Right Wisdom

I am watch the show " The Men Who Built America " on the History channel and they were talking about JP Morgan investing money in an unproven commodity, electricity. They said that JP Morgan saw opportunity where others saw risk. Any time a leader is about to invest time, money or energy into a venture they want to weigh the risk and reward of that venture. They need to determine if the opportunity far outweighs the risk that is involved. JP Morgan was a banking man and he didn't find success by investing in bad ventures. When he saw Edison's light bulb he knew that the opportunity was too great to pass up when compared to the minimal risk. We still to this day use the Edison light bulb and electricity so JP Morgan seized that opportunity and it paid off. Pay offs don't always occur you have to make sure what you are investing in seems worthwhile and will establish itself as a strong comsumer commodity. For instance if someone approached you to invest in a n...

Last time I blogged I gave you the first 7 of my 13 life changing habits for 2013. The nice thing about life changing habits is that you don't have to make the changes all at once. They will occur over time. As long as I have made the steps and I am working on those life changing habits in 2013 I am successful. Here are 8 - 13. Read my previous blog for 1-7. These first two may seem like they contradict each other but they really don't and I explain. 8.  Follow more and lead less - In some situations you have to be a follower and not a leader. That is how we learn and grow. 9.  Lead more and follow less - In other situations you have to lead more especially in areas of your expertise. 10.  Pray more worry less - Instead of worrying about things it is better to pray about them and let God be in control. 11.  Work more efficiently - Make better use of my working hours by finding ways to be more efficient. 12.  Work more and Play more - If I am worki...

Last time I mentioned that I had decided this year instead of coming up with empty resolutions I wanted to focus on some simple changes. Changes that will happen over a period of time and not necessarily overnight. Each of these can be personal in nature or leadership in nature, since this is a leadership blog. I decided to present it in the format of 13 in 13. This is 13 changes I will make in 2013. I was inspired by my daughter last year who did a 12 in 12 but I have always liked a bakers dozen so I am going with 13. Here are the 13 things I will change or do differently in 2013. Throughout the year I will expound on these and let you know how I am doing. I challenge you to create your own list. 1.  Read more watch less - I want to read more books, articles, papers etc and watch less inane television. 2.  Walk more sit less - I want to get more active from this sedentary 3.  Give more spend less - Self explanatory 4.  Save more spend less - Self explanatory ...

Have you survived the fiscal cliff? Maybe you are sick and tired of all the talk about the fiscal cliff. If you are one of those people maybe you can at least read what I have to say about leadership lessons from the fiscal cliff. The one main lesson we can learn from all of the fiscal cliff negotiations is a little bit of compromise. A great leader is willing to compromise but not willing to back down on their own principles. Unfortunately that is not what we saw in the fiscal cliff negotiations. Instead President Obama expected everyone to cave in to his demands and He wasn’t willing to compromise. On the other hand the Republicans compromised on the taxes but they didn’t stand firm on expecting spending cuts. Leadership must be give and take willing to give in but expecting the others to give in as well. That is what working together is all about and that is what makes great leaders. Washington is filled with people who are not leaders just self serving freeloaders believi...

Last year my daughter did something on her blog called 12 in 12. Instead of setting resolutions or goals she came up with 12 things that she would do differently. I was inspired by her 12 in 12 and decided to do my own 13 in 13 this year. I am going to focus on leadership growth and personal growth. The next time I blog I will share my 13 in 13.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Keep following this blog in 2013 for new and exciting information on Leadership and Leisureship. In the coming weeks look for a recap of some of my favorites from 2012 and a look into the future of this blog.

Tis the season, many people are in the midst of celebrating Christmas. They are shopping, entertaining and enjoying time with family and friends.   This is a great time of year to really relax and get away from your role as a leader. However to many people this can be a stressful and hectic time. It becomes a time for many to juggle their obligations to family, to work and the finances. How do you deal with the stress of the season? You need to find that one thing that is a constant during this hectic holiday. For me it is focusing on the real reason for the season. I focus on Jesus and His birth. It is a calming effect to focus on the one constant in life, Jesus Christ. Through all the chaos and craziness of this season the author of peace and calm is Jesus so I focus on His birth and every blessing He has given my family and I. What are some things that keep you calm during this hectic season? Here is a list of some things that might help you think about whether they are ...

I am sorry I haven't blogged in while. I have had some things I have been taking care of. I found the following blog article that I would like to talk about. It tells five things you shouldn't do if you are a manager. This blog article "Five Things a Boss Should Never Do"  is by Brenda Morris please read the article. The five things are: Micro-manage Constantly Re-prioritize Lose your temper Set unreasonable expectations Avoid making decisions If you are a leader you may have encountered people who have done one or all of these things. Have you done any of these things? There is a difference between managing and leading not doing the above will help you manage like a leader instead of manage like a manager. The next time we will look at Micro-managing.

