Here’s something to consider…when you are celebrating your 90th birthday, what will people say about working with you?

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it. If you think about that you will do things differently. – Warren Buffett

A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well. – Jeff Bezos

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

While doing some research for this week’s Sunday Service, I came across an article that was published last year in USA Today’s Kindness forum.  There are several service organizations highlighted, so I thought I would share the article with you.  Click HERE to read the interview with Michelle Nunn, CEO of the Points of Light Institute and co-founder of the HandsOn Network, the largest volunteer network in the nation.

Opportunities to serve on Monday and everyday are plenty.  Click on the links above for ideas and resources.  Call your local community government, schools, or churches for how you can help in your neighborhood.  You can make a difference.  Imagine the possibilities!

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige and even his life for the welfare of others. –  Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love (1963)

What is even more impressive than what Dr. King preached, was how he lived.  He did not just talk about his ideals; his every action was rooted in them. Dr. King was not all talk.  He was action.  Peaceful action, but definite action.

Today, I am thankful for everyday people who demonstrate these same convictions through their daily lives. 

Chances are, we all know someone who, every day, stands in integrity, acts out of compassionate conviction, and lives to serve others.  Most of them are not famous. They are teachers, mail carriers, and truck drivers.   They are stay-at-home parents, entrepreneurs, and artists.  They are white collar and blue collar; light-skinned and dark-skinned.  They can be wealthy, they can be homeless.  Young or old, male or female, conservative or liberal; we can all choose to stand up for the right thing.

None of us will be Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  However, we can strive to live our lives in the same way.  We can choose to act with the courage of our convictions.  We can lead change peacefully.  We can serve.  We can have a dream.  We can make a difference.

We must, now.

A safe place to learn and grow…

Ongoing relationships with caring, adult professionals…

Life-enhancing programs and character development experiences…

Hope and opportunity.

For many of us, the above describes a happy home.  Children need a safe place to learn and grow.  They need ongoing relationships with caring adults.  They need experiences to enhance their quality of life and develop their personal character, the need hope and opportunity.  I would dare say not only do they need these things, but children deserve these things.

For many children, the only way they have these exeriences is through the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA).  The core beliefs listed above support the organization’s mission:

To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.

This week’s Sunday Service opportunity is to help the BGCA make their mission a reality.  Volunteers, donations, and general community support is critical.  You can help.

Nearly four thousand clubs provide a safe place for over four million children, 43% of whom are between the ages of six and ten years old.  The population is diverse; Caucasian – 36%, African-American – 28%, Hispanic/Latino – 23%.  The BGCA website shares these remarkable statistics about kids in crisis: across America, three out of ten high school students will not graduate, yet 90% of BGCA members do.  From 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., juvenile crime sharply increases as 15.1 million kids are left unsupervised, but clubs are open every day after school, providing a safe and productive environment for kids.

BGCA provides help with homework, a safe place to play, leadership development, community involvement, and mentoring.  Children learn about health, fitness, the arts, life skills and programs customiuzed for specific community needs.

How can you get involved?  Click HERE to donate to a local club, to the national organization, or to support community partners. To find a club near you, click HERE and enter your zip code. Stop and visit, ask how you can volunteer.  Stay informed and share news about BGCA; follow them on Twitter, ‘like’ them on Facebook, or sign up for their newsletter.  And, of course, donations are needed and welcome.  Click HERE for a variety of ways that you can financially support the work of Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Imagine the possibilities you can open up for these children!

For this new year’s week, I challenge you to develop some stop, start, continue resolutions for yourself.  Complete the three sentences below.  Write down your answers.  Save them in a file, tuck them in a drawer, add them to your calendar at the end of the quarter.  Then, on some selected date, review your progress toward achieving them.  Good luck!

I resolve to STOP:

I resolve to START:

I resolve to CONTINUE:

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

Many people make personal resolutions to do something different in a new year.  Lose weight and exercise more.  Stop smoking.  Spend more time with the family.

What about resolutions for your business or career?  Today’s newslink is to a list of ten action items for the new year, compiled by IDG Enterprise CEO Michael Friedenberg.  Click HERE to read his list, published December 15 on CIO.com.  Add a comment below and share what you would add.

Happy New Year!

Newslink: Leadership features articles about the development and practice of leadership skills in today’s business world.

Sometimes, the hardest part of business is the softest part.  Commonly known as soft skills, things like inspiring teamwork, sharing a vision, welcoming two-way communication, can be the most difficult for many people in management positions.  However, they are critical for leadership.

Today’s newslink is to a CIO.com article written by Madeline Weiss and June Drewry, published  December 15.  Click HERE to read the full article, with three “soft skill” techniques for leading organizations, especially important in hard times.

Newslink: Leadership features articles about the development and practice of leadership skills in today’s business world.

One of the harder things to measure and impact is a person’s attitude, yet it can be one of the most important things that contribute to a favorable reaction.  You may have heard this story before, but it is a favorite illustration about positive attitude:

Many years ago two salesmen were sent by a British shoe manufacturer to Africa to investigate and report back on market potential.

The first salesman reported back, “There is no potential here – nobody wears shoes.”

The second salesman reported back, “There is massive potential here – nobody wears shoes.”

Both salesmen saw the exact same thing.  Nobody wears shoes.  Yet, one salesman viewed that circumstance as an overwhelming challenge to success while the other saw it as a clear opportunity.  Their attitude toward the situation made all the difference.

How do you look at challenges that face you?  What attitude do your team members observe in you?

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

Please note the emphasis of various phrases below is my addition.

“Criticism is driven by the frustration and fears of the giver, not from the needs of the recipient. The underlying assumption is that the recipient somehow “should know better” and needs to be set straight. The implied message is that the recipient’s intentions are questionable, that there is something wrong with the recipient that the giver of criticism knows how to fix. In criticism, the problem is all in the recipient.

In contrast, feedback has an air of caring concern, respect, and support. Far from being a sugar cookie, feedback is an honest, clear, adult to adult exchange about specific behaviors and the effects of those behaviors.  The assumption is that both parties have positive intentions, that both parties want to be effective and to do what is right for the company and other people. Another assumption is that well-meaning people can have legitimate differences in perception. The person offering the feedback owns the feedback as being his reaction to the behavior of the other person. That is, the giver recognizes the fact that what is being offered is a perception, not absolute fact.”

Gary R. Casselman & Timothy C. Daughtry, as quoted on givingeffectivefeedback.com

My take?  Feedback encourages the heart.  Criticism beats it down.  How would you define the difference?

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

Much has already been written about the current scandal involving former Penn State football coaches; the sexual abuse of young boys by one, and the subsequent failure to report and/or take morally appropriate action by other coaches and university leaders.  But, what lessons can we learn about leadership?  Here are links to three articles published over the last few days in the leadership section of CBS Moneywatch.com (one of my favorite sites!).

An Abuse of Power?  Lessons From Penn State, written by John Baldoni, published November 9.

Penn State Scandal: You Can’t Teach Leaders Morality, written by Steve Tobak, published November 10.

How Penn State Can Recover From Scandal, written by John Baldoni, also published November 10.

Newslink: Leadership features articles about the development and practice of leadership skills in today’s business world.