Entries from October 2008 ↓

Joe the Plumber

American politics has reached new levels of total weirdness when Joe the Plumber becomes an icon for the last days of the election, especially when he actually isn’t the guy everyone thought he was… that is, he isn’t a licensed plumber (from what I gather), nor is he truly representative of middle-class America that both candidates are attempting to appeal to…

John McCain has really gone crazy with his focus on this, and it probably epitomizes the desperation with which he is trying to resurrect a big hail mary play in the final hours of the campaign.

As an Australian who has lived in the States, I have a fascination with American politics, but this campaign has gone into new territory here and there, even for American politics. Roll on Nov 4 so we can see what the world will look like beyond Bush.

By the way, here’s a very interesting piece I came across in Patrick Lencioni’s newsletter. I’ve read all his books and found them very helpful, even if the style is a bit simplistic. I think this is very thought-provoking article, especially for me living in a country where I have always lauded compulsory voting:

Not Everyone Should Lead – Patrick Lencioni

I always find it interesting—or maybe troubling—when people encourage everyone to go out and vote on election day. Don’t get me wrong; I’m an ardent fan of democracy. I just don’t think it’s a good idea for people to vote unless they’ve taken the time to understand the issues and make informed decisions. It would be far better, in my opinion, if those who are too busy or disinterested to stay abreast of the issues exercised restraint on election day. I think that makes perfect sense, and yet is often viewed as politically or socially incorrect.

Well, I have a similar attitude about leadership. Whenever I hear someone encourage all young people to become leaders, or better yet, when I hear a young person say glibly that he or she wants to be a leader someday, I feel compelled to ask the question “why?”

If the answer is “because I want to make a difference” or “I want to change the world,” I get a little skeptical and have to ask a follow-up question: “Why and in what way do you want to change the world?” If they struggle to answer that question, I discourage them from becoming a leader.

Why? Because a leader who doesn’t know why he or she wants to lead is almost always motivated by self-interest. Whether that manifests itself in terms of fame or money or power, it is a very dangerous thing.

True leadership, the kind that results in the greater good, requires a level of selflessness and vision that most people simply don’t have. We forget the loneliness and sacrifice and great personal risk that George Washington and Abraham Lincoln endured during their times, and that the personal benefits they received for their sacrifices were minimal, if not non-existent. But that is what was—and is—required of any truly great leader, which explains why leadership is a rare trait in society, and always has been.

When people without selflessness become leaders, they often end up exploiting people and leaving them worse off. As long as they escape relatively unscathed, they feel that they have succeeded. And this is not limited to CEOs of big companies or members of Congress, though those cases are both more public and potentially harmful. It applies to small business owners, little league coaches, school principals, and mid-level managers as well.

Perhaps that’s why society has become so cynical about leaders, especially in the world of politics and, more recently, big business. People have come to expect—even accept—that their leaders are motivated by fame and fortune more than real service. Which is a shame because we are starting to get cynical as a society. As a result, the wrong people are being drawn into positions of leadership for all the wrong reasons.

So what is the solution? Like so many other aspects of life, it is both simple and difficult. First, we have to stop hiring, appointing and electing people who are ego-driven. That requires a level of discretion and vigilance on the part of CEOs, hiring managers, boards of directors, and yes, even voters. Of course, that means we also have to work hard to discern why a person is truly motivated to seek a position of leadership, and be wary of anyone who lacks humility, maturity and selflessness.

When it comes to elected office, this will require voters to pay close attention to the candidates who plea for their support. And if voters can’t find the time and energy to do that, then the wisest decision they could make would be to exercise restraint and stay home on election day.

All quiet on the western front

My apologies to regular visitors. Things have been quiet on the blog. It’s been a mix of being busy, tired, a bunch of big things in my think space, plus time dabbling with Facebook. Twitter has taken a back seat because I didn’t really see the point right at the moment.

Facebook is interesting, but it does require a lot of checking and skimming, and I can easily see why it becomes pretty addictive for some folks. Personally, I’m quite happy not to have to maintain that kind of presence. In recent days I’ve begun to move into creating a fictional Facebook persona, because that person is a lot more interesting than me… :-)

Quick Updates for 2008-10-22

Banks, shareholders and stakeholders

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.” — Thomas Jefferson, 1802

I personally think that the total deregulation of the banking system was a huge mistake in Australia. I think there are certain infrastructural elements in every country (eg. Transportation, telecommunications, education, banking, etc.) that should never be privatised (at least not fully), but I guess we’ll have to wait for the current experiment of selling everything off to fail before we come back to a more sane position. The big focus on maximising outcomes for “shareholders” seems to be a very limited way of looking at institutional success, particularly when most shareholders actually care very little for the company in question, only its relative share price. At some point, I hope, stakeholders beyond shareholders will become more important, but I guess this is unlikely in the short term, where most executive leadership is rewarded based on share price with bonuses often in the form of shares – any guess where they’re going to spend their time and energy?!

[Thanks to Rob Cooper for this one.]

Quick Updates for 2008-10-17

Cowboys are killing me

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a rabid Dallas Cowboys fan, but it’s starting to feel like I’m a Saints fan all over again… snakes alive! I can only stand one losing team in my life!

Cowboys managed to lose the craziest game of football I’ve watched in a long time against the Cardinals. Turnovers and penalties all over the place, ridiculous plays, huge mistakes, freakish good luck, horrible bad luck, and a loss in over time which I missed the details of because my stupid Foxtel IQ box didn’t record the last handful of minutes of the game… enuff already!!!!!

FREAK ME OUT!

Quick Updates for 2008-10-12

  • Awesome day on the Doulos. Huge crowd from Warnbro to honour the
    McDonalds. Cool. #

Quick Updates for 2008-10-10

  • Love museums, so today’s trip up to the Perth Museum with the kids was
    fun. #

JWs Ahead of the Tech Curve

OK, so this one got me smiling… I discovered the app below for the iPhone, specially designed for those door-knocking folks from the JWs. Asides from being kind of humourous that someone would get something like this up and running for door-knocking, it gives an interesting insight into the expectations placed on JWs for their “service”…

Beyond this, don’t forget to check out my other iPhone-based blog for more bits and pieces…

New: FieldMinistry (productivity): “

FieldMinistry 1.0

Category:
Productivity
Price: $4.99 (iTunes)

src="http://appshopper.com/images/screenshots/292/694645.jpg"
align="right">Description:

This app (written specifically for Witnesses), lets you keep track of your time, literature placements and return visits for each month. It automatically keeps track of your progress through the service year. You can start a timer at the start of your work and add your placements directly in the main screen. No need to keep the app open. It will keep tracking time even when it is off. Entries can always be added or changed. At the end of the month a single click on the months report will generate an email addressed to you as well as one more person (optional).
Always keep track of your time… anywhere !

(Via 0: App Store – New Apps.)

Quick Updates for 2008-10-04

  • Wow! This is a really disturbing Palin clip because it’s juat not a
    complicated question: http://ping.fm/axyLu #
  • @Drew_Adams Awesome news for you re: DTS. You’ll love it. Me=ThM’97. #