Thoughts on better parenting, teaching, management, and leadership
What Will Matter - poem by Michael Josephson
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LEADERSHIP INSIGHT: There is a big difference between a boss and a leader.

by Michael Josephson on May 24, 2013

in Commentaries

A boss vs. leader

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WORTH READING: Beautiful in Broken Places

May 24, 2013 Commentaries

Nietzsche told us “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger” and Hemingway wrote about becoming stronger in broken places. A different way of thinking is found in the Japanese concept of kintsukuroi the art of repairing broken pottery with gold or silver lacquer in a way that makes the object more beautiful than it was before. [...]

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Thumbnail image for COMMENTARY 829.1: Appreciating a Parent’s Love

COMMENTARY 829.1: Appreciating a Parent’s Love

May 24, 2013 Gratitude

While window-shopping in New York City, I saw an old gold watch that reminded me of one my father gave me when I graduated from college. It had been engraved with the simple inscription “Love, Dad.” But it was stolen during a burglary years ago, and I hadn’t thought much of it or the inscription [...]

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Memo From Michael: Teachers and Tornadoes

May 23, 2013 Caring, Compassion

Once I got past the awe of witnessing Mother Nature’s astonishing power to wreak devastation in Oklahoma, I was awed by something more positive and uplifting: the instinctive capacity of our species to care about, come to the aid of, and — for those caught in the middle of the calamity — to even sacrifice [...]

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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: If only you could sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person. –Fred Rogers

QUOTE & POSTER: If only you could sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person. –Fred Rogers

May 23, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. – Steve Jobs

QUOTE & POSTER: The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. – Steve Jobs

May 23, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: It’s no where you’re from; IT’S WHERE YOU’RE GOING. It’s not what you think; IT’S WHAT YOU DO. It’s not who you were; IT’S WHO YOU BECOME. It’s not who you know, IT’S WHO YOU ARE. -Michael Josephson

QUOTE & POSTER: It’s no where you’re from; IT’S WHERE YOU’RE GOING. It’s not what you think; IT’S WHAT YOU DO. It’s not who you were; IT’S WHO YOU BECOME. It’s not who you know, IT’S WHO YOU ARE. -Michael Josephson

May 23, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: Don’t look so hard at my past. I don’t live there anymore.

QUOTE & POSTER: Don’t look so hard at my past. I don’t live there anymore.

May 23, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: Choose to be happy. Choose to be cheerful. Choose to be optimistic. 

QUOTE & POSTER: Choose to be happy. Choose to be cheerful. Choose to be optimistic. 

May 23, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: Creativity is intelligence having fun –Albert Einstein

QUOTE & POSTER: Creativity is intelligence having fun –Albert Einstein

May 23, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: If you are not willing to learn, No one can help you. If you are determined to learn, No one can stop you. You hold the key to your education.

QUOTE & POSTER: If you are not willing to learn, No one can help you. If you are determined to learn, No one can stop you. You hold the key to your education.

May 23, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: One small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.

QUOTE & POSTER: One small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.

May 23, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. – Jack London

QUOTE & POSTER: You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. – Jack London

May 23, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: Stand out and RISE above the crowd

QUOTE & POSTER: Stand out and RISE above the crowd

May 23, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for COMMENTARY 828.5: Saying the Right Thing

COMMENTARY 828.5: Saying the Right Thing

May 23, 2013 Caring, Compassion

When someone you care about is suffering greatly, what’s the right thing to say to make him or her feel better? There are all sorts of traumas that can send us to the darkest dungeons of despair – the death of a loved one, being raped, getting a divorce, losing a limb, seeing a child [...]

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Thumbnail image for COMMENTARY 828.4: There’s No Such Thing as Business Ethics

COMMENTARY 828.4: There’s No Such Thing as Business Ethics

May 22, 2013 Commentaries

Some years ago, a senior executive at a Fortune 100 company objected when I asserted that corporations have an ethical, as well as a legal obligation to keep promises and honor their contracts. He said that the decision to live up to or ignore contractual commitments is a business decision, not an ethical one. The [...]

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Thumbnail image for COMMENTARY 828.3: Teach Or Punish, That Is the Question

COMMENTARY 828.3: Teach Or Punish, That Is the Question

May 21, 2013 Commentaries

As Greg paces the floor, waiting for his 17-year-old daughter Sandy to return from a school event, he feels two conflicting emotions: fear and anger. Fear that something terrible has happened to her. Anger because he thinks his fear is probably unfounded and Sandy is not hurt, simply irresponsible. Finally, Sandy calls. She’s all right. [...]

