Scott Monty

The Empty Chair

<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwKzDp82wHs2MOAJzlZkhiCY3gRXDil0tz1HmirYsAqngtjagK7nNtWtsp0lJjduczdcXLdjIxMH2CqD7xSJPf9GJahO4zuA2AU92qDGXpSlJq8GCJoxGDv-DyesJ1aKf1oqHebl1ecebarA7GZgSWrBfW3z5aYf3jA2e2ZtT37Z-RbNJDLbiWcyD/s2500/Vincent%20Van%20Gough%20-%20The%20Bedroom,%20digitally%20enhanced.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1964" data-original-width="2500" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwKzDp82wHs2MOAJzlZkhiCY3gRXDil0tz1HmirYsAqngtjagK7nNtWtsp0lJjduczdcXLdjIxMH2CqD7xSJPf9GJahO4zuA2AU92qDGXpSlJq8GCJoxGDv-DyesJ1aKf1oqHebl1ecebarA7GZgSWrBfW3z5aYf3jA2e2ZtT37Z-RbNJDLbiWcyD/w640-h502/Vincent%20Van%20Gough%20-%20The%20Bedroom,%20digitally%20enhanced.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><figcaption class="image-caption" data-pm-slice="1 1 ["captionedImage",null]"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>The Bedroom</em> by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889. Original from the Art Institute of Chicago. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel. (Wikipedia - <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>)</span></figcaption></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>“I swear to the Lord</em></strong></div><strong><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>I still can’t see</em></strong></div></strong><strong><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Why Democracy means</em></strong></div></strong><strong><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Everybody but me.”</em></strong></div></strong><em><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Langston Hughes, 1943</em></div></em><p></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label></div><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>While there’s been a lot of talk about Democracy lately, leaders at work deal with small-d democracy. Or, a state of society defined by equal rights and privileges.</p><p>Simply put, leaders ought to ensure that everyone in their charge is made to feel welcome and included.</p><p>In recent years, this leadership and culture practice has been given an acronymized category: DEI, or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It’s not some corporate gimmick or trend; it requires empathy and thoughtfulness in how it is executed.</p><p>Daniel Gill knows something about inclusion.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label></div><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>When Daniel was growing up in the Washington Heights section of New York City, he experienced something that would stay with him for decades.</p><p>Daniel was invited to a birthday party in his apartment building when he was nine years old, and he decided to invite his friend Archie.</p><p>They rang the bell, and when the door opened, the mother of the birthday boy looked at Daniel, and then at Archie, who was Black.</p><p>“<em>We have no more chairs</em>,” she said.</p><p>Daniel was confused. He had been to this apartment many times and had seen plenty of chairs in it. He said he would gladly sit on the floor or go get more chairs, but the response was “<em>There’s no more chairs</em>.”</p><p>Daniel slowly realized that he was welcome but Archie was not, because he was Black.</p><p>The boys handed over the presents and left in tears. </p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label></div><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Years later, Daniel Gill became a social studies teacher in the Montclair school system and helped with its desegregation. And in doing so, <a href="https://mymodernmet.com/teacher-keeps-empty-chair-in-classroom/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">he remembered that incident</a> with his friend Archie — with a small but significant symbol.</p><p>Gill keeps an empty chair in the center of his classroom. For a very specific reason.</p><blockquote><p><strong>“I put a chair in my classroom so that anybody who comes to my classroom filled with anticipation, like a party, would feel welcome.”</strong></p></blockquote><p></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{"url":"%%share_url%%","text":"Share","action":null,"class":null}"><br /></p><p>He keeps it there so students “know this is an accepting place. When they forget that, I point to the chair,” he said.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Isn’t that the job of a leader? To make everyone feel welcome?</p><p>The challenge is that everyone has blind spots due to their own background. We can’t all experience the world the way every other person has.</p><p><br /></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">This thread and the replies are a great reminder of how our own worldview might not feel the same – or comfortable – to others. <br /><br />Inclusivity and empathy are essential for leaders. <a href="https://t.co/7uUvfttjOC">https://t.co/7uUvfttjOC</a></p>— Scott Monty (@ScottMonty) <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottMonty/status/1541576860026523648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p></p><div class="preformatted-block" data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"></pre></div><p><br /></p><p>And so, the decent leader gets the input of other executives and employees, putting together different perspectives like pieces of a puzzle.</p><p>And having someone represent DEI isn’t checking a box or hewing to a trend. Being inclusive is simply showing that you care.</p><p>Inclusivity means everyone matters.</p><p>The empty chair reminds us of that.</p><p><br /></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap" data-attrs="{"url":"%%checkout_url%%","text":"Subscribe"}" data-pm-slice="2 1 []"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"><i><b>If this spoke to you, consider signing up to receive more essays like this.</b></i></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email…" tabindex="-1" type="email" /><input class="button primary" type="submit" value="Subscribe" /><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p><br /></p><p>In a recent episode of the <a href="https://pod.link/timeless" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><strong><em>Timeless Leadership</em></strong></a> podcast, Dan Pontefract shared lessons from his book that outlined why caring is at the center of good leadership. Put it on your playlist:</p><p><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" data-dashlane-frameid="12104" data-dashlane-rid="54324b0a532364f9" data-form-type="other" height="192" mozallowfullscreen="true" msallowfullscreen="true" oallowfullscreen="true" scrolling="no" src="//play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/23517488/height/192/theme/modern/size/large/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/424242/time-start/00:00:00/playlist-height/200/direction/backward" style="border: none;" title="Embed Player" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="100%"></iframe></p><p><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Thanks, and I’ll see you on the internet.</p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnNaxq0-3uicS2PmnZULtReHOTda937rY9rDQoqwcvcZ7s6EcF6USiE8uifHSxE9myvqCiFJxhLFCznUkbgd2sJpIFnt9FiTrBy1kShmI2OhKc8JSC5KDsnBvrKhR1tMNNJgrGBhcZHwR4SMoDo7c-4eATD_tHzZ-iAuYj5KLFB442ZyTtruhjgsH/s1118/Sig-Scott-Substack.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #007abe; float: left; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="141" data-original-width="1118" height="80" original="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnNaxq0-3uicS2PmnZULtReHOTda937rY9rDQoqwcvcZ7s6EcF6USiE8uifHSxE9myvqCiFJxhLFCznUkbgd2sJpIFnt9FiTrBy1kShmI2OhKc8JSC5KDsnBvrKhR1tMNNJgrGBhcZHwR4SMoDo7c-4eATD_tHzZ-iAuYj5KLFB442ZyTtruhjgsH/w640-h80/Sig-Scott-Substack.png" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnNaxq0-3uicS2PmnZULtReHOTda937rY9rDQoqwcvcZ7s6EcF6USiE8uifHSxE9myvqCiFJxhLFCznUkbgd2sJpIFnt9FiTrBy1kShmI2OhKc8JSC5KDsnBvrKhR1tMNNJgrGBhcZHwR4SMoDo7c-4eATD_tHzZ-iAuYj5KLFB442ZyTtruhjgsH/w640-h80/Sig-Scott-Substack.png" style="border: 0px solid rgb(211, 211, 211); display: inline; height: auto; max-width: 95%; padding: 4px; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out 0s;" width="640" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p></p></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><h4 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 18.2px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">👉 Premium Members get extras, such as exclusive essays and monthly leadership calls.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">Join tens of thousands of others on this journey:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></div></h4><h4 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 18.2px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><iframe data-dashlane-frameid="12051" frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://www.timelesstimely.com/embed" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; max-height: 450px; max-width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></div></h4><p></p><p></p><p></p>

The Empty Chair

The Bedroom by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889. Original from the Art Institute of Chicago. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel. (Wikipedia - CC BY-SA 4....

