A leadership commentary on life today by Bob Shank
What is a Tipping Point? According to Merriam Webster, it’s “the critical point in a situation, process, or system beyond which a significant and often unstoppable effect or change takes place.” Happy Presidents Day. Since American History was retired – along with wood shop and home economics – from the school catalogs of the 21st …
Continue reading “When people of influence have had enough…”
September 7, 2015 Welcome back…. or, shame on you! You’re either reading this on Tuesday – after making Labor Day a real holiday – or, you’re cheating yourself and your family by checking your e-mail while pretending to relax, on Monday! Either way, welcome back to the “new year,” which really begins the day-after-Labor-Day! As …
May 25, 2015 The name was changed, but the focus was not. Decoration Day. Originally practiced beginning in 1868 – after the Civil War (or, to some, the War Between the States) – when an organization of veterans from the Union Army declared a particular day in May for people to visit and honor the …
April 20, 2015 Happy Earth Day. I don’t know what you have planned for Wednesday, but don’t drive there. Unless you have a Tesla, your bike is your best bet. Avoid all GMO foods – breakfast, lunch and dinner – and go without lights, air conditioning and all-things-comfortable. Forget about flying; paddle a canoe, maybe… …
April 13, 2015 Neil Young. Stephen Stills. Richie Furay. Jim Messina. Those aren’t just random names from the phone book; 49 years ago – this month – they were unknown musicians who came together under the name Buffalo Springfield, and had their debut performance at the Troubadour, in Hollywood. Together only two years before disbursing …
March 30, 2015 Betrayed. You can’t find a story worth telling – or, hearing – that isn’t seasoned by betrayal. Sleep comes quickly if your bedside book tells only happy tales of people whose sublime pursuits are never opposed by someone they once loved and trusted. Every captivating plot weaves a similar tapestry: someone with …
March 16, 2015 Where were you… 10 years ago, today? Back then, I was filling two roles: about 60% of my time was devoted to serving and expanding The Master’s Program, across America. With the other 40%, I served as the Program Director for Franklin Graham’s evangelistic events around the world, under the auspices of …
February 9, 2015 “So, when the helicopter we were traveling in was forced down after being hit by a RPG (rocket propelled grenade)…” The incident was back in 2003, and Brian Williams – network news anchor for NBC – was flying in a military Chinook helicopter with an American army general, over Iraq. From reports …
February 2, 2015 Phil says six more weeks, but the chill in Seattle may last longer. In case you’re on headline overload, the folks in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania have already finished up their annual tradition with their local vermin-of-note. Groundhogs are classified by Farmers’ Almanac as a pest/rodent/varmit, but don’t raise that distinction with the folks …
January 12, 2015 Nobody saw it. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. It was the “cover wrap” on the Sunday morning paper this week – you know, those funny fold-around pages that are the prime real estate for print advertising – for the Orange County Register. Local papers now serve a niche readership: more …
January 5, 2015 They were Amazon, before Amazon. Richard Sears was a railroad station agent in the 1880’s in North Redwood, Minnesota. A shipment of watches arrived in his remote frontier rail office, destined for a local jeweler who turned down the delivery. Sears bought the watches, resold them… and the rest is history. Along …
December 29, 2014 It’s about time to move along… The last year – 2014 – is in its final lap. Three hundred sixty two days have come and gone; you’ve got three days left, and one of those – New Year’s Eve – is a non-starter. Even if you wanted to get something done on …
December 22, 2014 “I hope you haven’t been waiting long…” Have you heard that before? Usually uttered by the person arriving last – for a long-scheduled appointment – and proposed as a this-settles-everything repayment for the time spent awaiting them. Greg Savage is an entrepreneur in Australia – a noted pro in the executive search …
December 15, 2014 I need to get in the mood… The mood music has been playing since Thanksgiving in all of the retail environments. Jesus can’t get a hearing in any public environment, but the tunes that connect with His birthday are in a continuous loop at Target and Nordstrom, between now and the 25th. …