I would like to find out from my audience what your leadership life is like? Do you find yourself a leader only in one aspect of your life or in all aspects of your life? Maybe you use different styles at work as opposed to your home. Are you a double agent when it comes to leadership, a Jekyll and Hyde type of situation when you lead. What I mean are you a nice leader in one area of your life and a tyrant in the other area of your life? I want to hear from you. Let me know how you lead in certain situations and if you lead differently and the reason why you lead differently.

Winter has officially arrived. Minnesota winters can bring snow and brutal cold and usually both. Today we spent the day digging out from our biggest snow dumping in two years. Last year we were spoiled with mild temperatures and very little snow. In the northern suburbs where I live we were fortunate to be hit with close to 15 inches. Because of this I spent part of the morning shoveling and then this evening shoveling again. I am one of those Minnesotans who does not own a snow blower. I have to clear the snow the old fashioned way, exercise and sweat. This is all part of a weekend of leisureship. I know what you are saying; shoveling snow doesn’t sound much like leisure. It really isn’t but if you look at it as exercise it is leisure. Many of you might spend money on a gym membership or home equipment when all you have to do is buy a shovel and live in Minnesota. It is good exercise, shoveling snow, but you have to be careful when shoveling snow to make sure you don’t hurt you...

I have been having a tooth ache for a while so last Friday I went in and they said I need to have a root canal done. I know what you might be saying what does this have to do with leadership? While I sit and try to manage my pain until I go in for my root canal on Monday I find myself thinking about what the dentist said. He gave me two options, “root canal” or “pull the tooth”. Since it is a molar back next to my wisdom tooth we decided it was best to keep the tooth that is why it will be a root canal and not a pull. Leadership can be like this tooth. Is your leadership methods worth saving or should you pull the plug on your failed leadership skills? Leaders should always be evaluating their leadership skills to determine if the method they are using is a valid method. Does that method work or has it run its course? When your leadership skills only need a tweaking or some minor adjustments it might be a good idea to save that leadership style. It might be time to give your le...

I would like to discuss an aspect of leisureship. We are in the throes of a long holiday weekend and just spent Thanksgiving celebrating the blessings and giving thanks for everything we have been provided. These weekends are supposed to be stress free and relaxing. We are supposed to spend time with family and friends enjoying their company. Thanksgiving is a great time for family, food and football. It is also a great time for leaders to relax and enjoy those three things. How did you spend your Thanksgiving? Sometimes people do other things during Thanksgiving evening and the weekend after. Friday is dubbed black Friday for the amount of money spent at stores on great shopping deals. Do you venture out on black Friday? It is starting to bleed over into Thursday and become black Thursday. I think it is crazy that stores open on Thanksgiving. I say let your leaders and workers relax that day and come into work the next day ready to be met by all the turkey hangover shoppers. ...

Today I would like to share with you a little Thanksgiving story. Actually it is a made up humorous story that I also hope will be thought provoking. It is looking at Thanksgiving from the turkey’s perspective. It is a question you can pose to your family and friends and be able to understand a little about their leadership style. I want you to think of yourself as a turkey. There are two kinds of turkeys in this fictitious world. Which group do you belong to? The first is a group of passive turkeys who believe it is their destiny to be eaten on Thanksgiving they view it as an honor to be served and eaten. They would do anything to make sure they were one of the select Turkeys chosen for this holiday. The second group is a band of turkey freedom fighters they will do anything to avoid being eaten. They think the lesser birds should be consumed because turkeys are above such a degrading display. They hideout and avoid the slaughter hoping...

Yesterday I looked at Bigfoot leadership. Today I will continue on with the myth idea and look at UFOs and leadership. Whether you believe in UFOs or not you have to admit the idea of life beyond earth is interesting. You might be one of those people who has been abducted by aliens and even been aboard their ship or maybe you don’t believe in any of that. Regardless we can learn some lessons about leadership from UFOs and our belief or unbelief in those UFOs. A UFO is an unidentified flying object. Are you the type of leader who no one recognizes? Do you think you are a leader but you aren’t that would be a ULO Unidentified Leading Object. Don’t be that ULO instead make your leadership known and become recognized as a leader among leaders. A UFO is out of this world. Are your leadership ideas crazy and out of this world? As a leader you do need to be an outside the box thinker but don’t have far out ideas that aren’t successful. Your ideas need to be reasonable and they must ...

