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| July 31, 2007 |
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I hardly follow professional sports anymore. But in the 1980s and 1990s, I was a diehard San Francisco Forty-Niners fan. The primary reason was Bill Walsh, who died yesterday at 75. This man had all the traits and performed all the functions of the high-impact leader. He was as self-defined as they come - everyone knew where Walsh stood. He was forward thinking – he literally invented the brand of offensive football that dominated a generation and is the basis for what you watch today in football at all levels. He was credible – eminently competent, he instilled confidence in everyone around him. He was inspiring – always finding the common purpose and communicating it in a way that his players and coaches saw themselves in it. He was people-oriented – maybe not a teddy bear, but respectful of and interested in people. He was curious – constantly studying new ways to coach football better. He was focused – he could concentrate his energy as well as anyone. He was courageous – always making the tough calls and performing the tough tasks, and taking necessary risks. He was organized – the Forty-Niners were run like a machine. He was supportive – he never stole thunder from his players. And look at the number and quality of leaders he bred…the many assistant coaches and players who went on to coach successfully in the NFL and college.
He built a values-based core – everyone in the Forty-Niners organization knew exactly what they stood for. He generated ideas – one of the great innovators in the history of the game. He formed a vision – like the one in 1979 when he convinced the worst franchise in the NFL that they could become winners within a couple years. He built a plan – mapping a path from doormat to dominance. He engaged his team – recruiting the right people for his plan and then inspiring a level loyalty rarely seen anymore. He built a responsive structure – elegant in the way it almost guaranteed success regardless of the challenge. He created accountability – his players and coaches knew exactly what was expected of them. And he produced results – one of the winningest coaches in NFL history and inspiration to not only hundreds of team members and coaches but perhaps millions of fans.
Thank you, Bill, for your leadership example, as well as a lot of fun times. |
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| July 26, 2007 |
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Bush proclaimed in a debate with Al Gore in 2000 that he doesn’t believe in activist judges. And he has repeated that opinion over and over again ever since. In reality, it has been a useful phrase, pure propaganda, to advance his agenda. For instance, he criticizes as “activist” those judges who interfere with his disassembly of environmental protection, support same-sex marriage, condemn his continual attempts to bolster executive power, and restrict his efforts to destroy our right to privacy. In reality, he has stocked the federal judiciary with activist judges…active in the interest of his agenda.
Let’s look at his nearly 300 appointments to the judiciary. 9.6% of the district court appointments came from large law firms, which tend to represent large corporate clients, compared to 2% by Carter and 6.6% by Clinton. Over a third of his appointments to federal appellate courts and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims previously worked as lawyers or lobbyists for oil, gas, and energy industries. And what kind of results are they producing? Still too early to tell, but there is some interesting data. According to a 2006 study by People for the American Way, Bush appointees are leading efforts to limit the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act, as well as limit access to courts by plaintiffs. A 2004 study by the Environmental Law Institute found that in National EPA lawsuits pro-environment plaintiffs won 46% of the time before all judges, but only 28% of the time before Republican appointees, and only 17% of the time before Bush appointees. Remember, as a result of life-time appointments, it often takes a generation or more to reverse federal judicial trends.
So how about Johnny Roberts and the Supremes? Still too early to tell. There is a distinct separation between conservatives (Roberts, Alito, Kennedy, Scalia, and Thomas) and liberals (Stevens, Souter, Ginsberg, and Breyer). They have been fairly effective in limiting Bush’s incessant attempts to expand executive power, and scored big points with the left for their April 2007 ruling on emissions, but all-in-all they have been, as the majority would indicate, a conservative body that tends to be pro-business, anti-consumer, and interested in walking backwards when it comes to race, free speech, abortion, and church-state relations.
