Dignity and Respect

<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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iq2KyRKCgnQ/YDaigYV3ANI/AAAAAAABSEQ/XvvSBLh6EFQUUgcS6Z27V_P7T1R--6ZtACLcBGAsYHQ/s956/John%2BWilliam%2BWaterhouse%2B-%2BThe%2Bfavourites%2Bof%2Bthe%2BEmperor%2BHonorius%2B1883.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="956" height="368" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iq2KyRKCgnQ/YDaigYV3ANI/AAAAAAABSEQ/XvvSBLh6EFQUUgcS6Z27V_P7T1R--6ZtACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h368/John%2BWilliam%2BWaterhouse%2B-%2BThe%2Bfavourites%2Bof%2Bthe%2BEmperor%2BHonorius%2B1883.png" 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;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Favourites_of_the_Emperor_Honorius">The Favorites of the Emperor Honorius</a></em><span style="text-align: left;"> by John William Waterhouse, 1883 (public domain - Wikipedia)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div class="captioned-image-container" data-pm-context="[]"><figure><figcaption class="image-caption"><br /></figcaption></figure></div><div><hr /></div><p><em><strong><br /></strong></em></p><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong>“To forsake truth is to pay too high a price even for the priceless gift of life—for life thus purchased we could not live out in dignity and self-respect.”</strong> </em></strong></em></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Ethel Rosenberg, 1953</em></div><em><br /></em><p></p><div><hr /></div><p><br />We all deserve dignity.</p><p>It may not sound like an earth-shattering bit of wisdom, but it’s worth reminding ourselves of this fact.</p><p>Dignity, put simply, is self-worth. And it is inherent in each of us.</p><p>In <em><strong><a href="https://amzn.to/2GzZSpN">The Extraordinary Power of Leadership Humility</a></strong></em>, Marilyn Gist writes, “Dignity implies that each person is worthy of honor and respect for who he or she is, regardless of status or accomplishment.”</p><p>In 1486 Pico della Mirandola explored the idea that that humans could continually improve themselves through the exercise of their intellectual capacities in his groundbreaking <em><strong>Oration on the Dignity of Man</strong></em> (<em>De hominis dignitate</em>).</p><p>While this may not sound like news in the 21st century, it was a profound endorsement of the dignity of human existence in earthly life in the 15th century. It placed humans at the pinnacle of God’s creations.</p><p>The root of this dignity lay in Pico’s assertion that only human beings could change themselves through their own free will, whereas all other changes in nature were the result of some outside force acting on whatever it is that undergoes change. He observed from history that philosophies and institutions were always in change, making man’s capacity for self-transformation the only constant. </p><p>Dignity is a fundamental aspect of what it means to be human. When you disregard or even violate the dignity of others, you make them feel like nonentities.</p><p>What’s a violation of dignity? Name-calling, bullying, cutting people off, stereotyping, sexual harassment, taking credit—anything that shows you don't appreciate someone’s unique contribution or humanity.<br /><br /></p><div><hr /></div><p><em><strong><br /></strong></em></p><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong>“A snub is the effort of a person who feels superior to make someone else feel inferior. To do so, he has to find someone who can be made to feel inferior.”</strong> </em></strong></em></div><p></p><p style="text-align: right;"><em>— Eleanor Roosevelt, 1935</em></p><div><br /><hr /></div><p>As Eleanor Roosevelt indicated in her comment regarding an incident with a cabinet member, trying to make someone else feel inferior requires a sense of superiority. (In fact, it formed the basis of the quote commonly attributed to her: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”)</p><p>When we work together on common goals, whether we’re part of an athletic team, a corporation, or a community, we have expectations that we each have something to offer. Whether you’re a president or a plumber, your human contribution to an effort is worth something. And there’s dignity in it.</p><p>In my time at Ford, we all had badges that included the famous <strong>One Ford</strong> plan on the front, and a list of “Expected Behaviors” on the reverse. In the list of behaviors, there were a couple that implied that dignity was at the core of them:</p><ul><li><p>Include everyone: respect, listen to, help and appreciate others.</p></li><li><p>Enjoy the journey and each other; have fun—but never at others’ expense.</p></li></ul><p>We saw these behaviors exhibited by our leaders and by each other on a regular basis; such actions were a powerful reminder of the importance of dignity and the power each of us held to build a stronger team.</p><p>Over the last four years, we’ve seen public discourse take a drastic slide, where respect and dignity were all but eliminated from traditional behaviors from the most public personae as well as from people with whom we interacted online.</p><p>Part of this slide is due to the pseudo-anonymity that the web affords us. A Twitter username that’s a first name followed by a string of eight numbers effectively dehumanizes the dialog, and we feel no compunction in throwing digital punches.</p><p>Interestingly, the advent of real-time audio interaction (such as Clubhouse) has made things reverse course a bit. It seems more difficult to treat someone disrespectfully when you’re actually talking with them rather than slamming your thumbs onto your phone.</p><p>Another aspect of the decline of civility is simply due to not caring. Now we have CEOs, politicians, athletes, and other public figures who seem to think they can speak however they wish, consequences be damned. They just don’t care whom they offend.</p><p>When greeted with the consequences of their actions, they revert to calling it “cancel culture,” arrogantly avoiding what it actually is: accountability.</p><p>Howard Behar, a former executive at Starbucks, said:</p><blockquote><p>“Arrogance denigrates performance in any organization. People think arrogant, autocratic leadership enhances performance, but it doesn’t. You lose people—good people. There’s no trust. They worry about protecting themselves. So, it’s hard to have a dynamic organization. And turnover is high. People only stay out of fear. If the economy is bad, they may stay, but as soon as it improves, they are gone.”</p></blockquote><p>We see plenty of arrogance every day.</p><p>Great leaders understand that humility, not arrogance, is what will motivate people. And that helping their people to respect and honor the dignity of everyone will result in a more cohesive team for the purpose of working together.<br /><br /></p><div><hr /></div><p style="text-align: center;"><strong><br />In Friday’s newsletter for premium subscribers, we’ll be exploring how great ideas can come from anywhere. Don’t miss it! </strong><a class="button primary" href="%%checkout_url%%">Subscribe now</a><br /><br /></p><div><hr /></div><p><br />President Biden is bringing dignity to the office of the president again. He told his staff, “<a href="https://flip.it/w68Tal">I will fire you on the spot</a>” for disrespecting others.</p><p>He has led a life of dignity and respect, so this is consistent with his character. When it was discovered that a White House deputy press secretary threatened a reporter, the staffer understood how it looked in light of the president’s pledge and <a href="https://twitter.com/tducklo/status/1360741646627913728?s=21">he resigned</a>.</p><p>There are plenty of people out there who are callous and disrespectful. <a href="https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish/status/1364287638799339523">Shane Parrish</a> has a solution for that:</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The No Asshole Rule:<br /><br />If you can tell someone is an asshole, they shouldn't be in your life. <br /><br />Don't hang with them. Don't invest with them. Don't text them. Don't partner with them. Don't work with them. Don't date them. <br /><br />Remove the bad and you'll have more good.</p>— Shane Parrish (@ShaneAParrish) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish/status/1364287638799339523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>This idea of omission is an important one. You can show respect for the dignity of others not only by what you choose to do, but also by what you choose <em>not</em> to do.</p><p>You don’t need to have an opinion on everything. You don’t need to lash out, even when you’ve been attacked. You don’t need to put others down to make yourself feel better.</p><p>Everyone deserves dignity.</p><p>Leaders maintain their own dignity and gain trust by respecting the dignity of others.</p><p><br /></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><hr /></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><h2><strong>Preview of Friday’s curated content:</strong></h2><p><strong>Timely link:</strong><br />“Overwhelmingly people will say, ‘You know, he looked me in the eye and shook my hand, and I’m a housekeeper.’ If you treat people like they deserve to be treated, as human beings with the same kind of dignity that you would treat senior people, it will flow through the organization.” Who is this inspirational leader? (<em><strong><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/subscribe">Become a premium subscriber to read this</a></strong></em>)</p><p><strong>Timeless story:</strong><br />As long as society subscribes to the notion that some individuals are fundamentally superior to others, people have a hard time feeling humiliated. (<em><strong><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/subscribe">Premium subscribers will learn more about this concept</a></strong></em>)</p><p><strong>This week’s book recommendation:</strong><br />This landmark book from an expert in dignity studies explores the essential but underrecognized role of dignity as part of good leadership. Most people know very little about dignity, the author has found, and when leaders fail to respect the dignity of others, conflict and distrust ensue. Learn three components of leading with dignity and how you can create a culture of dignity in any organization, whether corporate, religious, governmental, healthcare, or beyond. (<em><strong><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/subscribe">Unlock this book by becoming a premium subscriber</a></strong></em>)</p><p><br /></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><hr /></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br />👉 Members receive an additional related essay, plus curated links and stories, and audio and book recommendations every Friday. Join the club by signing up below:</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://scottmonty.substack.com/embed" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; max-height: 450px; max-width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></p>

Dignity and Respect

  The Favorites of the Emperor Honorius  by John William Waterhouse, 1883 (public domain - Wikipedia) “To forsake truth is to pay too high a...

