Showing posts with label style. Show all posts
Showing posts with label style. Show all posts

Monday, September 21, 2009

In the beginning….Setting Priorities (I)

A friend and colleague, Mike S, recently wrote to me, “I enjoy reading your thoughts on leadership and know you have dealt in the past with how a leader sets an example, acts and lives, but I was wondering if you have considered the topic I will call ‘how a leader starts’. This topic intrigues me because I am about to start something new and the timing is appropriate.

I am starting a new role as well so this is a great moment to explore the subject of ‘In the beginning’. In a series of posts I will outline some of my thoughts as I start this new role. If you follow this blog you know I took a time out for Bill Taylor a couple of weeks ago. Before my eulogy for Bill, the previous blog was titled “Ask Questions”; I will pick back up here with “Setting Priorities”. This will be the first of several posts on this topic.

How many business books have you seen with a sub-title, “How to do everything all at once”? None; in fact usually we read statements like this from Peter Drucker, “Do first things first, and second things not at all.” I have long considered strategy to be more about what you decide NOT to do, rather than what you decide TO do. We all know we should focus, we all know we should be Setting Priorities, but how should we go about doing it?

In photography, a filter is a camera accessory that is inserted in the optical path. Filters allow added control for the photographer of the images being produced. Sometimes they are used to make only subtle changes to images; other times the image would simply not be possible without them. Likewise, we have a filter as we begin Setting Priorities. Like the photographer, our filter sits in our field of vision and controls our image of the future. Sometimes our filter makes subtle changes to the future and sometimes our view of the future simply would not exist without our filter. The filter we choose to put in our field of vision is critical. In general, I have seen two very different types of filters; serve or be served.

Serve or be served relates to the overall posture you or your organization will maintain. Serve or be served defines your frame of mind which affects all your thoughts and behavior. As I hire managers, the first thing I look at is their posture related to their people. Does this person arrive at work and think, “What will my people do for me today?” Or do they arrive at work and think, “What will I do for my people today?” The same can be said of an organization; does it exist to serve or be served? Long term the posture that succeeds is the “serve” posture.

Therefore, the first step in Setting Priorities is to place a “serve” filter in your field of vision. How is that done? Recently I got my management team together as part of “Setting Priorities” and asked them to identify our constituents; essentially I asked them, who do we serve? They identified four key constituents; employees, customers, partners and investors. Then we went through a process to identify how these constituents see us today and how they will see us in the future if we do a great job of serving them. Here is the output of that session:

  • For employees we want them to have a stock that is valuable, we want them to attain their bonus targets and feel engaged and part of the success of the sales organization.
  • For customers we want them to say we understand and transform their business, they have a great buying experience, we provide great solutions to their challenges and they are enthusiastic about being references.
  • For partners we want them to grow their business, be self-sufficient in driving sales and build successful marketing automation practices.
  • For investors we want them to say we are accurate in our forecasts, we perform consistently, we are growing faster than the market and we are the clear market leader.

We now have our filter in place. Our view of the future is seen through that filter. Everything we do next in “Setting Priorities” will be shaped by a future state thought process surrounding those we serve.

No wind favors him who has no destined port.” - Michel de Montaigne French Philosopher and Writer, 1533-1592

Thursday, July 30, 2009

In the Beginning…Ask Questions

A friend and colleague, Mike S, recently wrote to me, “I enjoy reading your thoughts on leadership and know you have dealt in the past with how a leader sets an example, acts and lives, but I was wondering if you have considered the topic I will call ‘how a leader starts’. This topic intrigues me because I am about to start something new and the timing is appropriate.

I am starting a new role as well so this is a great moment to explore the subject of ‘In the Beginning’. In a series of posts I will outline some of my thoughts as I start this new role. The last blog was about “listen” this one is about “ask questions”.

Before you can listen, you sometimes have to ask questions. There are all sorts of techniques to asking questions:

  • Open and closed ended questions
  • Using a funnel
  • Probing questions
  • Leading the witness
  • Rhetorical questions

While these are useful, they are merely the manner in which you try to elicit input from an individual or group. No matter what technique you use, your posture becomes the most important attribute when you “ask questions

I want to be clear about the use of the term posture. I do not mean the position of your limbs or the carriage of your body as a whole. In this context I am talking about the definition whereby posture is a mental or spiritual attitude. Your internal attitude as you ask question, no matter what technique you use, will have profound impact on the way the organization operates.

It is human nature to be fault finders. In our natural state we run around, seek out imperfections and crush them. Think about almost every strategy or planning meeting you have been in. It usually has this question somewhere in it, “All right folks, let’s figure out what is broken and let’s go fix it!” I am at the front of the parade, completely guilty of this approach. Of course, this is sometimes necessary in every business or endeavor, so I am not advocating that we never look at what is going wrong and put plans in place to recover, fix, turn around or eliminate the brokenness of an organization.