No “F” here because it is simply too early…
Grade: C |
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| July 25, 2007 |
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Bottom line, on this issue of tremendous importance, Bush hasn’t done shit. In a July 22, 2007 Press Democrat article, Shirlee Zane, CEO of Sonoma County’s Council on Aging, points to a World Health Organization report that ranks the U.S. only 37th out of 190 in health care services. Does this embarrass you as much as it does me? The 36 countries that have lower infant mortality and greater longevity have a form of universal healthcare. 70% of Americans believe we need a national health care program, up from 40% only ten years ago. And in the face of all of this, Bush proposed in this year’s State of the Union address a plan in the extreme opposite direction of a national plan. Specifically, he pitched a plan that would provide tax incentives for individuals to procure their own private coverage and tax them for what he called “gold-plated” employer-provided coverage. Another attempt to sweeten things for corporate interests, at the sole expense of individuals and, frankly, the have-nots and have-less-thans. The U.S. health care system is broken, about as badly as you can imagine. While it has begged for leadership, Bush has been intermittently asleep at the switch, preoccupied with bombing countries that represent no threat to the U.S., or pitching new plans that favor his corporate buddies.
Grade: F |
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| July 24, 2007 |
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| Love it! The July 23 issue of Fortune talks about the increasing trend of C-level corporate executives pursuing meditation as a means of grounding themselves in our increasingly complex, high velocity world. I learned and began practicing Transcendental Meditation years ago and am the first to recommend meditation as critical to high-impact leadership, as well as to self-actualization and personal contentment. |
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I so wanted to entitle this "Diplomacy," but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. You see, the term "diplomacy" involves the element of negotiation. And there hasn’t been a shred of negotiation in the policies of the Bush/Cheney administration. There has only been "my way or the highway." Our administration has been arrogant, indifferent, and, much worse, deceitful. (So now you know what the grade will be!) After 9/11, Bush told the world that the U.S. had no need for international treaties or coalitions. He was only interested in a "coalition of the willing." That’s the arrogant and indifferent part. And the deceitful part is when he lied to us, his own electorate, as well as everyone else in the world by preaching that Saddam Hussein represented a global threat because he had WMDs and close ties to Al Qaeda.
Bush refuses to talk with any nation (e.g., Iran, North Korea) he considers rogue. Instead, he uses the press to issue threats about what we might do if they continue down whatever path they are on. You don’t have to be an expert in communications to appreciate the idiocy of this strategy. It’s a mere prelude to war.
Bush declared that the Geneva Convention does not apply to the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Interesting…particularly because there is not one legal or other theory that can even arguably support that position. In front of the whole world, then, we imprison and abuse hundreds of people who have virtually no legal rights or access to judicial review. How can we ever have the respect of other nations when don’t even respect our own laws and principles?
Need more? Abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Bagram and dismissing it as the work of a few bad apples. Dismissing and now trying to undermine the efforts of the International Criminal Court, formed by other nations in 1998 in an attempt to try the most egregious crimes against humanity. As the world’s most powerful, advanced nation, the one that wants to be acknowledged as the foremost global leader, first denying and now ignoring global warming such that hundreds of millions of people in the world, in hundreds of nations, are at risk of dying in the next century.
Grade: F |
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| July 23, 2007 |
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We are in a world, yes world, of hurt as result of the Bush presidency. Despite signing a host of laws with names that sound really nature friendly, Bush has been on an anti-environment mission from the start. For instance, he signed the Clear Skies Act, which gutted the Clean Air Act. And he signed the Healthy Forest Initiative, which initiated a whole lot of cutting down of healthy forests. Some call it the "No Tree Left Behind Act".
As I have commented before, it was only a few weeks ago that Bush even conceded global warming as a fact or issue. Anyone who doesn’t see global warming as an issue on par with, or perhaps even more threatening than, terrorism is just plain ignorant. Instead of leading us towards more solar panels, more passenger trains, and smaller cars, Bush has focused on finding new sources of fossil fuels, new pipelines, and new refineries, and launching 159 new coal plants in the U.S. Thus, emissions have increased 1.6% each year since Bush took over. He also repudiated our involvement in the Kyoto Treaty, the very important international attempt to reduce emissions. With this stunning example of global non-leadership, China and India have since run amok on the environment. Together, the have launched 600 new coal plants. If you haven’t seen the air in China, you would be shocked. Personally, I don’t like seeing what I am breathing and I have never seen thicker, dirtier air than in China. And, by the way, over the long term, China’s air will end up in our lungs.