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Why We Love Clubs

<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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WDG1tDLAizg/YC1GHz3M17I/AAAAAAABR-Q/LjHhJRqXDRQYrMpL4L6UZF3R9Xm3Bu4vgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Interior%2Bof%2Ba%2BLondon%2Bcoffee-house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1401" data-original-width="2048" height="438" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WDG1tDLAizg/YC1GHz3M17I/AAAAAAABR-Q/LjHhJRqXDRQYrMpL4L6UZF3R9Xm3Bu4vgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h438/Interior%2Bof%2Ba%2BLondon%2Bcoffee-house.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;"><a href="https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/drawing-of-a-london-coffee-house-c-1690-1700#">Interior of a London Coffee-House</a></em><span style="text-align: left;"> by Unknown, c. 1690 (Shared via a </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/" style="text-align: left;">Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike license</a><span style="text-align: left;">, © Trustees of the British Museum)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><div><hr /></div><p><em><strong><br /></strong></em></p><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong>“Clubs happen because of the elementary truth that we like to be with our own kind, with whom we can be ourselves and let our hair down.”</strong> </em></strong></em></div><p></p><p style="text-align: right;"><em>— Anthony Lejeune, 2012</em></p><p><em><br /></em></p><div><hr /></div><p><br />You’ve undoubtedly heard about the app Clubhouse.</p><p>The real-time social audio app has gained steam since launching last year, with a quick rise amid a number of competitors. The technorati were the first to catch on, and it spread from there.</p><p>While I joined last August, I found I was overwhelmed with the choices. The notifications were too frequent, I felt out of place without many connections on there, and I was stumbling into conversations (or “rooms”) that neither related to me nor interested me.</p><p>But then a funny thing happened that brought me back. More on that in a moment.</p><p>With Clubhouse (or any of the rising social audio platforms), one of my concerns is the time suck. We all have limited time and limited attention. With so many video calls, Slack messages, emails, and other mechanisms to stay connected (too connected!) to our colleagues, people are just burned out. But humans are social creatures; we need to connect and converse.</p><p>My friend and colleague Jeremiah Owyang called social audio “<strong>the Goldilocks medium</strong>: text is not enough and video is too much; social audio is just right.” (Read his <a href="The Future of Social Audio: Startup, Roadmaps, Business Models, and a Forecast" target="_blank">report on the social audio industry</a> that currently includes two dozen players.)</p><p>But even so, with synchronous audio, you need to be in the room where it happens. There’s currently no recording nor are there any transcripts. Which reminds me of the caution of this old Latin proverb:</p><blockquote><p><em><strong>“Vox audita perit, littera scripta manet.” <br /> (“The spoken word vanishes; the written word remains.”)</strong></em></p></blockquote><p>Once a moment is there and gone in synchronous social audio, that’s it. There’s no reclaiming it. This is the beauty of something like Twitter or YouTube; we can join in conversations asynchronously. (Although, I’m an early user of <a href="https://yac.com">Yac</a>, and they’re focused on asynchronous sound clips to avoid unnecessary meetings—kind of like email with a personality.)</p><p>The reality is that audio does provide an intimate connection unlike any other. Given the current situation of so many people working remotely, it’s an important and necessary medium. And Edison Research's latest <a href="https://www.edisonresearch.com/the-infinite-dial-2020/" target="_blank">Infinite Dial report</a> on audio consumption habits shows that, with the growth of podcasts and smart speakers, audio is just as important as ever.</p><p>But this isn’t simply an alternative to podcasting. The best analogy I can come up with is that social audio is akin to a conference: there are speakers in rooms, and they can invite people up to the stage as panelists. </p><p>Some rooms are huge, with big names drawing significant audiences of thousands of listeners, like a keynote address at a conference. Others are small and intimate affairs among a handful of friends, as a breakout room or a hallway conversation might do.</p><p>With each, there’s variability in the quality of the content, as you might imagine. And don’t doubt for a minute that the hustlebros aren’t there; oh, they’ve managed to push themselves to the front of the line, using yet another platform to sell their MLM schemes and drive their follower numbers up.<br /><br /></p><div><hr /></div><p><em><strong><br /></strong></em></p><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong>“Captain Willoughby was known at his club for a bore. He was a determined raconteur of pointless stories about people with whom none of his audience was acquainted. And there was no deterring him, for he did not listen, he only talked.”</strong> </em></strong></em></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— A.E.W. Mason, 1902</em></div><br /><p></p><div><hr /></div><p><br />In many ways, what we’re seeing evolve is a parallel to how coffee-houses and clubs sprouted up from the 1400s in the Middle East to London in the 1600s. <br /><br /></p><h2><strong>History of the Coffee-House</strong></h2><p>The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/coffee" target="_blank">first coffee-houses</a> appeared in Mecca in the 15th century, spreading to the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. They became popular meeting places where people gathered to drink coffee, have conversations, play board games such as chess and backgammon, listen to stories and music, and discuss news and politics. They became known as “schools of wisdom” for the type of clientele they attracted, and their free and frank discourse.</p><p></p><p>The first coffee-house appeared in London in 1652, and from 1670 to 1685, the number of London coffeehouses began to increase, and saw the first appearance of barmaids. In order to stand out from others, most proprietors engaged the most attractive women they could find to lure patrons. By the middle of the 18th century, coffee-houses became an integral part of London life.</p><p>These were years when newspapers weren’t widely available to citizens, so coffee-houses became places where someone with a newspaper would read to the other assembled patrons, informing them of the day’s news and opinion. Thanks to coffee-houses, we begin to see the democratization of information and ideas.</p><p>German philosopher <a href="https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/myth-fourth-estate" target="_blank">Jürgen Habermas suggested</a> that the newspaper was one of several institutions (together with the coffeehouse, the literary salon, the novel, and more) that served as the basis for the “<b>bourgeois public sphere</b>,” a space of rational-critical debate that changed the very possibilities of politics.<br /><br /></p><div><hr /></div><p><em><strong><br /></strong></em></p><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong>“The history of coffee houses, ere the invention of clubs, was that of the manners, the morals, and the politics of a people.”</strong> </em></strong></em></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Isaac D'Israeli, 1791</em></div><em><br /></em><p></p><div><hr /></div><h2><strong>From Coffee-House to Market</strong></h2><p>These very public places gave rise to a number of cultural and industrial developments. Because they were places for like-minded people to gather and share their views, in addition to the bourgeois, they attracted some of the brightest minds. </p><p>One of the most famous coffee-houses in London was <em>The Grecian</em>. Classical scholars and members of the Royal Society gathered there, and it became the leading penny university, as many coffee-houses were called, due to the price of admission being a penny, giving pupils access to books, newspapers, and lectures, including from some major figures of the time.</p><p>Edmund Malone, writing to his father in 1776, shared his observation from a coffee-house:</p><blockquote><p>“I am at present writing in a coffee-house, in the midst of so much noise and bustle—the celebrated anti-Sejanus (Mr. [James] Scott) on one side and Mr. [Charles] Macklin [the actor] on the other—that I can't add anything more at present.”</p></blockquote><p>These intellectually-stimulating settings gave rise to ideas and industry:</p><ul><li><p>Scientists like Sir Isaac Newton, Sir Hans Sloane, Edmund Halley and James Douglas, and the poet and statesman, Joseph Addison gathered at <em>The Grecian</em> to discuss ideas that flowed from their work.</p></li><li><p>Lloyd’s Coffee House provided the venue for merchants and shippers to discuss insurance deals, leading to the establishment of Lloyd's of London insurance market, the Lloyd's Register classification society, and other related businesses.</p></li><li><p>In 1698, Jonathan’s Coffee House was the site of what eventually evolved into the London Stock Exchange.  </p></li><li><p>Other coffee-houses had salesrooms attached to them which were the origins of the great auction houses of Sotheby's and Christie's.</p></li></ul><h2><br />The Social Audio Coffee-House</h2><p>This brings us back to Clubhouse. If you pop into Clubhouse rooms, you’ll find similar situations: entrepreneurs testing their ideas and looking for inspiration; big names from music, entertainment, and tech; and yes, the occasional bore who’s found the latest platform for selling hustle.</p><p>After sitting out the conversation for a few months, I was enticed to re-enter the scene. I discovered a more robust space—one that can be classified into Business Clubhouse and Nighttime Clubhouse. On the business end, we see discussions of entrepreneurship, writing, speaking, branding and more. In the evening, things turn more casual, like a cocktail party: jazz clubs, music venues, cultural discussions, etc.. The serendipitous nature of the Explore feature can surface just about anything you might be interested in.</p><p>Here’s what drew me back in: I saw a friend post elsewhere (email, Twitter, Facebook) that he was planning a talk. He outlined the theme and highlighted the two co-hosts. Between the three of them, I recognized expertise and quality, and joined because of that.</p><p>What we’re witnessing is a natural sorting. The good ideas are rising to the top—the lesser ideas or individuals are still there, but there’s a filter happening that is making things more relevant and trusted. Individual recommendations over algorithm. It’s what we’ve been missing on social platforms in recent years. </p><p>Because that’s what we yearn for in our social interactions. Whether the people with whom we interact are like-minded or are diametric opposites, a spirited debate comes from those who enter into a discussion with their goals and objectives up front.</p><p>When we have an experience that matches our expectations, we’re more likely to trust.<br /><br /></p><div><hr /></div><h4><em><br />I’m considering doing a weekly audio discussion on the topic of this newsletter. Would you be interested? Just <a href="http://smonty.co/3s36aRg">answer this one question</a>. </em><a class="button primary" href="http://smonty.co/3s36aRg">Yes</a> / <a class="button primary" href="http://smonty.co/3s36aRg">No</a><br /><br /></h4><div><hr /></div><h2><strong>Preview of Friday’s curated content:</strong></h2><p>Where is this headed? In the follow-up essay in <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/subscribe">Friday’s newsletter for paying subscribers</a>, we’ll trace the rise of clubs from coffee-houses, looking at what exclusivity does to us. An excerpt:</p><blockquote><p>“Coffee houses led to clubs. Towering over the rest was Dr. Johnson’s, which met at the Turk’s Head in Gerrard Street. It included Joshua Reynolds, Edmund Burke, Oliver Goldsmith, Edward Gibbon, actor-managers like Garrick and Sheridan, the musical historian Charles Burney, and the later President of the Royal Society, Sir Joseph Banks.”</p></blockquote><p>In addition to name-dropping, the early adopters or those who have exclusive access usually like to show off their status. According to one tech reporter,</p><blockquote><p>“Nearly every early Clubhouse user I speak with brings up their follower count unprompted.”</p></blockquote><h2></h2><h4 style="text-align: left;"><strong>A timely link:</strong></h4><p>Clubhouse, which centralizes creation and consumption into a feedback loop, will do for audio what Twitter, Stories, and TikTok did for text, images, and video. (<em><strong><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/subscribe">Link for premium subscribers</a></strong></em>)</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><strong>This week’s book recommendation:</strong></h4><p>In 1763, the painter Joshua Reynolds proposed to his friend Samuel Johnson that they invite a few friends to join them every Friday at the Turk’s Head Tavern in London to dine, drink, and talk until midnight. Eventually the group came to include among its members Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, Edward Gibbon, and James Boswell. It was known simply as “the Club.” This book conjures up the precarious, exciting, and often brutal world of late eighteenth-century Britain, telling the story of an extraordinary group of people whose ideas helped to shape their age, and our own. (<em><strong><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/subscribe">Link for premium subscribers</a></strong></em>)</p><p>Thanks, and I’ll see you on the internet.</p><p><br /></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><hr /></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br />👉 Members receive an additional related essay, plus curated links and stories, and audio and book recommendations every Friday. Join the club by signing up below:</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://scottmonty.substack.com/embed" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; max-height: 450px; max-width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></p>

Why We Love Clubs

Interior of a London Coffee-House  by Unknown, c. 1690 (Shared via a  Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike license , © Tr...

