Telling the Truth

I caught the Daily Show the other day as Jon Stewart was interviewing Bill Moyers and they were speaking about the quality and depth of Moyer’s interviews over the years. Moyers said something that
has been niggling at the back of my mind.

He was telling us why he no longer likes to interview politicians. And I paraphrase here “it’s because they want to conceal their thoughts not expose them.” He then offered a great example from our
current run up to the GOP Primary. As Newt Gingrich was interviewed and asked about …

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Lessons in Leadership from – The Kings Speech: The Movie

No I am not in the business of reviewing movies. Yet, this one had two important lessons for us as leaders. The first is about the bravery that is inherent in persistence against what may seem like
insurmountable odds and the second was the importance of being able to speak with our own voice.

The story is about King George VI who took the throne after David abdicated at the beginning of WWII. King George had what many would consider an insurmountable impediment for a leader in the age of
radio; he stuttered …

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Doing the Right Thing

 

It is sometimes fashionable to make fun of Attorneys. Today I am not.

I just finished an article in Bloomberg Business Week Oct 25 – Oct 31 issue. It discussed David Boies, a successful attorney who when faced with a difficult decision made it quickly and decisively.
And he made it in a way that could have cost him his career.

He represented the New York Yankees and Time Warner for his firm. When Turner Broadcasting bought Time Warner they brought to the …

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Together and Yet Separate

I was at a Workshop last week and observed and disturbing and yet familiar sight. This was a group of hospital administrative workers representing admissions and billing. And there were a number of
facilities represented.

What was interesting was that the room by its nature was divided; Registration on the left and Billing on the right. In fact, as you watched the speakers you could see the two groups respond
separately to the questions. One astute facilitator caught this and dug a little deeper (and a little off topic) and we found that …

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Are You Playing For Your Star, Or As A Team

I just finished the book, How the Mighty fall by Jim Collins. In this book, he explores how once great companies fall from their pinnacle of success. One of the things that I noticed was that
companies were more successful when they grew their own talent. Often times when the mighty companies were in decline, they would look to outside leaders to “save” them.

This in turn made me think of an article I read recently by Jeffrey Pfeffer on www.BNET.com He explored a study by Professor Boris Groysberg, of the Harvard
Business …

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