That said, we have to be careful that we do not fall in a trap where all of our questioning comes from a posture of, “what’s wrong?” Why not? There is an important principal at work here; human systems grow in the direction of what they persistently ask questions about. If I continue to ask questions from a “what’s wrong” posture, the organization will focus its time, energy and ultimately its attitude around broken things. It will grow towards what is wrong. We need to invert this outcome, instead of negation, criticism, and spiraling diagnosis, we must send our organization in the direction of discovery, dream, and design.

How do we do this? How can we send our organization in the direction of what works? There is a fairly significant body of work around the field of Appreciative Inquiry. Appreciative Inquiry joins two powerful words.

Ap-pre’ci-ate, v. valuing; the act of recognizing the best in people or the world around us; affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials; to perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, excellence) to living systems

In-quire’, v., 1. the act of exploration and discovery. 2. To ask questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities.

How does appreciative inquiry manifest itself as you ‘ask questions’? Think of these two questions; “We are trying to grow this business, what is wrong? What is broken? Why can we not seem to grow the business?” Or; “We are trying to grow this business; can you tell me some examples of where growth has worked? How do we replicate those examples?

You can picture the difference in my posture as I ask those two questions. You can almost sense the difference in the room during these two very different conversations. This mode of questioning repeated time and again at all levels throughout the organization can have a profound impact on the attitude, energy, initiative and success within a company. In fact, David L. Cooperrider and Diana Whitney assert in some of their writing on Appreciative Inquiry, “The single most prolific thing a group can do if its aims are to liberate the human spirit and consciously construct a better future is to make positive change the common and explicit property of all.

In the beginning…ask questions. But check your posture. Beyond your questioning techniques, what is the core of what you are trying to find out? Are you trying to discover all that is broken or examples of where success is occurring?

Winston Churchill said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” We have to ‘ask questions’ in such a manner that we give our folks the chance to see the opportunity in the difficulty.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Joshua's lessons on leadership - Joshua's Last Lesson

For those of you that follow this blog, I apologize for the length of time between posts. I generally update this blog every week or so and it has been four weeks since my last update. The last month has been a blur of travel that ended up with me accepting a role at a new company. I now plan to get back on my regular blog schedule. As always, I’d love any input on topics.

If you have been following the blog you know that I’ve been writing about leadership lessons from Joshua ben Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, which would become known as the most militaristic of the tribes of Israel through Joshua's campaigns. If this is the first post in the series you have read, please do a quick review of the March 30, 2009 blog titled “Joshua's lessons on leadership - Intro”; that post highlights why I am looking into Joshua’s life.

In the last entry, Joshua reminded us that “Leaders Protect the Truth”. In this post, I close out my thoughts on Joshua with “Joshua’s Last Lesson”.

The stage for this last lesson is Joshua’s farewell address. Joshua lead the Jewish people for 28 years and brought an area of land bounded by the Egyptian empire to the south and the Mesopotamia to the north under one rule through 14 years of conquest and settlement. This was no easy task since no one power ruled this section of land; it was inhabited by seven Canaanite tribes in 31 fortified city-states scattered all over the map, each ruled by its own "king." Here is what we know, "when the country was at rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then old and well advanced in years, summoned all Israel, their elders, leaders, judges and officials". Joshua summoned them for his farewell speech. I imagine that people sat on the edge of their seat to listen. They were all there to hear the last words of the man who lead them to their permanent home.

Have you ever noticed we pay more attention to someone’s farewell speech than most anything else they say? I had a coach who once told me, “Alex, it is not about how you enter a role that matters; it is about how you leave it”. Think about some of the famous farewell comments through history:

  • Napoleon – “Do not regret my fate; if I have consented to survive, it is to serve your glory
  • Edward VIII – “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility without the help and support of the woman I love
  • Lou Gehrig – “I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth
  • LBJ – “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as President
  • Douglas MacArthur - “I came through, and I shall return
  • George Washington – “Observe good faith and justice towards all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all

When it comes time to give a farewell address people become thoughtful and selective with their words. Whether passing on an idea, encouragement, closure, a lesson or a directive, a farewell message speaks loudly about the person’s deepest character and passion.

So what did Joshua tell the people that were gathered to listen to his final lesson? What did they hear as they leaned into his farewell address? "Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written…without turning aside to the right or to the left

The last lesson of Joshua directs us toward strength, obedience and determination. Strength observed as moral power, firmness, or courage. Obedience defined as subjection to rightful restraint or control. Determination described as the quality of being resolute; firmness of purpose.