His EPA has dramatically weakened the pollution controls required of power companies, which is certain to increase the toxins released into the atmosphere in coming years. As we speak, the EPA is considering weakening lead and other contaminant standards in the nation’s water supplies. EPA funding for R&D is at its lowest level in 20 years, at a time when we need the environment protected more than ever before.
Grade: F |
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| July 20, 2007 |
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If we gave Bush another few years, he’d have the entire Constitution disassembled, except perhaps the right to bear arms. Let’s look at separation of powers. The Bush administration has repeatedly argued that the President is, in effect, above the law. In 2002, it argued that Bush could order the torture of enemies despite the fact Congress had made it a crime and the U.S. was party to a treaty prohibiting it. Bush, in effect, used the “President knows best” argument that, of course, has only limited Constitutional merit. He used the same argument in 2004 in defending his right to detain foreign nationals at Gitmo. He used it again in defending his right to wiretap Americans without probable cause or judicial oversight. Fortunately, the courts rebuked the President in each of these cases, but it makes me nervous that a U.S. President believes so sincerely he is above the law.
Let’s look at the Fourth Amendment’s rights to privacy. Here, Bush has accomplished a lot more. Under the Patriot Act, the government’s right to spy on us has expanded dramatically. Even with these expanded rights, the Bush administration has not been satisfied. The Justice Department’s own inspector general recently found that the government’s use of administrative subpoenas was virtually out of control, used well beyond what was authorized by the Act.
Fifth Amendment’s right to due process? Nowadays, “enemy combatants” can be held indefinitely without trial, suspicious groups can have their assets frozen without notice and hearings, and military tribunals can sentence folks to death on the basis of hearsay and coerced testimony.
First Amendment’s right to associate? It was effectively written out of existence by the post-9/11 executive order that that assets of any person or entity can be frozen if the Treasury Dept. deems the person or entity “otherwise associated” with anyone the administration deems
- in its sole discretion - a terrorist.
Grade: F |
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| July 19, 2007 |
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Sometimes I think acknowledgment may be the solution to all of the world's conflicts. As a young trial attorney many years ago in Alaska, I volunteered as a mediator at a conflict resolution center in the community. The key to a successful mediation, in case after case, was acknowledgment. I found that parties in conflict wanted nothing, including money and property, more than acknowledgment. When parties received acknowledgment from me, the dispute could usually be settled about half the time. When the parties acknowledged each other, I never had a case that did not settle.
Two powerful types of acknowledgement are critical to connected communication. You use the first, feelings acknowledgment, when you communicate that you understand the feelings of the other. While empathy provides you with an understanding of the feelings of the other person, this type of acknowledgment closes the loop and communicates that understanding to that person. This is a tool for both speakers and listeners. Understanding that there is an equal and opposite reaction to every action, when you acknowledge the other's feelings, it almost guarantees that he or she will seek to understand your feelings. Just start asking other people how they feel and you'll be amazed at how they start asking you the same.
You use the second, message acknowledgment, when you as a listener understand the message of the other. It involves questioning the speaker and then summarizing the speaker's message to ensure the accuracy and meaning of what was perceived. Often referred to as "active listening," this type of acknowledgment is powerful because it communicates to the speaker that his or her message is important. When the speaker is acknowledged in this way, he or she is more likely to seek to understand your message.
The effect of each type of acknowledgement is profound. Just think about the times you have been acknowledged in a sincere way by someone whom you respect. It was probably immensely gratifying and made you very open to the other things that person was communicating to you.
