The Sound of Silence

<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4J7qS8zKwOHrcJlW4K4c852iskXzBcQhxzLNC_Z-nOcrWJGbBXzHtiazlId5aBrqHV2q52pfWZuxA9RfALEG616QG7GjO3vLAM0eaGt4nc61_BIWom6eYvjgtM99jaxz9SrUVseThyANhq9puAYpLsiGyX26Q3lt71OTc07DekjowOg04SM-6iuiH/s2048/Stefano%20Bersani%20-%20The%20Silence.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1551" data-original-width="2048" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4J7qS8zKwOHrcJlW4K4c852iskXzBcQhxzLNC_Z-nOcrWJGbBXzHtiazlId5aBrqHV2q52pfWZuxA9RfALEG616QG7GjO3vLAM0eaGt4nc61_BIWom6eYvjgtM99jaxz9SrUVseThyANhq9puAYpLsiGyX26Q3lt71OTc07DekjowOg04SM-6iuiH/w640-h484/Stefano%20Bersani%20-%20The%20Silence.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Silence</i> by Stefano Bersani (<a href="https://flic.kr/p/F6SZqc" target="_blank">Flickr</a> - <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="preformatted-block" data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"></pre></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>“I will begin to speak when I have that to say which had not better be unsaid.”</em></strong></div><em><div style="text-align: right;">— <em>Cato the Younger</em></div></em><p></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"><br /></pre></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" href="https://substackcdn.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%2Fb022df66-0654-47da-bdc2-6d7c4f69f3ba_471x38.jpeg" target="_blank"><div class="image2-inset"><div></div></div></a></figure></div><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label></div><p>I’ve been thinking a lot about silence lately.</p><p>It was prompted by the scene during Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, as her coffin made its way through the streets of London, accompanied by the military and a single toll of Big Ben every minute.</p><p>I intentionally watched it unfold on The Royal Family’s YouTube channel, to avoid the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade-style of endless commentary on the broadcast networks.</p><p>The sense of calm and quiet among the horde of onlookers was jarring.</p><p>We can learn a lot — about ourselves, about others — if we <strong>pay attention to the silence</strong> in our lives.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><h2></h2><hr /><h2><strong>Perpetually Distracted</strong></h2><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><em><b>“Silence is one of the great arts of conversation.”</b></em></div><em><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Marcus Tullius Cicero</em></div></em><p></p><div class="preformatted-block"><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="text-align: right;"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label></div><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>I wasn’t the only one who noticed the quiet aspect of the funeral. NPR’s Scott Simon tweeted:</p><p><br /></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">TV commentators (no network named) say it’s so quiet you can hear a pin drop in the streets of London. We’ll, yes, if they’d let us hear the quiet.</p>— Scott Simon (@nprscottsimon) <a href="https://twitter.com/nprscottsimon/status/1571821456442490880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p></p><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">I love some good irony.</p><p>But the great media machines seem tone deaf. Except for a select few.</p><p>The late <strong>Peter Jennings</strong>, longtime anchor for ABCs World News Tonight, said this of the live coverage of <strong>September 11th</strong>:</p><blockquote><p><strong><em>“We went into silent mode. It was not necessary for us to add our own anxiety or shock. I have always been conscious that there are times when some people on TV talk too much. Silence or natural sound on occasion is infinitely more powerful and relevant.”</em></strong></p></blockquote><p>How refreshing to simply be able to revel in the scenes and sounds of the world around us, without incessant jibber-jabber to distract us.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"></pre></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{"url":"%%checkout_url%%","text":"Subscribe now","action":null,"class":null,"belowTheFold":true}"><br /></p><hr /><h2><strong>The Grand Gift of Silence</strong></h2><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>“You have a grand gift of silence, Watson,” said he. “It makes you quite invaluable as a companion.”</em></strong></div><em><div style="text-align: right;"><em> — Arthur Conan Doyle, 1891</em></div></em><p></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>By being silent, we bestow a gift on our audiences: the gift of being alone with their thoughts.</p><p>That tends to be a rarity these days.</p><p>And whether we are watching a televised funeral with no commentary, beginning our day with meditation, or turning off notifications and concentrating on our breathing, these are valuable moments.</p><p>In fact, recent research shows that <a href="https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/instead_of_pulling_out_your_phone_let_your_mind_wander#.YyRWk6_IdPM.linkedin" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">keeping our phones in our pockets while we wait can improve our mood</a> as we daydream, let our minds wander, or pay more attention to our surroundings.</p><p><strong>Kahlil Gibran</strong> perfectly captures why our busyness and logorrhea may be a blockade to reflection in his classic work <a href="https://amzn.to/3qISUAc" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>The Prophet</em></a>:</p><blockquote><p><strong><em>“You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;<br />And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime.<br />And in much of your talking, your thinking is half murdered.<br />For thought is a bird of space, that in a case of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.<br />There are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone.<br />The silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves and they would escape.<br />And there are those who talk, and without knowledge or forethought reveal a truth which they themselves do not understand.