At the end of his life, in his farewell address, Joshua gives us one last great lesson. When we lead, it is not our words that matter. It is our actions that should demonstrate strength, obedience and determination.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Joshua's lessons on leadership - Leaders Protect the Truth

In a series of posts, I want to discuss what we can learn about leadership from Joshua ben Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, which would become known as the most militaristic of the tribes of Israel through Joshua's campaigns.  If this is the first post in the series you have read, please do a quick review of the March 30, 2009 blog titled  “Joshua's lessons on leadership - Intro”; that post highlights why I am looking into Joshua’s life.

In the last entry, I discussed the need to remember “Leaders Eat Last”.  In this post, Joshua reminds us “Leaders Protect the Truth”.

I want to use a mechanism created under Joshua’s rule as a proxy for the level to which we need to seek out and protect the truth in the organizations we lead.  The back-story for this analogy is the concept of the Cities of Refuge.

In the Israelite society Joshua led, there was no police force to investigate crimes. If someone was killed, it was the moral responsibility of the family member who was closest to the victim to investigate and avenge the murder.  This person became the avenger of blood – the kinsman redeemer.

However, a human redeemer’s subjectivity, passion, and anger at the loss of their family member just might cloud their judgment.  They might end up avenging the death by killing someone who wasn't guilty of a capital crime.

Joshua, as the leader of his people had to set up a system to protect the innocent and provide time to sort out the truth of a situation.  The system was ‘Cities of Refuge’.  What we know from tradition is that any of the Israelites or any alien living among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.

Here are some interesting facts about these Cities of Refuge:

  • They were strategically located so there would be easy access to them for anybody seeking refuge.
  • Highways were built to increase the ability for someone to get to these cities of refuge.
  • These highways were maintained so that nobody was ever hindered in getting to these cities.
  • Bridges were built across every ravine, so that the person running for refuge wouldn't have to waste time climbing to the bottom of the ravine and then up the other side.
  • The highways were rebuilt every spring after the heavy winter rains so that the road surface would be smooth and easy to run on.
  • At every crossroads or intersection on these highways, there were big, bold signs pointing the way with the word ‘Refuge’ in large letters.
  • The gates of the cities of refuge were never locked.
  • The city was well stocked to provide for any fugitives who came to stay for however long they might need to be there.
  • The cities were designated for all the people of Israel, including the stranger.
  • The same justice, the same protection and provision, were free to all.

How effectively are you setting up ‘Cities of Refuge’ in the organization you lead or are a part of?  Are you building and maintaining roads for the truth to get to you?  Are you building bridges?  Are there signposts in your organization with ‘Truth’ in large letters?  Are all people able to bring the truth or just a selected few of your favorites? Do you do anything unconsciously that locks out the truth?

I know people are not getting physically killed on our teams.  Yet conflict occurs all the time.  An error happens.  A mistake is made.  A deal is lost.  A customer gets mad.  A decision costs the organization time and money.  Then people start defending and justifying.  This sets off acts of accusation and retribution that get increasingly personal.  These acts disintegrate into permanently scarred team members, colleagues who become incapable of trusting each other.  Nine times out of ten, the event was less egregious and purposeful than assumed.  There is an innocent person involved that needs refuge.  There is a truth that needs to be protected.  When your folks see you reliably seek out the truth of a situation by taking the time to discover and understand all perspectives they will stop making personal accusations and trust will reign.

Look back at the effort that was necessary to insure safe passage of a person to a City of Refuge.  You and I must take a page from Joshua’s book and go through the same level of effort as Joshua creating routes for the truth to get to us, protecting, defending and highlighting those routes. 

Winston Churchill said, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”  We have to give the truth a chance to get its pants on and pass all the fiction that gets created.  Or as it is written on the main tower of my alma mater, The University of Texas “Ye Shall Know the Truth, And the Truth Shall Make You Free.

You are the guardian of the truth.  Leaders Protect the Truth.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Joshua's lessons on leadership - Results Matter

In a series of posts, I want to discuss what we can learn about leadership from Joshua ben Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, which would become known as the most militaristic of the tribes of Israel through Joshua's campaigns.  If this is the first post in the series you have read please do a quick review of the 30 March, 2009 blog titled  “Joshua's lessons on leadership - Intro”; that post highlights why I am looking into Joshua’s life.

In the last entry, I discussed the importance of “Inner Strength”.  In this post, Joshua shows us “Results Matter”.

Winston Churchill said, “However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.  Results matter and for the leader, the ability to demonstrate results is a force multiplier.  People trust a leader that gets it done.  Joshua illuminates this principal during one of the more famous stories in his life - the Battle at Jericho.

Ancient Jericho is located at Tell es-Sultan, next to an abundant spring on the western edge of the Jordan Valley, just north of the Dead Sea. The site’s water supply and climate have made it a desirable place to live from the very beginning of settled habitation. A Neolithic settlement at the site goes back to about 8000 BC, making Jericho the world’s oldest city.

