Schettino’s Failure of Leadership

Several years ago while taking a class onmanagement styles, a question came up that made a powerful impact on how I interacted with people around me. The question was this; Is management and leadership the same thing? On one hand, management is the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. While leadership is the action of leading people by precept, principle and example. Like me, you may have never thought of these two states separately, but as you look at the definitions, it is clear they are not the same.

I say it like this, management is getting people to do the right things, but leadership is helping the right people do the right things. The difference is found in the application and activation of people. In life, business and everything else, people must be part of the equation. If they are not, you won’t see sustained success. This difference came to light in a tragic manner for hundreds of passengers earlier in January.

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The Serious Need for Imagination

Albert Einstein once wrote, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to knowand understand.” As I watch the incredible development of my little ones and reminisce about all the mischief I got into as a youngster, it causes me to wonder where our imaginations went. Somewhere between 4 and 14 we are talked out of a land filled with endless possibilities and talked into a land of restraint, compliance and normality. Not that being orderly is wrong, but a life sentenced to ‘ordinary’ can be mind numbing. Mankind was created for something much greater than carving out a meager existence.

What happened to the days before technology? The days when we could entertain ourselves by going outside with one of our mother’s towels wrapped around our necks and for hours we engaged in the battle of the Super Friends. Where a stick was a McArthur’s sword or a water pistol made of the Lone Ranger. We didn’t need a text, Facebook or a Twitter account because our day was filled with playing tag. We felt care free when we allowed our minds to run free with the moment. But something happened. Life became complicated. We matured and decided with the assistance of society that ‘playing around’ was simply kid’s stuff.

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The Disease Called Negativity

Several months ago Hollywood studios released a blockbuster film that is currently up for several awards called Contagion. With heavy hitters like Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Laurence Fishburne as the main cast, they attempt to follow a web of infected individuals as a pandemic erupts across the world. This incredibly strong strand of flu virus that seems to originate from an animal spreads like wild-fire from the shores of Hong Kong, San Francisco, Chicago and everywhere in between. Day of our lives we are only a few steps from a disease that can take us out. In recent reports on news outlets we have witnessed firsthand the dangers of bacteria and germs that find their way into our homes and on our foods. This got me thinking about another airborne disease that gets very little ‘press’; the germ of negativity! It’s a scary thought that every person we meet could be a carrier of the disease of negativity. And worse, these infected could pass it on to travelers, hospitals, schools, churches and cause a widespread panic. Every sneeze is causing suspicion as to whether or not you are the next victim.

Negativity is defined as: an unpleasantness, lacking positive or constructive features. This can potentially describe most of the people we communicate with on a daily basis, or sometimes ourselves. All you have to do is look at a local news show and realize the ratio of positive and negative reports are grossly disproportioned. While we have done all we can with hand sanitizer and flu shots, we have neglected to protect ourselves from the deadliest disease of all. There are no statistics to show the amount of dreams, visions and potential that has been destroyed by the illness of negativity. Just as with any disease, knowledge, prevention and a little precaution will go a long way to keep you symptom free.

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March Madness, Are You On The Bubble?

It’s that time of the year again! A feverish pace comes upon the sports world while all eyes turn towards colligate basketball in hopes of witnessing history. From Nebraska, to Gonzaga, Connecticut and Florida; everyone wants to know if they have their ‘brackets’ in order to track this year’s upset. You even see evidence of March Madness in stores and television commercials. We’ve all got the ‘fever’ and there is no relief in sight until the end of the month!

I found the term ‘On the bubble’ to be an interesting narrative mentioned by nearly all the analysts on ESPN. When I did a bit of research, I also found this to be an allegory of the potential we have inside. In fact, if we really look closely at the similarities, it will give new meaning to this whole crazy month of sports utopia.

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