<br />And there are those who have the truth within them, but they tell it not in words.<br />We seem to be always running to one thing or another—and in some cases, running from ourselves.”</em></strong></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Read that quote again.</p><p>It’s worth spending some quiet time on it.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p></p><hr /><h2><strong>Powerful Silence</strong></h2><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>“What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary.”</em></strong></div><em><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1875</em></div></em><p></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Aside from giving ourselves time to reflect, holding our tongues can be a power move that allows us to <strong>find out the true measure of people</strong>.</p><p>When you’re in a meeting, <a href="https://medium.com/the-ascent/quiet-people-in-meetings-are-incredible-7bb05ef9acd1" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">pay attention to the quiet people</a>. They know how to self-regulate and are taking in everything that’s going on. In fact, you might want to try being that person in meetings.</p><p>Similarly, if you maintain your silence and concede the floor to others, they might talk until they tire themselves out, give away a secret, or even <a href="https://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/1572036032757104646" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">get themselves into trouble</a>.</p><p>Those quiet times are <strong>informative</strong>.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>There’s one other silence that captured my attention last night, as I watched the first episode of the new Ken Burns documentary <a href="https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><strong><em>The U.S. and the Holocaust</em></strong></a>.</p><p>It was the lack of response to the pleas of European Jews who were being persecuted by the Nazis in the 1930s. It was a slow process, but as it gained momentum, the U.S.—as well as the rest of the world—avoided doing anything to help.</p><p><strong>President Roosevelt</strong> couldn’t get Congress to make exceptions for immigration quotas. The head of the American Jewish Committee objected to public rallies in support of Jewish people overseas.</p><p>Meanwhile, in Germany and other German-controlled areas, the situation worsened, with disregard for norms and pledges of good faith, coddling of a dictator, deportations, property confiscations, and eventually, concentration camps.</p><p>That decade before World War II and the Holocaust gave us multiple moments in which we had the opportunity to speak up, and yet we <strong><em>didn’t</em></strong>. </p><p>The silence of the world <em>then</em> screams from the heavens <em>now</em>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL1rdW6F7139vkYLmKMPMxehYLI0ptCtlplI1wbuwpy4f1JZp0c-1RvUcBH0WnsbCrBp0EsOREsRv650FdGO-7CD8QtPR3wZ6gUa9WzcPT3CNAZX3ll-9kYtcJaK5JS-hbvlAIPZJ0Buk0Ef_LmVmx-qCnN0Oh_aRouTjFXI0yjzS5QMLeNjXtHWvB/s700/first%20they%20came%20for.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="700" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL1rdW6F7139vkYLmKMPMxehYLI0ptCtlplI1wbuwpy4f1JZp0c-1RvUcBH0WnsbCrBp0EsOREsRv650FdGO-7CD8QtPR3wZ6gUa9WzcPT3CNAZX3ll-9kYtcJaK5JS-hbvlAIPZJ0Buk0Ef_LmVmx-qCnN0Oh_aRouTjFXI0yjzS5QMLeNjXtHWvB/w640-h394/first%20they%20came%20for.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">History has taught us a few things about personalities and human nature — particularly that we don’t change.</p><p>What a perfect time now to apply this thinking to the present day and consider what is and isn’t being said.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Settle your mind for a moment. Take a breath and close your eyes.</p><p>Do you hear that? The silence is speaking to you.</p><p>Now what are you going to do?</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Thanks, and I’ll see you on the internet.</p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDYDYbukyH53KIKB6U6t_GHOJ_5Nuuwcln-Y26HswSGLcyDVRfIAnOiplWbdAM6bXbX_v9kfE_K83F7X2AWYyqzLWCMw0ma6mq3nuZ6Y3LrzwECJ44hLlgohAbTi8INFaZQgQDvwrx2SDv9-YzFW36Q7_0-rFBcresU64qiUwOo4jzED1e8HKfSSfo/s800/Sig-Scott-Substack-Transparent.png" style="clear: left; color: #007abe; float: left; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="141" data-original-width="800" original="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDYDYbukyH53KIKB6U6t_GHOJ_5Nuuwcln-Y26HswSGLcyDVRfIAnOiplWbdAM6bXbX_v9kfE_K83F7X2AWYyqzLWCMw0ma6mq3nuZ6Y3LrzwECJ44hLlgohAbTi8INFaZQgQDvwrx2SDv9-YzFW36Q7_0-rFBcresU64qiUwOo4jzED1e8HKfSSfo/s16000/Sig-Scott-Substack-Transparent.png" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDYDYbukyH53KIKB6U6t_GHOJ_5Nuuwcln-Y26HswSGLcyDVRfIAnOiplWbdAM6bXbX_v9kfE_K83F7X2AWYyqzLWCMw0ma6mq3nuZ6Y3LrzwECJ44hLlgohAbTi8INFaZQgQDvwrx2SDv9-YzFW36Q7_0-rFBcresU64qiUwOo4jzED1e8HKfSSfo/s16000/Sig-Scott-Substack-Transparent.png" style="border: 0px solid rgb(211, 211, 211); display: inline; height: auto; max-width: 95%; padding: 4px; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out 0s;" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><hr style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><div class="preformatted-block" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre><h4 style="font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 18.2px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">👉 Premium Members get extras, such as exclusive essays and monthly leadership calls.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">Join tens of thousands of others on this journey:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><center><iframe data-dashlane-frameid="2369" frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://www.timelesstimely.com/embed" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; max-height: 450px; max-width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></center></h4></div>

The Sound of Silence

  The Silence by Stefano Bersani ( Flickr - CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 ) “I will begin to speak when I have that to say which had not better be unsai...

