Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning

Alan Jackson, the great country singer included those lyrics in his beautiful song about 9/11. Tomorrow we recognize the eighth anniversary of that event. I remember the shock, disappointment, anger, and horror I experienced that morning and over the next several days.

I also remember that although there was some very real ugliness, I felt like Americans and even the world had come together in a way that I hadn't seen in a very long time.
It is interesting to think about our "journey" over the last eight years. What have we learned from it?

I agreed I think with the majority of Americans that finding the perpetrators and ensuring that this kind of thing would never happen again was a primary objective. I am sad to find us engaged in two wars in some part directly connected to that event and feeling a little like we haven't made much progress understanding Islam or its followers and that in our desire to punish the guilty we have alienated a lot of others.

When I look at some of the angry rhetoric being exchanged over economic policy, health care, and related issues I wish we had some of that bipartisan spirit that we exhibited post 9/11 to addressing some of our current domestic issues. Don't mistake what I am saying, I am not an apologist for terrorism. I still firmly believe that those responsible for 9/11 and other terrorist incidents should be hunted down and prosecuted with a degree of finality that sends a message.

Maybe I am naive in believing that the current economic and health care situations also represent a crisis. Why can't we collaborate on solving those issues. I will admit I don't have a cogent answer.

So I guess what I will have to settle for is gratitude for the thousands of men and women in our armed forces who have served and will continue to serve to allow us to "debate" our differences. They don't get to debate policy, they just protect their country, some of them with their lives.

So amongst others I will fly my flag tomorrow in memory of those who died and those who serve. I will think back about the heroes during those immediately following days. I will also think wistfully about a nation standing together and hope it doesn't take another tragedy to unite us to that level. What will you do?

The Importance of Reflection

I read a lot. I guess I also think a lot and write a lot. I have found that time to be important to me and to the both the businesses I have worked for and those I supported as a consultant.

I am surprised sometimes when I talk with colleagues who spend almost no time in reflection, reading books or articles, and scoff at the idea of social networking sites like LinkedIn , FaceBook, or others and God forbid they would either write a blog or contribute to one. They bustle about "running the business". In many cases these are the same people who can't find time to coach and mentor their staff.

I read a couple of interesting articles this morning. One was on three leaders- Abraham Lincoln, Bill Gates, and Joe Paterno and how each made a commitment to reflection. Lincoln read Shakespeare and other classics, Gates scheduled a bi-annual trip to a cabin to read and think, and Paterno often coaches from the press box in order to get above the field and see things from a different perspective.

I read another article on leadership failures. It talked about some of the main reasons that leaders, especially new leaders fail. Some of the most consistent reasons were micro-management, and wanting to be the key decision maker in the majority if not all cases. They didn't trust their staff to make the "right" decision, they end up training staff not to make decisions at all.

My friend and colleague, Boom Daniel talked about the concept of a "bucket" as a fighter pilot and managing all the competing elements in your bucket. I think one way is to manage what you put in it.

How many of us spend thirty hours a week running from one meeting to another? In many of those meetings we don't even contribute directly. We are there as a function of CYA or "supporting the team". Is that always a good use of our time? I wonder sometimes.

I also feel that our society has come to really prize activity and the "hero" syndrome. The person who dashes about "solving" problems is the person we value and idolize. What about the person who thinks through the issue and doesn't let it become a crisis? Or the person who develops a team capable of making good decisions so they don't need to constantly step in with the "right" answer.

The first question I like to ask is "Why"? Why are we doing this? Why are we doing it this way? Do we have the right people involved? Does this decision need to be made at this level?

I don't know. Maybe I have too much time to "reflect", but I think that if we looked at the how and what of situations and the motivation we created maybe we would be more inclined to make better decisions.

What do you think?