Leadership | “Did Jamie Dimon Steal Your Leadership Book?”

Dude. You didn't steal my bookA young friend of mine called last week.

“Hey, did Jamie Dimon steal your book?” he asked, referring to the The Essential Hallmarks of a Good Leader recently published.

“No, he certainly didn’t steal it,” I said. “He might have read it since you can get it for free right here? Why would you think he stole it.”

“Okay,” he replied. “I guess he didn’t steal it then … but is there any chance he might have written it?”

Funny guy, huh?

Who is Jamie Dimon?

As you probably know, Jamie Dimon is the Chairman and CEO of JP Morgan Chase, with an enviable track record as a visionary executive leading large and complex financial organizations.

And, no, he didn’t write The Cornerstones of Effective Leadership … but I was eager to see just what my friend was referring to … and more importantly, what Jamie had to say about the characteristics he thought were the most important to being a successful leader.

What does Jamie think?

(more…)

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Read more about the article Listen to the Most Beautiful Woman in the World
Here's why you should listen to the Most Beautiful Woman in the World.

Listen to the Most Beautiful Woman in the World

“Do you ever pay attention to what’s written on the Internet about you?”

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“Nope. I know what my intention is. People’s opinions of me who don’t know me and have never met me, that’s none of my business. That’s a projection of theirs, and it has nothing to do with me.”

Earlier, my wife put the most recent copy of People magazine on my reading table, not for me to read but just to set it down somewhere while she did something else.

Do you see the difference?

[pullquote]To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. ~ Elbert Hubbard[/pullquote]

Of course, when I saw the headline that it was about the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, I had to pick it up and see, “Who?” … “Why Her?” … and, you know, see how well it aligned with my world view.

But, as I started to read the article, I was immediately drawn to Paltrow’s response to the question posed in the title of this article.

It’s none of MY business!

Do you notice anything different about her response? (more…)

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Leadership Insights | Do you really think you’re Resourceful?

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On a recent morning, I headed to a favorite place just down the street to fetch a couple of lattes for my wife and me.

Our forbearers would have awakened in woolen underwear, stepped in the dark onto a cold dirt floor, and stumbled outside to chop some wood to start a fire in the cook stove balanced on the rocks outside.

They would have tossed some coffee grounds into a beat-up metal pot … grounds that had already been used for several days … filled the pot with water, boiled it … and at some point, would finally get that first bitter cup of java.

No coffee house down the road, no car to get there, certainly no latte or cappuccino. Eat what you kill, literally. If you ain’t got it, you ain’t gonna get it.

Lots of resources but ….

[pullquote]The secret of success is constancy to purpose.” Benjamin Disraeli[/pullquote]

In many ways, we’re much less resourceful than our forefathers.

While we may have expanded the definition of community in many positive ways, using our physical and social media “mobility” to create unimagined connections, we’ve also become more dependent on external resources to get through our day.

In some ways it’s probably better that we’re co-dependent. (more…)

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The Spotlight of Leadership: Where are you standing?

Searchlight - Floodlight

The Spotlight of Leadership

Experienced leaders know that they are standing in the Spotlight of Leadership all the time. I’ll tell you about a video you should watch just below.

Have you read any of the news stories and interviews recently with General Stanley McChrystal, whose new book is coming out now, My Share of the Task?

You’ll recall he is the four-star general whose resignation was precipitated by a Rolling Stone article which disclosed some unsavory remarks about the President’s executive team.

What is McChrystal’s response?

The reporter was given broad access to McChrystal and his staff, with few conditions, to see how the general and his leadership team worked together.

You can read the candid response from General McChrystal about this incident here. (more…)

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