I was one of those kids who loved band and didn't notice that it kept me from being one of the popular people in school. I loved everything about it. Well, almost. I tolerated marching band but I truly loved everything else. Band camp was the best. It was band on steroids. One summer's experience stands out though and left me with an enduring lesson on leadership. This particular camp lasted for two weeks with a different celebrity guest director each week. The first director was someone with a respected international reputation as a composer and conductor. Exciting, right? Not really. He was a tyrant on the podium. I specifically remember being publicly rebuked for patting my foo
I'm in a small group bible study with a few guys in local businesses where the topic is love. Yes, you heard correctly. The topic is LOVE. The specific focus is on learning to incorporate the principle of Jesus' love in the workplace. You would think it would be easy. After all, who's not in favor of love? But the reality is that it's proven to be quite challenging. Almost any other topic of leadership would have been easier - integrity, service, excellence, influence, life balance, or any of a number of other popular and pertinent topics in business. But love has proven to be uncomfortable. You seldom hear of love being discussed in business. The focus is usually on other areas suc
In the movie Wall Street, the lead character, Gordon Gekko, famously said, "Greed is good." That seems to be the gospel truth for many people. I wonder what he thought about the recent national championship football game between Clemson and Alabama. I didn't watch the game but I heard some of the post-game interview with Dabo Sweeny, the coach of the Clemson Tigers. Overwhelmed with emotion after an odds-beating victory over Alabama, Coach Swinney said he told his players that "love would win the game" on that Monday night, meaning the love that his players had for each other. It was a moving testimony of his love for the young men he coached as well as obvious pride in their victory but
