Some Leadership Lessons From The Hunt For Bin Laden

Posted on by metroupe

Leadership is leadership. The same principles apply when leading in sports, music, business and war. But these principles may be expressed in different ways. Sometimes seeing elements of good leadership on display in another realm can help to us to understand these lessons without so much background noise.  How about the hunt for the most wanted man in history?

“The CIA is a global institution that undertakes high-risk missions to defend the United States. Its analysis is scrutinized every morning by no less an exacting customer than the president of the United States. Its successes are largely unknown; its failures are legendary. Simply put, CIA has one of the toughest jobs in all of government.”

And it should be no surprise, the main lessons have to do with priorities, focus, and taking the long view.

Source: The Former Head of the CIA on Managing the Hunt for Bin Laden

When and Why We Overlook Unethical Behavior

Posted on by metroupe

The folks at the Harvard Business Review point out the natural ways that employees punish unethical behavior-often through social means like walking away from an unethical person or leaving the room when someone enters. Basically this means that when we know someone is a cheater, it is so distasteful that we don’t even want to be around them. But there is an exception, and it is revealing.

When we are willing to tolerate or overlook really bad behavior there is always a reason. Often it is because we are benefitting in some way. It may be financial, social, career advancement, etc.  But the reason is revealing.  If there is real evil in your circumstances and you are unwilling to take a stand against it, you can learn something important about character. The reason you won’t take a stand may reveal what you value most.

Here is something from the article:

“Unethical high-performing employees, however, appear to receive a free pass for their unethical behaviors. These people may be unethical, but they get the job done, and enhance the organization’s short-term profitability along the way.

“This is the case even in organizations that on the whole are considered highly ethical. In our third study, we took into account the organization’s ethical environment and still found the same pattern of results. Irrespective of the extent to which the organization prioritizes ethics, unethical high-performing employees still had better working relationships with their peers and were less socially rejected than their unethical low-performing counterparts. There’s something about being a high performer that appears to mask concerns related to immorality.”

Source: We Don’t Shun Unethical Coworkers If They’re High Performers

You Can’t Slow Things Down by Speeding Up – Or- You Need Time To Delegate

Posted on by metroupe

The problem with being over-busy is that you might actually get more done. But this only lasts for a brief period of time at the beginning. But invariably the rushing/exhausted pace leads to bad decisions and the inability to make judgments about what is really important. This is the lesson I am trying to work out in my own life.

Here is more fuel for the fire on this whole discussion:

“If I take some time off – on a holiday, over the weekend, or even just not checking mail in the evening after closing time – my decisions get better. I don’t just keep grinding it out, trying to get strategic by processing ever more detail. I start to notice what is really important so I can leave the rest, or delegate it to someone more qualified or more motivated to do that thing.

“When running at full tilt I don’t even have time to think of passing it off to others.  I’ve seen this over and over again in my work with people leading teams. Things are stuck not because there is no one to do them, but because the person who has them on their plate doesn’t have (or take) the time to clarify who should be doing them.”

Source: You Can’t Slow Things Down by Speeding Up – Next Action Associates

The Value of Community and Solitude are Interdependent

Posted on by metroupe

lonely

I am studying for a sermon series on community and fellowship for our church and was struck by an odd realization.

The loss of a sense of community also signals the loss of meaningful solitude. The reason is that without meaningful relationships, solitude is no longer a nourishing respite. It is similar to the way sleep becomes different for a person that isn’t able to get out of bed. It still happens, but the way it is experienced is different from the person that is exhausted from a hard day of physical work. Without meaningful community we may fall into a state of constant loneliness, and in such a state periods of solitude may do little more than magnify the feelings of isolation.

Job Interviews, False Impressions, and Why People Get Fired

Posted on by metroupe

Here is a brief article with some fascinating ideas on how to avoid the reality of false impressions and deception in the job interviewing process. A short read, and worth it. The “car test” is very interesting… Also using the interaction with the secretary.

An interesting tidbit on the real reasons people get fired:

“According to one study, only 11 percent of new hires who failed in the first 18 months did so due to deficiencies in technical skills. The majority washed out due to problems with motivation, an unwillingness to be coached, or a lack of emotional intelligence.”

