Now this isn’t meant to poke fun at CEOs, but wow!  Today is the day for many a resignation.  See this article from Bloomberg about McAfee and CNET.  Do you understand what the fuss is all about?  Hey, they just changed a few dates to make reality a little different than what it really was.

Not shocked here about the problem.  We (American Culture) have been playing this game of truth-lite.  You know what I mean…wink, wink, nudge, nudge.  But we are now seeing the results of this insane logic.  Sadly, the next group of executives (hopefully the ethical ones) are going to be so hamstrung by regulatory/legal scrutiny, not to mention employee cynicism, that getting on with the business of business will be very difficult.

Check-out my post on character and skills development.  It should be required reading for many executives.

In my last entry I told you how dangerous it is for skills development to exceed character development.  This piece from Fortune illustrates the point. 

The end doesn’t justify the means!

What’s ironic here is that we’ve become a business culture that disagrees with the statement above.  When the cameras are rolling we espouse character, integrity and good judgment.  But when the lights go out we a apply our instincts (instincts not held in check by integrity equals bad behavior) or a "do what you’ve got to do" approach.  In the end, its pretty obvious what certain organizations really believe.

The question remains; what kind of legacy is this business culture creating?

Today it was revealed that Cablevison back-dated stock options for a deceased vice-chairman.  Sounds like they pulled this one right out of Richard Daley’s how-to-win-an election playbook.  This link from MSN Money details what happened, but oh my!

I’m starting to wonder if corporate America is just drunk with greed and deception.  Sadly, many will right this off and ask how the Cablevision stock is doing. 

We’re opening the door to the socialists…

Just finishing up editing (my review for flow and typos) and then off to my professional editor for the book project.  I’ve changed the title as well…I’ll wait til later to reveal that.  But I can see the tape, so stay tuned for updates

I found this piece in today’s Wall Street Journal (wsj091806.pdf) and it registered with me.  It spoke volumes about how long it can take to truly define success.  Each of us must figure that one out, but the article gives you much to think about.

Sometimes its easy to just get caught up in what is expected.  For example, my dad worked a job for thirty-five years, so I know that’s the right thing to do.  Funny how often we never ask is that what we want to do.  History is full of those who put their "chips" on making money and retiring in leisure.  Truth be told we want more…at least those of us who are awake.

I’m north of forty now and my definition of success is clear.  Sometimes I feel like it has taken more time than it should have, but my story’s on track.  I have no regrets…forever now.

You might not be even close to forty, but time is strange.  None us know how much time we have.  That implies an urgency to get on with what matters.  So, what matters to you…the real you?

It occurred to me today that we can easily miss evaluating losses.  You might call it a review of mistakes and/or failures.  Either way it is valuable to evaluate when things go "south." 

One thing you must remember is that the losses aren’t designed to kill you.  It can feel like that at times, but we really gain the most in our times of banishment.  Success (as I’ve written before) can be our worst enemy.  It can lull us and dull us into believing that life is all about winning.  Obviously, life isn’t always about winning.  If it were then we’d devour each other in a heartbeat.  Some may argue that that’s what we have in America today.  I’d like to believe not.

So what have you learned?

Think about the following questions:

1. Have you forgotten the "losses?"
2. Have the lessons you’ve learned taken root?  In other words, are you a changed person?
3. Has your level of empathy risen?  Do you care about someone whose facing what you’ve faced?
4. Do you value the time you have left?

See Tom Peter’s blog entry on engagement in the workplace.  Been discussed here often, but nice to see others writing about it. 

Even if you don’t believe in statistics you’ll be thinking about the power around the issue.

How important is engagement when you can’t find top leadership talent?  In the coming years we’ll see how…

Malcom Gladwell has a penetrating blog entry on the insanity of the NCAA.  If you’ve read any of his books, you know what a good writer he is.  What he writes in his blog is equally good.

What has always amazed me is how organizations keep rules or "procedures" on the books long after they’ve served their purpose.  When was the last time your organization went through the "manual" to make sure everything was still relevant?  Does anyone believe that time stands still for the NCAA, or any enterprise for that matter?  Yet we tread on…living in the past while punishing those that have kept up with future.

What if we started afresh?  Somewhere the voice of time is saying; "where have you been?"

This Work and Family piece from today’s Wall Street Journal Online describes the ups and downs of telecommuting.  As the landscape in corporate America changes telecommuting is a trend to watch.  The employee’s market is coming…if not already here.

Where do you think this is going?  Give me your thoughts.