Tom Desrosier
Much of what we believe about ourselves, our world and our politics, we learned from someone else.
Sometimes, years later, we still cling to this stufff, long after its proven wrong.
Go figure...
Email Tom
Technorati Profile
Moral Leadership
Canada…
America might have the biggest tanks and guns, but it seems Canada has the biggest heart. Indeed, the world seems to have found moral leadership once again. Attend:
Thanks Canada.
Tom
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Where no man (or no one) seems to go anymore.
Seen this one yet?
An old story… Young man, brawls, argues, violates the rules, doesn’t worry about getting hurt feelings; boldly and unapologetically scraps his way to success, and yet, still holds forth, the courage of his OWN moral convictions.
Yes, certainly an old story.
Seldom told anymore. At least not as a success story.
I was struck by all of that, while basking in this movie’s unusually bright after-glow. What a celebration of human spirit, this movie embodied - our undying entelechy; our innate need to rebel against those chafing collars of mediocrity. So refreshing in this day and age of political correctness and fear.
And I liked that.
Yes, how inoffensive and risk adverse we are seemingly becoming. Indeed, just a big ole box of vanilla chocolates with quivering jelly inside. Like a cancer overwhelming our society. Our steps oh so tentative, our decisions, wracked with the fear of “unintended consequences”, our enthusiasm damped by so-called “reality.
Ho hum; for who can blame:
Attend. Lawyers, circling like sharks.
What we do, lines someone else’s pockets:
Conspiracy to cajole us abounds
And most damaging of all – a thief in the night attempts to steal our self reliance, this time in the guise of Universal Health Care.
And so there it is…
Lawyers preying, an elite that’s stealing and conniving, and a government that attempts to make us complacent and compliant by giving us something for nothing.
You ok with all that?
I think this should piss you off.
I know it pisses me off.
Tom
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Are you a Leader or a Manager?
A question I saw on Linkedin recently.
What? You never heard of Linkedin? You better learn soon!
But that’s another chat. Today, we’re speaking about Leadership vs. Management.
Yes, business’s most celebrated debate… Are you a chest thumping, Tarzan yarping, leader or one of those process driven, pedantic managers that rob the business world of its very heart!
Let me guess… You’re a leader.
The very sound of it conjures in our hearts and minds, this noble spirit, charging up San Juan Hill, his troops, in awe, rallying forthwith. Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead!”, “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!”
That sort of thing.
And of course, contrary, we say, "manager" to describe one of those soulless and inept bean counters, who seem all too often, oblivious, to the very humanity of the workplace. “My way or the highways”, repeatable results”, “budget restraints!” Oh, hear their war cries!
Ho hum.
I remember my younger days as a junior Naval Officer… Me and my like-ilk, would almost spit the word “manager”, so vile on our tongues. We were “leaders” first and foremost! Indeed, let lesser officers take on the moniker of “manager”.
Manager – you are an abomination!
And so forth.
Look… I found this on changing minds.org
And this one on LA Progressive.com…
Yes it seems the moniker of manager is vilified universally!
But no longer by me.
Attend.
Sometimes I lead, sometimes I manage. They are both roles I must play. One allows me to rally the troops to a worthwhile cause, and commit them to a vision and purpose.
But the other, as unglamorous as it may be, causes me to sit for hours in front of a spreadsheet, looking for the money to pay them, yet one more week. It causes me to look for processes that will satisfy a risk-adverse client.
Both noble roles. But yes, I’d rather be rallying the troops to the distant drum, then going blind in front of a computer! Who wouldn’t.
One last idea. This I found at 1000ventures.com 
A little closer to my way of thinking; I don’t know what the difference between coaching and leading in this model might be, but I certainly like the idea of management being one piece, juxtaposed with leadership as the other.
Here’s my idea: Its not these overlapping circles, but a scale we apply, given the circumstances and of course our intrinsic styles and abilities:
Oh, the much aligned manager. As if we could all survive with just leadership.
Tom Desrosier
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