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The Last to Know

<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijnCY4OKAP0R86zq1L5Bp-bkaLjYR4T8d-DYQpozNwOX6ZrE_aup2j9IAk2eiPEwpwM4SfxLuJXej2ulphSvz0mRst2PMFaTmBamapPFSjS7ddWTPD0cJnBv82SUfeuDPdw1MAzBAWWn9uI9eDrqRnOw3aCYY_uvTC5puhKD5TJOA-TsZrpMV89RE0/s5193/Leonardo%20Da%20Vinci%20-%20The%20Last%20Supper,%201498.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2926" data-original-width="5193" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijnCY4OKAP0R86zq1L5Bp-bkaLjYR4T8d-DYQpozNwOX6ZrE_aup2j9IAk2eiPEwpwM4SfxLuJXej2ulphSvz0mRst2PMFaTmBamapPFSjS7ddWTPD0cJnBv82SUfeuDPdw1MAzBAWWn9uI9eDrqRnOw3aCYY_uvTC5puhKD5TJOA-TsZrpMV89RE0/w640-h360/Leonardo%20Da%20Vinci%20-%20The%20Last%20Supper,%201498.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><figcaption class="image-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>The Last Supper</em> by Leonardo da Vinci, 1498 (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Supper_%28Leonardo%29#/media/File:%C3%9Altima_Cena_-_Da_Vinci_5.jpg" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Wikipedia </a>— public domain)</span></figcaption></figure></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="preformatted-block" style="text-align: left;"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label></div><div><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><figcaption class="image-caption"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label> </figcaption></figure></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>“I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark.”</em></strong></div><em><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Thomas Hobbes, 1679</em></div></em><p></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"><br /></pre><pre class="text"><br /></pre></div><p>When’s the last time you pondered the word <strong><em>last</em></strong>?</p><p>Its use is frequent and common, and can be a verb (noting a length of time, as in “<em>the play lasted two hours</em>”), a noun (a form shaped like a foot, over which a shoe is repaired), or an adverb or adjective (signifying finality, as in “<em>his last hours on earth</em>”).</p><p>I was thinking about it last week, after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Her death marked the end of an era — the second Elizabethan Age — a final curtain on the kind of steady, reassuring, and unassuming leadership she represented.</p><p>That’s a significant ‘last.’</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"><br /></pre><pre class="text"> </pre></div><h2>Succession</h2><p>And leaders should understand the importance of planning for the eventuality of the end of their service, whether it’s a planned or sudden transition. The Queen knew and had <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/mar/16/what-happens-when-queen-elizabeth-dies-london-bridge" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">an intricate plan for a series of events</a> that we’re watching unfold now.</p><p>When George Washington handed in his commission as commander-in-chief of the army in 1783 and later voluntarily relinquished the presidency after two terms, he demonstrated the importance of the transfer of power.</p><p>As ever, Washington served as an example to leaders everywhere about the need to put ego aside for the greater good.</p><p>The HBO series <em>Succession</em> (which just won an Emmy award for Best Drama) features a family-run media dynasty that is as dysfunctional as they come, with each sibling more loathsome and thankless as the next.</p><p>And that’s where I want us to land: on the gratitude of lasts.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap" data-attrs="{"url":"%%checkout_url%%","text":"Subscribe"}"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"><br /></p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p><hr /><p><strong><em>“I didn’t realize. So all that was going on and we never noticed. Take me back up the hill to my grave. But first: Wait! One more look.<br />Good-by, Good-by, world. Good-by, Grover’s Corners . . . Mama and Papa. Good-by to clocks ticking. . . and Mama’s sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths . . . and sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you’re too wonderful for anybody to realize.”</em></strong><em> <br /></em></p><div style="text-align: right;"><em><em>— Thornton Wilder, 1938</em></em></div><p></p><hr /><p><br /></p><p>When I thought about Queen Elizabeth, I recalled that a few years ago, when her last corgi died, she vowed not to get another dog because she didn’t want to have to leave one behind.</p><p>In that case, she made a deliberate decision — one in which she knew that the goodbye she said to that dog was final. This would be her last dog.</p><p>And I recall an instance of a friend talking about his elderly parents in their late seventies or early eighties, going through the car-buying process. He said something to me I’ll never forget:</p><blockquote><p><strong><em>“This will probably be their final car. And they realize it.”</em></strong></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>It’s one thing to have an awareness of a final event or task along a known journey, like the corgis or the car. We have a chance to say our goodbyes and to express our thanks.</p><p>It’s quite another to have such occurrences happen without our consciousness, as a cat burglar might pull off the heist of a precious heirloom in the middle of the night as we sleep.