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Improvisation as Inspiration

<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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fmoKeoNFDis/YCPyc2cjwlI/AAAAAAABR2o/-u1-tyTBaX4AsRalpOMpWULjBz6da0j3gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1199/Wassily%2BKandinsky%2B-%2BImprovisation%2B27%2B%2528Garden%2Bof%2BLove%2BII%2529%2B1912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1199" height="546" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fmoKeoNFDis/YCPyc2cjwlI/AAAAAAABR2o/-u1-tyTBaX4AsRalpOMpWULjBz6da0j3gCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h546/Wassily%2BKandinsky%2B-%2BImprovisation%2B27%2B%2528Garden%2Bof%2BLove%2BII%2529%2B1912.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Improvisation_27_(Garden_of_Love_II)_MET_DP236124.jpg" target="_blank">Improvisation 27 (Garden of Love II)</a> by Wassily Kandinksy (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)</span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div class="captioned-image-container" data-pm-context="[]"><figure><figcaption class="image-caption"><br /></figcaption></figure></div><div><hr /></div><p><em><strong><br /></strong></em></p><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong>“We start then, with the Muses, who delight / With song the mighty mind of father Zeus / Within Olympus, telling of things that are, / That will be, and that were, with voices joined / In harmony.” </strong></em></strong></em></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Hesiod, c. 700 BC</em></div><em><br /></em><p></p><div><hr /></div><p><br />When you’re stuck for an idea, where do you go? </p><p>If you’ve ever watched <em>Mad Men</em>, you saw Don Draper, the consummate creative director, try to hammer out his ideas by taking a nap, or leaving his office to head to a matinee at a nearby theater.<br /><br />Some people choose to listen to music. Others open a book. And yet others take a walk.<br /><br />Whatever it is, we make those choices to break up the monotony or try to jolt our thinking.<br /><br />In all of those moments, opportunities present themselves: opportunities to take in and appreciate the creative work of someone else. It might be something centuries old. Or it might be a creation from this morning.<br /><br />When you reflect on something beautiful, something deep, something funny—you never know where it might lead.<br /><br />As a professional, you needn’t be consumed by your industry and your industry alone; you should be able to find inspiration everywhere.<br /><br /></p><div><hr /></div><h2>All that jazz</h2><p>I was recently reading a biography of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Shepherd">Jean Shepherd</a> titled <em><strong><a href="https://amzn.to/3aOlt9K">Excelsior, You Fathead! The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd</a> </strong></em>by Eugene B. Bergmann. You may not know Shep, other than his crowning achievement to pop culture: the now-classic holiday film <em><a href="https://amzn.to/3rEyObh">A Christmas Story</a></em> was based on Shepherd’s semi-autobiographical stories in his 1966 book <em><a href="https://amzn.to/3rCDz5a">In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash</a></em>, with some elements from his 1971 book <em><a href="https://amzn.to/3aM7vFe">Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories</a></em>.<br /><br />For years, Shepherd had a radio show on WOR in New York, where he was on the air on Sundays from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. and nightly from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. During the span of those four hours, he told stories.</p><p>Perhaps “told” is too mild a word. He wove ornate tapestries out of little details he seemed to take from his childhood, placing his listeners with him some 30 or 40 years before. Or, as he described his father’s (the Old Man) invective in <em>A Christmas Story</em>:</p><blockquote><p>“My father worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It was his true medium, a master.”</p></blockquote><p>Shep also liked jazz. And from his apartment in Greenwich Village, he had access to some of the best jazz bars in the city. He found inspiration in jazz.</p><p>Recognizing the wonder and power of the improvisational style in the music, he used the same concept to hone his storytelling: find a central concept and build on it, creating new sounds and feelings, wildly departing from the main theme but eventually returning to it.<br /><br /></p><div><hr /></div><p><em><strong><br /></strong></em></p><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong>“Music sweeps by me as a messenger / Carrying a message that is not for me.”</strong> </em></strong></em></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— George Eliot, 1868</em></div><em><br /></em><p></p><div><hr /></div><p><br />Soon he was improvising on topics in the booth, adding details and getting into side stories that embellished his main topic. His monologues were “a slow, casual, laid-back, free-floating association of ideas, philosophy, and bemused commentary,” according to Bergmann.</p><p>In essence, Shepherd became the jazz artist of the monologue. And like jazz, he had committed fans who understood and spoke his language.</p><p>And this him to pull one of his greatest practical jokes—the <em>I, Libertine</em> hoax.<br /></p><p><br /></p><h2>Night people and the literary hoax</h2><p>The power of his impact was directly tied to the relationship Shep had with his audience, whom he affectionately called “night people.” These aren't just those who work the third shift; John Crosby in <em>The New York Times</em> in 1956 quoted Shepherd on night people:</p><blockquote><p>“There’s a great body of people who flower at night, who feel night is their time. Night is the time people truly become individuals, because all the familiar things are dark and done, all the restrictions on freedom are removed. Many artists work at night—it is peculiarly conducive to creative work. Many of us attuned to night are not artists but are embattled against the official, organized righteous day people who are completely bound by their switchboards and their red tape.”</p></blockquote><p>One evening, as he was talking to the night people, he observed how day people liked lists, because lists conferred a sense of authority, direction, or truth. Bestseller lists were overrated, Shep thought. Merely a construct made up by the day people.</p><p>So what if, he pondered, the night people were to go to a bookstore and ask for a book that wasn’t on any list? Not just a book that wasn’t on a bestseller list; a book that wasn’t on any inventory lists. A book that didn’t even <em>exist</em>.</p><p>Listeners called in with suggestions for titles, and eventually <em>I, Libertine</em> was selected, by fictitious author Frederick R. Ewing, a “former British commander and civil servant in Rhodesia, known for his BBC broadcasts on eighteenth-century erotica.”</p><p>He and the audience together improvised this book and then listeners went to bookstores in droves, asking for the title. Bookstore managers checked with distributors, distributors checked with publishers, but no one could find it. They were perplexed, since so many people were asking for the same title, yet that title didn’t appear on any lists.</p><p>Demand became so great that Shepherd teamed up with science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon to write the book as nom de plume Frederick R. Ewing under the Ballantine Press imprint. <em>The New York Times</em> called it a “bebop minuet” and <em>Publisher’s Weekly</em> termed it, “the hoax that became a book.”</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qAkdFIM-rRw/YCP5J8VwT6I/AAAAAAABR20/n2BHH10AJVc1z0TCDOmWaadzCoNCGisRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s384/I%252C_Libertine_%2528book_cover%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="218" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qAkdFIM-rRw/YCP5J8VwT6I/AAAAAAABR20/n2BHH10AJVc1z0TCDOmWaadzCoNCGisRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/I%252C_Libertine_%2528book_cover%2529.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p><br />It’s that kind of cross-pollinating of concepts and ideas that leads to creative breakthroughs. Where polymaths use their knowledge of vastly different subjects to bring together the unusual or unexpected to produce results.</p><p><br />As you can imagine, it doesn’t happen without the prerequisite inspiration. And you’ve got to want to seek out other sources to inspire you. What does that take?<br /><br />Nothing less than curiosity.<br /><br /></p><div><hr /></div><p><em><strong><br /></strong></em></p><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong>“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” </strong></em></strong></em></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Ellen Parr, 1980</em></div><em><br /></em><p></p><div><hr /></div><h2>Applied curiosity</h2><p>The curious are constantly wondering “Why?” or “How?” or “What else?” You want to expand your sphere of knowledge, wide or deep. You want to understand the weak connections, the conditions in which an artist worked, the inner workings of the human mind.<br /><br />Adam Bryant has interviewed 525 chief executives through his years writing the ‘Corner Office’ column in <em>The New York Times</em>. Over those 525 interviews, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/business/how-to-be-a-ceo.html">here's what he has learned</a> about those CEOs:</p><blockquote><p>“[T]hey share a habit of mind that is best described as ‘<strong>applied curiosity</strong>.’ They tend to question everything. They want to know how things work, and wonder how they can be made to work better. They’re curious about people and their back stories.”</p></blockquote><p>Isn’t it time that we took a step away from the screen or the desk, like Don Draper did? Maybe we can immerse ourselves in art, music, or literature that pierces the very heart of human nature—that evergreen and immutable part of ourselves that is consistent from generation to generation, century to century.<br /></p><p>If you’re curious enough to spend time digging into the past, you may find you have a whole course charted out for your future.<br /><br />And who doesn’t need more of that? Taking ourselves away from the digital distractions and looming pressures of life. A chance to be inspired. </p><p>And perhaps to inspire others as well.</p><p><br /></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><hr /></div><h2 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 22.4px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></h2><h2 data-pm-context="[]" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 22.4px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><strong><br />A Preview of Friday's Curated Content:</strong></h2><div><h4 data-pm-context="[]">One Timeless link</h4><p>A recent patent filing related to music shows how one platform is trying to jump on the coattails of another rising star. (<em><strong><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/subscribe">Link for premium subscribers</a></strong></em>)</p><h4><strong>A Timeless story</strong></h4><p>Jazz singers have the ability to take command of the present moment, seemingly bending reality to their will. It’s a combination of complex cognitive and psychological processes that drive the ‘real-time’ spontaneous creation of music. But it’s also a lesson for how we can improvise through life itself. (<em><strong><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/subscribe">Link for premium subscribers</a></strong></em>)</p><h4><strong>Further reading: Friday's book recommendation</strong></h4><p>The rules for leadership and teamwork have changed, and the skills that got professionals ahead a generation ago don’t work anymore. This week’s book recommendation is a new toolkit for individuals and organizations to thrive in a world increasingly shaped by speed, social communication, and decentralization, based on principles of improvisation. (<em><strong><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/subscribe">Link for premium subscribers</a></strong></em>)</p></div><div><strong><br /></strong></div><div><hr /></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br />👉 Members receive an additional related essay, plus curated links and stories, and audio and book recommendations every Friday. Join the club by signing up below:</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://scottmonty.substack.com/embed" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; max-height: 450px; max-width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></p>

Improvisation as Inspiration

  Improvisation 27 (Garden of Love II) by Wassily Kandinksy (public domain - Wikimedia Commons) “We start then, with the Muses, who delight...