December 8, 2014 “Are you in an Accountability Group?” That’s a pretty typical question posed in Christian circles; the incidence of the inquiry seems to go up every time the news reports another Christian leader whose bad choices have taken him/her out of their role and delivered them to the has-been/no-longer-qualified leper colony. It raises …
December 1, 2014 Makin’ a list; checkin’ it twice… Someone got to the calendar when you weren’t looking. Normally, there’s a week – call it a “transition period” – between Thanksgiving and December. Time to burn through the turkey leftovers and catch a few traditional gridiron rivalries before you have to put on your holiday …
November 24, 2014 What are you thankful for? “We cannot achieve more in life than what we believe in our hearts we deserve to have.” That wisdom is from the late James R. Ball. His career life began with international postings with Andersen Consulting; ultimately to an entrepreneurial launch called The Goals Institute. He wrote …
November 17, 2014 “An act of pure evil.” That’s the headline this morning for USA Today, as they report the death of Peter Kassig at the hands of ISIS in Syria. The third American to be killed in their brutal fashion – for their own sordid public relations purposes – is drawing additional attention to …
November 10, 2014 When was the last time you got a Standing O? It was great to be in church yesterday. Our pastor took the time – early in the service – to ask all of the folks in the auditorium who had served in any branch of the services – Army, Navy, Marines, Air …
November 3, 2014 Is the payoff worth the price? Is the result worthy of the risk? For the 800 folks on the waiting list – who have either prepaid or placed deposits for tickets to space – those might not be the questions on their minds. The midterm elections – and the control of the …
October 27, 2014 Are you willing to be persecuted for following Jesus? Are you willing to die? Think about the approach we take to sharing the Christian faith in America, in the 21st Century. Presenting the claims of the Gospel to people who were born into American culture – who measure their quality of life …
October 20, 2014 Follow the Money. The quote comes from the script of the movie, All the President’s Men; it came from a conversation between Bob Woodward – the investigative reporter from the Washington Post who, with his writing partner Carl Bernstein, broke the story on Watergate – and Deep Throat, the alias used by …
October 13, 2014 Q: “So, what do you do?” A: “I’m a temp…” There’s an answer that strikes fear at the core of the career minded modern human. Descriptions that demand more letters to spell offer little relief: contractual, seasonal, consultant, casual staff, freelance do little to ameliorate the trauma. Government statistics from last month …
October 6, 2014 “So, what do you do?” If you don’t have a quick answer to the standard-issue opening line at the First Encounter, no one will know how to frame a follow-up question, and the conversation will be DOA. No credible sociological data is available for prior generations, but you don’t need a Gallup …
Dear Marketplace Friend, “I know you; who are you? What’s your name?” I was standing at Gate C-2 at DFW Airport last week, waiting to board my flight home. The man who walked up to me posed that question, and I answered him. His reply: “That’s it! I read your newsletter every Monday; every word!” …
September 22, 2014 You’re Rich; why don’t you act like it? This just out, from the Federal Reserve: the net worth of U.S. households hits an all-time high. The value of homes, stocks and other assets – minus debts and other liabilities – has climbed to $81.5 trillion; it’s never been higher. Don’t schedule the …
September 15, 2014 “At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that …
September 8, 2014 “First, the doctor told me the good news: I was going to have a disease named after me.” (Steve Martin). I took a break from the unrelenting news cycle over the weekend to get a couple of runs in with one of my mileage buddies. He posed an intriguing thought: why aren’t …
September 2, 2014 “Who’s your daddy?” It’s slang, but it’s telling: no one starts as a first-generation anything. We all come from somewhere; we’re all marked by someone along the way, for better or for worse. I was recently asked to write a tribute to Dr. Howard Hendricks (“Prof”), one of the handful of mentors …
August 25, 2014 Weary: lacking strength, energy or freshness because of a need for rest or sleep. Bored or annoyed by something because you have seen it, heard it, done it, etc., many times or for a long time. Back in January, ISIS was compared by the White House to “the JV (junior varsity) team,” …