</p><p>I think of friends who have died from cancer, fighting until they no longer had the corporeal strength to get out of bed: did they know their last shower would be their <em>last</em> shower?</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>My mind drifts to people I haven’t seen for years because of a separation due to miles or mood: the last time I saw them, some decades ago might have been the <em>last</em> time I’d ever see them.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>And those we care about whom we see regularly — those relationships we take for granted because we’ll see them at the next holiday, the next community gathering, or simply next week: our existence (or theirs) could be cut short unexpectedly, eliminating any more <em>nexts</em>.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre><pre class="text"><br /></pre></div><h2>Appreciation Reigns</h2><p>I wonder if Prince Charles expected to see his mother just <em>one</em> more time at Balmoral. Her longevity seemed tied to the national anthem proclaiming, “Long may she reign,” but in the end, she was a mortal like everyone else.</p><p>All of this is to say that if we lived our lives with more deliberation and gratitude — whether its for our pets, hot showers, or people who matter to us — <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/10/opinion/john-donne-death.html?unlocked_article_code=fCJ30YKnBa_Vxyr6CmAswRfenLwfyhBRoZcOpvrP89Q_oLrgXjIqLJ2CXhndPFjQ2rQsb8-ltbdnXa1KBr_gAwjWmTwF4Ca8UBhdwVq3Dl6BDj5Y3fbx0CLBZoqk14sngeYz3xi4s0fXqgeoPMcl_DR_pUDrTGh8YB4S0jCyI2-hz8d3Ziq0cjbbxux0GIhAEhvbtThb-KwyCfVHx5Bzlh_A06iAnOk4I3kV1Bo_YQNgyMypJoujVkzWMNu0ualcM9VgLkLsVJwil_z5NDJwRVJ0wSwn4htzY2dVng97ctRWe2wYfv6qqojhABerYtvRRu0EqPgelRimeQ&smid=share-url" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">we might find a deepening relationship with the world around us</a>.</p><p>That cup of coffee you’re drinking might seem even more delicious if you paid more attention to it.</p><p>Send that note you’ve been meaning to write to someone so it can reach its destination in time and make them feel special.</p><p>Tell that employee what they mean to you before they decide to leave.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Whether or not we have a succession plan, we ought to treat every instance of something as if it’s our last.   <br /><br />There is no guarantee that we’ll have a next chance.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"></pre></div><p><br /></p><p>Thanks, and I’ll see you on the internet.</p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; 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The Last to Know

  The Last Supper  by Leonardo da Vinci, 1498 ( Wikipedia  — public domain) “I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark.” ...

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Leaders Must Acknowledge Hard Truths

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2fmGiDxpB7wQLA9kIX_iJfWoctQO7RTrFhVbMqNgeAvQTMB1uCuZ5wu0l1urw2zFUQ5g4eUA5rt1t-iIgk79gQuVJhotOh2nTcwlzb7jU0mmLR81ldd9L8TG6C6zJ6VHK6YaawmX8YQqi8OhHmUnfJ2_dJp_g0pKSA59iJsaEapYGhb3S_j2tbgeK/s1024/Frans%20Francken%20-%20Mankind's%20Eternal%20Dilemma%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Choice%20Between%20Virtue%20and%20Vice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="1024" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2fmGiDxpB7wQLA9kIX_iJfWoctQO7RTrFhVbMqNgeAvQTMB1uCuZ5wu0l1urw2zFUQ5g4eUA5rt1t-iIgk79gQuVJhotOh2nTcwlzb7jU0mmLR81ldd9L8TG6C6zJ6VHK6YaawmX8YQqi8OhHmUnfJ2_dJp_g0pKSA59iJsaEapYGhb3S_j2tbgeK/w640-h432/Frans%20Francken%20-%20Mankind's%20Eternal%20Dilemma%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Choice%20Between%20Virtue%20and%20Vice.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em style="--tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: sans-serif;">Mankind’s Eternal Dilemma – The Choice Between Virtue and Vice</em><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: sans-serif;"> by Frans Francken the Younger, 1633 (</span><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frans_Francken_(II)_-_Mankind%27s_Eternal_Dilemma_%E2%80%93_The_Choice_Between_Virtue_and_Vice.jpg" rel="" style="--tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif;">Wikimedia Commons</a><span style="--tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; color: #767676; font-family: sans-serif;"> - public domain)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="captioned-image-container" data-pm-slice="2 1 []"><figure><figcaption class="image-caption"><br /><br /></figcaption></figure></div><p><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label></p><div class="preformatted-block" data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><pre class="text"></pre></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>“It is one thing to show a man that he is in error, and another to put him in possession of truth.”</em></strong></div><em><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— John Locke, 1690</em></div></em><p></p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label></div><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>If you’ve been following along here, you know that my last two conversations on the podcast have centered on deeply emotional subjects: <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/lead-from-the-heart-timeless-leadership" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">leading from the heart</a> and <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/trust-and-inspire" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">trusting and inspiring</a>.