Month: December 2020

To make progress in anything, it’s important to admit shortcomings. As a professor for many years, I’m pleased to say most of my students are eager to learn. In fact, they admit from the beginning they lack the knowledge of the subject and are excited to learn something new.
 
However, a small fraction of my students, about 5%, believe they are doing other students and me a favor by taking the class. For example, I remember a situation where a student placed the following comment in the reference page of a Finance Capstone course:

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While taking the Certified Agile Leadership II (CAL-II) class recently through The Braintrust Consulting Group, the instructor, Anu Smalley, made a statement that resonated with me …
 
“It’s better to explore than to explain.”

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As I reflect on my past 30 years in the workforce, I realize positive changes only happened when I took bold action. The times I was passive, nothing happened. In fact, I probably took a few steps backwards from progress.  
 
At times, I was hoping good things would happen by playing it safe, but this was an exercise in futility.

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Many years ago, I attended a social gathering with a group of people that I did not know well. During dinner, I sat at a table with seven other people and we were having a lively discussion, especially since the wine and cocktails were on the house.
 
At some point, one of them turned to me and looking at my name tag situated on the top right of my suit jacket, “Jimmie, what do you do for a living?”

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While reading a book on leadership, I came across an interesting point made by the author regarding the value of surrounding ourselves with people who are committed to helping us succeed.
 
Of course, it’s important to know that a two-way street exists here. That is, before we can expect others to provide guidance and assistance, we must be prepared to do our part as well.
 
The comment that I read went something like this …
 
“Having the strength and knowledge to do things alone is a myth.”

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