Dispatches from the New World of Work: Comments

Comment on "Link Roundup #12"

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:22:50 -0500

Shelley,
Thanks for sharing Link Roundup#12!

- Randy Bosch

Comment on "Link Roundup #12"

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:34:49 -0500

Thanks for continually offering up useful information.. you guys rock.

Leadership Freak
Dan Rockwell
http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com

- Dan (Leadership Freak)

Comment on "What is Excellence?"

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:15:03 -0500

Its all about chasing shadows.

By that I mean latching on to this or that latest, most innovative idea that some self styled money making guru has put out in the hope it’ll go viral and make them a lot of money off the backs of all the headless chickens who will follow them blindly down a blind alley. It’s a shame but a truism nonetheless that people will follow where someone they see as an expert leads. Even if they lead them to certain disaster, which is what most of the gurus tend to do to their flocks.
The trick is to recognize a shadow when you see it!

www.onlineuniversalwork.com

- jamesd

Comment on "What is Excellence?"

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:40:26 -0500

Excellence is time-bound. What used to be excellent is now boring. YOU, your company must evolve - ahead of everyone else. This will cause you to fail, but that I argue is the price of Excellence.

- Dennis D. Balajadia

Comment on "Leadership: The Problem Isn't the Problem"

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:34:59 -0500

Randy - I adore the Plato quote. I try to live by this. Many days I am quite successful. Other days I am not. When I "Foul up." I "Fess up." "Fast." "Fastidiously."

- Judith Ellis

Comment on "Leadership: The Problem Isn't the Problem"

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:51:22 -0500

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." Plato
Part of that kindness is accepting one's imperfection as well as that of others, and leading in correcting personal error. Applying the Golden Rule becomes extremely vital during that tough journey.

- Randy Bosch

Comment on "Leadership: The Problem Isn't the Problem"

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:36:04 -0500

"Foul up. Fess up. Fast. Fastidiously" applies across the entire spectrum of society, nations, politics, economy, not-for-profits, personal life, et.al.
"Fouling up" is not the exclusive franchise of any group or individual. "Fessing up" is not achieved by blaming others or claiming others are not as "foul up free" as oneself.

- Randy Bosch

Comment on "Leadership: The Problem Isn't the Problem"

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:03:52 -0500

Thank you, Judith. Agreed!

- Randy Bosch

Comment on "Leadership: The Problem Isn't the Problem"

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:08:42 -0500

With regards to many leaders, I'm thinking that in most cases the problem IS most definitely the problem.

- Judith Ellis

Comment on "Leadership: The Problem Isn't the Problem"

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:04:03 -0500

To the teabaggers and self-righteous right themselves, teabagging would be deemed disgraceful gay sex. Gay men, however, would not find teabagging as "a very crude sexual act." Some others might not think so either. With regards to dismissing all teabaggers as unintelligent, I'm sure there are some intelligent ones who could make a legitimate argument for their views. Hitler himself was not known to be unintelligent and I'm sure he made more than a few relevant points. The question is what were they ensconced in? What was both the spirit and letter of the message. We must be vigilant. History repeats itself often.

- Judith Ellis

Comment on "Leadership: The Problem Isn't the Problem"

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:23:54 -0500

What is scary as that some of them are intelligent.
If it possible to listen to Tom Tancredo and not feel like maybe the guy needs to be told which decade (or century) he is living in,
then maybe you need to take a look at the calendar.

It is 2010, not 1910.

- zorro

Comment on "Leadership: The Problem Isn't the Problem"

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:47:55 -0500

"Teabagger" is a term for a very crude sexual act that has been applied by some of American "main stream media" and some progressives to anyone related to the American "Tea Party" movement to denegrate and dismiss all of them as unworthy of being listened to or considered intelligent. It is a 5th and 8th Commandment issue.

- Randy Bosch

Comment on "Leadership: The Problem Isn't the Problem"

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:47:40 -0500

Could someone explain what "teabagger" means? I don't know if it's a generational or UK / USA thing but I haven't a clue what it means.

- Mark JF

Comment on "Leadership: The Problem Isn't the Problem"

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:23:40 -0500

I am not a worshiper of mere activity, being forever reminded of something my uncle said when my brothers were complaining about not doing what the other kids were doing. We couldn’t hang out with just anybody and were required to read and watch the news and report back to my mother on what was going on nationally and internationally. My uncle told my brothers after listening to them whine about how strict our mother was that the kids on our block "may be moving but in the wrong direction."

My uncle's reply has stuck with me. It does not prevent from moving forward on many fronts I have done so in many directions and failed more than once. But it does not remind me to consider to thoughtfully consider a plan and how to advance it. The plan often changes, but I at least have an outline. When I have fouled up I have done precisely what Tom has advocated since childhood: "Fess up. Fast. Fastidiously."

All activity is not good and some damage takes decades before things turn around. Still, some others are irreparable. So, while we want to try things we most certainly want to be wise also considering possible damaging outcomes. Moronic hot white noise without wisdom can be detrimental and damaging that takes the country or company back eons. Speaking of going back, another teabag leader, the former Republican congressman and 2008 Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo disgracefully addressed the convention of active teabaggers.

Tancredo evoked racist discriminatory practices that prevented African Americans from being a part of their government after centuries of unspeakable abuse. He justifies the old literacy and poll tax that prevented African Americans from voting to hoards of laughter: "And then, something really odd happened, mostly because I think that we do not have a civics literacy test before people can vote in this country," said Tancredo. "People who could not even spell the word "vote," or say it in English, put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House, name is Barack Hussein Obama."

When I posted Tancredo's video on my blog addressing teabaggers, I was reminded by a frequent commenter in his 70's that many people came together and voted for President Obama: "Come on," DB said. It was as if I could here his deep Shakespearean voice--oh, he was once a great Hamlet. "We all know that black people can't spell the word ‘vote’ and obviously neither can the Hispanics, Asians, and Whites who voted for Barack Hussein Obama."

The American people would not deserve these teabaggers no matter how active they have been!

- Judith Ellis

Comment on "Leadership: The Problem Isn't the Problem"

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:40:39 -0500

Reminds me Rob of the story told by Tony Benn that as Tony Blair 'invented' New Labour in the mid 1990's.

Existing Labour members told Tony that they were angry and in protest they had torn up their Labour Membership Card.

Tony replied "That's fine but what are you going to DO ABOUT it! When your Grandchildren ask what do you do to try and make a stand against something you don't believe in - what will you say apart from 'I tore up my membership card!"

- Trevor Gay

Comment on "Leadership: The Problem Isn't the Problem"

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:28:27 -0500

Cheers Rob - Sadly I think you are right again - it seems the royal 'we' have just lamely accepted the new low standards of integrity among our leaders and influential people and on reflection perhaps that says more about us than them my friend. Have a great Monday!

- Trevor Gay

Comment on "Leadership: The Problem Isn't the Problem"

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:45:03 -0500

Trevor, I agree. We should not lie back submissively and accept what we feel is wrong. But not only do we (and I use the term in its collective sense of society at large) mostly do just that, but our alternative is usually limited to having a quiet moan. To link with Judith's post, I may think that the teabaggers are completely moronic, but at least they're active.

- RobCH

Comment on "Leadership: The Problem Isn't the Problem"

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:15:32 -0500

Regarding Sarah Palin, the problem IS most definitely the problem.

- Judith Ellis

Comment on "Leadership: The Problem Isn't the Problem"

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:40:20 -0500

Speaking of Sarah Palin, watch her address the teabaggers reading notes written on her hand like an elementary school student. How pathetic!

In an interview with Chris Wallace on Fox Pain said that she will consider a presidential run in 2012. Do watch this pathetic "politician" and tell me who are the pathetic persons who paid this woman six figures to read anything written anywhere?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtcVMTZkTZQ

And who again is that once valiant solider who elected this woman as a VP running mate, demeaning the office considerably. In a recent interview Hank Paulson describes presidential candidates Obama and McCain:

"I was very impressed that candidate Obama was very concerned with what was going on and was very supportive," said the former Treasury Secretary who is promoting his book, "On The Brink." Candidate McCain, I will admit, gave me a few more anxious days and hours."

- Judith Ellis

Comment on "Leadership: The Problem Isn't the Problem"

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:44:40 -0500

Rob - I fear you are correct Sir. But we do not have to lay back submissively and accept it as inevitable.

How I would love to see just one of the hundreds of politicians of all three major parties, who were caught with their fingers in the till, just resign quietly and disappear with some dignity from public life. They would immediately gain more respect from this admittedly old fashioned man. I live in hope Rob :-)

- Trevor Gay