Can Passion be addictive?

img_1712How does passion for what we do impact our success?

Is passion addictive or does it change over time and as careers progress?

What do the actions of today’s corporate leaders tell us about their passion?

How has their passion changed over their careers – to get them to the position they are in today?

Discuss these questions in the context of the Four Principles of Purposeful Action, with examples and appropriate links.

This post was written by Chris Miller, featured here with his daughter. Chris will be the discussion leader for the week starting February 24.

Are Accountability and Victimization cousins?

img_1493As our nation’s economic speedboat threatens to run aground, the economic crisis is a hot topic everywhere including our blog discussions as well.

What can you say about the acceptance of accountability, or the lack thereof, by our leaders – for this economic disaster?’

Has a sense of victimization spread rampant through our society, alleviating all responsibility?

It seems as if no one is to blame – so are we all to blame?

Discuss these questions in the context of the Four Principles of Purposeful Action, with examples and appropriate links.

This post was written by Chris Miller, who will lead the discussion for the week starting February 24.

Chopra talks on leadership and ethics to Engineers Club

img_0140Here are video clips from a talk on Technology Leadership and Ethics by Prem Chopra at the Chattanooga Engineers Club on Monday, February 9, 2009.

Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 4    Part 5

Comments are welcome…

P.S. Venkat, who recorded and edited this talk, is exploring ways to improve the exposure (the lights we dimmed to highlight the slides).

Are politicians leaders or entrepreneurs?

Here is a systematic way to find out:

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Consider any two prominent politicians – say, one from the US Congress and one from the US Senate – perhaps one Republican and one Democrat. Compare what the say they stand for with what they actually vote for and promote. Investigate how they were first elected and then re-elected, the money they collected and spent to get elected, where it came from, and how those donors fared. Consider the lobbyists with whom the politicians associate and what money exchanges occur. Examine the committees they work on and what comes out of those committees, and who benefits. Compare their assets before they were elected with what they accumulate over the years, over and above what their salary would suggest.

Play the BrookMaster Leadership Coaching Game, emulating the choices you believe each of these politicians would make. Which of the six archetypes (leader, entrepreneur, manager, consultant, trustee and intellectual) do you expect them to be? What would you expect their ethical balance to be in terms of their Giver/Taker ratio? Compare what you expect with the results you actually obtain from BrookMaster.

Now, go ahead and play !

What can you learn from a book on Leadership?

Dear Team 555:

logolifePlease comment on this post, stating the title of the leadership/management book approved for your review assignment and explaining in one paragraph why you selected this book.

Please do this by midnight tomorrow, Monday, February 2 – you should have your proposed titles approved by tonight.

Best wishes,

PC

Which of the Four Principles can you recognize in this sketch of the Navigator of the Whitewaters?

What is Purposeful Leadership?

nexusdarkerfontcoverLeadership has been defined as the act of influencing others. This definition works well when describing a quality in an individual, but when a deeper understanding of leadership is sought the word becomes much more mysterious.

Why do so many people view some American presidents, such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and John F. Kennedy, as great leaders? What made them leaders? What about inspirational leaders, like Mohandas Gandhi and Mother Theresa? How were some of these inspirational leaders able to influence other leaders?

Learn Leadership secrets: Masters of the Game – Reaching Beyond the Nexus to Success and Happiness

View Prem Chopra’s lectures on YouTube (video): Lectures on Purposeful Leadership