How many of you believe that Bigfoot exists? How many of you think it is just another lame hoax or urban legend? I am here today to tell you that Bigfoot does indeed exist. He exists in each of us in the form of leadership. That’s right, I said leadership. I know you are probably saying how can a hoax generate any sense of leadership? Today I am going to blog about Bigfoot leadership. How you can have Bigfoot leadership and become a leader people will believe in. First of all what is Bigfoot? Some say it is a gigantic ape others say just a man in an ape suit. Do people know who you are as a leader? Are you just someone wearing a leadership suit or are you a real leader. Hopefully you are a real leader someone others can believe in and know that what you stand for they can grab a hold of. I would hope you aren’t just parading around in a leadership suit trying to pass yourself off as something you aren’t. People won’t believe in you and they will stop following you. Second, ...

Today I am going to write a little bit about leisureship. It is a way leaders can break from their leadership role and relax on the weekend or in the evenings. Today I had the pleasure of tearing up a carpet in our basement. The basement is flooded and I need to get the stinky wet carpet up and out. You might say to yourself that doesn’t sound like a lot of leisure. It really isn’t too much leisure but it is different than the normal leadership. Sometimes doing manual work if it is different than what you normally do can give you a sense of satisfaction. I didn’t finish but got a major sense of satisfaction from finishing what I did accomplish and that is relaxing for me. I like getting in there and fixing or renovating things I might not be the best at it but I like working with my hands sometimes because it is a break from the brain work I do. If you are one of those leaders who does brain work for a living then find something opposite of brain work to help you relax on tho...

Now that we have had a day to digest what happened in the election last night we can clearly make some assumptions about what went wrong. As I listened to the radio and thought about exactly why Romney lost and other key conservative voices I determined that it is the brand. The Grand Old Party is no longer grand but it is just old. They have a platform that is full of quality conservative ideals however the leadership of the Republican Party believes it is better to distance themselves from those conservative values. They say they will do something but they do the opposite or they climb in bed with the Democrats. No one wants to vote for and have leaders who say one thing and do another. Sure all politicians do that, Obama said he would close Gitmo and he never did. The difference is the media embraces his changes as positives while chastising the conservative choices. This taints the brand so people view it as a negative brand and want nothing to do with it. Despite the fact ...

Well, our country looks like it will be lead by Barack Obama for four more years. Is this the leadership you wanted? Leadership isn’t about changing the greatest country to a destitute and socialist society. It looks like that is what America wants. They want to be spoon fed everything that the government can give them without lifting a finger to do work. America is changing because the leadership is becoming too controlling. Leadership is listening to people and making decisions based on what you hear. America has spoken and it looks like America wants four more years of a poor economy, joblessness, high prices and lower incomes. Now that is what America is all about. We need to rise up as leaders, leaders in our homes, jobs and communities. We can’t let the government control our lives but we must control and lead our own life. Leading is about showing direction and strength even in tough times. It is about overcoming problems and finding solutions to those problems. It is li...

I have been reading a devotional and there is a series I just finished that was titled “growing into leadership”. One of the days it referenced verse 1 Corinthians 3:9 it addressed the issue of us all being laborers together. Have you ever heard the phrase “it is lonely at the top”, which is what the devotion portion addressed. Being a leader doesn’t have to be lonely and the bible verse is correct in that we are all in this together. Each person has a role to play whether you are a leader or a follower you have a role that is just as important as the next person. It doesn’t have to be lonely at the top. Some leaders make it that way by ignoring those around them and by alienating others by not including them or asking for their help or expertise. I believe that each one of us have been given gifts. Those gifts work in unison with each other to make a successful project, business or event. It gets lonely when the leader doesn’t realize that they have helpers, people who are e...

I have been away from doing my weekend leisureship writing. I hope to get back on track with that feature on my blog. October is a great time for football, raking leaves and going to pumpkin patches and apple orchards. With Halloween right around the corner and crisp temperatures in the air it is a great time to spend your day picking out just the right pumpkin and then spending time as a family carving that pumpkin. My son's pumpkin, hope you can make out the dinosaur. We did that this evening. First, one of my daughters came home from a friend’s house with her carved pumpkin. She used a stencil to carve a cat on the front of her pumpkin. My son had a pumpkin from a couple of weeks ago and we have had it outside. We brought it in tonight and carved it. He wanted a dinosaur on his pumpkin. So my other daughter drew the dinosaur on the front, she is the artist, and then we carved out the dinosaur. Whatever happened to old school designs on the pumpkin? Today people wa...