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When We Speculate, We See What We Want

<p> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3RIjLLwzPPQ/YBrYHqLeOgI/AAAAAAABRwA/iI2EUeHXEBwNS60l_AP7Mj761rK0YhN3gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/Edvard%2BMunch%2B-%2BAt%2Bthe%2BRoulette%2BTable%2Bin%2BMonte%2BCarlo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1024" height="416" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3RIjLLwzPPQ/YBrYHqLeOgI/AAAAAAABRwA/iI2EUeHXEBwNS60l_AP7Mj761rK0YhN3gCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h416/Edvard%2BMunch%2B-%2BAt%2Bthe%2BRoulette%2BTable%2Bin%2BMonte%2BCarlo.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><figcaption class="image-caption" data-pm-context="["captionedImage",null]" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edvard_Munch_-_At_the_Roulette_Table_in_Monte_Carlo_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg">At the Roulette Table</a></em> by Edvard Munch, 1892 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons/Google Art Project)</span></figcaption><figcaption class="image-caption" data-pm-context="["captionedImage",null]" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></figcaption><figcaption class="image-caption" data-pm-context="["captionedImage",null]" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></figcaption><figcaption class="image-caption" data-pm-context="["captionedImage",null]" style="text-align: left;"><div><hr /></div><p><em><strong><br /></strong></em></p><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong>“Everything that deceives does so by casting a spell.”</strong> </em></strong></em></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Plato, 380 BC</em></div><em><br /></em><p></p><div><hr /></div><p><br />Can you intimately explain games of chance? That is, can you quote the odds of getting a specific number on a roulette wheel, a roll of the dice in craps, or a hand in poker?</p><p>Odds are you understand how each ranks in relation to other options in a particular game—more likely, less likely, etc.—but you can't explain the exact statistical odds.</p><p>When we find ourselves involved in these situations and emotions run high as the stakes grow and fortune continues to smile on us, we stop thinking rationally. As if the good times have to continue and Lady Luck is in our corner.</p><p>In many ways, the stock market reflects the same kind of thinking. In a bull market or a frenzy, we see people falling over themselves to buy in and be part of the trend that is gripping the investment community. It's the ultimate in FOMO.</p><p>We’ve seen the results of this play out numerous times in memorable history, such as the Dot Com bubble in 2000 and Black Friday in October 1929. But go even further back, and we find the Dutch Tulip Craze of the early 17th century and the Mississippi and South Sea bubbles of the early 18th century.</p><p>It’s tempting to think that we’re living in unprecedented times (we hear that quite a bit these days). A global pandemic, a stock market seemingly without a ceiling—as if humans have never experienced such events.<br /><br /></p><div><hr /></div><p><em><strong><br /></strong></em></p><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong>“Not to know what happened before one was born is always to be a child.”</strong>  </em></strong></em></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Cicero</em></div><em><br /></em><p></p><div><hr /></div><p><br />While it’s true we may not have personally experienced such events, we must be unimaginative indeed if we think humanity has never grappled with them.</p><p>We have no further to look than <strong>Washington Irving</strong> for perfectly encapsulating the Mississippi Bubble in his essay “A Time of Unexampled Prosperity” in 1819. See if this doesn’t sound familiar to you:</p><blockquote><p>“Speculation is the romance of trade and casts contempt upon all its sober realities. It renders the stock jobber a magician and the exchange a region of enchantment. It elevates the merchant into a kind of knight-errant, or rather a commercial Quixote. The slow but sure gains of snug percentage become despicable in his eyes: no ‘operation’ is thought worthy of attention that does not double or treble the investment. No business is worth following that does not promise an immediate fortune.”</p></blockquote><p>How curious it is that we use the term <em>speculation</em> for investing: the dictionary defines this usage as <em><strong>“investment in stocks, property, or other ventures in the hope of gain but with the risk of loss.”</strong></em></p><p>The primary definition of speculation? <em><strong>“the forming of a theory or conjecture without firm evidence.”</strong></em></p><p>Hope is not an investment strategy. Putting money behind ideas without firm evidence is an invitation to potential ruin.</p><p>This is exactly what we've witnessed over the last week with GameStop.<br /><br /></p><div><hr /></div><p><em><strong><br />In Friday’s essay for <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/subscribe">premium subscribers</a> of Timeless & Timely, we’ll go deeper on the issue of trust behind the GameStop fracas: specifically how there are multiple points where trust was broken or was already lacking in multiple actors in this drama. (Don’t miss out on this, plus the best curated content for you every Friday.)<br /><br /></strong></em></p><div><hr /></div><p><br />The GameStop incident is something of a Rorschach test. We’ve all watched this play out, almost in slow motion, getting uglier by the day and moving from opaque to somewhat clear and then back again. And in doing so, we can stamp upon it that which matters to us or is most familiar to us.</p><p>Part of my research material for the newsletter is the journal <em>Lapham’s Quarterly</em>. Filled with examples from history and literature, there is nary a subject that isn’t covered. As the morality tale of financial sleight of hand plays out, I have a hard time choosing which issue will inspire this week’s theme.</p><p>Looking at the players (Reddit, hedge funds, the stock market, Robinhood), my thoughts swing from the function of the market and currency, and how investors got whipped into a drunken frenzy of trading.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 image2-393-524" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1260826c-51b1-45a3-9954-daa57767f936_1119x839.jpeg" style="height: 0px; padding-bottom: min(74.9777%, 392.883px); width: 100%;" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-attrs="{"src":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1260826c-51b1-45a3-9954-daa57767f936_1119x839.jpeg","height":839,"width":1119,"resizeWidth":524,"bytes":null,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":null,"href":null}" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1260826c-51b1-45a3-9954-daa57767f936_1119x839.jpeg" style="max-height: 392.883px; max-width: 524px;" /></a></figure></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>I consider how the stock market can be viewed as nothing more than a sophisticated casino, where Lady Luck smiles on those whom she deems worthy.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 image2-407-542" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3d9ff95b-17fd-4061-81e3-9b7b1e98a25f_1119x839.jpeg" style="height: 0px; padding-bottom: min(74.9777%, 406.379px); width: 100%;" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-attrs="{"src":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3d9ff95b-17fd-4061-81e3-9b7b1e98a25f_1119x839.jpeg","height":839,"width":1119,"resizeWidth":542,"bytes":null,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":null,"href":null}" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3d9ff95b-17fd-4061-81e3-9b7b1e98a25f_1119x839.jpeg" style="max-height: 406.379px; max-width: 542px;" /></a></figure></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Then I wonder if the r/WallStreetBets redditors are using their sway and social media as something of a revolution, where the little guy sticks it to the man, or if we’re being hoodwinked by people pulling a scheme worthy of Charles Ponzi.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 image2-422-562" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd91115b4-3448-4139-b055-c850cf038379_1119x839.jpeg" style="height: 0px; padding-bottom: min(74.9777%, 421.374px); width: 100%;" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-attrs="{"src":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d91115b4-3448-4139-b055-c850cf038379_1119x839.jpeg","height":839,"width":1119,"resizeWidth":562,"bytes":null,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":null,"href":null}" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd91115b4-3448-4139-b055-c850cf038379_1119x839.jpeg" style="max-height: 421.374px; max-width: 562px;" /></a></figure></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>As this tale races toward its inevitable conclusion, I note that GameStop stock (NASDAQ: GME) was trading around $20 three weeks ago, reached a high of $483 last week, and now hovers around $90. It’s a disaster for all involved: day traders who bought in after the run, hedge funds that lost money shorting the stock, and Robinhood’s liquidity. There’s a palpable sense of fear as to what might come next, if not with GameStop, then with other vulnerable stocks.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 image2-447-596" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F88e9debb-565c-4379-9528-c2d460429d58_1119x839.jpeg" style="height: 0px; padding-bottom: min(74.9777%, 446.867px); width: 100%;" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-attrs="{"src":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/88e9debb-565c-4379-9528-c2d460429d58_1119x839.jpeg","height":839,"width":1119,"resizeWidth":596,"bytes":null,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":null,"href":null}" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F88e9debb-565c-4379-9528-c2d460429d58_1119x839.jpeg" style="max-height: 446.867px; max-width: 596px;" /></a></figure></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, I imagine that this storm will blow over, and when it does, there will be plenty of debris remaining. It’s already a scandal, but as the authorities investigate the series of events, what more will be uncovered? Will those responsible be held accountable for their actions?</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 image2-443-590" href="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7022285c-b29a-465a-b1d3-0775ef159d4a_1119x839.jpeg" style="height: 0px; padding-bottom: min(74.9777%, 442.368px); width: 100%;" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-attrs="{"src":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7022285c-b29a-465a-b1d3-0775ef159d4a_1119x839.jpeg","height":839,"width":1119,"resizeWidth":590,"bytes":null,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":null,"href":null}" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7022285c-b29a-465a-b1d3-0775ef159d4a_1119x839.jpeg" style="max-height: 442.368px; max-width: 590px;" /></a></figure><figure><br /></figure></div><div><hr /></div><h3><strong><br /></strong></h3><h3><strong>The Morality Tale for Leaders</strong></h3><p>All of this is to say that there will be moments in your company’s operations when speculation is rampant. When investors, employees, customers and the public make guesses based on a hunch or a rumor.</p><p>Each of these groups—even each individual within each of these groups—will draw their own conclusions and paint their own biases onto the situation. They will read into it what they wish, as the mind is notorious for filling in narratives when there is little to no information.</p><p>Your best defense in this scenario?</p><p><em><strong>Communication</strong></em>.</p><p>Transparency, frequency, and honesty. Whenever and wherever you can, apply these to your communication strategy.</p><p>The more people hear from you, the clearer you are in your communication, the more likely it is that you’ll give people a sense of stability and direction—two things that are essential in a crisis.</p><p>For in doing so, you’ll be building the one thing that a market can’t replicate:</p><p>Trust.</p><p><br /></p><div><hr /></div><h2></h2><h2 data-pm-context="[]"><strong>A Preview of Friday's Curated Content:</strong></h2><div><strong><br /></strong></div><h4><strong>A Timeless story</strong></h4><p>We’re all familiar with the scheme that shares the name of Italian-American Charles Ponzi, but he was neither the first nor the last to attempt this particular form for swindle. The economist John Kenneth Galbraith noted “the man who is admired for the ingenuity of his larceny is almost always rediscovering some earlier form of fraud.” That was indeed the case with Ponzi (a Bostonian), as 50 years earlier, a woman in Boston created the Ladies’ Deposit to help invest money for women. (<em><strong><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/subscribe">Link for premium subscribers</a></strong></em>)</p><h4><strong>Further reading: Friday's book recommendation</strong></h4><p>Far from displacing religions, as has been supposed, capitalism became a religion of its own, with money as its deity. This week’s book recommendation reveals how mammon ensnared us and how we can find a more humane, sacramental way of being in the world. (<em><strong><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/subscribe">Link available to premium subscribers</a></strong></em>)</p><p><br /></p><div><hr /></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;">👉 Members receive an additional essay, plus curated links and stories, and audio and book recommendations every Friday. Join the club by signing up below:</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://scottmonty.substack.com/embed" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; max-height: 450px; max-width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><br /></figure></div></figcaption>