</p><p>Both require leaders that embrace empathy and care deeply about the people in their charge. Today’s newsletter follows that same pattern.</p><p>And it’s been a particularly difficult one to write — perhaps in part because of a topic that’s turned out to be divisive, but also because I feel as if it’s deeply personal.</p><p>So I hope you’ll bear with me as I reflect on what it means for a leader to share hard truths, how an experience from my adolescence left a deep and lasting impact on my thinking, and the reality of a recent speech landed with me.</p><p>And if you make it to the end of the essay, I have some links to additional reading and listening that complement it.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" href="https://substackcdn.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%2F41bbdf28-eedf-4d8a-ac32-e2fe95fab7bc_471x38.jpeg" target="_blank"><div class="image2-inset"><div></div></div></a></figure></div><p></p><p>One of the most difficult duties of any leader is to be honest with their people when facing a challenge.</p><p>It might be a conflict brewing with a problematic employee, or financial crisis requiring layoffs, a looming public health crisis, or the specter of changing an entire way of life.</p><p>Each of these situations can be terrifying—paralyzing, even. But none of them will ease if we don’t acknowledge them head-on and make a plan.</p><p>You can’t lead by ignoring reality.</p><p>Even when the reality is more insurmountable than you think.</p><p>In fact, that’s <em>especially</em> the time to step up, trust your people, and create a path forward by committing to working together.</p><p>Great leadership understands that we can accomplish more by collaboration than when we try to <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/in-it-together?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web" target="_blank">go it alone</a>.</p><div class="embedded-post-wrap" data-attrs="{"id":37376751,"url":"https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/in-it-together","publication_id":28922,"publication_name":"Timeless & Timely","publication_logo_url":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/6e8e74dc-9d91-4dcf-a7a8-3ea8708a74ac_477x477.png","title":"In It Together","truncated_body_text":"Premium members can listen to this essay:","date":"2021-06-09T11:00:11.960Z","like_count":5,"comment_count":0,"bylines":[{"id":429,"name":"Scott Monty","previous_name":null,"photo_url":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9ea180a7-4ad6-4937-b37a-52810591c920_2717x2531.jpeg","bio":"CEO listener. Keynote speaker. Consultant inspiring people to be better communicators, leaders, and humans. First executive at Ford to lead digital communications. Soothing voice. Sherlockian. Word nerd. ","profile_set_up_at":"2021-04-25T06:21:53.329Z","publicationUsers":[{"id":1595,"user_id":429,"publication_id":28922,"role":"admin","public":true,"is_primary":true,"publication":{"id":28922,"name":"Timeless & Timely","subdomain":"scottmonty","custom_domain":"www.timelesstimely.com","custom_domain_optional":false,"hero_text":"Embrace the future with leadership principles that stand the test of time. Includes the Timeless Leadership podcast.","logo_url":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/6e8e74dc-9d91-4dcf-a7a8-3ea8708a74ac_477x477.png","author_id":429,"theme_var_background_pop":"#2879af","created_at":"2020-02-02T20:45:53.185Z","rss_website_url":null,"email_from_name":"Scott Monty","copyright":"Scott Monty Strategies","founding_plan_name":"Timeless Supporter","community_enabled":true,"invite_only":false,"payments_state":"enabled"}},{"id":732360,"user_id":429,"publication_id":794721,"role":"admin","public":true,"is_primary":false,"publication":{"id":794721,"name":"Trifles","subdomain":"trifles","custom_domain":null,"custom_domain_optional":false,"hero_text":"You know the plots, but what about the minutiae? A weekly podcast about the details in the Sherlock Holmes stories.","logo_url":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d6e09972-5593-495b-b134-c4260c15f027_1280x1280.png","author_id":429,"theme_var_background_pop":"#E8B500","created_at":"2022-03-10T19:11:28.387Z","rss_website_url":null,"email_from_name":"Scott & Burt from Trifles","copyright":"IHOSE Media, LLC","founding_plan_name":"Founding Member","community_enabled":true,"invite_only":false,"payments_state":"paused"}},{"id":733864,"user_id":429,"publication_id":796167,"role":"admin","public":true,"is_primary":false,"publication":{"id":796167,"name":"I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere","subdomain":"ihearofsherlock","custom_domain":null,"custom_domain_optional":false,"hero_text":"At the intersection of Sherlock Holmes and popular culture. Bonus content from our Fresh Air-like interviews with Sherlockians.","logo_url":"https://bucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/56753f16-a7e7-476c-b864-8cb95835b477_1024x1024.png","author_id":429,"theme_var_background_pop":"#FF81CD","created_at":"2022-03-11T14:47:41.358Z","rss_website_url":null,"email_from_name":"I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere","copyright":"Scott Monty","founding_plan_name":"Founding Member","community_enabled":true,"invite_only":false,"payments_state":"paused"}}],"twitter_screen_name":"ScottMonty","is_guest":false}],"utm_campaign":null,"belowTheFold":true}">I was first exposed to this essential truth as part of a student leadership experience.