To Hope Is to Believe

<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAuhhuCRCn59_YxXuaaxGbL91mUBhFpnHYXtt7J3k8zqrQYb5fLDUP1UV0kw80r0lMaBSYnnqh8782A2UjuNwJyxjS_TaV4JwQ3-pPF8M-W2y48f6P-s-pB7pnAyX-kkTlJZ2AoYB7k2nfQqtzy1Cncj1gRob3vmHycdvo_xxpNNDhvdfVZGLkqI2/s1530/Domenico%20di%20Michelino%20-%20Dante's%20Divine%20Comedy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="1530" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAuhhuCRCn59_YxXuaaxGbL91mUBhFpnHYXtt7J3k8zqrQYb5fLDUP1UV0kw80r0lMaBSYnnqh8782A2UjuNwJyxjS_TaV4JwQ3-pPF8M-W2y48f6P-s-pB7pnAyX-kkTlJZ2AoYB7k2nfQqtzy1Cncj1gRob3vmHycdvo_xxpNNDhvdfVZGLkqI2/w640-h482/Domenico%20di%20Michelino%20-%20Dante's%20Divine%20Comedy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em style="--tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">La commedia illumina Firenze</em><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> by Domenico di Michelino, 1465 (</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domenico_di_Michelino#/media/File:Dante_Domenico_di_Michelino_Duomo_Florence.jpg" rel="" style="--tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Wikipedia</a><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> - public domain)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>“To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite;</em></strong></div><strong><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>To forgive wrongs darker than death or night;</em></strong></div></strong><strong><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>To defy Power, which seems omnipotent;</em></strong></div></strong><strong><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>To love, and bear; to hope till Hope creates</em></strong></div></strong><strong><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>From its own wreck the thing it contemplates;</em></strong></div></strong><strong><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Neither to change, nor falter, nor repent;</em></strong></div></strong><strong><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>This, like thy glory, Titan, is to be</em></strong></div></strong><strong><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Good, great and joyous, beautiful and free;</em></strong></div></strong><strong><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>This is alone Life; Joy, Empire, and Victory!”</em></strong></div></strong><em><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1820</em></div></em><p></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label></div><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Hope-peddlers need more respect.</p><p>Often derided as being overly optimistic or dismissed with the cliché “hope is not a strategy,” it’s the hard-nosed pragmatists or even the pessimists who seem to be more in touch with reality.</p><p>But when we do battle with hope, we eliminate any chance of success as we simply tell ourselves and those around us to give up. </p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap" data-attrs="{"url":"%%checkout_url%%","text":"Subscribe"}"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"><br />In Canto III of his <em>Divine Comedy</em>, Dante passes through the gates of Hell, on which is inscribed the phrase “Abandon all hope ye who enter here.”</p></div></div></div><p>A warning, certainly; but more than that, when we abandon hope we abandon a belief that something good can happen. Without a belief in better forces, better outcomes, or better people, we’re going to find exactly what we expect out of our society, our colleagues, and our families. </p><p>The challenge with being hopeful is that it sounds naïve to believe in the unknown. Pessimists are sure of what has happened and are likely to stick to what they know — the “we’ve always done it this way” crowd.</p><p>To hope is to put our belief in the unknown.</p><p>To hope is to try new things.</p><p>To hope is to change.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><h2>Hope, Delayed</h2><p>I’ll give you an example of hope, change, and opportunity that I encountered just last week.</p><p>My older son was scheduled to attend a goalie camp outside of Boston for his next phase of hockey. The camp check-in was Friday at 5:00 pm for warm-ups and a Saturday morning start, so I figured taking a 9:15 pm flight from Detroit on Thursday gave us plenty of time.</p><p>That is, until about 8:30 pm when Boston’s airport called a full ground-stop moments before we were boarding in Detroit.</p><p>The crowd scrambled, and I immediately went into Plan B mode, trying to rebook through the app (ineffective), getting on the phone with Delta (a two-hour hold time), and standing in an endless line comprised of the passengers from three Boston flights.</p><p>If ever there was a time for Dante’s “abandon all hope ye who enter,” this was the place.</p><p>My son has anxiety, so he got worked up about the situation. I let him know that there were options, that I was trying everything I could because I wanted him to make it, and that if things didn’t work out, it meant it was beyond our control.</p><p>Reader, the flights were beyond anyone’s control.</p><p>The soonest we could catch a flight was Saturday, as three flights full of people plus all other affected east coast passengers tried to reschedule amid already-full flights.</p><p>I wasn’t ready to give up on the trip, but we had to alter our plans significantly: we had the airline pull his hockey equipment (which we later found out wouldn’t happen, because baggage staff went home at 9:00 pm), returned home for a good night’s sleep, and set out by car the next morning.</p><p>The only hiccup we ran into was that when we tried to pick up the equipment at DTW, we discovered it had already been sent to BOS. No matter; the 90-minute detour was a minor inconvenience if it meant he’d still be able to attend his camp.</p><p>And a silver lining: a father-son road trip over Father’s Day weekend meant 26 extra hours in the car together. We had conversations and shared moments that would not have happened on a shorter plane-bound trip.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Our toughest challenges require solutions that don’t yet exist (otherwise they wouldn’t be difficult). And while hope itself isn’t the answer, it is a torch lighting our way toward growth.</p><p>The future is uncertain. But with hope, we can illuminate and inform ourselves as we trod the path.</p><p>Without hope, what do we believe in?</p><p><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Thanks, and I’ll see you on the internet.</p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnNaxq0-3uicS2PmnZULtReHOTda937rY9rDQoqwcvcZ7s6EcF6USiE8uifHSxE9myvqCiFJxhLFCznUkbgd2sJpIFnt9FiTrBy1kShmI2OhKc8JSC5KDsnBvrKhR1tMNNJgrGBhcZHwR4SMoDo7c-4eATD_tHzZ-iAuYj5KLFB442ZyTtruhjgsH/s1118/Sig-Scott-Substack.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #007abe; float: left; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="141" data-original-width="1118" height="80" original="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnNaxq0-3uicS2PmnZULtReHOTda937rY9rDQoqwcvcZ7s6EcF6USiE8uifHSxE9myvqCiFJxhLFCznUkbgd2sJpIFnt9FiTrBy1kShmI2OhKc8JSC5KDsnBvrKhR1tMNNJgrGBhcZHwR4SMoDo7c-4eATD_tHzZ-iAuYj5KLFB442ZyTtruhjgsH/w640-h80/Sig-Scott-Substack.png" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnNaxq0-3uicS2PmnZULtReHOTda937rY9rDQoqwcvcZ7s6EcF6USiE8uifHSxE9myvqCiFJxhLFCznUkbgd2sJpIFnt9FiTrBy1kShmI2OhKc8JSC5KDsnBvrKhR1tMNNJgrGBhcZHwR4SMoDo7c-4eATD_tHzZ-iAuYj5KLFB442ZyTtruhjgsH/w640-h80/Sig-Scott-Substack.png" style="border: 0px solid rgb(211, 211, 211); display: inline; height: auto; max-width: 95%; padding: 4px; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out 0s;" width="640" /></a></div><p><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p></p></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><h4 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 18.2px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">👉 Premium Members get extras, such as exclusive essays and monthly leadership calls.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">Join tens of thousands of others on this journey:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></div></h4><h4 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 18.2px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><iframe data-dashlane-frameid="12010" frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://www.timelesstimely.com/embed" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; max-height: 450px; max-width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></div></h4>

To Hope Is to Believe

La commedia illumina Firenze by Domenico di Michelino, 1465 ( Wikipedia - public domain) “To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite; To ...

