With all of the crazy things going on, sometimes I feel you need to take a break from the action and have a little fun. Here are a few fun activities that Julie and I experienced this week.
First and most important, the Chicago Cubs just finished winning 10 games in a row…. yes, you read that right! The Cubbies won 10 in a row for the first time in 10 years before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. Julie and I were at the game when they won their ninth straight, and it was an amazing game that they won in the 10th inning! It was amazing to see the Cubbies going from last place to first place in less than two weeks. Things look great right now, but as you know, with 162 games in a season, we have a long way to go! Nonetheless, we will keep singing the tune, “Go Cubs Go, Go Cubs Go, hey Chicago, what do you say? Cubs are gonna win today!” 👍👍
The second event was really crazy. I had agreed to give a leadership presentation and was asked if I would like to stay for the entertainment. I teased them that I thought I was the entertainment. But no, the entertainment was the rock ‘n’ roll group “Foreigner!” Julie and I ended up doing a lot of dancing.
If you are a little older, you may remember some of Foreigner’s biggest hits including:
I am also attaching my Forbes article from last week: “Need to inspire your leadership? Try a dose of morality.” The article includes background on Ben Sasse and a video worth watching of his interview with the New York Times. It really puts life in perspective, and the importance of making the most of every day we have on this earth. Here’s a link to the article, and the full article is below.
Need To Inspire Your Leadership? Try A Dose Of Mortality
When I was very young, my maternal grandfather, Farrell Grehan, said something that shaped my life and leadership: “It was only a blink of an eye ago that I was a child like you.” Being seven years old at the time, I found it hard to grasp; my grandfather seemed so old to me. Then Grandpa Grehan delivered the real pearl of wisdom: “We’re only here on the Earth for a very short time.”
As I matured, my grandfather’s words encouraged me to make a difference at every age and stage of my life. Looking back, I can connect the dots between what my grandfather told me and my more than forty years practicing values-based leadership.
From this foundational perspective, I have been captivated by the words of former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse. His accomplishments are impressive: a PhD in history from Yale University, eight years in the U.S. Senate, and president of the University of Florida. He has been articulate in his arguments about the need to end dysfunction in Congress and strengthen the legislative branch to maintain the balance of power outlined in our Constitution.
What has truly inspired me about Sasse is the way he is choosing to live the final months of his life after being diagnosed last December with stage 4 pancreatic cancer that has metastasized throughout his body. Sasse is investing his limited time and energy to speak out as a voice of reason and healing amid escalating political discord. As he told Ross Douthat of The New York Times, “I did not decide to die in public. I obviously ended up with a calling to die. In mid-December I got a three- to four-month life expectancy… But even at three to four months left to live, you have to redeem the time.”
This is what Grandpa Grehan was talking about all those years ago. By reckoning our own mortality, we come face-to-face with the fact that our lives have an end date. It begs the question: What are we doing with the time we have?
It’s a question I am asked frequently, by both my MBA students and senior executives: Is values-based leadership still necessary today to achieve success? The question is understandable, especially when looking at who has been getting ahead these days.
If someone is looking for a role model — living proof of the enduring importance of values-based leadership — Sasse is that example.
Watching his interview with Douthat of the Times, it was jarring to see Sasse’s bloodied face (a side effect of his chemotherapy is the inability to grow new skin). But the real impact came from the sincerity of his words about his life and faith, the warmth of his humor, the candor of his humanness, and the strength of his conviction to speak out while he still can.
This is the ultimate question for any of us to ask ourselves. It is also key to my foundational principle of values-based leadership: self-reflection. In an opinion piece that appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Sasse modeled self-reflection just days after receiving a fatal diagnosis: “Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived.”
When it comes to our own opinions, we all know what we believe. What we do not know is how others think and, more importantly, why. This is my second values-based leadership principle of a balanced perspective. The more polarized, divisive, and fractured our times, the more we need to listen to others. This is not to change our minds, but to expand them. If we cannot understand others, and especially those whose views are radically different from ours, there will be little chance of finding any common ground.
Sasse’s view captures this: “If we [as a country] survive, one thing that I’m nearly certain of is we will figure out how to have discussions in spite of all of the noise of social media chaos, of a lot of lying and a lot of screaming … all across the continuum.”
It does take effort to develop a balanced perspective. The more we engage with others to discuss issues, concerns, and ideas, the more likely we can become a force for good in fostering understanding and building a consensus.
Leaving A Legacy
Often these days, my daily self-reflection leads me to my earliest influences, especially Grandpa Grehan, who had been a history teacher in New York City. Another vivid memory from my childhood is walking with him around New York’s Central Park and looking at all the statues of generals and other military leaders who seemed to gaze down at me from their pedestals. That stirred a question in my young mind. “Grandpa,” I asked one day, “why are there always wars?”
I will never forget his reply: “Harry, since the dawn of humankind, people have killed each other. Part of it is that people do not take the time to listen to one another and do not reflect on how short of a time they are on this Earth. They are only after power and wealth—things that are very temporary.”
It is a sobering reminder. As Sasse said in another interview: “We all have numbered days.”
This undeniable reality can be a powerful inspiration to strengthen values-based leadership. And so, if today was your last day, how would you live and how would you lead? The answer just might make a far bigger impact than you ever imagined.