Source: The 1 Job Interview Technique You Need to Use | Inc.com

Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas

Posted on by metroupe

mafia

I found an article on mother’s day in the rabbit hole of internet cross-linking. It has a fascinating story of how an undercover FBI agent realized that the mafia basically closed up shop on mother’s day. Reminds me of the line that Ben Wade says from 3:10 to Yuma, “even bad men love their mama’s.” He says this right before killing a man for calling his mom a whore.

I guess it goes like this, “I plan on snuffing you out, but it’s mother’s day…”

“Taking break from homicides

Burke’s [a mafia leader] gesture was no surprise to his fellow hoodlums: Mother’s Day was the most important Sunday on the organized crime calendar, when homicide took a holiday and racketeering gave way to reminiscing — often over a plate of Mom’s pasta and gravy. 

“These guys, they do have a love for their mothers,” said Joe Pistone, the FBI undercover agent who spent six Mother’s Days inside the Bonanno family as jewel thief Donnie Brasco. “They thought nothing of killing. But the respect for their mothers? It was amazing.” 

So amazing, Pistone recalled, that Bonanno member Benjamin “Lefty Guns” Ruggiero once told him that the Mafia — like a suburban Jersey mall shuttered by blue laws — closed for business when Mother’s Day arrived each May.”

Stranger than fiction….

 

Find the article here

The Power of Conscience

Posted on by metroupe

Kronk

We all have an inner voice with a moral bent. It talks to us and we talk back, usually in our heads but sometimes out loud. The Bible calls this conscience. Here is an example of this conversation from a bizarre story that is stranger than fiction. It is from a Forbes article documenting how the uber rich do not escape the hardships of life.

“One of the strangest and disturbing tragedies involves a billionaire heir, Robert Durst who was arrested in 2015, after implicating himself in the suspected murders of three people in HBO’s documentary “The Jinx.” Durst, who is a member of the New York real estate family worth $4.4 billion, had long been suspected to have killed his first wife Kathleen, who went missing in 1982. After leaving an on-camera interview for the documentary, his lapel microphone was still on, and Durst said to himself: “What the hell did I do? Killed ’em all, of course.” And humiliated a family that once had the world in their palm.”

Romans 2:14-15 “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them…”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001. Print.

Source: Aubrey McClendon’s Sad Death And 8 Other Tragic Stories Involving The Super Rich – Forbes

Brian Regan Live

Posted on by metroupe

A couple of weeks ago my wife and I saw Brian Regan live in Visalia. It was a Christmas present to her with a little delay on it.  We have been fans of his comedy for many years.  It is common to hear his jokes quoted around the Troupe house.  You should definitely go see him if his tour comes near you.  Most of his older stuff is available on Youtube and Netflix. He is a clean comedian that is truly funny without being cliched, forced, or cheesy. My life is better off because of his humor 🙂

You can find tour info on his page here at Brianregan.com

His routine included an hour of completely new material. We saw Jim Gaffigan several years ago and he was good but much of his routine was recycled content. Still good, but nothing fresh on that occasion.  During the encore Regan did 20 minutes of older stuff by request. People in the crowd actually brought signs and held them up with their requests, like fans at a football game.  He did his bit on getting a hearing test at the end. It was fantastic.

Some thoughts:

  • The Fox theater in Visalia was great. Nice venue.  It felt intimate. Go early, there lots of restaurants and pubs within walking distance.  And also, there is a Hobby Lobby near by. The wife insisted we stop and browse.
  • His humor is contagious. At the end of 80 minutes I was still laughing with the little strength I had left.
  • His observations on people and politics are always genius and very quotable. He is great at the set-up and has wonderful comedic timing in his live show. Several times in the past on his recorded sessions he seemed rushed because of the TV time table. This was not a factor and made a difference.

Essentialism Chapter 8 Discussion Questions

Posted on by metroupe

Protect The Asset

Questions for Essentialism

Chapter 8

You can download a pdf of this here: Essentialism Questions Ch. 8

This is a list of discussion questions to help work through the content of the book “Essentialism” By Greg McKeown.