Being a Leader Means Having a Moral Conscience

<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyn66oeS0Ym5YbEJPAws7TSm7tF067rKzT9fSFs3clFiG8jYiWxAMMy6RPMT94I89xsmDuHsu4JtiP2ZimB7GcVzIFtAQHc6gkKVhCK9H9bhIDEKJ6xrfJdbzmda3z8Pxko1OkbHEmhHHxjBhDlCXCDvU37sEwIZoKwVJGJIIYrSorM0C58T0jb6Jy/s2000/Caspar%20David%20Friedrich%20-%20Landscape%20with%20Mountain%20Lake,%20Morning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1547" data-original-width="2000" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyn66oeS0Ym5YbEJPAws7TSm7tF067rKzT9fSFs3clFiG8jYiWxAMMy6RPMT94I89xsmDuHsu4JtiP2ZimB7GcVzIFtAQHc6gkKVhCK9H9bhIDEKJ6xrfJdbzmda3z8Pxko1OkbHEmhHHxjBhDlCXCDvU37sEwIZoKwVJGJIIYrSorM0C58T0jb6Jy/w640-h496/Caspar%20David%20Friedrich%20-%20Landscape%20with%20Mountain%20Lake,%20Morning.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">Landscape with Mountain Lake, Morning</em><span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;"> by Caspar David Friedrich, 1823-35 (</span><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caspar_David_Friedrich_-_Landschaft_mit_Gebirgssee,_Morgen.jpg" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" style="font-size: small; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;"> - public)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <strong><em>“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”</em></strong></div><em><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Irene Dunne, 1945</em></div></em><p></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Everywhere you look, unethical behavior seems rampant.</p><p>We see lapses of judgment and an absence of being guided by our better selves. Good leaders know that corruption, greed, or calumny are selfish and small-minded behaviors that do nothing for the greater good.</p><p>That last word — <em>calumny</em> — isn’t widely used anymore.</p><p>Calumny is “a false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something.”</p><p>And I was reminded of its famous use in a speech on June 1, 1950, by Senator <strong>Margaret Chase Smith</strong>, which still has familiar echoes today.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Earlier that year, Senator <strong>Joseph McCarthy</strong> began his campaign against what he said were Communists within the United States. He targeted public figures and private citizens alike, including members of Harry Truman’s State Department, calling it “a final, all-out battle between communistic atheism and Christianity.”</p><p>Senator Smith was a Republican like McCarthy, but she decided she had had enough. She made a speech, titled “<a href="https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/margaretchasesmithconscience.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Declaration of Conscience</a>” in which she roundly criticized the House Un-American Activities Committee without naming McCarthy personally.</p><p>This was a risky move, as she might incur the wrath of her colleagues as well as her constituents, but she felt compelled by a greater purpose than party loyalty.</p><p>She rose, saying, “I speak as a Republican, I speak as a woman. I speak as a United States Senator. I speak as an American.”</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Even then, she recognized the divisiveness of calumny and how pervasive and accepted ignorance was.</p><blockquote><p><strong>“Today our country is being psychologically divided by the confusion and the suspicions that are bred in the United States Senate to spread like cancerous tentacles of "know nothing, suspect everything" attitudes.”</strong></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Smith stated a desire to see a change in the administration but admitted that doing so without a moral conscience could do even more damage.</p><blockquote><p><strong>“Yet to displace it with a Republican regime embracing a philosophy that lacks political integrity or intellectual honesty would prove equally disastrous to the nation. But I do not want to see the Republican party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny — Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear.”</strong></p></blockquote><p></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Her declaration included <a href="https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/margaretchasesmithconscience.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">five principles</a> she hoped her party would adopt, as she concluded:</p><blockquote><p><strong>“It is high time that we all stopped being tools and victims of totalitarian techniques—techniques that, if continued here unchecked, will surely end what we have come to cherish as the American way of life.”</strong></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Only six fellow Republicans signed the declaration. Others applauded her courage or privately expressed support, but refused to show the same courage themselves.</p><p>The country continued the wave of the red scare. It wasn’t until a full four years later on June 9, 1954, well into the Eisenhower administration, that Joseph Welch, a Boston lawyer representing the Army at the McCarthy hearings in the Senate, stood up to the bullying senator on national television and said, “<a href="https://www.happyscribe.com/public/it-was-said/ep-6-edward-r#paragraph_2263?utm_source=public_transcript&utm_medium=paragraph&utm_campaign=public_promo" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">At long last, have you no sense of decency?</a>”</p><p><br /></p><hr /><p><strong><em><br /></em></strong></p><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><strong><em>“Look at the facts of the world. You see a continual and progressive triumph of the right. I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.”</em></strong></em></strong></div><em><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Theodore Parker, 1853</em></div><br /></em><p></p><hr /><p><br /></p><p>Moral courage and moral conscience can be difficult when there is so much outrage and outcry, particularly online.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i><b><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/authenticity-takes-courage" target="_blank">Related: Authenticity Takes Courage</a></b></i></h3><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><br /></p><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">But we’ve seen examples of businesses that are standing up for what they believe in, or for what they believe is right.</p><p>Such as <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/09/ceos-senate-gun-legislation-letter?" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">a group of CEOs sending a letter to the Senate</a> in support of legislation for improved gun safety. And <a href="https://www.inc.com/rebecca-deczynski/power-of-purpose-list-impact-driven-companies.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">companies that are actually making a difference</a> like they say they are.</p><p>These are risky actions. They may put off some customers who automatically reject anything related to “wokeness,” and they may anger some shareholders who want short-term results.</p><p>Such are the situations in which leaders find themselves and the hard decisions they sometimes need to make.</p><p>If they know what they stand for, then any kind of temptation like money, power, or fame will be impervious to their principles.</p><p>We need leaders who will be true to their convictions.</p><p><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Thanks, and I’ll see you on the internet.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnNaxq0-3uicS2PmnZULtReHOTda937rY9rDQoqwcvcZ7s6EcF6USiE8uifHSxE9myvqCiFJxhLFCznUkbgd2sJpIFnt9FiTrBy1kShmI2OhKc8JSC5KDsnBvrKhR1tMNNJgrGBhcZHwR4SMoDo7c-4eATD_tHzZ-iAuYj5KLFB442ZyTtruhjgsH/s1118/Sig-Scott-Substack.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="141" data-original-width="1118" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnNaxq0-3uicS2PmnZULtReHOTda937rY9rDQoqwcvcZ7s6EcF6USiE8uifHSxE9myvqCiFJxhLFCznUkbgd2sJpIFnt9FiTrBy1kShmI2OhKc8JSC5KDsnBvrKhR1tMNNJgrGBhcZHwR4SMoDo7c-4eATD_tHzZ-iAuYj5KLFB442ZyTtruhjgsH/w640-h80/Sig-Scott-Substack.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p></p></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><h4 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 18.2px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">👉 Premium Members get extras, such as exclusive essays and monthly leadership calls.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">Join tens of thousands of others on this journey:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></div></h4><h4 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 18.2px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><iframe data-dashlane-frameid="11953" frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://www.timelesstimely.com/embed" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; max-height: 450px; max-width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></div></h4><h4 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 18.2px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></h4><p></p>

Being a Leader Means Having a Moral Conscience

Landscape with Mountain Lake, Morning by Caspar David Friedrich, 1823-35 ( Wikipedia - public) “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll...