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| July 18, 2007 |
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| Many years ago, one of my former partners at Montgomery Securities, John Skeen, gave me a practical approach to the process of persuasive communication. He pulled me aside after my first presentation to the partners. He said, "David, that was okay, but remember that every element-indeed every word-of every persuasive communication you ever make in a business setting must meet the following three criteria or it must be thrown out: it be focused, conclusive, and engender greed or fear. There is no time to be anything but on point. No one wants your details; just provide your conclusions. And embed the message with something that tugs on the basic needs of your listener." To this day, I edit my business communications accordingly. |
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| July 14, 2007 |
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Yahoo's new president, Susan Decker, has a lot of supporters, including Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, and Craig Barrett. They think she has what it takes to turn Yahoo around and restore it as a meaningful competitor to Google. Skeptics say she is as much to blame as Terry Semel for the company's woes.
On her plate: reworking a 12,000-employee organization that has become highly bureaucratic and suffers from morale problems, a way to share in the social networking phenomenon that is not going away (I'm sure Decker wishes they landed Facebook last year, even if they had to pay a healthy multiple of their spurned $900 million offer), and ways to boost its search and search advertising businesses. My money goes on her succeeding. She is exceptionally bright, highly analytical, and a straight-shooter. People in the company, as well as on Wall Street, like her a lot. |
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| July 13, 2007 |
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Finally, after nearly a year of work, RateALeader.com has launched!
The mission of RateALeader.com is to enhance the quality of leadership, and ultimately our human condition, by facilitating the exchange of information (e.g., opinion, leadership enhancement resources) among leadership's constituents. With this exchange, our objective is to provide more insight about the determinants of leadership success and, ultimately, provide a means for successful leaders to become models for aspiring or struggling leaders.
Effective leaders are effective because they engage people to change conditions or the course of events. Over the long term, effective leaders either change conditions or the course of events in a way that is satisfactory to their constituents, or they do not, and their success or failure is quite transparent. For instance, over the course of five years, a corporate chief executive either increases shareholder value to an acceptable degree or he or she does not.
Over the shorter term, however, their success or failure is not so transparent. Even with high profile leaders, we have difficulty determining whether they are on a path to success or failure. To date, while it is an overstatement to say there has been no microscope on our leaders, there has not been a forum for those with microscopes to share their views with others. RateALeader.com is that forum and we invite you to share your opinions about your political, corporate, and sports leaders, and access resources to enhance the practice of leadership.
I invite you to check it out. RateALeader.com allows you to rate a leader or check a rating on nearly 15,000 U.S. leaders in the following areas: Political (the most influential elected federal, state, and municipal officials); Sports (head coaches and managers (professional and college) and owners (professional) of NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, NCAA Division I Football, and NCAA Division I Basketball); and Corporate (CEOs of the 3,000 largest publicly traded companies).
Speak out, have fun and tell a friend. |
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| July 11, 2007 |
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| If you like neo-soul, check out Erykah Badu's Live. If you liked Ella and Dusty and Rosemary, check out Carol Sloane's Sweet & Slow. If you like Carol, check out Madeleine Peyroux's Careless Love. If you liked Donny Hathaway, check out his daughter, Lalah Hathaway, with Joe Sample on The Song Lives On. If you like Ziggy Marley, check out Groundation's Upon the Bridge. If you like Ben Harper, check out Michael Franti's Songs from the Front Porch. If you like the Boss, check out Matthew Ryan's May Day. If you think you'd like a blend of Jimmy Buffett, Merle Haggard, and Waylon Jennings, buy Jerry Jeff Walker's A Man Must Carry On or the Ultimate Collection (for starters). If you like folksy, bluesy, rootsy, West African inspired music, check out the Palm Wine Boys' self-titled album. If you like the piano, classical/jazz improv, and a Coltrane/Miles mood, check out Keith Jarrett's epic The Koln Concert. If you liked Steve Goodman's classic Somebody's Else's Trouble (can anyone hold off a cry to Ballad of Penny Evans?), check out his old sidekick John Prine's Fair & Square. If you are like me and have to have anything Neil Young, buy Live at Massey Hall right now. If you adore Tom Waits like I do, definitely pick up his latest, Orphans, and check out all the Ballads and sift for some treasures in Bawlers and Bastards. |
