A leadership commentary on life today by Bob Shank
Twenty years ago, the British Rowing Team was preparing for the 2000 Olympic Games to be held in Sydney. They hadn’t won a gold in that competition since 1912; no one considered them to be contenders, and they knew it. To step-up, their standards would require a new team strategy… Come Summer 2000, their strategy …
Continue reading “How the Best get Better – “Will it make the Boat go Faster?””
Have you seen Jesus? (Note: this is not an April Fools ruse…). That’s not a rhetorical question: in a real sense, he’s missing… and it seems that the trail has gone cold. It’s not Jesus the person; it’s Jesus the painting. Called Salvator Mundi (the Savior of the World), it is believed to be the …
Continue reading “Jesus – Invest two hours: Eternity in return”
Here’s my informed opinion: you’re one of my friends who is not looking for something else to do. Your plate is full, and the requests for your time are backed up like planes waiting to land at O’Hare. Despite the jammed portfolio of mission-critical assignments into which you must devote significant attention, your participation and …
Continue reading “Has “lack-of-patriotism” become a “badge of courage”?”
Let me lead off with a confession/reveal: though I’ve not employed 23andMe to examine my personal family history, I’m pretty sure that I have no significant link to Irish forebears. Both of our daughters were given names with an Irish lilt (Shannon and Erin), but the only “green” in our family hangs in the closets, …
Continue reading “Could your Calling come in a bottle of Guinness?”
“Beware the Ides of March.” Most days are like nondescript puppies in a big litter; grouped into mutual obscurity made up of 24-hour periods whose names end in “y.” Tomorrow usually looks a lot like yesterday, but with a few more scars and wrinkles from what is likely to happen today. But, then, there are …
Okay, here’s a quick-answer exercise – from the news, and from history – that will paint an interesting picture of where we’ve come, as a nation, in 154 short years. Two quotes follow: who was the nationally-notable political leader who was willing to say: “…a guy who’s a decent guy, our vice president…” Quote from: …
And the award goes to… The New Green Deal was running in the red last night as the movie world parked their Prius and Tesla fleets, dialed-up their carbon footprints and rolled the limos toward the Dolby Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. All 3400 seats were full of self-congratulatory professionals from the entertainment industry, assembled for …
Continue reading “You’re heading for your own Red Carpet… and award”
Happy Presidents Day. If you have time for catty conversation – and chose to speak that greeting in the barista line this morning – the person waiting for their Carmel Macchiato might respond with, “President? Which one?” The implication: lots of people these days have a hard time separating respect for the position and the …
Continue reading “What would you do with a year’s pay on Presidents Day?”
America is a diverse culture with one common denominator: holidays. Think about it: we’ve gone from a “melting pot” to a burning caldron. In the old days, you didn’t lock your front door; today, you can have a doorbell that’s really a video camera – with a live-feed to your mobile – so you can …
Continue reading “Sorry Forrest: Love is not a box of Valentine’s chocolates”
Put the Buffalo wings down and step away from the game. It’s Game, over, this morning… but the effect lingers on. The contrast between the Super Bowl and the State of the Union (the political competition) is stark: a recent survey of Human Resource pros says that 27% of employees have missed work the day-after …
Leaders are readers… and lifelong learners. If you’ve been around this weekly conversation for awhile, no part of that first line is foreign to you; it’s at the core of this Monday missive. Only the arrogant end their continuing intake of wisdom from reliable sources: the leader who has a future is the woman or …
Most American holidays look back: a day denotes a happening, or, a date marks a birthday or beginning. Though today – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – was chosen because of proximity to his b’day (January 15), the focus of the day is far more forward than past. Dr. King’s most historic manifesto was his …
Yesterday, there was a battle underway, so where do you stand? I’m not talking about Chargers vs Patriots, or Eagles vs Saints: for too many Americans, those conflicts captured their full attention on the Lord’s Day. We’ve got more nail-biting coverage next Sunday, leading to the Super challenge on February 3rd… but those are merely distractions, set …
We’ve arrived… at the beginning. Here we are: New year. New horizons. New expectations. New focus. New energy. New opportunities. Amazing how a revision in the calendar can cause an intellectual and emotional reset on life. Everything that was operative – and, restrictive – about the things that surrounded you before the holidays has now …
I hope I’ve gotten to you in time. If you’re under the influence (of the culture), you are probably feeling some pressure to come up with your version of the annual to-do list to upstage all former to-do lists: we call ‘em the obligatory “New Year’s Resolutions (NYRs).” Babylonians made promises to their gods at …
Continue reading “Ditch the NYR (New Year’s Resolutions) burden: there’s nothing there”
Merry Christmas! One quick thought, and then you can get back to your Christmas focus. I want to remind you of an important grammar point that is most important against the backdrop of this holiday. Hope: it’s essential, for life. With it, you can tolerate and succeed against all opposition. Without it, you cannot continue …
It was 100 years ago – in July of 1918 – when Czar Nicholas II and his family were executed in Yekaterinburg, Russia by Bolshevik revolutionaries.
