On Christmas day, a Nigerian named Uman Farouk Abdulmutallab failed in an attempt to blow up a jetliner flying from Amsterdam to Detroit. In the aftermath, it became clear that the $40 billion in security precautions put in place since 9/11 had failed. In response, the Department of Homeland Security decreed that all passengers on international flights would not be allowed to leave their seats during the last hour of the flight. It took about 48 hours before the “leaders” …

The lesson I learned in my economic classes in graduate school that has had the greatest impact on me is what economists call “The Law of Unintended Consequences.” This term is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton (who also coined the term “self-fulfilling prophecy”) and states that contrary to the belief that only the results originally intended by a particular action will occur, unintended results also occur. And usually, these unintended results are unforeseen and undesired.

An unintended consequence of my …

One of my favorite Vistage speakers is Michael Allosso; he spoke to my key group in 2008 and came back to Indy twice this month to address my CEO group and share Part Deux with my key group. Michael is an actor, director and 2007 Vistage Speaker of the Year; he’s presented to Vistage groups almost 600 times.

The goal of Michael’s talk is to make us better communicators; he maintains that the things an actor must do to be successful …