Category: Balance
AI: Another example of the need for a “balanced perspective”
My guess is that you may be getting tired of me constantly advising everyone to develop a “balanced perspective” (Principle #2 of “From Values to Action”) 😀 Yet, no matter what the topic (gun control, immigration, wars around the world, etc.), there seems to be a desire by way too many people to focus on one extreme or the other. So I feel obligated to keep advising people to try and understand multiple perspectives, or as Saint Francis stated, “Seek to understand before you are understood.” I am also reminded of what my grandfather, Farrell Grehan, used to tell me many years ago: “Harry, life is much simpler when you only understand YOUR side of the story.”👍🤣
I am finding artificial intelligence (AI) to be the latest example of a topic where a balanced perspective is often missing.
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A Fun Trip to the University of Notre Dame
My youngest son, Daniel, is a senior at the University of Notre Dame. It feels like he just started college, and somehow he’s already graduating this May!!!
Julie, Diane, and I drove to Notre Dame over the weekend and had the opportunity to attend two wonderful events, one educational and the other a wild fun time!
On Saturday, Father Mike Schmitt (the priest who leads “The Bible in a Year” project) gave a wonderful presentation in the Notre Dame Basilica that highlighted several stories from the book of Genesis. Father Mike has a unique ability to share insights in an engaging way that is both serious and humorous.
For example, he discussed the story of how God created Adam from dirt. As the story goes, God decided to give Adam companionship by taking one of Adam’s ribs in order to create Eve. In response to the concern that this ‘origin story’ implies that women are somehow less important than men, Father Mike mentioned that someone told him: “At least women came from a human being, as opposed to men coming from dirt.” 🤣🤣🤣
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A Great Trip to Teach in Hong Kong
Greetings from Hong Kong! I am here to teach my “Leading a Global Company” class for the EMBA KH26 (Class of 2024) executives, which is a joint program between Kellogg and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). It is important to note that the HKUST EMBA program has been rated by the Financial Times as the number one Executive MBA program in the world for the last 12 consecutive years!!!
The KH 26 class included a wonderful group of senior executives from Mainland China, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, France, Netherlands, India, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and even one person from the United States. Teaching this group of individuals was a fantastic experience. This is my 10th consecutive year of teaching in the program.
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Should I Stay or Should I Go?
My goal is to make myself available to address questions from my Kellogg students and executives on any topics that they would like to discuss. I constantly remind myself that if it were not for attending Kellogg, I would not have had the opportunities I have enjoyed during the last 40 years.
However, I always remind students that I have very few answers, but many opinions. Said another way, rather than Q&A, I do Q&O.
One of the most frequent questions I get is, “How do I decide whether to stay in my current position or seek an opportunity in another organization?”
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What’s the benefit of attending a weekly religious service?
I am often asked why I attend a religious service at least once a week (usually Sundays). Some ask if it is just the requirement of being Catholic. Others wonder if it’s really a good use of time and what do I get out of it?
In my case, I don’t view it as a requirement. I also don’t view it as just a question of what I get out of it. Rather, I think about it as what I’m putting into it. In the crazy world we all live in, I find it remarkably helpful to take a short time out of a busy schedule and ask the questions I think about very often:
What are my values?
What is my purpose?
What really matters?
More CEOs Are Dying on the Job
In today’s Wall Street Journal, Harry shares how he dealt with the pressures of the job as CEO of Baxter International:
“For Harry Kraemer, one key to being a healthy boss was The Boss. The former Baxter International chief says that when the occasional meeting cancellation won him a free hour, he would take the opportunity to hop in his convertible, crank Bruce Springsteen and hit the McDonald’s drive-through. (OK, it wasn’t a perfect health routine, but the mental break lowered his blood pressure more than the Big Mac raised it. Besides, he says, he ordered Diet Coke.)”
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Why is the value of a college education declining in America?
Much has been written in the last several years regarding the declining value of a college education. According to Gallup, the percentage of Americans who expressed confidence in higher education fell from 57% to 36%. A recent article in the New York Times, “Why Americans have lost faith in the value of college“ states that “nearly half of parents say they would prefer not to send their children to a four-year college after high school…. 2/3 of high school students think they will be just fine without a college degree.”
This perspective is significantly different from the previous 50 years. As stated in the NYT article “Between 1965 and 2011, university enrollment increased nearly fourfold to 21 million.”
So the obvious question is: Why is the value of a college education declining in America?
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Is it lonely and stressful at the top?
Given my experience as a former CFO, CEO, and Chairman of Baxter International, a global healthcare company, as well as my ongoing chairmanship of multiple company boards, I am often asked by my Kellogg MBA students and Kellogg Executive seminar participants: “Harry, is it true that it is lonely and stressful at the top of organizations?” My opinion is that yes, it can be lonely and stressful at the top, but it definitely does not have to be. Let me explain.
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A great example of a true values-based leader
While visiting my daughter Shannon in Los Angeles this past weekend, I had the opportunity to stop by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. What an outstanding example of a values-based leader! What impressed me most was the personal history of Ronald Reagan, a man who came from a very modest background in Illinois and rose to become the governor of California and eventually the 40th president of the United States of America.
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Welcome to 2024!
Even though it feels like 2023 just started, it is already 2024!!! I remember discussing the challenges of keeping New Year resolutions for 2023, and it is time to start making resolutions for 2024.
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Who said ‘peace on earth, Goodwill toward men?’
I was driving around doing errands on Saturday, and several times on the radio I heard the words “peace on earth, Goodwill to men.” When I got back to the house, I decided to use my primitive Googling skills to find out the origin of these words.
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Why do I participate in a 3-day silent retreat every year?
I just concluded my annual three-day, silent retreat at the Demontreville Jesuit Retreat House in St. Elmo, Minnesota, and I thought it would be helpful to explain why I take the time to do this each and every year. On the first day of my Northwestern Kellogg value-based leadership classes each quarter, I explain to my students that I believe you cannot lead other people until you gain the ability to lead yourself. This leads to a discussion of the need to become self reflective so you can become self-aware. I highlight the importance of self reflection to a leader by asking three questions:
1) If I am not self reflective, is it possible to know myself?
2) If I don’t know myself, is it possible to lead myself?
3) If I can’t lead myself, is it possible to lead other people?