Major principles:

Protect the asset. You need to care for your mind and body through rest and sleep so that you can understand what is important and be effective over the long haul

Key examples/illustrations

  • Entrepreneur Geoff and burnout, panic attacks. Highly successful yet believing he had no limits.  His overwork required a 2 year sabbatical for healing.
  • The study quoted by Malcom Gladwell in his “10,000 hour rule” for excellence also requires adequate sleep.
  • Harvard Medicine Sleep School and the article “Sleep Deficit: The Performance Killer.” Sleep deprivation leads to impairment similar to a blood alcohol level of .1%.
  • Journal of nature study about puzzle solving abilities and the beneficial effects of sleep.
  • Google sleep pods.
  1. Getting enough rest may involve scaling back on work and other activities. Why is scaling back so hard for you?
  2. The belief that we can “do it all” can reveal a dangerous pride. We think the limits do not apply to us. Do you feel that needing rest is a sign of weakness?
  3. When so many others are burned out and exhausted, we may be reluctant to take time off because it will look like weakness or a lack of commitment. Are you afraid of looking uncommitted or weak?  Who are you worried about disappointing? Why?
  4. Without rest, we might be able to do some amazing things in the short run. But we may also have problems in the long run. Think of your important relationships and work. What would happen to those relationships and projects if you suffered a 2 year health crisis due to burnout?
  5. McKeown writes  (p.94) “By the time I was twenty-one I too thought of sleep as something to be avoided. To me, it was a necessary evil.”  Do you have a philosophy of sleep?
  6. How do you feel about sleeping in on a day off? Do you feel guilty? Do you struggle feeling like you have to justify this to yourself or others? Why?
  7. McKeown quotes Bill Clinton when he said that every major mistake he had made in his life happened as a result of sleep deprivation. Has anything like this (major or minor) happened in your life? Reflect on this.
  8. Why might sleep deprivation lead to poor decision making? What does this reveal about your mind and emotional needs for making decisions?
  9. What is the difference between operating at a high level of contribution and just being busy? How does sleep influence this?
  10. One reason that we struggle with getting sleep is the myth that if we sleep less we will accomplish more.  Why is this idea wrong headed? What is the truth that we need to shatter this lie?
  11. We readily reject the idea that people can perform well at work while drunk, yet we don’t think much about people that come to work sleep deprived.  Why is this inconsistent? What can we do about it?
  12. Pulling an “all-nighter” and working through exhaustion can give the appearance of productivity and commitment.  How is this different than real effectiveness in the long run?
  13. The author quotes the Journal of Nature Study on the improved puzzle-solving abilities of people with more sleep. This suggests something about how our brain works to solve problems.  Re-read pages 99-100 and put into your own words the benefits of sleep for solving difficult problems and creativity.
  14. Being sleep deprived affects our ability to distinguish between the vital few and the trivial many.  Apply this: What does it suggest about your sleep patterns? How can you use this to make better decisions?
  15. In the high success world some top leaders and creative people are talking more about the importance and value of sleep. Think of a person that you respect who is both highly productive person and also makes sleep a priority?  Read the WSJ article “Sleep Is the New Status Symbol For Successful Entrepreneurs” quoted in the book to delve deeper on this subject.

Relativism and the Double Standard

Posted on by metroupe

double standard

I had an epiphany yesterday. Almost every time someone announces that there are no rules, they are getting ready to tell the world how to behave. Usually they are about to tell me why it is WRONG for anyone to criticize them for their choices because of course the rules are relative.

If you pay close attention, the person who says that there are no rules (or morals) almost always means there are no rules for them.  It is the parlor trick played by tolerance magicians everywhere.  They don’t like the morality that says their behavior is wrong. But they do have a long list of things that others must not do. They don’t call them rules or morals. They usually get tagged as justice, decency, or love. But a rule by any other name is still a rule.

And every human society has rules for conduct. Call them mores, norms, or whatever. Human beings all have behavior codes and we enforce them in social ways. Making judgments about the behavior of other people is one of the things that we do constantly.  So, when a person insists it is wrong to ever make judgments about other people, they are making the broadest condemnation possible.

Ironically they are making a case that it is wrong to make moral judgments, while making moral judgments.

This brand of hypocrisy is endemic to western society: A generation of people telling others how to live while insisting it is immoral for others to tell them how to live.