When We Speculate, We See What We Want

  At the Roulette Table by Edvard Munch, 1892 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons/Google Art Project) “Everything that deceives does so by c...

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The Two Most Powerful Words a Leader Can Say

<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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rPfufqhLKvo/YBhvctPlNKI/AAAAAAABRtQ/rtwHauXnXH0Olu9MO2hAjEJcoFGVcNJ7QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1196/Benjamin%2BWest%2B-%2BCleombrotus%2BOrdered%2Binto%2BBanishment%2Bby%2BLeonidas%2BII%252C%2BKing%2Bof%2BSparta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1196" height="482" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rPfufqhLKvo/YBhvctPlNKI/AAAAAAABRtQ/rtwHauXnXH0Olu9MO2hAjEJcoFGVcNJ7QCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h482/Benjamin%2BWest%2B-%2BCleombrotus%2BOrdered%2Binto%2BBanishment%2Bby%2BLeonidas%2BII%252C%2BKing%2Bof%2BSparta.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11.2px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin_West_-_Cleombrotus_Ordered_into_Banishment_by_Leonidas_II,_King_of_Sparta_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" style="color: #007abe; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Cleombrotus Ordered into Banishment by Leonidas II, King of Sparta</a> by Benjamin West, 1768 (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p> <br />As a leader, the way you communicate is everything. <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/words-matter" target="_blank">Words matter</a>.</p><p>The words you choose will be scrutinized and analyzed, probably to a degree that makes you uncomfortable. Which means you need to be careful not only about <i>what</i> you say but about <i>how</i> you say it.</p><p><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/everything-communicates" target="_blank">Everything communicates</a>, from an arched eyebrow to the things you don't say. And your communication builds the culture of your organization. </p><p>Perhaps you prefer to rule from the top down, and have developed a culture of <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/leading-with-enthusiasm-not-fear" target="_blank">fear</a>.</p><p>If so, the two most powerful words you can say might be "You're fired."</p><p>In that kind of culture, those aren't words to fear, though; they're more than likely a welcome release from an unjust imprisonment. You've done your people a favor by freeing them of the shackles of an unhealthy relationship.</p><p>More likely, your team holds you in high regard, because you've taken the time to build a culture of <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/what-would-be-kindest-choice.html" target="_blank">mutual respect and kindness</a>. Of <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/vulnerability-and-leadership" target="_blank">vulnerability</a> and humility.</p><p>And in that case, the two most powerful words can you can say are this:</p><p>"I'm sorry."</p><p>An apology is one of the most humbling statements a leader can make. It's an action that shows their humanity, and if said with sincerity, an apology conveys two important concepts:</p><p>Regret and empathy.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Apology = Regret + Empathy</span></i></b></p><p><br />When someone—particularly a leader—shows regret, they show that they can admit when they were wrong. They know they don't have all of the answers, or at least that they don't have to be right all of the time.</p><p>By demonstrating empathy, a leader shows that they know how to think of people other than themselves. They can put others (employees, customers, shareholders, etc.) first. They're servant leaders.</p><p> An apology is a simple action. It's part of a formula that builds trust within and among stakeholders who matter.</p><p><br /></p>

The Two Most Powerful Words a Leader Can Say

Cleombrotus Ordered into Banishment by Leonidas II, King of Sparta  by Benjamin West, 1768 (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)   As a leader,...

