Week 20.50 The End is Near

Maybe it’s because New Year’s Eve is fast approaching. Perhaps, it's the announcement of the COVID vaccine. It could be the announcement of the electoral college vote and the impending swearing-in. A voice in the back of my head keeps whispering, the end is near. Maybe it’s because another year has passed. Perhaps it the announcement of new records of COVID deaths, many of which are preventable by action that is known, and either not followed or not accepted. It could be that even though I rarely read the news, I catch the headlines that claim that a large portion of Americans are unwilling to accept the election results, including elected officials. A voice in the back of my head keeps whispering, the end is near. 

It's all a matter of perspective. Where we choose to focus. How we choose to interpret. Is it a vase, or is it two faces? In our Monday Morning call today, guest host Peter Bregman lead a conversation that challenged the trope “the only person that can change you is you.” Accepted wisdom. Scratch the surface of that statement and we know it’s not really true. A great CEO can turn around a company using the same team of people, getting them to change the way they do their jobs, the way they interact with each other, setting higher expectations, accepting nothing less that results. A long-married couple talks the same way, eat the same way, dress the same way, even start to look like each other.

Over time, they changed. We tell our kids, hang out with good kids, stay away from bad kids because we want them to change for the better, not for the worse. We can change ourselves. Change it hard. Others can change us… that might be even harder. When we create the right environment for us to change, change is possible. Perhaps we are more like bonsai, gently nudging ourselves into shape, perhaps helped by kind gardeners, to become the kind of people we want to be. 

The end it near. The vaccine is around the corner. There will be a new administration. A new year will start and we can choose to see its potential. We will push out the last breath of 2020 and our body will welcome the first breath of 2021. (I know, this feels like it should be what I write before the new year, but it just felt right this week)

52 Weeks of Giving: Week 3 - Honor the Living Legacy of Frances Hesselbein https://engage.pitt.edu/project/23426

This is the week to join me in giving to honor one of the inspirations for 100 Coaches and so many of us individually. With more than 70 years of public service—and still going strong—few individuals have had as profound and as far-reaching of an impact on educating future leaders in all sectors as the University of Pittsburgh distinguished alumna Frances Hesselbein. Frances just celebrated her 105 birthday, my gift and your give are in honor and homage to her and her legacy. And if that was not enough inspiration, Former CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and The Ford Motor Company, Alan Mulally—has stepped up to MATCH all December donations, up to $50,000! Give now and your gift will go 2x as far! Even if you have never clicked a link before, click this one and join us in honoring Frances https://engage.pitt.edu/project/23426

DESIGNING A MORE INCLUSIVE ORGANIZATION IN 2021 VIRTUAL TOWN HALL with Superpowers & Symphony Dec 17, 2020, 1:00-2:00 PM EST

Linkage, in partnership with Oshoke Abalu, offers an invitation to create a new story of human connection and organizational unity that embodies our collective intention for the future of inclusion. It is a bold vision we call Symphony, where everyone contributes their unique Superpowers in collaboration toward common outcomes. Join in on a virtual town hall on the 4 practical steps you can implement now to make the future of work more inclusive. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Leadership Reckoning: a new book from Thomas Kolditz, Ph.D release date: Jan 19 2021

Since its inception, higher education in the U.S. has claimed to develop leaders. This bold claim appears in college mission statements and mottos, and it is reinforced in recruiting materials and ad campaigns. But is this claim justified? Leadership Reckoning takes to task American colleges and universities for their haphazard, incoherent, evidence-free approaches to developing students as leaders and offers a principle-driven, outcome-oriented blueprint for how effective leader development can occur. Higher education has both the opportunity and the responsibility to take leader development seriously and create the leaders we need. It’s high time that happens, and Leadership Reckoning points the way. “In /Leadership Reckoning/, the Doerr Institute for New Leaders pioneers a data-driven approach to make the development of moral leadership a core function of college education. This book is a must-read for the leaders of today and tomorrow.” —Al Gore, Former Vice President of the United States of America Amazon pre-order [Leadership Reckoning: Can Higher Education Develop the Leaders We Need?: Kolditz PH D, Thomas, Gill, Libby, Brown PH D, Ryan P: https://tinyurl.com/kolditzbook

Opinion | Autonomous Vehicles Take Another Big Leap - The New York Times

A nice little Op-Ed by Kara Swisher (tech savant and provocateur who really knows her stuff) in which she talks to and about Aicha Evans and ZOOX. To be fair, I really enjoyed the article and always love reporting on Aicha who is one of the kindest, generous, humble, intelligent rock stars I know. It’s great to read the candor of the unassuming CEO who matter of factly is quoted as saying “We definitely thought we could be dead,” said Ms. Evans, referring to when the pandemic hit. “But a crisis like that can also focus you to seek out investors who have a long-term mindset that this kind of technology requires.” Of course, calm candor is probably benefited by their sale to Amazon. “In a nutshell, we want to eventually move people around a city,” said Ms. Evans, who once held a top strategy job at Intel. “It’s purpose-built.” Really, I just wanted to show you the picture of the car… fun! https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/14/opinion/Zoox-Amazon-self-driving.html

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Ayse Birsel and Beth Polish December 17 and Michelle Tillis Lederman December 20

And, as always, thank you, Marshall, for making all of this possible

With love and gratitude

Scott