Feliz Navidad, y Prospero Año Nuevo.
We’re seeing the resurgence of the Post Office; this is their big month. Our home mailbox should have a “No Vacancy” sign; Christmas Cards now outnumber new credit card offers in the stack.
Life’s Road Trip from Hallmark to Heaven crosses many milestones…
The End? Or, the Beginning? On Friday, President George H. W. Bush died. He was 94 years old; his lifespan exceeded that of every other man who has worn the title of President in the United States. From Saturday’s account in the New York Times: His longtime friend and former secretary of state, …
The Holidays. When you score an entry in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, you know you’ve created a unique meaning while using the simple building blocks of common vocabulary. “The” is a definite article: it sets up what follows as unique and significant, measured against all others. “Holiday” is another basic language marker that has come to …
Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” That’s an incredible question – wrapped around an offer – that would be amazing coming from anyone; it’s even more astounding when it’s posed by Jesus. How would you reply? It happens twice, recorded back-to-back in Mark 10; each offers a weighty insight about …
Continue reading “The most important question you’ll ever answer to Jesus”
This is the “holiday edition” of my Point of View. Since 1954, November 11 has been deemed “Veteran’s Day.” A fitting tribute to the living men and women whose history of military service and sacrifice has made America’s continued experiment in freedom possible. Memorial Day honors the fallen; Veterans Day recognizes those who remain among …
Tomorrow is the most important election of your lifetime. That must be true. Donald Trump, Cory Booker and Barack Obama have all said so in the last few days. Candidates – and those pounding their drums – have all been saying so. It must be true. Run the clock back to this same date, in …
Continue reading “The most important election in your lifetime?”
He’s back… Last Monday, I was writing from Jerusalem – just outside the walls of the Old City, about 200 yards from the Jaffa Gate. Our contingent of collaborators – drawn from our national contacts in The Master’s Program and The Barnabas Group – were amazing. Three dozen Kingdom leaders – most were marketplace players …
The land of Israel is almost surreal. I’m sitting on the terrace of the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem; 200 yards away – to the west – are the walls of the Old City, and the Jaffa Gate. It’s 5:30am, and in an hour, the sun will come up over the ancient skyline. A few months …
It must be a big, big deal. I’m not sure that everyone in your circles today is inspired to earn this designation. In fact, it’s often used in a derisive manner, for people who reject a certain high-bar moral or ethical standard. At a time when people with character deficiencies win awards and elections, it …
Which best seller is better? “What kind of God wants you to be poor and miserable?” If there’s anyone who can ask that question and get a positive response, it’s Oprah Winfrey. Though her beginnings were meager – born into poverty in Mississippi to a single mom, raised in an inner city Milwaukee neighborhood, and …
“Hi Bob. You don’t know me, but I read your newsletter…” I was in an airport – waiting to board my flight back to Orange County (home) – when that chance encounter took place. He knew me… but I didn’t know him. How did he get on the distribution list for the Point of View? …
Continue reading “What if you could help them Think Different?”
All election, all the time. Is that a blessing? Welcome to the next 43 days of the American reality show. The “big choices” will be ours on November 6th: The confirmation process for the Supreme Court justice is the dramatic War of the Titans leading up to the winner-take-all contest that is just six weeks …
What time is it? Don’t ask Phil Connors that question: for him, it really didn’t matter. In the 1993 movie Groundhog Day, Phil was stuck in a strange time loop, repeating the same day, continuously. If life isn’t moving toward some significant futuristic horizon – if every day is just a do-over – then asking …