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The Good Faith Antagonist

<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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7hGaIii3tZU/YBDrhgoVYMI/AAAAAAABRmQ/tKh3M-umK5gjdOxbAP7b6CJZ61kVrbrlwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1479/Claude%2BMonet%2B-%2BSnow%2BScene%2Bat%2BArgenteuil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1207" data-original-width="1479" height="522" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7hGaIii3tZU/YBDrhgoVYMI/AAAAAAABRmQ/tKh3M-umK5gjdOxbAP7b6CJZ61kVrbrlwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h522/Claude%2BMonet%2B-%2BSnow%2BScene%2Bat%2BArgenteuil.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;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Claude_monet,_neve_ad_argenteuil,_1875.JPG#/media/File:Claude_monet,_neve_ad_argenteuil,_1875.JPG">Snow Scene at Argenteuil</a></em><span style="text-align: left;"> by Claude Monet, 1875 (public domain - Sailko, Wikipedia)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div class="captioned-image-container" data-pm-context="[]"><figure><figcaption class="image-caption"><br /></figcaption></figure></div><div><hr /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong><br />“Without contraries is no progression. Attraction and repulsion, reason and energy, love and hate, are necessary to human existence.”</strong> </em></strong></em></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— William Blake, 1790<br /><br /></em></div><p></p><div><hr /></div><p><br />I love my seven year-old daughter. She’s filled with energy and excited to greet each new day (albeit much earlier than the rest of our household).</p><p>Yesterday morning, we awoke to a particular silence in the neighborhood. That sense of calm and quiet that accompanies a blanket of snow, only to be pierced by the passing snowplow.</p><p>There’s a reverie—ever so brief—as the mind wanders to memories of childhood, when such days would herald an extra early departure of Dad for work as he braved the slippery roads; a sense of anxiety as we listened to the radio, anticipating for our school to be announced as one of the cancellations; and the first of many sojourns outside to frolic in the winter wonderland of our neighborhood.</p><p>A snow day as an adult—particularly one well-versed in working from home—doesn't hold the same level of freedom and joy as it once did. Outside in the stillness and cold, the driveway and sidewalks await plowing, but the bed covers act as a temporary talisman against their pull.</p><p>And inside, a rambunctious child doesn’t understand the concept of sleeping in.<br /><br /></p><div><hr /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong><br />“I am no longer good through deliberate intent, but by long habit have reached a point where I am not only able to do right, but am unable to do anything but what is right.”</strong> </em></strong></em></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Seneca, 65<br /><br /></em></div><p></p><div><hr /></div><p><br />Once we’re downstairs and fed—she, a bowl of Fruit Loops and me, a bowl of steel cut oatmeal—I summon my best Wordsworth and announce that duty awaits.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><em>“Stern Daughter of the Voice of God!</em></p><p><em>O Duty! if that name thou love</em></p><p><em>Who art a light to guide, a rod</em></p><p><em>To check the erring, and reprove”</em></p></blockquote><p>And then, without hesitation, I hear from her the question I still pray my teenage sons will someday learn:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><em><strong>“Can I help?”</strong></em></p></blockquote><p>Now, there’s something you need to understand about Grace. While she’s always happy to put in the hard work and eager to help, she’s—how shall I put this?—not quite a skilled laborer. Her shoveling leaves more of a mess than what she attempts to remove.</p><p>But I know that if I refuse her sweet offer, there will be tears (hers).</p><p>I also know that if I accept her sweet offer, there will be tears (mine).</p><p>So I cheerfully encourage her assistance.</p><p>And as predicted, try as she might, she had neither the skill nor the equipment to do a diligent job. At that point, my job was to encourage rather than discourage her.</p><p><br /></p><p>We all find ourselves at that point in a work situation, when presented with facts and a colleague with a hopeful look on their face, we’re expected to give the “yeah, sure” rubber stamp of feedback.</p><p>But there are times when we just can’t.</p><p>You’ve probably used the term “devil’s advocate” before, meaning that you’re taking up an opposing viewpoint for the sake of playing out a mini-debate with someone.</p><p>You don’t necessarily espouse the position you’re staking out, but you’re presenting it for the sake of argument, to ensure your partner in rhetoric is thinking through their position.</p><p>Now, let’s be clear: this is different from being an outright antagonist. An antagonist counters every position and makes arguments purely for the sake of doing so, with no intended outcome other than to fluster or simply be negative. He is a contrarian for a contrarian’s sake.<br /><br /></p><div><hr /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong><br /></strong></em></strong></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong>“Quarreling must lead to disorder, and disorder exhaustion.” </strong></em></strong></em></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Xunzi, c. 250 BC</em></div><div style="text-align: right;"><em><br /></em></div><p></p><div><hr /></div><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>Origins of the Devil’s Advocate</b></h2><p></p><p>A devil’s advocate has a much more strategic and intentional role. The phrase has its roots in Roman Catholicism, from the process of beatification or canonization of saints.</p><p>The Promoter of the Faith was an official position within the Catholic Church. More popularly known as Advocatus Diaboli (“Devil’s Advocate”), he was tasked with critically examining the life of and miracles attributed to individuals proposed for sainthood. As Devil’s Advocate, the canon lawyer attempts to poke holes during presentation of facts to point out everything unfavorable to the candidate.</p><p>Pope Sixtus V formally established the office in 1587, although it was on record as having been used under Leo X (1513 – 1521). The office was abolished when Pope John Paul II revised the canonization procedures in 1979.</p><p>The phrase survives to the present day, as you know, and it’s a practice that happens in plenty of meetings (“Let me just play devil’s advocate for a moment,” is how it usually plays out.).</p><p>It's a healthy exercise for every leader to undertake: to invite peers and subordinates to challenge you. It keeps you on your toes and requires you to justify your decisions and rationale. <a href="https://www.smartbrief.com/original/2020/08/who-speaks-truth-your-power">The best leaders encourage others to challenge them</a>.</p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><strong>From “No way” to “Yes sir”</strong></h2><p>Let’s flip this on its head. There are leaders out there who refuse to allow dissent. To question their decisions is to question their ability.</p><p>Thin-skinned, praise-hungry, and incurably insecure, the weak leader must be propped up, fluffed, and reassured. I was reminded of this in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/podcasts/the-daily/anthony-fauci-donald-trump-coronavirus-pandemic.html">yesterday’s episode of </a><em><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/podcasts/the-daily/anthony-fauci-donald-trump-coronavirus-pandemic.html">The Daily</a></em>, on which Donald J. McNeil, Jr. interviewed Dr. Anthony Fauci.</p><p>One of the most central figures during the pandemic, Dr. Fauci often had to present evidence that contradicted the president, offering up his professional opinion that was the opposite of anecdotally-driven medicine. He felt it was his duty to speak up, “<a href="https://pca.st/episode/33870186-13c9-4bfd-9da7-602b9610cc96?t=833.0">Otherwise, I would compromise my own integrity</a> and I would also be giving a false message to the rest of the world.”</p><p>His ability to force a reality check resulted in an unfortunate nickname: he became known as “the skunk at the picnic.”</p><div data-pm-context="none"><hr /></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>“Do we want laurels for ourselves most,</strong></em></div><em><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Or most that no one else shall have any?”</strong> </em></div></em><p></p><p style="text-align: right;"><em>— Amy Lowell, 1922</em></p><div data-pm-context="none"><hr /></div><p><br />Some leaders simply don’t tolerate skunks. They have no use for a devil’s advocate, and their vizier takes the form of a sycophant.</p><p>For it is the sycophant who blurs all negatives, obliterates opposition, and obfuscates reality. The leader, so desperate for that which soothes his damaged soul, welcomes this fantasy world and ignores the challenges that are evident to everyone around him. And the “yes men” are only too willing to oblige.</p><p>This inner circle finds a way to survive and even thrive under such leadership, and tries to work the system for its own benefit. Often such suck-ups will give the boss exactly what he wants to hear, in exchange for favorable treatment for themselves.</p><p>President Franklin Roosevelt relied on the advice and counsel of Harry Hopkins, his most trusted advisor. One day, Wendell Wilkie, the Republican nominee for president in the 1940 election, asked FDR why he put his faith in Hopkins.</p><p>Roosevelt replied,</p><p></p><blockquote>“Someday you may well be sitting here where I am now as president of the United States. And when you are, you’ll be looking at that door over there and knowing that practically everybody who walks through it wants something out of you. You’ll learn what a lonely job this is and discover the need for somebody like Harry Hopkins who asks for nothing except to serve you.”</blockquote><p></p><p>There’s a fine line between an antagonist and a sycophant. One provides a hard “no” and the other an easy “yes,” and each is meant to halt or grease a process.<br /><br /></p><div data-pm-context="none"><hr /></div><p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>“It is permitted to learn even from an enemy.”</strong> </em></p><p style="text-align: right;"><em>— Ovid, c. 8<br /></em></p><div data-pm-context="none"><hr /></div><p><br />A devil’s advocate is more independent and meant to ask questions and to make us think for ourselves. Advisors or coaches can act as devil’s advocates, as they’re third parties and can be more detached from the situation.</p><p>The best advisors think broadly and help the C-suite see around corners to prioritize issues, frame problems. They may not have all the answers, but they raise important questions. And they're not afraid to offer a contrary point of view.</p><p>Every C-suite member should have an advisor who asks the tough questions and raises appropriate objections.</p><p>If that person turns out to be a skunk at the picnic, so be it.</p><p>But at least you’ll know that it’s time to think about reconsidering your picnic.</p><p>Before it snows.</p><p><br /></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><hr /><br /></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-5028772667699714354" itemprop="description articleBody" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em;"><div><p style="background-color: white;">We'll have more on Friday with some for members of the paid subscription tier only.</p><p style="background-color: white;">👉 Members receive an additional essay, plus curated stories, and audio and book recommendations every Friday. Join the club by signing up below:</p><p style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://scottmonty.substack.com/embed" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; max-height: 450px; max-width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><p><span class="datex show" style="background-color: #2e2e2e; color: white; display: block; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; left: 15px; padding: 3px 0px; position: absolute; text-align: center; top: 0px; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out 0s; z-index: 0;"></span></p>

The Good Faith Antagonist

  Snow Scene at Argenteuil  by Claude Monet, 1875 (public domain - Sailko, Wikipedia) “Without contraries is no progression. Attraction and ...

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A Leader's Call for Civility and Decency

