Leadership, like any human attribute, comes down to DNA and culture – Nature versus Nurture. I am firmly convinced that every skill necessary to be a great leader can, unequivocally, be learned and mastered by anyone. Full stop. That is the “Nurture” part. The skills and the theory represent a limited field of knowledge. With…
One of the hardest comments for anyone to say when speaking of Bill O’Reilly is “I have no opinion about the guy.” He makes it almost impossible to separate the messenger from the message. Human bias is not part of an intellectual process, it is an emotional one. Almost everyone has a bias regarding O’Reilly….
The color green is important here. If you are alive today and watched any kind of television in the last 20 years you’ve seen the green screen of night vision recording: war reporting, “ghost hunters”, traffic helicopters, numerous movies. The pictures are instantly recognizable as having mediocre resolution, but clear enough to see the creepy…
20150305 Bill O’Reilly (Managing a Crisis) On the heels of the Brian Williams media crisis, another celebrity was caught up in a crisis similar to, and directly related to Williams. Bill O’Reilly, the Fox News commentator, was accused of the exact same misconduct in an article from Mother Jones magazine. Quick review: Williams was suspended…
I like to sometimes recommend resources that I enjoyed which offer a broader range, more insight, and greater detail than I can possibly cover in 1000 words. More importantly, I like to recommend resources that have greatly improved my decision making skills. I have mentioned before that decision making is one of the important topics…
By nature, we are social animals. It is a hardwired response to want to help others, especially those in “our group”, and double especially when we are seeking acceptance to a new group (new job, new school, new neighborhood, etc.). In a professional situation the same desire to cooperate can divert you away from your…
Last week I discussed Brian Williams and the events leading up to his professional predicament and his crisis response to the subsequent public outcry. The public outcry was one of two responses. First, silence from the people who knew him, but could not defend his error. There was no response that would not sound hypocritical…
Brian, Brian, Brian… Oh Brian. Yes… Brian Williams. There is nothing worse for anyone than to be caught in the cross hairs of the media. It can be a person, a company, or even a brand. What can you do if you make an honest mistake or if you are the victim of a negative…
Terrible Leaders and Recognition I seem to be on a recognition binge. So… one more thought. In as much as I believe leadership skills are important, there are an unfortunate number of people in leadership positions that are inexperienced, uneducated in, or actively ignore the “soft skills” of leadership. What can you do when you…
Leadership… no one seems to be able to agree on a common definition. A great example of this is in recent posting by Brittney Helmrich from the Business News Daily. In the article, “30 Ways to Define Leadership”, Helmrich quotes the definitions of leadership by 30 business executives. Each definition is sensible and stands well…