The Blame or Fault Is Yours

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6PVcD73Jgl2MTCy781Fi30PZbdOhpw6KKcWjH-8gxD74Kfp1ZmazWDrXpfmkLeXQwg47NUyWJg5tpKDN6_2M68-sGTTR7ZfHE0mT5s0tZmJ-dhUb8j6SA1RmM8pZBZUNGrGga6WunUtQZCrGBbE37h97Ptk-3XLDfddNhRpAeoPSmgdteYQaL-nP7/s2047/Robert%20Huffstutter%20-%20The%20Allies%20Liberate%20France%20D-Day%201944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1567" data-original-width="2047" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6PVcD73Jgl2MTCy781Fi30PZbdOhpw6KKcWjH-8gxD74Kfp1ZmazWDrXpfmkLeXQwg47NUyWJg5tpKDN6_2M68-sGTTR7ZfHE0mT5s0tZmJ-dhUb8j6SA1RmM8pZBZUNGrGga6WunUtQZCrGBbE37h97Ptk-3XLDfddNhRpAeoPSmgdteYQaL-nP7/w640-h490/Robert%20Huffstutter%20-%20The%20Allies%20Liberate%20France%20D-Day%201944.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="captioned-image-container" data-pm-slice="0 0 []" style="text-align: left;"><figure><figcaption class="image-caption"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Allies Liberate France: D-Day 1944</em> by Robert Huffstutter (<a href="https://flic.kr/p/br4GoF" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Flickr</a> - <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a>)</span></figcaption></figure></div><div class="preformatted-block" style="text-align: left;"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label></div><div><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="captioned-image-container" data-pm-slice="0 0 []"><figure><figcaption class="image-caption"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label></figcaption></figure></div><p><strong><em></em></strong></p><blockquote><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>“Life is divided into three periods: past, present, and future. Of these, the present is short, the future is doubtful, the past is certain.” </em></strong></div><em><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Seneca, 49</em></div></em><p></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label></div></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>When we look back upon major events in history, we see them as turning points.</p><p>Caesar crossing the Rubicon. America taking on the greatest army in the world in 1776. The largest military maritime landing in history in 1944.</p><p>As we look at them now, they’re certainties. But Caesar didn’t know his gambit would pay off. Many Americans were in doubt about the revolution and were still loyal to the crown. And the Allies didn’t know if they would successfully land 150,000 troops to storm the beach at Normandy.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Seneca’s observation above is an important one: nothing in the future—nothing—is certain. Leaders need to have contingency plans and to adapt to the changing market forces, on the fly if necessary.</p><p>Every leader needs a plan. But they also need backup plans.</p><p>Great leaders know it’s not enough to have a plan. They’ve seen things go sideways before. And like any self-aware person, they know that it could happen to them.</p><p>Take General Dwight Eisenhower for example.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><h2>Overlord</h2><p>He prepared his troops as best he could for Operation Overlord (aka the D-Day invasion). He prepared these marks, delivered over the radio and in writing:</p><blockquote><p><strong>“You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. We will accept nothing less than victory! Good luck!”</strong></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>That wasn’t enough, though. He knew that they needed to know he was counting on more than luck — he was counting on their bravery and resilience, and in doing so he built their confidence:</p><blockquote><p><strong>“This operation is planned as a victory, and that’s the way it’s going to be. We’re going down there, and we’re throwing everything we have into it, and we’re going to make it a success.”</strong></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>But Ike knew that there were variables that were out of his control: the number of enemy troops awaiting them, the complete secrecy of the plans, and the weather.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><h2>Forecast: Cloudy</h2><p>During the planning for the D-Day invasion of Normandy, meteorologists informed General Eisenhower that there were a series of storms heading across the Atlantic that would delay the operation, which was originally scheduled for June 5.</p><p>Conditions had to be just right: calm seas and clear skies.</p><p>If the operation went ahead as planned, it would have been a failure; if the Allies waited for the next cycle of tides and improved weather, they would have lost the element of surprise.</p><p>However, an updated weather report came through showing a high-pressure system that would intersect with Normandy on June 6th. It left a very tight window.</p><p>The Germans saw the same forecasts, but didn't think the brief moment of calm would allow the Allies to advance. Field Marshal Rommel was convinced of this and left for a few days in Paris.</p><p>Later, asked why D-Day had been a success, Eisenhower said, “Because we had better meteorologists than the Germans.”</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap" data-attrs="{"url":"%%checkout_url%%","text":"Subscribe"}"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"><br /></p></div></div></div><p>While this makes sense from a pithy storytelling standpoint, it’s actually not true. The meteorologists on both sides of the war saw the same data.</p><p>But German leadership failed to take into account just how much the Allies <em>wanted to win</em> the war.</p><p>General Eisenhower inspired a sense of loyalty, confidence, courage, and desire to succeed among his men.</p><p>Those attributes were invisible, unable to be seen by the naked eye or monitored by meteorologists. And thus were not part of the calculations made by the Germans.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><h2>Mine Alone</h2><p>Another thing that was unseen: the uncertainty that Eisenhower had in the plan.</p><p>Looking back now, we marvel at the accomplishment of D-Day and of the bravery of the men who fought and were wounded or killed there.</p><p>But on June 5, it was far from certain. Ike prepared a note (which he misprinted as July 5) in the event of a catastrophic loss that day:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zlfennljQRxWu9yFpelYrp0SD6ugQjEBmN6xg9WJtxL3U_pVndqUjkrCTyAVTkpaXHY3gra5V2cGID1VBuIo7YlPzC7tPnmS2hpOdTkZeaFFc5uISSpG8e69-r9ty1nS8NR4V6KHmepdo_imtTMGAOv_Ler9HddYuaM3OHmiwkKw0H2hOmKMPh9m/s936/Eisenhower%20D-Day%20failure%20letter.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zlfennljQRxWu9yFpelYrp0SD6ugQjEBmN6xg9WJtxL3U_pVndqUjkrCTyAVTkpaXHY3gra5V2cGID1VBuIo7YlPzC7tPnmS2hpOdTkZeaFFc5uISSpG8e69-r9ty1nS8NR4V6KHmepdo_imtTMGAOv_Ler9HddYuaM3OHmiwkKw0H2hOmKMPh9m/w410-h640/Eisenhower%20D-Day%20failure%20letter.jpeg" width="410" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><figcaption class="image-caption" data-pm-slice="1 1 ["captionedImage",null]"><i>Image credit: <a href="https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/in-case-of-failure" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">the National Archives</a></i></figcaption></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><blockquote><p><strong>“Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.”</strong></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>It was the largest military landing in history, and here was one man — one extraordinary leader — who was willing to take the blame if it failed. Without reservation.</p><p>The “blame or fault…is mine alone.”</p><p>Considering the tens of thousands of military personnel who helped plan and execute the D-Day invasion, and all of the elements that were out of his control, General Eisenhower was still willing to take accountability for the outcome.</p><p>Decent leaders know how to be accountable.</p><p>And being accountable speaks volumes about character.</p><p><br /></p><p>Thanks, and I’ll see you on the internet.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="141" data-original-width="800" original="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDn1UZ0UgW3HboiuuQnaXWVIYUl8J15J9l7afuPRQxDV8kPcYF95bpi55lTV70KJP2KirqRcbdixbEBoigg_aJTJq1weaVUUcmk1x42sUHVqO6WwDGgCWdKKh0bEGCqUJZoX07Ye0HXli_QpcsPQI1fnRmYLRonxeIG-4FMoa5V4MQK_xG5QeX6oKG/s16000/Sig-Scott-Substack-Transparent.png" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDn1UZ0UgW3HboiuuQnaXWVIYUl8J15J9l7afuPRQxDV8kPcYF95bpi55lTV70KJP2KirqRcbdixbEBoigg_aJTJq1weaVUUcmk1x42sUHVqO6WwDGgCWdKKh0bEGCqUJZoX07Ye0HXli_QpcsPQI1fnRmYLRonxeIG-4FMoa5V4MQK_xG5QeX6oKG/s16000/Sig-Scott-Substack-Transparent.png" style="border: 0px solid rgb(211, 211, 211); color: #be007a; display: inline; font-weight: 700; height: auto; max-width: 95%; opacity: 0.7; padding: 4px; text-align: center; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out 0s;" /></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p></p></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><h4 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 18.2px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">👉 Premium Members receive a Saturday bonus newsletter from the Off the Clock, a quirky look at words and history. Exclusively for word nerds.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">Join tens of thousands of others on this journey:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><iframe data-dashlane-frameid="4316" frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://www.timelesstimely.com/embed" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; max-height: 450px; max-width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></div></h4><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />

The Blame or Fault Is Yours

Allies Liberate France: D-Day 1944 by Robert Huffstutter ( Flickr - CC BY 2.0 ) “Life is divided into three periods: past, present, and f...

What You're Missing By Constantly Running

<div class="preformatted-block" data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"></pre></div><p><strong><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPbDb6WoipV2H_rEZYteM5ycehJqAwLqkUco0mdtflw8_vJgCT_QePr-yhSEJbODw4AzM_nEUWpYMh-H3lRIxLLk9Rq94Ev172jRyhl8w-PL4FWys9cLuWw8ze49Iny9HSb4vsE1a5iy2bUHYH_JbHwHqt_V45xbuZaXvl7G-hhdS47ijOikF03yW/s1024/Jean%20Baptiste%20Vanmour%20-%20Whirling%20Dervishes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="757" data-original-width="1024" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPbDb6WoipV2H_rEZYteM5ycehJqAwLqkUco0mdtflw8_vJgCT_QePr-yhSEJbODw4AzM_nEUWpYMh-H3lRIxLLk9Rq94Ev172jRyhl8w-PL4FWys9cLuWw8ze49Iny9HSb4vsE1a5iy2bUHYH_JbHwHqt_V45xbuZaXvl7G-hhdS47ijOikF03yW/w640-h474/Jean%20Baptiste%20Vanmour%20-%20Whirling%20Dervishes.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Whirling Dervishes</i> by Jean Baptiste Vanmour, c. 1720-1737 (<a href="https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/collectie/SK-A-4081" target="_blank">Rijksmuseum</a> - public domain <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/" target="_blank">CC 1.0</a>)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><em><br /></em></strong></p><p><strong><em><br /></em></strong></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><blockquote><em>“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.”</em></blockquote></strong></div><em><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Socrates</em></div></em><p></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>The span of the last ten days in my household has been a whirlwind, and I’m just catching my breath.</p><p>We had a first communion, two birthdays, and a high school graduation. Doctors advise avoiding that much cake intake in such a short period of time.</p><p>As we completed each event, we were immediately prepping for the next; only now do I find I have a chance to reflect on each of them. One incident during that span made me realize something important about leadership.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>As the graduates exited the auditorium, my son and a group of his friends lit their celebratory cigars (evidently this is a tradition at their school). My son is a very sociable sort, so as he puffed on his cigar, he flitted from group to group to pose for photos.</p><p>When he was with us, I warned him to take it easy on the cigar — if you smoke it too quickly, it can affect you. He poo-pooed the notion with that all-knowing attitude that only a graduating high school senior can muster.</p><p>By the time he finished with his photos some 20 minutes later, his cigar was down to a stub. And he was down too, sitting on a ledge near the edge of the plaza, leaning over and trying to keep the world from slipping out from beneath him.</p><p>The lesson for the day: cigars are meant to be savored rather than quickly consumed.</p><p>And so it goes with major accomplishments. We need time to enjoy them afterward as well as in the moment. We need time to <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/solitude-and-reflection?s=w" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>reflect</strong></a>.</p><p>The pace we’re all on these days can seem frenetic, even on the best days. From a perpetually clogged inbox that can dictate our every action, to calendars that are filled with so many meetings we have scant time to do any actual work, the rigors of work life take a toll.</p><p>Kahlil Gibran perfectly captures why our busyness and logorrhea may be a blockade to reflection in his classic work <a href="https://amzn.to/3qISUAc" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>The Prophet</em></a>:</p><blockquote><p><strong><em>“You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;<br />And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime.<br />And in much of your talking, your thinking is half murdered.<br />For thought is a bird of space, that in a case of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.<br />There are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone.<br />The silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves and they would escape.<br />And there are those who talk, and without knowledge or forethought reveal a truth which they themselves do not understand.<br />And there are those who have the truth within them, but they tell it not in words.<br />We seem to be always running to one thing or another—and in some cases, running from ourselves.”</em></strong></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>As leaders, we’re expected to give feedback to our team constantly. Feedback is what helps people become aware of their behaviors and how those behaviors are affecting others around them. What they choose to do with the feedback is up to them.</p><p>But when you’re always busy managing others, trying to run your team and keep up with the latest developments in your company and in your industry, it can be hard to find the time you need for <em>you</em>.</p><p>Taking the time for yourself first, whether you’re a freelancer or managing a team of people, is essential.</p><p>When you know yourself, you’re better positioned to help others.</p><p>And isn't that what leadership is all about?</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Thanks, and I’ll see you on the internet. </p><p><img border="0" data-original-height="141" data-original-width="800" original="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDn1UZ0UgW3HboiuuQnaXWVIYUl8J15J9l7afuPRQxDV8kPcYF95bpi55lTV70KJP2KirqRcbdixbEBoigg_aJTJq1weaVUUcmk1x42sUHVqO6WwDGgCWdKKh0bEGCqUJZoX07Ye0HXli_QpcsPQI1fnRmYLRonxeIG-4FMoa5V4MQK_xG5QeX6oKG/s16000/Sig-Scott-Substack-Transparent.png" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDn1UZ0UgW3HboiuuQnaXWVIYUl8J15J9l7afuPRQxDV8kPcYF95bpi55lTV70KJP2KirqRcbdixbEBoigg_aJTJq1weaVUUcmk1x42sUHVqO6WwDGgCWdKKh0bEGCqUJZoX07Ye0HXli_QpcsPQI1fnRmYLRonxeIG-4FMoa5V4MQK_xG5QeX6oKG/s16000/Sig-Scott-Substack-Transparent.png" style="background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(211, 211, 211); color: #be007a; display: inline; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700; height: auto; max-width: 95%; opacity: 0.7; padding: 4px; text-align: center; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out 0s;" /></p><div>P.S. If you're a Premium Member, you can also check out these related entries:</div><div><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>While shame can be humiliating, there’s something to learn from it as you go <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/from-shame-to-self-awareness?s=w" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">From Shame to Self-Awareness</a>.</li><li>When setting your goals, you’ll want to be aware of <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/the-best-leadership-advice-of-all?s=w" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Best Leadership Advice of All Time</a>. </li></ul><p></p></div><div><br /></div><h4 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 18.2px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">👉 Premium Members receive a Saturday bonus newsletter from the Off the Clock, a quirky look at words and history. Exclusively for word nerds.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">Join tens of thousands of others on this journey:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><iframe data-dashlane-frameid="5410" frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://www.timelesstimely.com/embed" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; max-height: 450px; max-width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></div></h4>

