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Bird nest-small

Life and Death Leadership

Is tearing up a bird’s nest an act of cruelty or kindness? Last year my wife and I noticed a couple of birds flying up to the dryer exhaust vent above the kitchen window. My wife correctly guessed that they were building a nest so I went outside to check it out. After I came […]

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Customer Service for Breakfast article by Charles Marshall

Customer Service for Breakfast

For  just  a  moment,  forget  about  productivity.  Forget  about  making  your  company  more  money.  Forget  getting  a  better  performance  review. To  me,  good  customer  service  isn’t  really  about  any  of  those  things.  To  me,  providing  good  customer  service  is  about  the  person  that  I  want  to  be. Think  about  the  last  time  you  were  provided […]

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1970s BLOND BOY BIKING WITH CHOPPER HANDLEBARS RIDING DOWN SIDEWALK SUBURBAN STREET

The Cadillac Man’s Christmas Gift

In the early seventies, it seemed almost every kid rode their bike to school. I remember standing in the front of my elementary school staring at the bike rack loaded with well over 100 bicycles of every type imaginable. Some kids were lucky enough to have new bikes with banana seats and monkey handle bars. […]

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Batman picture-small

Real Heroes Don’t Wear Spandex

There have been five live-action iterations of Batman in my lifetime. 1] 1960’s Batman, starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson pretty much just sat around Wayne Manor all day until they got a call on the red Bat-Phone from Commissioner Gordon. Then they slid down the bat pole and somewhere […]

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Kilt

A Salute to Pants

It’s that time of year again when it has become necessary for me to switch from shorts to pants, and I couldn’t be happier. I had almost forgotten the comfort, warmth, and security that wearing pants provides. It’s just like getting a hug of sunshine, but without the searing heat and life-threatening melanoma. The reason […]

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George Clooney in O Brother, Where Art Thou? article by Charles Marshall

Handle the Heat Like George Clooney (Director’s Cut: longer article)

With a little prodding, you can get my friend John Hicks to talk about the time he got to act in the Coen brothers’ classic movie, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” After John saw their first movie he was hooked, so when he learned they were shooting a movie practically in his backyard, he rushed […]

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George Bailey and Uncle Billy

It’s a Wonderful Life Leadership Lesson

If you haven’t seen It’s a Wonderful Life, stop what you’re doing right now and go watch it. Then call your parents and ask them why they omitted this crucial piece of awesomeness from your upbringing. I watch it every year and, if the other members of my family are to be believed, I always […]

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K3KP18 THE OFFICE aka THE OFFICE: AN AMERICAN WORKPLACE Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly, John Krasinksi as Jim Halpert, BJ Novak as Ryan Howard, (center) Steve Carrell as Michael Scott        Date: 2005

Are you a Michael Scott leader?

A friend of mine was binge-watching old episodes of The Office recently and commented on Michael Scott’s leadership style. Okay, there was no friend. It was me. Anyway, I noticed that one of Michael Scott’s biggest weaknesses is his overwhelming motivation to be liked. He wants to be popular. And that is a great character […]

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