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| On his The 700 Club show Monday, Pat Robertson said the U.S. will risk God's wrath if it forces Israel to surrender part of Jerusalem to the Palestinians. Hmmm...I'm going to suggest that if it's God's wrath we are trying to avoid, we ought to be shaking in our boots given our government's fraudulent inducement to go to war in Iraq, a war that has cost over a million lives so far. And I'm shaking even more when I consider how many Americans listen to this dude. |
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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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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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Establishing and maintaining a culture and systems of accountability is one of the most challenging tasks of a leader. And yet it is critical to success. Screw up on this, and you’ll fail. Do it right, you’ll succeed. Ram Charan and Larry Bossidy, in their book entitled Execution, say first put the right people in the right places. Second, tell your people the results that you are seeking and the priorities that matter to you. Third, talk about how they can achieve the results you are seeking. Fourth, reward those who deliver the results you seek and link rewards to performance. Finally, if they don’t produce the results you are seeking, do one of the following, without delay: provide additional coaching, withdraw rewards, give them other jobs where they have a better chance at succeeding, or let them go.
And never micro-manage (which dis-empowers people, diminishes their confidence, saps their initiative, and stifles their ability to think for themselves), always be actively involved (using knowledge to probe and question, bring weaknesses to light, and rally people to correct them), and understand the difference between the two. And, finally, the unvarnished truth is essential in every assessment you make and communication in which you participate.
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| Talk about mainstream going green! It's happening at light speed. One of my heroes is Ray Anderson, founder of Interface, a maker of carpets, down in Georgia. Under his leadership, Interface (www.interfaceinc.com) became one of the early adapters of the principles of sustainability expressed by Paul Hawken in The Ecology of Commerce. Early on, Ray was way left of the mainstream, but I just learned that Shaw Industries (www.shawfloors.com), one of the largest flooring companies in the world, also based in Georgia, has developed a fascinating program called "Evergreen" in which it will recycle old carpets into new carpets. Not only is it great for the planet, it is less expensive than buying raw materials. Side note: Shaw is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. |
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| Last Friday, FBI Director Robert Mueller III conceded his agency had improperly, and sometimes illegally, used the Patriot Act to obtain information about people and businesses. And then, with great valor, he said, "Who is to be held accountable? And the answer to that is, I am to be held accountable." As if this were some great display of accountability! Or even courage! Admitting to something after you get caught is neither accountability nor courage in my book. Rather, it's a thinly veiled attempt to reduce the personal consequences of the wrongful conduct. Mueller wouldn't know accountability if he were chest-deep in it. True accountability in his organization would have made what happened impossible. He would have had a culture and systems in place such that the violations of citizens' rights never would have taken place in the first place, or if they did in isolated instances, would have remained aberrations instead of normal course of business. Now, the real job of accountability in this situation lies with our Congress and the Attorney General, and that is to ensure that Mueller and his agents are held responsible for their lack of accountability if, in fact, crimes are proven. |
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Inquire about booking David M. Traversi to speak or lead workshops
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A New Leadership Paradigm!
A National Bestseller!
Check out David M. Traversi's much acclaimed new book, The Source of Leadership™ Eight Drivers of the High-Impact Leader. Click here for more information.
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The Source of Leadership will send you a daily tip designed to help you stay at the top of your leadership game. |
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