What You're Missing By Constantly Running

Whirling Dervishes by Jean Baptiste Vanmour, c. 1720-1737 ( Rijksmuseum - public domain CC 1.0 ) “Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” ...

Mind Over Matter

<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSaJzMlYM7Xx3UL5WnvdAk-bIHfsZ2HuWX684YxOTxrD26XDuGLFGQX0jOmQTy3c1hlboJAVtFeNfSj49FQKKL2quiLvevsOZSxUrumpvn5ntYKJ0x5SNw4vJC37BXGz0xXqnIVjRKzYd_w8oh3L5MZJF4vjBTGsj-3fcfo9Y7-r9sVb4fbBYblxAw/s4000/Winslow%20Homer%20-%20The%20Gulf%20Stream.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2468" data-original-width="4000" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSaJzMlYM7Xx3UL5WnvdAk-bIHfsZ2HuWX684YxOTxrD26XDuGLFGQX0jOmQTy3c1hlboJAVtFeNfSj49FQKKL2quiLvevsOZSxUrumpvn5ntYKJ0x5SNw4vJC37BXGz0xXqnIVjRKzYd_w8oh3L5MZJF4vjBTGsj-3fcfo9Y7-r9sVb4fbBYblxAw/w640-h394/Winslow%20Homer%20-%20The%20Gulf%20Stream.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Gulf Stream</i> by Winslow Homer, 1899 (<a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11122" target="_blank">The Met</a> - public domain)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><p></p><div class="preformatted-block" data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><pre class="text"></pre></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>“The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts. ”</em></strong></div><em><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Charles Darwin, 1871</em></div></em><p></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Last week, I explored the need to — how to put this politely? — <a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2022/05/just-shut-your-big-mouth.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">keep your yapper shut</a>.</p><p>If, at times, we’re better served by remaining silent, then what happens when we’re forced to be alone with our thoughts?</p><p>We seem to be always running to one thing or another; in some cases, running from ourselves. <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/solitude-and-reflection?s=w" target="_blank">Solitude and reflection</a> afford us the opportunity to use such moments to forge a deeper understanding our ourselves.</p><div class="embedded-post-wrap" data-attrs="{"id":33635395,"url":"https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/solitude-and-reflection","publication_id":28922,"publication_name":"Timeless & Timely","publication_logo_url":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7deb20a8-9f39-4415-baef-1f74ae71d101_1280x1280.png","title":"Solitude and Reflection","truncated_body_text":"“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection, will come even more effective action.” — Peter Drucker When’s the last time you were alone with your thoughts? No, truly alone. I’ll give you a moment to think about that. Before you say anyt…","date":"2021-03-12T19:52:14.973Z","like_count":2,"comment_count":0,"bylines":[{"id":429,"name":"Scott Monty","photo_url":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9ea180a7-4ad6-4937-b37a-52810591c920_2717x2531.jpeg","bio":"Keynote speaker & executive coach inspiring people to be better communicators, leaders, and humans. First executive at Ford to lead digital communications. Soothing voice. Sherlockian. Word nerd. ","profile_set_up_at":"2021-04-25T06:21:53.329Z","publicationUsers":[{"id":1595,"user_id":429,"publication_id":28922,"role":"admin","public":true,"is_primary":true,"publication":{"id":28922,"name":"Timeless & Timely","subdomain":"scottmonty","custom_domain":"www.timelesstimely.com","custom_domain_optional":false,"hero_text":"Lessons on leadership from history and literature, applied to the issues and challenges of the present.","logo_url":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7deb20a8-9f39-4415-baef-1f74ae71d101_1280x1280.png","author_id":429,"theme_var_background_pop":"#2879af","created_at":"2020-02-02T20:45:53.185Z","rss_website_url":null,"email_from_name":"Scott Monty","copyright":"Scott Monty Strategies","founding_plan_name":"Timeless Supporter","community_enabled":true,"invite_only":false}},{"id":732360,"user_id":429,"publication_id":794721,"role":"admin","public":true,"is_primary":false,"publication":{"id":794721,"name":"Trifles","subdomain":"trifles","custom_domain":null,"custom_domain_optional":false,"hero_text":"You know the plots, but what about the minutiae? 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Bonus content from our Fresh Air-like interviews with Sherlockians.","logo_url":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/56753f16-a7e7-476c-b864-8cb95835b477_1024x1024.png","author_id":429,"theme_var_background_pop":"#FF81CD","created_at":"2022-03-11T14:47:41.358Z","rss_website_url":null,"email_from_name":"I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere","copyright":"Scott Monty","founding_plan_name":"Founding Member","community_enabled":true,"invite_only":false}}],"twitter_screen_name":"ScottMonty","is_guest":false}],"utm_campaign":null}"><br /></div><div class="embedded-post-wrap" data-attrs="{"id":33635395,"url":"https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/solitude-and-reflection","publication_id":28922,"publication_name":"Timeless & Timely","publication_logo_url":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7deb20a8-9f39-4415-baef-1f74ae71d101_1280x1280.png","title":"Solitude and Reflection","truncated_body_text":"“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection, will come even more effective action.” — Peter Drucker When’s the last time you were alone with your thoughts? No, truly alone. I’ll give you a moment to think about that. Before you say anyt…","date":"2021-03-12T19:52:14.973Z","like_count":2,"comment_count":0,"bylines":[{"id":429,"name":"Scott Monty","photo_url":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9ea180a7-4ad6-4937-b37a-52810591c920_2717x2531.jpeg","bio":"Keynote speaker & executive coach inspiring people to be better communicators, leaders, and humans. First executive at Ford to lead digital communications. Soothing voice. Sherlockian. Word nerd. ","profile_set_up_at":"2021-04-25T06:21:53.329Z","publicationUsers":[{"id":1595,"user_id":429,"publication_id":28922,"role":"admin","public":true,"is_primary":true,"publication":{"id":28922,"name":"Timeless & Timely","subdomain":"scottmonty","custom_domain":"www.timelesstimely.com","custom_domain_optional":false,"hero_text":"Lessons on leadership from history and literature, applied to the issues and challenges of the present.","logo_url":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7deb20a8-9f39-4415-baef-1f74ae71d101_1280x1280.png","author_id":429,"theme_var_background_pop":"#2879af","created_at":"2020-02-02T20:45:53.185Z","rss_website_url":null,"email_from_name":"Scott Monty","copyright":"Scott Monty Strategies","founding_plan_name":"Timeless Supporter","community_enabled":true,"invite_only":false}},{"id":732360,"user_id":429,"publication_id":794721,"role":"admin","public":true,"is_primary":false,"publication":{"id":794721,"name":"Trifles","subdomain":"trifles","custom_domain":null,"custom_domain_optional":false,"hero_text":"You know the plots, but what about the minutiae? A weekly podcast about the details in the Sherlock Holmes stories.","logo_url":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d6e09972-5593-495b-b134-c4260c15f027_1280x1280.png","author_id":429,"theme_var_background_pop":"#E8B500","created_at":"2022-03-10T19:11:28.387Z","rss_website_url":null,"email_from_name":"Scott & Burt from Trifles","copyright":"IHOSE Media, LLC","founding_plan_name":"Founding Member","community_enabled":true,"invite_only":false}},{"id":733864,"user_id":429,"publication_id":796167,"role":"admin","public":true,"is_primary":false,"publication":{"id":796167,"name":"I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere","subdomain":"ihearofsherlock","custom_domain":null,"custom_domain_optional":false,"hero_text":"At the intersection of Sherlock Holmes and popular culture. Bonus content from our Fresh Air-like interviews with Sherlockians.","logo_url":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/56753f16-a7e7-476c-b864-8cb95835b477_1024x1024.png","author_id":429,"theme_var_background_pop":"#FF81CD","created_at":"2022-03-11T14:47:41.358Z","rss_website_url":null,"email_from_name":"I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere","copyright":"Scott Monty","founding_plan_name":"Founding Member","community_enabled":true,"invite_only":false}}],"twitter_screen_name":"ScottMonty","is_guest":false}],"utm_campaign":null}">In such moments, we have the gift of being able to spend what Vincent Starrett called  “<strong><em>the romantic chamber of the heart, the nostalgic country of the mind.</em></strong>”</div><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>The human mind is a marvelous entity; among the class <em>Mammalia</em> of the kingdom <em>Animalia</em>, we are the only species that consciously understands its past and dreads the future, knowing that it portends our death.</p><p>This consciousness is a gift and a curse, as the knowledge of what has already happened informs what may happen next.</p><p>And yet, ironically, we spend our lives repeating the mistakes of our forebears, even with the knowledge of their struggles. Because we are consistent in the behaviors driven by our subconscious.</p><p>It’s all there for us to see.</p><p><br /></p><p>St. Augustine acknowledged the difficulty of uncovering some of that buried treasure in his <em>Confessions</em>:</p><blockquote><p><strong><em>“The power of the memory is prodigious, my God. It is a vast, immeasurable sanctuary. Who can plumb its depths? And yet it is a faculty of my soul. Although it is part of my nature, I cannot understand all that I am…I am lost in wonder when I consider this problem. It bewilders me.”</em></strong></p></blockquote><p>In other words, when we recognize the truth that we don’t know what we don’t know, it is simultaneously liberating and frustrating. Such is the curse of self-awareness, part of the makeup of an emotionally-intelligent leader.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Acknowledging that we’re not know-it-alls is one of the skills that sets good leaders apart. We can’t be experts in everything; we hire people with skills and knowledge we don’t possess.</p><p><br /></p><hr /><p style="text-align: center;"><strong></strong></p><blockquote><strong><em><br />“To consult the record in books both ancient and modern is to come across every vice, virtue, motive, behavior, obsession, joy, and sorrow to be met with on the roads across the frontiers of the millennia.”</em></strong></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: right;"><em>— Lewis H. Lapham, 2018<br /><br /></em></p><hr /><p><br /></p><p>Leadership is not a destination; it is an odyssey, meant to be undertaken with a crew and a vision for the long term.</p><p>As we continue to divine where and how to apply what we know, exploring the tapestry of our past and the labyrinth of our minds, it should be a great comfort to know we’re not alone on our journey.</p><p>We have the gifts of companions, colleagues, and consciousness.</p><p>The mind is what allows us to unwrap those gifts and make use of them.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Thanks, and I’ll see you on the internet.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDn1UZ0UgW3HboiuuQnaXWVIYUl8J15J9l7afuPRQxDV8kPcYF95bpi55lTV70KJP2KirqRcbdixbEBoigg_aJTJq1weaVUUcmk1x42sUHVqO6WwDGgCWdKKh0bEGCqUJZoX07Ye0HXli_QpcsPQI1fnRmYLRonxeIG-4FMoa5V4MQK_xG5QeX6oKG/s800/Sig-Scott-Substack-Transparent.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="141" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDn1UZ0UgW3HboiuuQnaXWVIYUl8J15J9l7afuPRQxDV8kPcYF95bpi55lTV70KJP2KirqRcbdixbEBoigg_aJTJq1weaVUUcmk1x42sUHVqO6WwDGgCWdKKh0bEGCqUJZoX07Ye0HXli_QpcsPQI1fnRmYLRonxeIG-4FMoa5V4MQK_xG5QeX6oKG/s16000/Sig-Scott-Substack-Transparent.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>One More Thing</b><br /></h2><p>On the next episode of the <strong><em>Timeless Leadership</em></strong> podcast, I’m speaking with Benjamin Dreyer, author of <a href="https://amzn.to/3Gl2dA0" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><strong><em>Dreyer’s English</em></strong></a>. It’s a fascinating discussion that looks at leadership through the lens of language. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://pod.link/timeless" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWMRh2l4aqMBwMdE7cQPD2H_1Ol954AiuVxq7XOAljr1kGXn7vc3CF8ZWDXvM7vl1LzZ6341IBUrWfXpcwu-bMrWawgJkov5pM1wdvhx4rLbGmoTrhcnaIixsbYdrAFoeq5eWOxZnedkRk_fRe5e2fvnG6G6uy-DBSlDVQt4gAl8HukyYEh0OmWwKE/w200-h200/Timeless%20Leadership%20basic%20mic.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p><br /></p><hr style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><h4 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 18.2px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">👉 Premium Members receive a Saturday bonus newsletter from the Off the Clock, a quirky look at words and history. Exclusively for word nerds.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">Join tens of thousands of others on this journey:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><iframe data-dashlane-frameid="11585" frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://www.timelesstimely.com/embed" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; max-height: 450px; max-width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></div></h4><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>