</div><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"><br /></pre><pre class="text"><br /></pre></div><h1><strong>An Early and Personal Experience with Civic Collaboration</strong></h1><p>I don’t talk about this much (or at all, really), but I had an encounter in my youth that left me deeply patriotic.</p><p>In fact, as I think  about it, this may be one of the driving forces that causes me to reflect and write about issues of national importance with respect to leadership.</p><p>My patriotism doesn’t look like the flag-waving (or -wearing) in-your-face America First brand of patriotism. In fact, I find that a little too performative for my taste.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><hr /><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>“Patriotism is a lively sense of collective responsibility. Nationalism is a silly cock crowing on its own dunghill.”</em></strong></div><em><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Richard Aldington</em></div></em><p></p><hr /><p><br /></p><p>I hold deep regard for our system of government, granted to us centuries ago: one that began as a crude block of marble, was shaped into a discernable figure, honed over the years, as we strove for that “more perfect union” that we claimed in our founding document.</p><p>That regard began in a small town in Connecticut, where I marched in parades and attended the annual Memorial Day ceremonies on the town green, with “Taps” playing from afar after a reading of “<a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47380/in-flanders-fields" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">In Flanders Fields</a>.”</p><p>As a junior in high school, I was called to the office of Mr. Cecchini, our vice principal. Mr. “C,” as we called him, was something of a dean of students, primarily in charge of discipline, so I wondered what infraction could have been severe enough to land me there; the worst of my infractions involved the laughter resulting from my in-class witticisms.</p><p>This visit was different, though.</p><p>Mr. C said, “Congratulations, Scott. You’ve been selected by the faculty to represent our high school at <a href="https://www.legion.org/boysnation/about" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Boys State</a>” — the leadership program developed by the American Legion to educate students on local, county, and state government.</p><p>That summer, as I observed and participated in the formation of teams, platforms, and governments, it gave me a deep appreciation for the system and the fundamental truth that it does not revolve around any single person.</p><p>In that moment, the first notes of the song of patriotism played in my heart — a song with chords of <strong>ethics</strong>, <strong>spirituality</strong>, and <strong>collective responsibility</strong>.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>That tune still echoed my head and heart in graduate school, when I got a job with the Department of Veterans Affairs as a writer on the National Health Care Reform project.</p><p>Every day, as I walked the halls of the VA hospital in Boston, I saw veterans who were the personification of the collective responsibility of patriotism.</p><p>Then, like now, I found it difficult to talk about it. I don’t know why. My heart swelled in my chest. I felt profoundly grateful for their sacrifice.</p><p>And yet, I couldn’t muster the words to explain to them the full measure of how much I appreciated their service.</p><p>In my experience at Boys State and at the VA, I realized that there are precious few people who take enough interest in a process that affects us all. Most people would rather go through life with the assumption that what we have will always be there, as if guided by some civic autopilot.</p><p>Leadership requires active participation.</p><p>It requires us to step up to address issues. To have the hard conversations rather than stepping back and hoping for the best.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"><br /></pre><pre class="text"> </pre></div><h1><strong>Moral Sentiments on Collective Responsibility</strong></h1><p>Fast forward to a few years ago. I had served as an executive at Ford Motor Company and had amassed a decent following online, and I was always willing to speak up and engage with people.</p><p>Some people had encouraged me to remain neutral or to keep my opinions to myself. But with the eyes and ears of so many people, I felt bound by <a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/honor-and-duty" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>honor and duty</strong></a>. With great power comes great responsibility, as the saying goes. <br /> </p><p>In Adam Smith’s <em>Theory of Moral Sentiments</em>, Part III addresses “Our Own Sentiments and Conduct, and of the Sense of Duty,” noting how there is something inside of us that sparks this collective responsibility:</p><blockquote><p>“[W]hen we prefer ourselves so shamefully and so blindly to others, we become the proper objects of resentment, abhorrence, and execration.”</p><p>“[T]he propriety of generosity and the deformity of injustice; the propriety of resigning the greatest interests of our own, for the yet greater interests of others, and the deformity of doing the smallest injury to another, in order to obtain the greatest benefit to ourselves.”</p><p>“It is not the love of our neighbour, it is not the love of mankind, which upon many occasions prompts us to the practice of those divine virtues. It is a stronger love, a more powerful affection, which generally takes place upon such occasions; the love of what is honourable and noble, of the grandeur, and dignity, and superiority of our own characters.”