“I decided in my life that I would do nothing that did not reflect positively on my father’s life.” – Sidney Poitier
COMMENTARY: Authentic Apologies
“I’m sorry.” These are powerful words. Authentic apologies can work like a healing ointment on old wounds, dissolve bitter grudges, and repair damaged relationships.
COMMENTARY: A Manager’s Dilemma: Dealing With Misbehaving Top Performers
Managers prove themselves to be leaders when they do what is right, even when it costs more than they want to pay, because they understand that the cost of losing credibility and moral authority outweighs the benefits of expedient compromise. Just as the best athletes on a team often expect and get special treatment when it comes to violating rules …
Enjoy and be grateful for the little things in life because one day you will look back and realize they are the big things.
USING PHOTOS TO RE-EXPERIENCE THE BIG LITTLE THINGS. The greatest value of personal photos is the way they preserve the precious moments of daily living. They capture events and experiences we once though worthy of documenting . Yet, like the memory stored somewhere in our brains, these recorded images usually disappear into a forgotten past. Photos trigger memories and remembering …
Empathy as a Customer Service Strategy
Is there opportunity in times of emotional turmoil? Starbuck’s CEO Howard Schultz things so. Or maybe he really wants to use his company and its 190,000 employees as a source of a kinder gentler society. What do you think? “Today’s financial market volatility, combined with great political uncertainty both at home and abroad, will undoubtedly have an effect on consumer …
Life is short. Smile as often as you can – then keep smiling.
“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” Mother Teresa. CHARACTER COUNTS! (www.charactercounts.org) focuses on creating a positive school climate where children are both physically and emotionally safe, where they feel they are accepted and valued and where they feel they belong. One of the most effective ways …
COMMENTARY: Good Decisions Start With a Stop
More often than we like, most of us face choices that can have serious and lasting impact on our lives. Do we go along with the crowd? Do we tell someone off, quit a job, or end a relationship? Unfortunately, these decisions are not preceded by a drum roll warning us that the stakes are high. Even worse, we often …
COMMENTARY: The Difference Between a Child’s Purse and a Dollar Bill
When Molly found a child’s purse with three quarters inside, she chanted, “Finders keepers, losers weepers.” But her mom said the right thing to do was to return it to the person who lost it, and they went to the Lost and Found office. A week later, Molly found a dollar bill on a table. “We’ve got to go to …
COMMENTARY: What I Want My Daughter to Get Out of Sports
Several years ago, when my daughter Carissa was about to enter her first gymnastics competition, I wrote her a letter expressing my hopes and goals for her athletic experience. Here’s a revised version: My Dearest Carissa, I know you’ve worked hard to prepare yourself to compete, and I know how much you want to win. That’s a good goal. You …
COMMENTARY: The Beginning of Positive Thinking
I am a strong believer in the power of positive thinking, which is the title of a best-selling book published in 1952 by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, a controversial preacher and pastor who popularized the idea that if you can change your attitude, you can change your life. He urged people to consciously train themselves to be optimistic and enthusiastic, …
COMMENTARY: Emotional Resilience
Despite romanticized myths about the gloriously carefree teenage years, adolescence has always been an emotional battlefield where young people must fight their way through insecurity, depression and anger.
COMMENTARY: Not Everyone in Need Has a Brick
A successful man known for his philanthropy was driving his new car through a poor part of town. He’d driven the route hundreds of times before on his way home. A young boy tried to flag him down. The man was in a hurry and didn’t want to get involved, so he pretended he didn’t see him. The traffic signal turned red, though. As he slowed for it, he heard …
COMMENTARY: If You Were Arrested for Kindness
If you were arrested for kindness, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Some people cheer up a room by entering it, others by leaving it. What do you bring to your interactions with workmates, friends, and family?
COMMENTARY: Rebuilding Your Life and Reputation
Larry wrote me the following letter: “I’ve been a small businessman for almost 23 years in a business where people lie, cheat, and steal. I’m sorry to say I became one of them. In the short term it may have helped, but long term it came back to haunt me. There’s no amount of success that’s worth it. I am …
Michael Invited to the White House for the Highly Anticipated President’s TF21 Briefing on 21st Century Policing
Michael Josephson Invited to the White House for the Highly Anticipated ‘President’s TF21 Briefing on 21st Century Policing’ In December 2014, President Obama launched the Task Force on 21st Century Policing to study approaches to strengthen law enforcement and community relations while at the same time enhancing public safety. That Task Force issued a report which developed a series of concrete and …
COMMENTARY: The Ultimate Solution to Bullying in Schools: A Student-Led Culture of Kindness
Olivia Gardner was a sixth grader in Northern California when her life began to unravel. It started when she suffered an epileptic seizure in front of her classmates. Immediately, the name-calling began. The hallway insults and ridicule — “freak,” “retard,” “weirdo” — escalated into cyber-bullying when a few particularly nasty students set up an “Olivia Haters” website. One student dragged …
COMMENTARY: If It’s Broken, Try to Fix It
Former President Jimmy Carter was 70 years old when he wrote this poem about his father: This is a pain I mostly hide, But ties of blood or seed endure. And even now I feel inside The hunger for his outstretched hand. A man’s embrace to take me in, The need for just a word of praise.
COMMENTARY: R-E-S-P-E-C-T
R – E – S – P – E – C – T. Aretha Franklin reminded us how it’s spelled, but a lot of us need coaching on how to show it. In both personal and political relationships the failure to treat each other with respect is generating incivility, contempt and violence. There’s an important distinction between respecting a person …
NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR QUEST FOR A GOOD LIFE
Just as a beautiful flower can emerge out dry and desolate soil, joy and fulfillment can emerge out of the rubble of disappointment, grief and even tragedy. Stay positive and persevere believing the best is yet to come! I know this is easier said than done. It takes great strength
Character’s Standard Approach to Life
“Ordinary people, even weak people, can do extraordinary things through temporary courage generated by a situation, but people of character do not need the situation to generate courage, it is a part of their being a a standard approach to all life’s challenges.” – Michael Josephson
Webs of Deceit
“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” – Sir Walter Scott
Not Impossible – But Not Easy Either
“Life is never so bad at its worst that it is impossible to live; it is never so good at its best that is is easy to live.” – Gabriel Heatter
Unleash Your Imagination
“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
Directional Love
“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
Accountability
“An institution that holds itself accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” – Thomas Paine (adapted)
Dismal Prospects
“A lie may take care of the present, but it has no future.” – Author Unknown
Summer Fruit
“Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb…that’s where the fruit is.” – Jackson Browne
COMMENTARY: Planned Abandonment
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, …
Change is a Good Thing
“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” – Jim Rohn
Rutgers University ‘Big 10’ Ethics Conference
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 …