Friday, October 12, 2007

Leading When Things Are Not Going Well


In general, I have a dislike of most "leadership" books written by coaches (and former coaches) of sports teams.  They are usually just a cliche` fest, with annecdotes of feats of coaching brilliance that are supposed to impress us and teach us how to be leaders.  For the most part it's a tome that stokes the ego of the old coach.  They just don't have much substance to them.  Having said that, here's one that I think is an exception......

People reading this blog/email who know me well, know what an absolute "nut" I am about Ohio State and Ohio State football.  And with that knowledge they must be thinking.. "Miller has lost his mind".... with what I'm about to share.

This entry is about a new book that has come out by and on the career of Bo Schembechler.  For those not familiar, Bo is a legend at the University of Michigan (the most bitter rival for my beloved Ohio State Buckeyes).  Bo's redeeming qualities are that he was born and raised in Ohio, and spent time as an assistant coach at Ohio State.

The one thing we "Buckeyes" always knew deep down.... there was a true affection and respect in both directions when Bo was the coach at Michigan.  The rivalry was intense... but the respect was just as big.

Here's a brief excerpt from the book in which he talks about some profound learning he had as an assistant coach at Northwestern when they lost every game one season.  It's a powerful story. I've also included a link to the longer, more detailed version.

Be well.   /jef

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http://www.leadershipnow.com/leadingblog/2007/10/leading_when_things_arent_goin.html

Leading When Things Aren’t Going Your Way

In Bo’s Lasting Lessons, authors Bo Schembechler and John Bacon relate a story from Bo’s early days coaching. He learned a lesson about leading when the heat is on from his boss from his boss and mentor Ara Paraseghian that he carried with him the rest of his life. Here's that excerpt:...

... Before Ara arrived, Northwestern hadn’t had a winning season in five years, but in his first year Northwestern went 4-4-1, and everyone was encouraged. But in Ara’s second season, 1957, everything went to hell. We lost nine games—every single game we played! For a coach, that’s just about the most difficult situation you have to face. ....

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Jeff Miller
Innovative Leadership Solutions
jeff@inleadsol.com
http://www.inleadsol.com
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 "Gramma said when you come on something good,
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             - Forrest Carter,
               The Education of Little Tree.
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Monday, October 8, 2007

Join a National Conversation about Energy

Ni Hao from Ningbo, China. I have now lived through my second typhoon. Fortunately
we were not in the direct path, but we did get a lot (and I do mean A LOT) of rain and
wind.

One of the blogs that I have book marked is the National Coalition for Dialogue and
Deliberation (http://www.thataway.org/). This week they posted information on the latest
National Issues Forums that the Kettering Foundation is supporting. It is on energy.

Kettering has been supporting issues forums like this for many years, and they are always
well done. So if you have some passion and/or interest in our useage of energy, you may
want to check it out. Heck, maybe you can host one of the session. Info on how to
connect is below.

Be well... /jeff
--------------------------


Join a National Conversation about Energy

The Kettering Foundation (www.kettering.org) and the National Issues Forums Institute
(www.nifi.org) are inviting people and their communities to become part of a national
conversation about energy and the choices that face the public and policymakers. The
Kettering Foundation and Public Agenda will be preparing a national report detailing the
outcomes of 2007 public deliberative forums held around the country using the National
Issues Forums issue book titled The Energy Problem: Choices for an Uncertain Future.
Groups or individuals who have led forums on this issue, or who are planning to, are
invited to help make the upcoming report as representative as possible of the national
conversation.

There is still time to help your community, organization, school, or group, be heard in a
national deliberative conversation about energy. The Energy Problem issue book and free
moderator guides may be ordered by calling 800-600-4060. If you would like more
information about how to convene a forum on this topic in your community contact Ginny
O´Connor at oconnor@kettering.org or 800-443-7834, extension 870. Information from
deliberative forums- especially completed post-forum questionnaires- are welcomed
through November 15th, 2007. The information from forums held around the country will
be included in a national report that will be released to the public and presented in
Washington, DC.

If you have had a forum on this topic, or have one scheduled, please contact John Doble
or Stella Lee at Public Agenda, a not-for-profit organization that will be reporting on public
thinking in this year´s energy forums, at JDoble@publicagenda.org or
SLee@publicagenda.org. The completion and return of post-forum questionnaires will
also be an important source of information for the upcoming report. Downloadable
questionnaires and more information about the issue book can be found at
http://www.nifi.org/discussion_guides/detail.aspx?catID=6&itemID=7743.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jeff Miller, Ph.D.
Innovative Leadership Solutions, Inc.
6526 Oxford Drive
Zionsville, IN 46077
office: +1 317-733-8635
via Skype: jeffmiller79
http://www.inleadsol.com
------------------------------------------
e-mail: jeff@inleadsol.com or
miller.3293@osu.edu

- Vist the "ShareAndLearn" blog at:
http://jeffsshareandlearn.blogspot.com
- See the ShareAndLearn e-archive at:
http://lists.topica.com/lists/shareandlearn/read

"Change happens from the outside in but transformation happens from
the inside out." - Dan Burrus
.