</p></blockquote><p>Smith’s words remind us of the greater good, of honor and dignity, and of principles and virtues that transcend any particular moment in time.</p><p>They speak to a duty each of us has.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><hr /><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>“O may my heart’s truth</em></strong></div><strong><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Still be sung</em></strong></div><em><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>On this high hill in a year’s turning.”</em></strong></div></em></strong><em><div style="text-align: right;"><em>— Dylan Thomas, 1946</em></div></em><p></p><hr /><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre><pre class="text"><br /></pre></div><h1><strong>Leaders Have a Responsibility</strong></h1><p>In his inaugural address, Joe Biden made a promise to the American people. Taking office in a tumultuous time, following the Capitol insurrection of January 6th and amid a pandemic, he declared his intention:</p><blockquote><p><strong>I will always level with you.</strong></p><p><strong>I will defend the Constitution.</strong></p><p><strong>I will defend our democracy.</strong></p><p><strong>I will defend America.</strong></p></blockquote><p>And in his speech at Independence Hall last week, he was true to his word; he did level with us and he defended all of the above. It was an extraordinary speech — one that <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/09/the-speech-no-president-should-have-to-give/671338/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20220902&utm_term=The%20Atlantic%20Daily" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">no president should have to give</a>, as Tom Nichols wrote.</p><p>There were howls from certain corners, but my recommendation is to <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/09/01/remarks-by-president-bidenon-the-continued-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-nation/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">read the speech yourself</a>.</p><p>It’s an example how good leaders deliver bad news:</p><ol><li><p><strong>Plainly state the problem</strong></p></li><li><p><strong>Discuss what needs to be done</strong></p></li><li><p><strong>Challenge others to join you</strong></p></li></ol><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Biden began by <strong>acknowledging a hard truth</strong>:</p><blockquote><p><strong><em>“equality and democracy are under assault. We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise…Too much of what is happening in our country today is not normal.”</em></strong></p></blockquote><p>There it is. <em>We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise</em>. <em>This is not normal</em>.</p><p>Hard truths, stated plainly.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>After ripping off that Band-Aid, he began to lay the foundation, noting</p><blockquote><p><strong><em>“the power we have in our own hands to meet these threats, and about the incredible future that lies in front of us if only we choose it.”</em></strong></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Then he a few things to <strong>inspire</strong> and <strong>build trust</strong>:</p><p>He went <strong>positive</strong>:</p><blockquote><p><strong><em>“But together — together, we can choose a different path. We can choose a better path.  Forward, to the future. A future of possibility. A future to build and dream and hope.”</em></strong></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>He chose to place his <strong>trust</strong> in Americans:</p><blockquote><p><strong><em>“I know this nation. I know you, the American people. I know your courage. I know your hearts.”</em></strong></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>He underscored our universal <strong>values</strong>:</p><blockquote><p><strong><em>“We are still an America that believes in honesty and decency and respect for others, patriotism, liberty, justice for all, hope, possibilities.”</em></strong></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>He pledged his <strong>support</strong> and asked others to <strong>join him</strong>:</p><blockquote><p><strong><em>“Look, as your President, I will defend our democracy with every fiber of my being, and I’m asking every American to join me.”</em></strong></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>While cynicism might run the world, he reminds us that <strong>idealism changes</strong> the world.</p><blockquote><p><strong><em>“The cynics and the critics tell us nothing can get done, but they are wrong. There is not a single thing America cannot do — not a single thing beyond our capacity if we do it together.”</em></strong></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>And he underscored the reason for his optimism by <strong>recognizing the greatness in others</strong>:</p><blockquote><p><strong><em>“I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future.  Not because of me, but because of who you are.”</em></strong></p></blockquote><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>There is no question that Joe Biden cares deeply about America. There is also no question that he cares about his team.</p><p>It was noted that at his cabinet meeting yesterday, the same members were there as the first cabinet meeting he held in April 2021. No turnover. That’s good leadership.</p><p>Good leaders have empathy, which allows them to have conversations about hard truths. People deserve to hear the truth so they can make informed decisions, and empathetic leaders care about their people.