Mind Over Matter

The Gulf Stream by Winslow Homer, 1899 ( The Met - public domain) “The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that...

Just Shut. Your Big. Mouth.

<div class="preformatted-block" data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"></pre></div><p><strong><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSwqqCitsXuom5s1GAcw2UXVEdSvqB0t9u5B3RSc6EyO49RrD8ODH_v9_dEFygPRPuwzadXioZkIUC_eWt5BB-1yXvedFv0Mk6uUPTLiqlQaD9_4w-IrqLrTot0i7B4_xxXpi7g9L5bs8w9fia5JN_ffKvpVUHMES4dkfPqQHrsn7pw5gn7hfnqt2/s1204/Tom%20Merry%20-%20The%20Traveling%20Quack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1204" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZSwqqCitsXuom5s1GAcw2UXVEdSvqB0t9u5B3RSc6EyO49RrD8ODH_v9_dEFygPRPuwzadXioZkIUC_eWt5BB-1yXvedFv0Mk6uUPTLiqlQaD9_4w-IrqLrTot0i7B4_xxXpi7g9L5bs8w9fia5JN_ffKvpVUHMES4dkfPqQHrsn7pw5gn7hfnqt2/w640-h424/Tom%20Merry%20-%20The%20Traveling%20Quack.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em style="--tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: sans-serif;"><a href="https://wellcomecollection.org/works/e47uvan6" rel="" style="--tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">The Travelling Quack</a></em><span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: sans-serif;"> (detail), by Tom Merry, 1889 (Wellcome Collection - </span><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="" style="--tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif;">CC BY 4.0</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: sans-serif;">)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><em><br /></em></strong></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><em><b>“I will begin to speak when I have that to say which had not better be unsaid.” </b></em></div><em><div style="text-align: right;">— <em>Cato the Younger</em></div></em><p></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>You don’t have to have something to say constantly.</p><p>You don’t always need to be on.</p><p>Sometimes, the people around you simply might not want to hear from you.</p><p>And other times, the power of silence can convey something even more powerful.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Raising kids to have a healthy sense of self-confidence and autonomy means giving them a chance to speak their minds.</p><p>But when they get mouthy or have some wisecrack at every turn, it’s distracting and disrespectful.</p><p>Not unlike public personalities who seem to thrive on the combination of chaos and attention-seeking that result in more drama for the rest of us.</p><p>It’s distracting. And frankly, in certain business arrangements, it can <a href="https://twitter.com/DataDrivenMD/status/1526283670243270656" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">derail entire deal structures</a>. There’s a reason for lockups and quiet periods.</p><p>And it takes a certain level of maturity to apply restraint and self-control.</p><h4>Compare this from Twitter’s current CEO: </h4><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVzuAtZGkIFCwjPRmRH3flpUCDESskY9nH7tsnQXm23iE43WHqySxbXyjnqmENfBDFAYFiZuiIk6eilZ5wRcC6lVpqcTNE9e7Rt__cSAgQR39XayS2sDDcGSHwWv3BMxX_Ct_STUnV7OJeLQWHghx16Wpdx7Y4suwRuc7j-f0oCFYuTnzMyQ9KjaQu" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="855" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVzuAtZGkIFCwjPRmRH3flpUCDESskY9nH7tsnQXm23iE43WHqySxbXyjnqmENfBDFAYFiZuiIk6eilZ5wRcC6lVpqcTNE9e7Rt__cSAgQR39XayS2sDDcGSHwWv3BMxX_Ct_STUnV7OJeLQWHghx16Wpdx7Y4suwRuc7j-f0oCFYuTnzMyQ9KjaQu=w640-h284" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><h4 data-pm-slice="1 1 []">To this, from Chaos Manchild: </h4><div class="tweet" data-attrs="{"url":"https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1526246899606601730","full_text":"<span class=\"tweet-fake-link\">@paraga</span> 💩","username":"elonmusk","name":"Elon Musk","date":"Mon May 16 17:03:11 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":3668,"like_count":28796,"expanded_url":{},"video_url":null}"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0fB_7XqCNe3Ttn7u9THKp8cXJWSdzzzXKIJbALmhAEVBno1y6IZ5s4hLQs5-fwVEP_Q9Aa9Ajf59EmqgIsOfyqjefFGveO79Z84ve528AGfDAb_3L8kNGQJzUc2AB_PaAv-MoEiQJM-mTZl_UUeOoTdo-J3XghqzvP8SK48Q9RjQcMNVlM8QfT-It" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="851" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0fB_7XqCNe3Ttn7u9THKp8cXJWSdzzzXKIJbALmhAEVBno1y6IZ5s4hLQs5-fwVEP_Q9Aa9Ajf59EmqgIsOfyqjefFGveO79Z84ve528AGfDAb_3L8kNGQJzUc2AB_PaAv-MoEiQJM-mTZl_UUeOoTdo-J3XghqzvP8SK48Q9RjQcMNVlM8QfT-It=w640-h208" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div class="tweet" data-attrs="{"url":"https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1526246899606601730","full_text":"<span class=\"tweet-fake-link\">@paraga</span> 💩","username":"elonmusk","name":"Elon Musk","date":"Mon May 16 17:03:11 +0000 2022","photos":[],"quoted_tweet":{},"retweet_count":3668,"like_count":28796,"expanded_url":{},"video_url":null}"><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">From a content perspective, we hear that we need to post X number of times a day on Instagram, or keep up a certain cadence on Facebook. Snapchat creates the ultimate incentive for this behavior with Snapstreaks.</p><p>Why are we trying to convince each other that more is better? </p><p>We’re trying to make up for the crowded newsfeeds by shouting our way to relevancy, which seems to be the only alternative to using paid media to be seen, now that organic reach is nearly gone.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Imagine if you decided to say something <strong>only when it was worth saying something</strong>, rather than constantly caving in to the pressure to make your presence known. </p><p>That pressure is creating burnout for producers and consumers of content alike.</p><p><br /></p><hr /><blockquote><p><strong><em><br />“It isn’t only famous movie stars who want to be alone. Whenever I hear someone speak of privacy, I find myself thinking once again how real and deep the need for such times is for human beings…at all ages.”</em></strong>  </p></blockquote><p style="text-align: right;">— Fred Rogers, <a href="https://amzn.to/325lIHe" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>The World According to Mister Rogers</em></a></p><hr /><p><br /></p><p>More isn’t better. Sometimes more is just more.</p><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Imagine how your team would pay more attention if you didn’t have something to say about everything.</p><p>Imagine how much more you’d enjoy creating those communications if you were able to create them with more deliberation and regularity.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>You can create anticipation and interest by applying restraint and certainty.</p><p><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Thanks, and I’ll see you on the internet.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhctMWZLHEEVG76l7TuBzuWumMElWCFc2sGIQNXoTw1FxJzYa2w6p93vPc2Fb-4IdisaIGLykXbdXSSZdX5gC6Qnfe6xcXcgmrljaeO3W6Kz-jencluhFPdS_BE_dxn-2Aqe02qEwryWd8kGjO1avpGQqGoQ9hgBkqaL3qoPOmrjQ9ZTECKJSN1b85a" style="color: #007abe; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="" data-original-height="141" data-original-width="800" height="112" original="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhctMWZLHEEVG76l7TuBzuWumMElWCFc2sGIQNXoTw1FxJzYa2w6p93vPc2Fb-4IdisaIGLykXbdXSSZdX5gC6Qnfe6xcXcgmrljaeO3W6Kz-jencluhFPdS_BE_dxn-2Aqe02qEwryWd8kGjO1avpGQqGoQ9hgBkqaL3qoPOmrjQ9ZTECKJSN1b85a=w640-h112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhctMWZLHEEVG76l7TuBzuWumMElWCFc2sGIQNXoTw1FxJzYa2w6p93vPc2Fb-4IdisaIGLykXbdXSSZdX5gC6Qnfe6xcXcgmrljaeO3W6Kz-jencluhFPdS_BE_dxn-2Aqe02qEwryWd8kGjO1avpGQqGoQ9hgBkqaL3qoPOmrjQ9ZTECKJSN1b85a=w640-h112" style="border: 0px solid rgb(211, 211, 211); display: inline; height: auto; max-width: 95%; padding: 4px; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out 0s;" width="640" /></a></p><p><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><hr style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><h4 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 18.2px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">👉 Premium Members receive a Saturday bonus newsletter from the Off the Clock, a quirky look at words and history. Exclusively for word nerds.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">Join tens of thousands of others on this journey:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><iframe data-dashlane-frameid="4011" frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://www.timelesstimely.com/embed" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; max-height: 450px; max-width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></div></h4><p> </p></div>

Just Shut. Your Big. Mouth.

The Travelling Quack (detail), by Tom Merry, 1889 (Wellcome Collection - CC BY 4.0 ) “I will begin to speak when I have that to say which ...

