[November 21, 2021] Brearley, it’s a private all-girls school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It costs $54,000 a year and prospective families apparently have to take an “anti-racism pledge” to be considered for admission. Gutmann chose to pull his daughter, who has been in the school since kindergarten, and sent this missive to all 600 or… Read More »
[November 20, 2021] I started this series of “Leader Don’ts” a couple of years ago as a joke to keep some of my younger readers interested in my blog. What I didn’t realize was how popular it became among older readers. That’s why I’m bringing it back, and today’s topic is about how leaders should not be unlikeable.… Read More »
[November 19, 2021] The 2022 Winter Olympics are scheduled to begin February 4, 2022, in Beijing, China and the neighboring Hebel province. Communist China is a repressive, totalitarian state that uses slave labor, genocide and aggressively destroys the economy of various nations, to name a few. The U.S., in the Biden Administration, has chosen to exercise poor leadership… Read More »
[November 18, 2021] There has been an awful lot of hyperventilating about “systematic racism” in the U.S., most of it grossly overblown. Don’t believe me? Please, change my mind. I lived in 20 countries, and across most of America and of all those places, this is where I find the least racist folks. Systematic racism is one of… Read More »
[November 17, 2021] Whenever strong leaders come to mind, we think of those who have courage, decisive, and bold. All good leaders have these traits. But how many good leaders are also loyal? Every great leader is. Those who are not loyal to their team illustrate poor leadership. “My loyalty to Country and Team is beyond reproach.” –… Read More »
[November 16, 2021] In 2012, China formally adopted an idealistic set of 12 “core socialist values” at their 18th National Congress.1 This set of values, not unlike core values I’ve written about here in my blog, attempt to set the stage for how citizens of China see themselves in relation to citizens of other nations and among themselves. … Read More »
[November 15, 2021] Robert Reid, the President of the Absecon Historical Society (of New Jersey), invited my wife and me to one of their meetings. I found the townsfolk to be warm and accommodating, informed, and happy to hear my comments on the Iraq War. We didn’t catch what happened earlier in the day. The Historical Society opens… Read More »
[November 14, 2021] The allure of irresponsibility is too strong to resist. Our most admired institutions (academia, the military, large corporations) are failing American citizens and hurting democracy through their encouragement of irresponsibility. In academia, we are unfocused, individualized, and scattered. A cultural void has descended upon us and hit unexpectedly, for we were not on guard. Ignorance… Read More »
[November 13, 2021] Holding onto flawed ideas is not a way to achieve success in our lives. Yet, we continue to hold onto them, however ill-founded they are, stubbornly, painstakingly, and with great emotional attachment. We are comfortable doing so, yet intellectually we understand the disadvantages of what we do. This problem is why good leadership means committing… Read More »
[November 12, 2021] No, we are not brave! This admission may come as a shock to many, but nearly every person I’ve ever met, whether in the military or civilian life, are cowards, and so am I. We put up a good front, of course, and we do this by talking big, owning cool stuff, and belonging to… Read More »