</p><p>To wit:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEG3BhrowfYOLaHyNu7oB92UH9vCWOsVzZyUhn_O_zQRt9nmq4avqox6INXZoBXtnjNGh4B0jav01EncfrSOcERAI8abcZWCeXpQV7o9EOd0UMdVP0blMcr3Ot__KGzSVh_sASN0oelWlvgyiwdEmoGl30LdiBIjFo7Q1uVWL-QB2eiPR_i1-ACiBm/s688/Biden%20-%20staff%20letter.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="688" height="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEG3BhrowfYOLaHyNu7oB92UH9vCWOsVzZyUhn_O_zQRt9nmq4avqox6INXZoBXtnjNGh4B0jav01EncfrSOcERAI8abcZWCeXpQV7o9EOd0UMdVP0blMcr3Ot__KGzSVh_sASN0oelWlvgyiwdEmoGl30LdiBIjFo7Q1uVWL-QB2eiPR_i1-ACiBm/w640-h620/Biden%20-%20staff%20letter.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>So pardon me if I got too political here. It’s my patriotism coming through.</p><p>And that’s the hard truth.</p><div class="preformatted-block"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre></div><p>Thanks, and I’ll see you on the internet.</p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDYDYbukyH53KIKB6U6t_GHOJ_5Nuuwcln-Y26HswSGLcyDVRfIAnOiplWbdAM6bXbX_v9kfE_K83F7X2AWYyqzLWCMw0ma6mq3nuZ6Y3LrzwECJ44hLlgohAbTi8INFaZQgQDvwrx2SDv9-YzFW36Q7_0-rFBcresU64qiUwOo4jzED1e8HKfSSfo/s800/Sig-Scott-Substack-Transparent.png" style="clear: left; color: #007abe; float: left; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="141" data-original-width="800" original="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDYDYbukyH53KIKB6U6t_GHOJ_5Nuuwcln-Y26HswSGLcyDVRfIAnOiplWbdAM6bXbX_v9kfE_K83F7X2AWYyqzLWCMw0ma6mq3nuZ6Y3LrzwECJ44hLlgohAbTi8INFaZQgQDvwrx2SDv9-YzFW36Q7_0-rFBcresU64qiUwOo4jzED1e8HKfSSfo/s16000/Sig-Scott-Substack-Transparent.png" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDYDYbukyH53KIKB6U6t_GHOJ_5Nuuwcln-Y26HswSGLcyDVRfIAnOiplWbdAM6bXbX_v9kfE_K83F7X2AWYyqzLWCMw0ma6mq3nuZ6Y3LrzwECJ44hLlgohAbTi8INFaZQgQDvwrx2SDv9-YzFW36Q7_0-rFBcresU64qiUwOo4jzED1e8HKfSSfo/s16000/Sig-Scott-Substack-Transparent.png" style="border: 0px solid rgb(211, 211, 211); display: inline; height: auto; max-width: 95%; padding: 4px; transition: all 0.4s ease-in-out 0s;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDYDYbukyH53KIKB6U6t_GHOJ_5Nuuwcln-Y26HswSGLcyDVRfIAnOiplWbdAM6bXbX_v9kfE_K83F7X2AWYyqzLWCMw0ma6mq3nuZ6Y3LrzwECJ44hLlgohAbTi8INFaZQgQDvwrx2SDv9-YzFW36Q7_0-rFBcresU64qiUwOo4jzED1e8HKfSSfo/s800/Sig-Scott-Substack-Transparent.png" style="clear: left; color: #007abe; float: left; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><br /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></p><h2 data-pm-slice="1 1 []" style="text-align: left;"><strong>Related reading:</strong></h2><p><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/in-it-together" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">In It Together</a><br /><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/honor-and-duty" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Honor and Duty</a><br /><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/leaders-need-to-be-accountable" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Leaders Need to Be Accountable</a><br /><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/accountability-redux" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Accountability Redux</a><br /><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/the-rhetoric-of-leadership" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Rhetoric of Leadership</a></p><h2><strong>Related listening:</strong></h2><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p></p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/collaboration" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>Collaboration</strong> with Alan Mulally</a><br /><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/the-everyday-patriot-timeless-leadership" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>The Everyday Patriot</strong> with Tom Morris</a><br /><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/lead-from-the-heart-timeless-leadership" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>Lead from the Heart</strong> with Mark C. Crowley</a><br /><a href="https://www.timelesstimely.com/p/trust-and-inspire" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>Trust and Inspire</strong> with Stephen M.R. Covey</a></p><hr style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><div class="preformatted-block" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><label class="hide-text" contenteditable="false"></label><pre class="text"> </pre><h4 style="font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 18.2px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">👉 Premium Members get extras, such as exclusive essays and monthly leadership calls.</p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><p style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></p><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">Join tens of thousands of others on this journey:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><center><iframe data-dashlane-frameid="1016" frameborder="0" height="320" scrolling="no" src="https://www.timelesstimely.com/embed" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; max-height: 450px; max-width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></center></h4></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />

Leaders Must Acknowledge Hard Truths

Mankind’s Eternal Dilemma – The Choice Between Virtue and Vice  by Frans Francken the Younger, 1633 ( Wikimedia Commons  - public domain) “I...

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