Believe in Yourself!

As leaders we often unknowingly accept bias in our perspectives and this can impose self limiting beliefs that will affect performance. Unfortunately , we sometimes allow these limits to affect how we interact and groom the potential in our teams. This very powerful video by Caroline Casey will inspire you, trigger reflection and, most importantly, reinforce how important it is to be unwavering in the way you believe in yourself and your team.

Are you placing obstacles in the way of your ability to make a difference?

Believe.

Caroline Casey: Looking past limits | Video on TED.com

  

Caroline Casey has dedicated the past decade of her life to changing how global society views people with disabilities. In 2000, she rode 1000 kilometers across India on an elephant to...

Leadership; Relationships, Trust & Shared Perspective

"I knew wherever I was that you thought of me, and if I got in a tight place you would come - if alive"

                                                                        Gen William T. Sherman to Gen Ulysses S. Grant

     Many will know of, and remember, GEN Stanley McChrystal as the leader who resigned from his command in Afghanistan as a result of an article published in Rolling Stone magazine.  What we should better recognize is his 37 years of selfless service to our nation, something for which I am personally thankful.  In this fifteen minute video GEN(ret) McChrystal talks about leadership, the importance of shared perspectives and taking care of each other.

I hope you enjoy it and recognize the passion of a leader who understands the importance of  trust and connection to his team.

Celebrating Higher Education and the Future.

     Without a doubt, it was inspiring to witness the work of the DeVry staff and local business leaders as they teamed up to make the DeVry students successful

     I also had the privilege of addressing an audience composed of students, faculty, staff  and local business leaders as part of their celebration of the one year anniversary of the Keller School of Management in New Jersey and the launch of the New Jersey Center for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship. My remarks are found below.

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Good evening President Greveson, Dean Konopka and Dean Garamani.

 

Good Evening and welcome to the rest of the DeVry Community.  This of course includes everybody; the students, the faculty, the administrators and the leaders of this school and its business partners.

I use the word community very deliberately because I have to tell you that today has been a very energizing experience for me as a defense program manager as I watched how this community works together.

I have a fairly unique job in the sense that I get the opportunity to see decisions made by our current administration and the contortions of the U.S. congress and watch how that perpetuates itself both into the federal departments as well as into industry.

In light of that perspective I would offer that what I am going to talk to you about tonight is my opinion about the work that this community is trying to accomplish.

Don't Wait to Make a Difference!

Save the shoes! An inspirational short six minute message from a New York City Volunteer Firefighter that is worth watching.

Mark Bezos: A life lesson from a volunteer firefighter | Video on TED.com

Perspective Matters

     A few years back, a close friend of the family sent us a note describing an encounter with another traveler as he toured the unparalleled beauty of Yellowstone National Park.

   

     John, a long-time native of Montana, originally moved to the east slope of the Rocky Mountains as a young man and immediately fell in love with both the land and the people of the Big Sky Country.  The jagged snow-capped peaks, dense forests and abundant wildlife of that region captivated both his imagination and spirit.  Consequently, what started as a trip of discovery became a way of life, and John went on to make his home in what he called ‘Gods Country’ for many years.

      Each fall, in the tradition of the ranchers that work in the heart of Montana and Wyoming, John embarked on an annual ‘riding the fence line’ tour on the back of his Harley Davidson Motorcycle. This ‘fence line ride’ led him from his home, south into Yellowstone, along the Rockefeller Parkway and through Grand Tetons National Park to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and back again.

     Along the way, he would stop to hike, take pictures, camp, visit with other travelers and lose himself in the wonders of that area for about a week.  While he obviously had no real fences to check or repair, he often described the trip as his chance to recharge and renew his soul.  There was just something special about riding through those mountains that made him feel at peace with the world no matter what troubles or pressures waited for him at home.

Choose a different option

Beware of questions that are asked as if the answer can only be 'either this, or that'. Usually its neither of those options.

Potential

"We are better than we know. If we can just be made to see it, then perhaps for the rest of our lives we'll be unwilling to settle for less."

-Kurt Hahn, Founder of Outward Bound