Below you'll find a list of all posts from 2016
Years ago, a Southern woman was in one of my workshops. When asked to tell a story that impacted her character, she described an incident when she was 5. She was at her grandfather’s house all dressed up in a white dress with a crinoline and new gloves, proud as she could be. Her granddaddy told her she could go …
“If your head is in someone else’s box you will never see what’s possible. Don’t let the complacency, timidity, or limited thinking of others limit you. Unleash your imagination and you will accomplish amazing things.” – Michael Josephson
“Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together, in the same direction.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery
“An institution that holds itself accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” – Thomas Paine (adapted)
“A lie may take care of the present, but it has no future” Sometimes lying makes our lives easier. If you want the day off, just call in sick. If your boss asks if you’ve finished a report, say you left it at home. And if an irate customer calls, just make up a good cover story. Technically these are …
“A lie may take care of the present, but it has no future.” – Author Unknown
“Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb…that’s where the fruit is.” – Jackson Browne
Management guru Peter Drucker advocated a practice he called planned abandonment. He stressed how important it is that managers develop the wisdom and courage to regularly review what their organization is doing and determine whether it’s worth doing. He urged executives to note and resist the systemic and emotional forces that make it difficult to abandon activities that drain resources, …
“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” – Jim Rohn
On July 25th Michael gave the keynote speech, along with Paul Fishman (US Attorney, District of NJ), at a conference titled “How to Build an Ethical Culture: Leadership’s Role” at Rutgers University. The Rutgers Institute for Ethical Leadership and RU Office of Enterprise Risk Management, Ethics, and Compliance brought together “Big 10” university risk managers, compliance officers, experts, and consultants in …
Your kindness causes ripples that are felt all over the world.
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” – Jack London
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” – Plato
“We all live under the same sky, but we don’t all have the same horizon.” – Konrad Adenauer
While I believe that good things tend to happen to people who consistently choose the high road, the correlation between ethics and success is a loose one at best.
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference, that you have lived and lived well.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Two frogs named Will and Fern fell into a deep pit together. At first, they thought it would be easy to jump out. But after lots of failed attempts they cried for help and a crowd of animals gathered around the pit. Everyone agreed it was hopeless so they urged Will and Fern to accept their fate. The harder the …
“What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” – Langston Hughes, “Harlem”
“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.” – Author Unknown
You can tell a lot about people’s character by how they act at the grocery store. I remember being in a crowded store when there was a shortage of shopping carts. A prosperous-looking fellow was pushing a cart when another man stopped him. “Excuse me,” the second man said, “but this is my cart.” The first guy looked really annoyed. …
“What will matter in the end is not what you bought but what you built; not what you got but what you gave; not what you learned but what you taught. What will matter is not your competence but your character.” – Michael Josephson Get a free printable pdf of the poem at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_n_XyBBF7beNlZnd2NraVowSWs/view
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Revised 8/8/15 I once heard a story about an emergency medical technician I’ll call Jake who was summoned to help an unconscious woman. When he arrived, she had no pulse. From her color and dilated eyes, he could tell she’d suffered serious brain damage. Still, he did his job exceptionally well, trying over and over to restart her heart. She …
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” – William James Don’t dwell on negative thoughts that cause stress. Think about solutions.
Schools all over the nation are struggling to modify their strategies to meet the Common Core demands regarding critical thinking and problem solving. They must also find ways to teach 21st Century workplace skills, enhance students’ social and emotional development, and, of course, build their character so they become responsible and productive citizens. Oh, they must also be sure to create an …
There’s a big difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.
“Be ASSERTIVE, but not abrasive. Be BOLD, but not reckless. Be CANDID, but not cruel. Be CAUTIOUS, but not timid. Be CONFIDENT, but not conceited. Be PROUD, but not vain. Be STEADFAST, but not stubborn.” – Michael Josephson
“If you want to be happy, learn to be alone without being lonely. Learn that being alone does not mean being unhappy. The world is full of plenty of interesting and enjoyable things to learn, things to do, and people who can enrich your life.” – Michael Josephson
Demand excellence from yourself! It’s your responsibility. “If you don’t do it excellently, don’t do it at all. Because if it’s no excellent, it won’t be profitable or fun. And if you’re not in business for fun or profit, what the hell are you doing there?” – Robert Townsend
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford