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Thumbnail image for COMMENTARY 828.2: Self-Control

COMMENTARY 828.2: Self-Control

May 20, 2013 Commentaries

A frazzled mother with a fussy child caught the eye of a grocery store manager. He overheard her say, “Lily, you can do this. We just have to get a few things.” Moments later, when the child became more upset, the mother said calmly, “It’s okay, Lily. We’re almost done.” When the child became hysterical [...]

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Thumbnail image for COMMENTARY 828.1: Noah’s Term Paper

COMMENTARY 828.1: Noah’s Term Paper

May 17, 2013 Choices

Noah really needed an ‘A’ on a term paper.  His friend Jason tells him that lots of kids “re-cycle” papers they don’t write and offers to give him a paper his older brother got an ‘A’ on three years ago. When Noah asked his for advice, his father hoped his son wouldn’t cheat but he [...]

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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: Doing what you must is duty Doing what you should is virtue Doing what you can is service Doing what you are afraid of is courage Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness

QUOTE & POSTER: Doing what you must is duty Doing what you should is virtue Doing what you can is service Doing what you are afraid of is courage Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness

May 16, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: No one ever said on their deathbed, “I wish I spent more time at the office.”

QUOTE & POSTER: No one ever said on their deathbed, “I wish I spent more time at the office.”

May 16, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for COMMENTARY 827.5: Ethics: Easier Said Than Done

COMMENTARY 827.5: Ethics: Easier Said Than Done

May 16, 2013 Commentaries

As a full-time ethicist – can you believe there even is such a thing? – I spend lots of time talking and writing about right and wrong. One thing I’ve learned is that in the last analysis, consistently doing the right thing is easier said than done. For one thing, it’s not always easy knowing [...]

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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is, after all, to matter: to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all. –Leo C. Rosten

QUOTE & POSTER: I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is, after all, to matter: to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all. –Leo C. Rosten

May 15, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: If you want to know how to live your life, think about what you’d like people to say about you after you die – and live backwards.

QUOTE & POSTER: If you want to know how to live your life, think about what you’d like people to say about you after you die – and live backwards.

May 15, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for COMMENTARY 827.4: Avoiding Temptations

COMMENTARY 827.4: Avoiding Temptations

May 15, 2013 Commentaries

When my daughter Samara was four she pointed to a delicate glass vase and asked, “What’s that?” “It’s very special,” I answered. “It was my mother’s. I would really feel bad if it ever got broken, so please be careful to never, never touch it.” Without a moment’s hesitation she said, “Then you should never, [...]

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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: Be cautious but not timid; Believe you will succeed, But don’t be afraid of failing. Remember, every meaningful Achievement is built on the foundation stones of false starts and failure. -Michael Josephson

QUOTE & POSTER: Be cautious but not timid; Believe you will succeed, But don’t be afraid of failing. Remember, every meaningful Achievement is built on the foundation stones of false starts and failure. -Michael Josephson

May 14, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: It’s better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not. –Andre Gide

QUOTE & POSTER: It’s better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not. –Andre Gide

May 14, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for COMMENTARY 827.3: I Didn’t Want the Janitor to Lose His Job

COMMENTARY 827.3: I Didn’t Want the Janitor to Lose His Job

May 14, 2013 Commentaries

The primary responsibility for instilling good values and building character is with parents. This doesn’t mean, however, that teachers and coaches don’t have a critically important role. The unfortunate fact is that far too many kids are raised in morally impoverished settings that foster lying, cheating, and violence. If we don’t give these children moral [...]

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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: Don’t let others DEFINE YOU. Don’t let the past CONFINE YOU. Take charge Of your life With CONFIDENCE And DETERMINATION And there are NO LIMITS On what you can do or be. -Michael Josephson

QUOTE & POSTER: Don’t let others DEFINE YOU. Don’t let the past CONFINE YOU. Take charge Of your life With CONFIDENCE And DETERMINATION And there are NO LIMITS On what you can do or be. -Michael Josephson

May 13, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for QUOTE & POSTER: I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it, for I shall not pass this way again. -Stephen Grellet

QUOTE & POSTER: I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it, for I shall not pass this way again. -Stephen Grellet

May 13, 2013 Quotes, Observations
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