.saiv.net and president of the Center for Partnership Studies, www.partnershipway.org, dedicated to research and education. She is also the author of over 200 essays for both popular and academic publications.
The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics will be available April 16 at major booksellers everywhere.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
When Will We Decide to Protect Ourselves....
Population of Great Britain & Wales: 53 million.
Number of homicides involving firearms last year: 46.
Population of New York City: 8 million.
Number of homicides involving firearms last year: 579.
The difference? Gun control laws.
What's it going to take, America?
Number of homicides involving firearms last year: 46.
Population of New York City: 8 million.
Number of homicides involving firearms last year: 579.
The difference? Gun control laws.
What's it going to take, America?
Monday, April 16, 2007
Cherry Blossoms & Leadership
I had a speaking job in Washington, D.C. this past week, so I took my family along. We spent the weekend with my kids (ages 12 and 9) touring the Mall. I saw the WWII monument for the first time, and was powerfully moved in showing my children the Vietnam Memorial and the Korean War memorial. At the Vietnam Memorial, a park ranger gave one of the best presentations I have ever heard in my life (and I give keynote speeches and train people for a living!). There was also a vet from Maine who shared a few stories about his time in Vietnam.
All in all, a very powerful experience. I was deeply moved by the many people who sacrificed their lives for a greater purpose.
After visiting the Mall, we walked over to the FDR memorial (and saw a few waning cherry blossoms!). The FDR memorial reminded me the powerful sweeping changes that a leader ... and a people ... can achieve when they set their hearts to it. In my lifetime, we've never seen such sweeping changes that FDR and others wrought ... and in my humble opinion, we need such sweeping changes now more than ever.
As a leader, what are you giving your life for? Most of us do not have the honor of laying our lives down for our country or our families, but many leaders have -- in their own quiet ways -- equally important impacts on the future generations.
As a leader, make sure you give your life for what matters to you most.
All in all, a very powerful experience. I was deeply moved by the many people who sacrificed their lives for a greater purpose.
After visiting the Mall, we walked over to the FDR memorial (and saw a few waning cherry blossoms!). The FDR memorial reminded me the powerful sweeping changes that a leader ... and a people ... can achieve when they set their hearts to it. In my lifetime, we've never seen such sweeping changes that FDR and others wrought ... and in my humble opinion, we need such sweeping changes now more than ever.
As a leader, what are you giving your life for? Most of us do not have the honor of laying our lives down for our country or our families, but many leaders have -- in their own quiet ways -- equally important impacts on the future generations.
As a leader, make sure you give your life for what matters to you most.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