<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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jT6oHIcltGU/YAgejB-JF8I/AAAAAAABRcU/HID5akcxyZsIfb_kDoQ4zv873tjmHLzWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Currier%2Band%2BIves%2B-%2BThe%2BInauguration%2Bof%2BWashington%2B1876.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1701" data-original-width="2048" height="532" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jT6oHIcltGU/YAgejB-JF8I/AAAAAAABRcU/HID5akcxyZsIfb_kDoQ4zv873tjmHLzWgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h532/Currier%2Band%2BIves%2B-%2BThe%2BInauguration%2Bof%2BWashington%2B1876.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;"><a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/659888">The Inauguration of Washington</a></em><span style="text-align: left;"> by Currier & Ives, 1876 (public domain - Metropolitan Museum)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div class="captioned-image-container" data-pm-context="[]"><figure><figcaption class="image-caption"><br /></figcaption></figure></div><div><hr /></div><p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><br />“…the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.”</strong> </em></p><p style="text-align: right;"><em>— George Washington, 1796<br /><br /></em></p><div><hr /></div><p><br /></p><p>Today marks the quadrennial tradition in America when the President of the United States is sworn into office.</p><p>The job is easily the most serious and onerous one in the world; the salary is a pittance compared to the responsibilities the officeholder assumes.</p><p>All eyes are on the president on that day. All ears, too. For it has been a tradition—since our very first president—that the Commander-in-Chief delivers an inaugural address.</p><p>When George Washington accepted the presidency, he not only set the tone for future holders of that office, but he also had an opportunity to demonstrate to his country what his principles were.</p><p><br /></p><div><hr /></div><p><em><strong><br /></strong></em></p><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong>“As the first of everything in our situation will serve to establish a precedent, it is devoutly wished on my part that these precedents may be fixed on true principles.”</strong> </em></strong></em></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— George Washington to James Madison, 1789</em></div><em><br /></em><p></p><div><hr /></div><p><br /></p><p>Washington was a man who understood the power of symbols and appearances. He knew <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/everything-communicates">everything communicates</a>. And the first inauguration of the president of a newly-formed country was the perfect vehicle for communicating.</p><p>The Constitution didn’t call for an inaugural address. But Washington, a leader of men, knew the power of the spoken word to stir men’s souls.</p><p>The morning of April 30, 1789 dawned bright and sunny in New York City. The weather that day was to be a comfortable 59 degrees—perfect spring weather for the outdoor ceremony planned for that day.</p><p>Washington, who was meticulous in his attire, was notorious for dressing in either his military uniform or the traditional dress of a British gentleman. Noting that “we have already been too long subject to British prejudices,” he instead chose a brown suit made from cloth woven in Hartford, Connecticut: a signal that he would support American industry.<br /></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><br /><figcaption class="image-caption"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_inauguration_of_George_Washington#/media/File:Washington's_Inauguration.jpg"><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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9YHizF-vq30/YAgfVAjeLRI/AAAAAAABRcc/iBfjorGWX2EzMkosNqyt5e1OUh3U9LyAACLcBGAsYHQ/s451/Washington%2527s_Inauguration.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="451" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9YHizF-vq30/YAgfVAjeLRI/AAAAAAABRcc/iBfjorGWX2EzMkosNqyt5e1OUh3U9LyAACLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/Washington%2527s_Inauguration.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="captioned-image-container" style="text-align: left;"><figure><figcaption class="image-caption"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_inauguration_of_George_Washington#/media/File:Washington's_Inauguration.jpg">First presidential inauguration of George Washington</a> (public domain)</i></span></figcaption></figure></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></a></figcaption></figure></div><p>As he walked out onto the balcony of Federal Hall at the corner of Wall and Nassau Streets in New York City a little after noon, George Washington witnessed a roar arise from the crowd below. He and they were acutely aware that the ceremony they were about to witness was not one of secret rites and rituals; the open-air atmosphere belied the transparency and universality of the event.</p><p>After taking his oath of office, Washington stepped forward to deliver his address. From the very opening, he demonstrated his legendary humility:</p><blockquote><p>“[T]he magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of my country called me, being sufficient to awaken in the wisest and most experienced of her citizens a distrustful scrutiny into his qualifications, could not but overwhelm with despondence, one, who, inheriting inferior endowments from nature and unpractised in the duties of civil administration, ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own deficiencies.”</p></blockquote><p>He acknowledged the great honor while noting his hesitance to consider himself worthy of that honor. This humility was not a ploy; it was vintage Washington. When placed next to his towering achievements in the American Revolution, this modesty was authentic and endearing.</p><p>On Inauguration Day, his <em><strong>“demeanor was stately, modest, and deeply affecting; he clapped one hand to his heart and bowed several times to the crowd…Thanks to his simple dignity, integrity, and unrivaled sacrifices for his country, Washington’s conquest of the people was complete.”</strong></em> (Ron Chernow, <em><a href="https://amzn.to/3qCoYX2">George Washington: A Life</a></em>, p. 567)</p><p>Those attributes not only carried the day and foretold Washington’s time in office, setting an example for other presidents yet to come:</p><h4><span style="font-size: medium;">Dignity. Integrity. Sacrifice.</span><br /><br /></h4><div><hr /></div><p><br />The rest of his speech was a blank canvas on which Washington painted. He decided to focus on broad vision and strategy, rather than on specific policies. Given that the United States of America and its newly-formed government was under the scrutiny of the world and that its citizenry was comprised of regional factions, Washington needed to emphasize unity:</p><blockquote><p>“I behold the surest pledges, that as on one side, no local prejudices, or attachments; no separate views, nor party animosities, will misdirect the comprehensive and equal eye which ought to watch over this great assemblage of communities and interests: so, on another, that the foundations of our National policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality; and the pre-eminence of a free Government, be exemplified by all the attributes which can win the affections of its Citizens, and command the respect of the world.”</p></blockquote><blockquote><p>“…there exists in the economy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness, between duty and advantage, between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy, and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity.”</p></blockquote><p>Recognizing that the role and responsibilities he was about to undertake was more than any one man could accept, in his closing line, Washington prayed that <em><strong>“divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in the enlarged views, the temperate consultations, and the wise measures on which the success of this Government must depend.”</strong></em></p><p>We’re at a critical moment in our country’s history where we need a leader who can show breadth of vision, receive expert counsel and advice, and make informed decisions on behalf of the citizens while charting a course for unity.</p><p>It’s the same kind of leadership one might expect the CEO of any company, and how these plans are communicated — especially at the outset — can determine the difference between success and failure of an executive.</p><p><br /></p><div><hr /></div><h3><strong>25 Examples of Civility and Decent Behavior</strong></h3><p>George Washington had only seven or eight years of school; his father died when he was eleven, so he had to work. Given his place in the Virginia legislature and later in the Continental Congress, he was self-conscious about his lack of education—particularly when his peers were classically educated in Greek and Latin, and had attended college.</p><p>But Washington kept something with him that guided his thoughts and deeds since he was a young man. As was the custom of young men of the day, by the time he was 16 years old, George Washington had copied 110 maxims for proper behavior from a text called <em><strong><a href="https://amzn.to/3qO1Jth">Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation</a> </strong></em>that dated back to Jesuit scholars in 1595.</p><p>Many of the concepts are timeless and still apply to civil society today—they are matters of deference and politeness. Leaders who wish to impart a positive example through their own behavior should take note.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure style="text-align: center;"><a class="image-link image2 image2-320-185" href="https://amzn.to/3sAqOJP" style="height: 0px; padding-bottom: min(172.664%, 319.429px); width: 100%;" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-attrs="{"src":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/129143f2-98a6-43b5-b1cd-613967f8481d_289x499.jpeg","height":499,"width":289,"resizeWidth":185,"bytes":null,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":null,"href":"https://amzn.to/3sAqOJP"}" src="https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F129143f2-98a6-43b5-b1cd-613967f8481d_289x499.jpeg" style="max-height: 319.429px; max-width: 185px;" /></a></figure></div><p>These are some of the most relevant and significant that leaders might still keep in mind today.</p><p><strong>1st</strong>: Every action done in company ought to be with some sign of respect to those that are present. [<em>Treat everyone with respect</em>.]</p><p><strong>6th</strong>: Sleep not when others speak, sit not when others stand, speak not when you should hold your peace, walk not on when others stop.</p><p><strong>18th</strong>: Read no letters, books, or papers in company but when there is a necessity for the doing of it you must ask leave. Come not near the books or writings of another so as to read them unless desired, or give your opinion of them unasked. Also look not nigh when another is writing a letter.</p><p><strong>22nd</strong>: Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another though he were your enemy.</p><p><strong>35th</strong>: Let your discourse with men of business be short and comprehensive. [<em>When you speak, keep it brief</em>.]</p><p><strong>40th</strong>: Strive not with your superiors in argument, but always submit your judgment to others with modesty. [<em>Do not argue with your superior. Submit your ideas with humility</em>.]</p><p><strong>44th</strong>: When a man does all he can though it succeeds not well blame not him that did it. [<em>When a person does his best and fails, do not criticize him</em>.]</p><p><strong>45th</strong>: Being to advise or reprehend any one, consider whether it ought to be in public or in private, presently or at some other time in what terms to do it; and in reproving show no sign of choler but do it with all sweetness and mildness. [<em>When you must give advice or criticism, consider the timing, whether it should be given in public or private, the manner and above all be gentle</em>.]</p><p><strong>46th</strong>: Take all admonitions thankfully in what time or place soever given, but afterwards not being culpable take a time and place convenient to let him know it that gave them. [<em>If you are corrected, take it without argument. If you were wrongly judged, correct it later</em>.]</p><p><strong>47th</strong>: Mock not nor jest at any thing of Importance; break no jest that are sharp, biting, and if you deliver any thing witty and pleasant, abstain from laughing thereat yourself. [<em>Do not make fun of anything important to others</em>.]</p><p><strong>48th</strong>: Wherein you reprove another be unblameable yourself; for example is more prevalent than precepts. [<em>If you criticize someone else of something, make sure you are not guilty of it yourself. Actions speak louder than words</em>.]</p><p><strong>50th</strong>: Be not hasty to believe flying reports to the disparagement of any. [<em>Do not be quick to believe bad reports about others</em>.]</p><p><strong>56th</strong>: Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for ’tis better to be alone than in bad company. [<em>You’re judged by the company you keep</em>.]</p><p><strong>58th</strong>: Let your conversation be without malice or envy, for ’tis a sign of a tractable and commendable nature: And in all causes of passion admit reason to govern. [<em>Always allow reason to govern your actions</em>.]</p><p><strong>59th</strong>: Never express anything unbecoming, nor act against the rules moral before your inferiors. [<em>Never break the rules in front of subordinates</em>.]</p><p><strong>63rd</strong>: A man ought not to value himself of his achievements, or rare qualities of wit, much less of his riches virtue or kindred. [<em>A person should not overly value their own accomplishments</em>.]</p><p><strong>65th</strong>: Speak not injurious words neither in jest nor earnest; scoff at none although they give occasion. [<em>Do not insult anyone, even if you are joking</em>.]</p><p><strong>69th</strong>: If two contend together take not the part of either unconstrained; and be not obstinate in your own opinion, in things indifferent be of the major side. [<em>If two people disagree, do not take one side or the other. Be flexible in your own opinions and when you don't care, take the majority opinion</em>.]</p><p><strong>70th</strong>: Reprehend not the imperfections of others for that belongs to parents masters and superiors. [<em>Do not correct others when it is not your place to do so</em>.]</p><p><strong>73rd</strong>: Think before you speak, pronounce not imperfectly nor bring out your words too hastily but orderly and distinctly.</p><p><strong>74th</strong>: When another speaks be attentive yourself, and disturb not the audience. If any hesitate in his words, help him not nor prompt him without desired. Interrupt him not, nor answer him till his speech be ended.</p><p><strong>79th</strong>: Be not apt to relate news if you know not the truth thereof. In discoursing of things you have heard name not your author; always a secret discover not. [<em>Don’t be quick to talk about something when you don’t have all the facts</em>.]</p><p><strong>82nd</strong>: Undertake not what you cannot perform but be careful to keep your promise. [<em>Don’t start what you can’t finish. Keep your promises</em>.]</p><p><strong>89th</strong>: Speak not evil of the absent for it is unjust. [<em>Do not speak badly of those who are not present</em>.]</p><p><strong>110th</strong>: Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience. [<em>Don’t allow yourself to become jaded, cynical, or calloused</em>.]</p><p><br />Perhaps it’s worth rereading <em>Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior</em>.</p><p>The leaders we admire and the leaders we should become ought to model decency. Always.</p><p><br /></p><div><hr /></div><h1>One Timely Thing…</h1><p>Before you go, I wanted to share one present-day inaugural highlight with you, from a recent project.</p><p>Last month, we received an email from the Biden Inaugural Committee, asking for some help with engagement around the Inauguration.</p><p>During the consultation, we made some strategic recommendations, including working with historians (oh, you didn’t know Historian Twitter was a thing?) to tell the stories of past inaugurations, as a way to frame the current one.</p><p>And last Friday, I saw this kick off:</p><p></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Check out the first video in our historian series with Professor <a href="https://twitter.com/katemasur?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katemasur</a> on Lincoln's historic inaugural address. <a href="https://t.co/0bFmgv0K6K">pic.twitter.com/0bFmgv0K6K</a></p>— Biden Inaugural Committee (@BidenInaugural) <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenInaugural/status/1350216192414236673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br /><p></p><p>We’re honored to have contributed to the digital communications plan for the Biden Inauguration at this historic moment.</p><p>And if you're interested in having <strong><a href="https://scottmonty.com">Scott Monty Strategies</a></strong> involved in your strategic communications or executive communications efforts, please feel free to be in touch at inquiries @ scottmonty.com.</p><p><br /></p><div><hr /></div><p><br /></p><p>I’ll be back on Friday with some examples of how other presidential inaugural speeches addressed issues in the midst of a crisis. I hope you’re signed up for those <strong><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/subscribe">exclusive subscriber-only updates</a></strong>.</p><br /></div>

A Leader's Call for Civility and Decency

The Inauguration of Washington  by Currier & Ives, 1876 (public domain - Metropolitan Museum) “…the chief of some prevailing faction, mo...