Leadership Lessons from Underdogs

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW2A-hSTlnNiyIbLNogWdTrMoAQuCDFmBybdUdmdzEnlOCTv43Etti87sqwEoXBiVuIVLSoey5StpgGDwpkKU1wJS58RBWJ17-fX1x1HnDj0Wt0BUu7i7DTyX84aYhJ_fpJI0B6u9ND1NY4PEA2yyofwtHcstgSabd1f4Lo0SpRbntiPdpIptbkzQ4/s1536/Joseph%20Mallord%20William%20Turner%20-%20Snow%20Storm%20Hannibal%20and%20his%20Army%20Crossing%20the%20Alps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="1536" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW2A-hSTlnNiyIbLNogWdTrMoAQuCDFmBybdUdmdzEnlOCTv43Etti87sqwEoXBiVuIVLSoey5StpgGDwpkKU1wJS58RBWJ17-fX1x1HnDj0Wt0BUu7i7DTyX84aYhJ_fpJI0B6u9ND1NY4PEA2yyofwtHcstgSabd1f4Lo0SpRbntiPdpIptbkzQ4/w640-h392/Joseph%20Mallord%20William%20Turner%20-%20Snow%20Storm%20Hannibal%20and%20his%20Army%20Crossing%20the%20Alps.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">Snow Storm: Hannibal Crossing the Alps</em><span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;"> by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1812 (</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Storm:_Hannibal_and_his_Army_Crossing_the_Alps" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" style="font-size: small; text-align: left;" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a><span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;"> - public domain)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p><strong><em>“When a humble and much inferior combatant is matched against a celebrated and seemingly invincible athlete, the sympathy of the crowd is at once given to the inferior man.”</em></strong><em> — Polybius, 212 BC</em></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>We all love an underdog.</p><p>There’s something about seeing an individual or an entity that is against the ropes, struggling to survive, and giving it their all to make a comeback.</p><p>In America, the notion is nearly baked into the recipe of our origins: the scrappy Minutemen and ragtag bands of troops with bare feet who served under George Washington were able to defeat the most powerful military force in the world.</p><p>Here are a handful of examples of underdogs, past and present.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><h2><strong>They Said It Couldn’t Be Done</strong></h2><p>In 216 BC, the Carthaginians and their allies, led by Hannibal (who had previously crossed the Alps with his army and elephants), seized control at Cannae. It was a strategic strike, as the grain depot there was a critical link in the Romans’ supply chain.</p><p>The Romans sent some 86,000 troops to meet with Hannibal’s force that was perhaps half that size. But the group assembled by Hannibal was of such a variety that there was no single method of fighting or of arms; the Romans were thrown into disarray.</p><p>The casualties on the Roman side were massive; estimates range from 50,000-60,000 killed, with another 4,000 taken prisoner. Only about 8,000 of Hannibal’s men were killed.</p><p>It was a stinging defeat for the Romans and is regarded as one of the greatest tactical feats in military history.</p><p>[No elephants were harmed in the making of this battle.]</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOdg4frcHEu-x4JeywV2MVqaPcMsnBlz4p0QOovgLDP5HauSGw32tXk2-wTIzVGX5HdaG-PozL_Z8AvFLm2ozeWoFKiZIFKSDDBWZiSoln9gRAjgGeUDW7eYJhIfP7_e581VfCX2SIhXB18sK5b9WmgKblE4ns9LqNrLxcrEsQyuKfjOwrpXKQa9D/s1067/John%20Trumbull%20-%20The%20Death%20of%20Paulus%20Aemilius%20at%20the%20Battle%20of%20Cannae.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="739" data-original-width="1067" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOdg4frcHEu-x4JeywV2MVqaPcMsnBlz4p0QOovgLDP5HauSGw32tXk2-wTIzVGX5HdaG-PozL_Z8AvFLm2ozeWoFKiZIFKSDDBWZiSoln9gRAjgGeUDW7eYJhIfP7_e581VfCX2SIhXB18sK5b9WmgKblE4ns9LqNrLxcrEsQyuKfjOwrpXKQa9D/w640-h444/John%20Trumbull%20-%20The%20Death%20of%20Paulus%20Aemilius%20at%20the%20Battle%20of%20Cannae.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em style="text-align: left;">The Death of Aemilius Paulus at the Battle of Cannae</em><span style="text-align: left;"> by John Trumbull, 1773 (</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cannae#/media/File:The_Death_of_Paulus_Aemilius_at_the_Battle_of_Cannae.jpg" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Wikipedia </a><span style="text-align: left;">- public domain)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"></pre></div><h2><strong>Standing Up to Bullies</strong></h2><p>The war that Russia—a superpower—is waging against Ukraine is a perfect example. The world watched as Russian troops gathered and prepared for an attack on the country; it played out in slow motion and transparency (for those outside of Russia).</p><p>However, the fall of Kyiv, what most people assumed was a fait accompli, hasn’t happened, thanks to the pluck, grit, and fierceness of the Ukrainian people. Not to mention the courage, tenacity, and leadership of their president, Volodymyr Zelensky.</p><p>His communication is frequent and clear, and he has shown himself leading by example. He is out in the streets, he is welcoming world leaders, he is broadcasting from his office in Kyiv — not hiding in a bunker.</p><p>The entire world is rooting for this particular underdog.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><h2><strong>The Most Astounding Two Minutes</strong></h2><p>Even people who are not horse racing aficionados heard about what was probably the greatest Kentucky Derby of all time: Rich Strike, the longest shot (at 80-1 odds) winning the 148th running, after being in 15th place at the one-mile mark and surpassing the favorite by three-quarters of a length at the finish line.</p><p>It was a story that couldn’t have been written any better. <a href="https://youtu.be/wIYD42DV3Ro" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Watch the action</a> if you haven’t yet seen it (or watch it again, because it’s that captivating):</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wIYD42DV3Ro" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /></p><p>But as with any moment of triumph or “overnight success,” there are lessons we can glean from how a winner got there.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><hr /><h2><strong>5 Lessons from Underdogs</strong></h2><p>The entire team behind Rich Strike didn’t go in to the Kentucky Derby expecting to win. At 80-1, they were the long shot. Those kinds of odds almost forced humility upon them.</p><p>But they knew they were given a gift and they didn’t want to squander it.</p><p>Rider Sonny Leon immediately saw an opportunity out of the gates. The other horses were sprinting at a suicidal pace, with the leads making the quarter-mile and half-mile times among the top three in Kentucky Derby history.</p><p>Leon knew that he needed to bide his time and coax Rich Strike into action when the time was right. They were in 17th place at the quarter-mile and 18th at the half.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><h3><strong>1. Leaders have a can-do spirit</strong></h3><p>After the race, Leon said, “People kept asking me if I was nervous to ride in my first Kentucky Derby. I said, ‘No, I wasn’t nervous. I was excited.’ I was on an 80-1 shot and nobody knew my horse — but I did. I didn’t know if we could win, but I had a good feeling with him.”</p><p>Bringing a sense of optimism, energy, and heliotropic leadership to your team can inspire everyone to want to win. It all starts with building relationships and trusting each other, and moving forward together.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><h3><strong>2. Leaders have patience</strong></h3><p>Leon didn’t ask Rich Strike to bolt out of the gate or to try to make up for his position after the first mile markers. He waited until the time was right and then asked the horse to go.</p><p>At the top of the stretch, Leon moved Rich Strike to the rail; but it wasn’t a sure thing. “I waited,” Leon said, “and the rail opened up.”</p><p>Leaders know that timing is everything, and a poorly timed announcement or launch can doom a product. When you have a feel for the market, the competitors, and your team, you can be more confident in a win.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><h3><strong>3. Leaders have courage</strong></h3><p>After riding the rail for a bit, Leon swung Rich Strike to the outside of Messier, then in third. That bit of confidence sent the horse soaring, as he came from behind to outflank Epicenter and Zandon at the finish line.</p><p>At those moments when everything is on the line, we have a decision to make: play it safe or take a risk to attempt something we’ve never done. It will always be a judgment call, and it takes courage.</p><p></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The overhead view makes Rich Strike's comeback for the upset <a href="https://twitter.com/KentuckyDerby?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KentuckyDerby</a> win look even more incredible. 😮 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KyDerby?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KyDerby</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ChurchillDowns?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChurchillDowns</a> <a href="https://t.co/iDfkGVZS0O">pic.twitter.com/iDfkGVZS0O</a></p>— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSports/status/1523104042427334660?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><hr /><p><strong><em><br /></em></strong></p><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><strong><em>“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear.”</em></strong></em></strong></div><em><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Mark Twain, 1894</em></div><br /></em><p></p><hr /><br /><br /><h3><strong>4. Leaders learn from each other</strong></h3><p>Rich Strike’s trainer Eric Reed said of Leon: “He helped me train this horse. This rider has ridden him all along. [Rich Strike] learned the process and [Leon] taught him how to ride through horses and pass horses.”</p><p>A leader like Reed knows that even though he is the trainer, training is a collaborative effort. The trainer, the rider, and the horse all participate. Even someone as slight as the 110-pound rider could teach a large majestic horse how to navigate between other horses.</p><p>Every leader should listen to people on their team, regardless of their stature or title. They may be able to see things that are in your blind spot.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><h3><strong>5. Leaders savor the moment</strong></h3><p>After this win—the most significant in his career—reporters asked Sonny Leon how it might affect his future. He replied, “I want to enjoy this moment. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”</p><p>Leaders know that planning for what’s next is essential, but they also know that, particularly after significant wins, it’s healthy to enjoy your successes and to enjoy the journey.</p><p>There will always be more to do, but taking the time to appreciate each other and the fruits of our labor is essential to team morale and our own mental health.</p><p><br /></p><hr /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Further <i>Timeless & Timely</i> Reading</strong></h2><h4 style="text-align: left;"></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/bravery-duty-sacrifice?s=w">Courage</a></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/patience?s=w">Patience</a></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/humility?s=w">Humility</a></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/collaboration?s=w">Working Together</a></li></ul></h4><hr /><p><br /></p><p>There is no guarantee that underdogs will always win. That’s part of the excitement of rooting for them.</p><p>But win or lose, leaders know that humility, patience, courage, and collaboration can make a difference in overcoming obstacles.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><hr /><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><br /></figure></div><p>You might also be interested in the latest episode of <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/s/timeless-leadership" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><strong><em>Timeless Leadership</em></strong></a> in which we talk with someone from a disaffected group of people — a group that some might refer to as underdogs. </p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" data-dashlane-frameid="3781" data-dashlane-rid="708e9b220b6825ca" data-form-type="other" height="192" mozallowfullscreen="true" msallowfullscreen="true" oallowfullscreen="true" scrolling="no" src="//play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/23087765/height/192/theme/modern/size/large/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/424242/time-start/00:00:00/playlist-height/200/direction/backward" style="border: none;" title="Embed Player" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="100%"></iframe><br /></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Thanks, and I’ll see you on the internet.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhctMWZLHEEVG76l7TuBzuWumMElWCFc2sGIQNXoTw1FxJzYa2w6p93vPc2Fb-4IdisaIGLykXbdXSSZdX5gC6Qnfe6xcXcgmrljaeO3W6Kz-jencluhFPdS_BE_dxn-2Aqe02qEwryWd8kGjO1avpGQqGoQ9hgBkqaL3qoPOmrjQ9ZTECKJSN1b85a" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="141" data-original-width="800" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhctMWZLHEEVG76l7TuBzuWumMElWCFc2sGIQNXoTw1FxJzYa2w6p93vPc2Fb-4IdisaIGLykXbdXSSZdX5gC6Qnfe6xcXcgmrljaeO3W6Kz-jencluhFPdS_BE_dxn-2Aqe02qEwryWd8kGjO1avpGQqGoQ9hgBkqaL3qoPOmrjQ9ZTECKJSN1b85a=w640-h112" width="640" /></a></p><br /><p></p><hr /><h4><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">👉 Premium Members receive a Saturday bonus newsletter from the Off the Clock, a quirky look at words and history. Exclusively for word nerds.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">Join tens of thousands of others on this journey:</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><iframe data-dashlane-frameid="3899" frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://www.timelesstimely.com/embed" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; max-height: 450px; max-width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></div><p><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 400;" /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></h4><p></p><br />

Leadership Lessons from Underdogs

Snow Storm: Hannibal Crossing the Alps by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1812 ( Wikipedia - public domain) “When a humble and much inferio...

Scott Monty - Strategic Communications & Leadership Advisor

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Leadership Lessons from Underdogs

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