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| Check out Zingerman's Deli, perhaps the best deli I have ever encountered (and I used to live a couple blocks from Carnegie and Stage in New York City), in Ann Arbor, MI. Not only is their food succulent (food rated 27 by Zagat), the staff bends over backwards to make you feel like they operate the joint for you, and you alone. I was there for a couple days last weekend, and I ended up eating there four times. Now I must return to raw vegan to get back into my pants. But it was well worth it! |
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| July 6, 2007 |
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| In the May/June issue of Motto magazine, Marshall Goldsmith, the legendary executive coach, talks about the leader who always has to add a little of his or her own ingenuity or twist to ideas generated by his or her direct reports. The problem is that while the leader may have improved the report's idea by 5%, he or she has reduced the report's commitment to executing it by 50% by stripping him or her of ownership of it. He calls it the "fallacy of added value" and it really rings true. I have seen this in operation many, many times...the leader who has to piss on an idea to make it his or her own, just like a dog would do in new territory, only to discover that his or her piss strips the original proprietor of any enthusiasm for playing in the new territory. Leaders, many times, more than you think, it is good to shut up and let your people gallop. |
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| July 5, 2007 |
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| I've been enjoying Motto magazine. The Motto "manifesto" states as their beliefs that people want more than a paycheck in their careers, have a right to seek out the work life that makes them happy, and are entitled to a workplace where values are aligned with their own. It states that companies should be a force for good and that they have a spirit that shines into communities, employees, and customers, and that spirit can be positive or negative. It states unequivocally that capitalism is good, that profitability drives possibilities. Check it out...it's fresh, green, affirming, and becoming hot! |
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| July 3, 2007 |
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I read a couple days ago in the newspaper that President Bush has embarked on a search for reasons why his presidency is in such turmoil. It seemed almost soulful in nature, that he is truly puzzled by his current situation and deeply interested in how he got here.
And then yesterday I read that he has commuted the sentence of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, convicted of obstructing justice and lying to federal investigators. As a result, Libby will serve no time. 72% of Americans oppose cutting Libby any slack.
Thus, I don't put much credence in the first article. I think he subscribes to a flawed notion of leadership that leaders don't waiver come hell or high water. And that history will judge him favorably because he did it, to borrow from Sinatra, his way. But this takes the principles of self-definition and courage to unreasonable lengths. Be as self-defined and courageous as you want, but if your values, beliefs, and vision are at odds with those you have been entrusted to lead, you're going to fail, just as Bush is failing. |
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| July 2, 2007 |
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While I don't know much about the politics of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I understand he was a Democrat for a long time, then converted to Republican, and just recently converted again to Independent as a possible prelude to a run for President in 2008), I've been reading about the results he has produced in New York in only 5 and 1/2 years and it's extremely impressive.
He took the city schools over from the state and test scores have dramatically improved. Staring at a budget deficit of nearly $6 billion, he focused on the City's strengths for solutions. Believing that New York had enormous unmet marketing potential, he decided cutting services would undermine this potential. Instead, he raised property taxes by 18% to pay for services essential to change the image and, indeed, the reality (e.g., poor transportation, high crime rates, and dirty streets) of New York. He hired a kick-ass marketing head, tripled the marketing budget, and set a goal of attracting 50 million annual visitors by 2015. He implemented a 311, 24-hour service line allowing residents to report or comment on virtually anything and everything, thereby providing him with invaluable feedback about the needs of the City. He made City Hall transparent. Not only does he require an open-office design, but insists that the information produced by the City is concise and simple to grasp.
His efforts have been a boon to the City's economy. It has reached a surplus and Bloomberg is now looking to cut $1.3 billion in taxes. He is attracting more film business than ever in its history. Property values are up 55%. Annual visitors are up to 44 million from 35 million, well on its way to his 2015 goal. He's added 151,100 private sector jobs. Not surprisingly, he has 70% approval ratings.
If I look deeper, I may end up not liking this dude, at least as my President. But I am going to look deeper. This guy deserves it, just based on his results. |
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