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How Did We Get Here?

<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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eqcO-M-TXSo/X_78YsgluvI/AAAAAAABRUI/fCnb6Lmw8TcJsFH8649bVJfIi8W9Mh5nwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/Evariste%2BVital%2BLuminais%2B-%2BLes%2B%25C3%25A9nerv%25C3%25A9s%2Bde%2BJumi%25C3%25A8ges.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="1200" height="440" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eqcO-M-TXSo/X_78YsgluvI/AAAAAAABRUI/fCnb6Lmw8TcJsFH8649bVJfIi8W9Mh5nwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h440/Evariste%2BVital%2BLuminais%2B-%2BLes%2B%25C3%25A9nerv%25C3%25A9s%2Bde%2BJumi%25C3%25A8ges.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><figcaption class="image-caption" data-pm-context="["captionedImage",null]"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Evariste_Vital_Luminais_-_Les_%C3%A9nerv%C3%A9s_de_Jumi%C3%A8ges_(Mus%C3%A9e_des_beaux-arts_de_Rouen).jpg">Les Énervés de Jumièges</a></em> by Évariste Vital Luminais, 1880 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)*</span></figcaption></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><div><br /></div><div><div><hr /><br /></div></div><div><p data-pm-context="[]" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>“Whatever the apparent cause of any riots may be, the real one is always want of happiness.”</strong> </em></p><p data-pm-context="[]" style="text-align: right;"><em>—Thomas Paine, 1792<br /><br /></em></p><div><hr /></div><p><br />As much as history can inform our understanding of the present, we’re never quite prepared for a crisis.</p><p>We can point to events and behaviors that presaged certain crises, and perhaps we can even pick them out today, but when a situation becomes acute, it seems to happen all at once and takes people by surprise.</p><p>Well-trained corporate communications teams participate in crisis planning and usually have a crisis plan or handbook at the ready when they need to snap into action. In the digital age, those tend to gather dust, as crises now depend on the speed of response and a well-tuned instinct.</p><p>There was a crisis brewing in the winter of 1776. It was on this occasion that General George Washington pulled out a handbook of his own: the appropriately-named collection of soul-stirring essays by Thomas Paine titled <em>The Crisis</em>.</p><p>Published on December 19, the timing couldn’t have been better (or tighter), as public opinion was mounting and troop morale was flagging. It was still early in the American Revolution, and its cause was on life support.</p><p>Washington’s troops were on the verge of quitting when, on December 23, he had the pamphlets read to his men, including this rousing opening line:</p><blockquote><p><em><strong>“These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”</strong></em></p></blockquote><p>Fortified in spirit, Washington’s forces crossed the Delaware River and attacked a Hessian garrison on the night of Christmas Day, as the Hessians were still in a drunken stupor from celebrating. It was a badly needed victory that changed the course of the war.</p><p><br /></p><div><hr /></div><p><em><strong><br /></strong></em></p><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong>“Many signs point to a growing historical consciousness among the American people. I trust that this is so. It is useful to remember that history is to the nation as memory is to the individual. As persons deprived of memory become disoriented and lost, not knowing where they have been and where they are going, so a nation denied a conception of the past will be disabled in dealing with its present and its future.”</strong> </em></strong></em></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., 2007</em></div><em><br /></em><p></p><div><hr /><br /></div><h1>Managing a Crisis</h1><p>With any crisis, there are certain steps a leader should take to forge a path ahead.</p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Acknowledge the reality</strong></h3><p>Determine what the crisis actually is. Gather the facts.<br /><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Take control</strong></h3><p>There’s a limit to what you can control in a crisis, but if it’s a crisis of your own making (that is a policy position or business process), then stop doing what caused the crisis in the first place.<br /><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Communicate—frequently</strong></h3><p>The worst thing in a crisis is silence. It allows observers to reach their own conclusions and fill the silence with their own narrative. Leaders should be out front, keeping stakeholders up to date with information on what they know and what they’re doing. In fact, it’s safe to over-communicate in such circumstances.<br /><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong>Admit mistakes</strong></h3><p>Because the public looks to hold those in power accountable, leaders should accept responsibility for crises. Without <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/leaders-need-to-be-accountable">accountability</a>, the situation will continue to fester. From there, leaders can announce what they’ll do differently.</p><p>If you’ve been following the aftermath of the national crisis, you may note calls for accountability on one side and calls for healing and unity on the other. While we all certainly want to move on, healing is impossible without forgiveness. Forgiveness is impossible without the responsible party admitting guilt.</p><p>What we’re witnessing is the classic cycle of an abuser after causing pain. Upon being called out, they resort to DARVO: deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender. Suddenly, <em>you’re</em> the one who’s causing disunity by not wanting to move on.</p><p>Imagine if, in the throes of the Exxon <em>Valdez</em> oil spill or the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal, that executives denied their responsibility, attacked those who uncovered it, blamed the media for cancel culture, and told the public to just shut up and deal with it.</p><p>Yeah, I'm shaking my head too.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><strong><br />How did we get here?</strong></h3><p>Only when a crisis has passed is it time for a clear-eyed assessment about what caused the scenario to play out as it did. It can be a painful, soul-searching step, but it’s required if we want to avoid a similar crisis playing out in the future.</p><p>In <a href="https://youtu.be/qt4AFzBRcuI">America: What Went Wrong?</a>, a 9-minute talk by <a href="https://www.smerconish.com/">Michael Smerconish</a>—an excerpt from his hour-long speech on the media’s role in the rise of partisanship, increase of polarization, and ultimately, the recent attempted coup in Washington—looks at the prevailing forces that have conspired to make us as polarized as we are: a setting that made January 6 almost inevitable.</p><div class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{"videoId":"qt4AFzBRcuI","startTime":null,"endTime":null}" id="youtube2-qt4AFzBRcuI" style="text-align: center;"><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qt4AFzBRcuI" width="560"></iframe></div><p><br />One thing in this talk that stuck out to me is his thesis that the media’s priorities changed along the way. Networks went from having shows that were personality-driven to being ideologically-driven. It went from kind of a thinking-person’s entertainment to an unthinking person’s blood sport—like professional wrestling.</p><p><br /></p><div><hr /></div><p><em><strong><br /></strong></em></p><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><em><strong>“Very well. So the universe is not quite as you thought it was. You’d better rearrange your beliefs, then. Because you certainly can't rearrange the universe.” </strong></em></strong></em></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Isaac Asimov, 1941</em></div><em><br /></em><p></p><div><hr /></div><p><br /></p><p>Ultimately, the state of mind of any group of people—the public at large, your employees, your working group, your family—particularly in the midst of a crisis, depends on everyone agreeing to the first step in crisis management: acknowledging reality.</p><p>Not the world as you wish it to be; the world as it is.</p><p>A leader is responsible for communicating the reality, however harsh it is, to their people. Otherwise, everyone is in for an unpleasant surprise.</p><p><br /></p><div class="captioned-image-container"></div><div><hr /></div><h2><strong>*About the image</strong></h2><p><em>Les Énervés de Jumièges</em> (the enervated men of Jumièges) by Luminais is also known as <em>The Sons of Clovis I</em>I. According to legend, when two of Clovis II’s sons dared to rise up against him, he had them hamstrung and set adrift in the Seine.</p><h2><strong>Additional Reading</strong></h2><p>Every week in the Friday newsletter, I give subscribers more material related to the topic of the essay, including a book. This week, I have an additional book to recommend.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/35Rhp71" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1347" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sHOtwlTSxvo/X_7-LLiOZEI/AAAAAAABRUU/vZUsUColBhUwMF1_iaw_My3q3kXMfNvwgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Folly.jpg" /></a></div><p><em><strong><a href="https://amzn.to/35Rhp71" target="_blank">The Age of Folly: America Abandons Its Democracy</a></strong></em> by Lewis H. Lapham (Viking Press, 2016).</p><p>From the dust jacket:<br /></p><p>In twenty-five years of imperial adventure, America has laid waste to its principles of democracy. The self-glorifying march of folly steps off at the end of the Cold War, in an era when delusions of omnipotence allowed the market to climb to virtual heights, while society was divided between the selfish and frightened rich and the increasingly debt-ridden and angry poor. The new millennium saw the democratic election of an American president nullified by the Supreme Court, and the pretender launching a wasteful, vainglorious and never-ending war on terror, doomed to end in defeat and the loss of America’s prestige abroad.</p><p>All this culminates in the sunset swamp of the 2016 election—a farce dominated by Donald Trump, a self-glorifying photo-op bursting star-spangled bombast in air. This spectacle would be familiar to Aristotle, whose portrayal of the “prosperous fool” describes a class of people who “consider themselves worthy to hold public office, for they already have the things that give them a claim to office.”</p><p><br /></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><hr /></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br />This story continues on Friday with some commentary about our post-truth world, for members of the paid subscription tier only.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">👉 Members receive an additional essay, plus curated stories, and audio and book recommendations every Friday. Join the club by signing up below:</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://scottmonty.substack.com/embed" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; max-height: 450px; max-width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></p></div>

How Did We Get Here?

Les Énervés de Jumièges by Évariste Vital Luminais, 1880 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)* “Whatever the apparent cause of any riots may...

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