Lasting Lessons from My Dad
Sadly, my dad passed away this past weekend. He was 84 and lived a full life. Many times he commented to me that he couldn’t believe he lived this long. When he was a child, he told me, living to 65 seemed like a reasonable expectation. I am glad he beat his own expectations and gave us many more years to be with him. Dad came from a generation where you lived up to your responsibilities. He didn’t complain about it and believed that one of the most important things you could do was to teach your children was to become independent adults. He didn’t coddle us, but also did judge us too harshly. He was always there if needed.
Leadership Thought #415 – Know When To Stand Your Ground
There is alot of talk about compromise in the media lately especially as it pertains to our federal government. There is this general sense that if political leaders would just be reasonable then there is an easy pathway to finding common ground. While I am certainly a fan of win-win negotiations, I don’t always believe that compromise is the best course of action. Sometimes you have to stand on principle and do what you believe is right instead of what may be politically expedient. Courage can be a lonely place at times, but going against your core values/beliefs usually has much worse consequences. Some things should be non-negotiable.