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Archive for October, 2008

I am from…

Friday, October 31st, 2008

Self-awareness is a cornerstone of being a strong leadership. If you Google the phrase “I am from…” you’ll find pages and pages of submissions from people who have used this exercise to write poems that build their self awareness. Here’s mine. – Mike

I Am From…

I am from Micks and Krauts and Luxembourgers (Why is there no slang term for immigrants from Nospelt?)

I am from Raymond and Kathryn, and a five room duplex on the south side …

Silly Season

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008

The Presidential election is just one week from today; Nov. 4 marks the end of Silly Season. I’m not fond of either political party or their candidates; I have a low opinion of politicians in general.

I believe the lengthy primary process is geared to favor career politicians and discourages the best and brightest from running for president. In an editorial in the Wall Street Journal on October 23, Daniel Henninger called the primary system “one whose length and cost ensures …

Talking Trash

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008

I always enjoy watching the Olympic Games. For most Americans, the highlight of the 2008 summer games was the performance of the US men’s swimming 4 x 100 freestyle relay team. Two things made this event memorable. The first was that the underdog US team upset the heavily favored French by just eight hundredths of a second, the narrowest margin of victory in Olympic swimming history. Second, the French star, Alain Bernard, boasted prior to the competition that the French …

Pat Rooney

Monday, October 27th, 2008

J Patrick Rooney passed away in Indianapolis in September of 2008. He was a big thinker. For decades, he was the CEO of Golden Rule Insurance in Indianapolis, but he will be remembered for two big ideas. Back in the early 1990s, when others were just talking about our broken public school system and the need to give every child the opportunity for quality education, Rooney became impatient with the politicians and teachers unions and created a program on his …

Head, Heart and Groin

Monday, October 27th, 2008

One of my favorite Vistage speakers is Michael Allosso. Michael is an actor, director and 2007 Vistage Speaker of the Year who’s addressed more than 400 Vistage groups. The title of his talk is “You on Your Best Day.”

The goal of Michael’s talk is to make us better communicators. One of the things he shares is that actors play roles from the “head, heart or groin.” As leaders, we must do the same. When we work from our head, we’re …