The site is strategically located. From Jericho you have access to the heartland of Canaan.  Any military force attempting to penetrate the central hill country from the east would first have to capture Jericho.  Therefore, Joshua must conquer and hold Jericho for the tribes of Israel to move into their new home. 

Joshua comes into the battle with a great track record.  Recall from the post on 13 April that he lead an important victory early in his career.  Then he was picked by the legendary leader of the tribes to bring the wandering population into their new homes.  He had also just led important victories against the King of Heshbon and the King of Bashan; these two cities lay just east of the Jordan river and their capture allowed the tribes to have a protected launching point for crossing into their desired homeland. Finally, right before the battle, he led the people to cross the Jordan River during a time of year when it should have been at flood stage, yet all got across safely. 

Joshua would need this track record because he asked his army to do something unexpected.  Joshua had in inspiration of how the Battle of Jericho would be fought.  We will march around the city once with all the armed men and do this for six days.  Then on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in."

Let me put this in perspective.  The Siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade from October 21, 1097, to June 2, 1098.  During those eight months battle engines were created, raised up against the walls and destroyed, hundreds of sorties were attempted; the crusaders were under continuous surprise attack.  In the winter months, they ran out of food and ate bark, drank the blood of their animals, suffered disease and famine.  In general, a siege of a walled city was really hard work and it lasted a long time with intense suffering on both the besieged and the attackers.

So I can only imagine the reaction of Joshua’s generals when he laid out his plan, “Guys, you will not have to fight and the siege will only last seven days – seriously”.  The generals look at Joshua and then look up at the walls of Jericho.

An earthen barricade surrounded Jericho with a stone retaining wall at its base. The retaining wall was 12–15 feet high. On top of that was a wall six feet thick and about 20–26 feet high. At the crest of the barricade was a similar wall whose base was roughly 46 feet above the ground level outside the retaining wall. This is what loomed high above the Israelites as they marched around the city each day for seven days. Humanly speaking, it was impossible for the Israelites to penetrate the impregnable stronghold of Jericho.

They looked back at Joshua, “Seriously guys, I am just saying that if we do this and then blow a horn and shout the walls will come down”.  Without a track record of results, I imagine Joshua’s generals looking at each other and raising their eyebrows.  Maybe one or two who are complete sycophants say, “Yes!! That is a great plan”.  Then the rest grumble to each other, “OK, the river is one thing, but shout at the walls and they fall down?  Let’s humor poor Joshua for seven days and then we can build our real siege plan

Yet, the army followed his command; they were following a man who had delivered increasingly difficult results.  For six days marching and not attacking or even threatening the city probably lulled the defenders.  A change in pattern on the seventh day should have alerted the defenders. The silent marchers appeared as before, but this time marched around the city seven times. This completed, they turned toward the walls and the priests leading the column each blew a ram's horn and the multitude shouted. At this, the walls fell.   This created an easy slope up the earthen embankment between the inner and outer city walls, allowing the army easy access to an impenetrable city.  No description is given of resistance, only of results, “every man charged straight in, and they took the city and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it

Joshua had an inspiration and asked his army to follow.  Without a track record of results would they have followed the plan he outlined?  Maybe or maybe not.  However it was far easier for them to follow with confidence and energy knowing their leader usually got it done.  Results matter - not just for the mission today, but also for the mission tomorrow.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

David's lessons on leadership - Trust

In a series of posts I reflect upon what we can learn about leadership from David, King of Israel.  If this is the first post in the series you have read, please do a quick review of the January 2, 2009 blog titled  “David’s lessons on leadership – Intro”; that post outlines why I am looking into David’s life.

The previous blog dealt with knowing that until people see us “Take a Stand” they will never know our values or be in a position to choose to accept our values or move on.  This post deals with “Trust

The backdrop for a lesson on trust comes in an interaction between Jonathan, David’s best friend (see “Jonathan Moments” – February 9th) and his soldiers.

Jonathan becomes disgusted with his dad, Saul the king.  He is disgusted because right after Jonathan led a great victory that Saul claimed was his own victory, Saul tries to lead 600 men into battle without weapons.  We read in the story that not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, so Israel had to pay their enemy to have their plowshares, mattocks, axes and sickles sharpened. As a result, on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand.

Jonathan takes matters into his own hands and tells one of his soldiers, “Let’s you and me go into the enemy camp and destroy it”.  His soldier tells him, “do all that you have in mind; I am with you, heart and soul."  Jonathan's soldier "Trusts"

Contrast the soldiers response, with Jonathan’s retort to one of his father’s commands.  Saul had told the army not to eat until they had their victory.  But Jonathan found some honey on the ground and ate it any way.  One of the soldiers told him, "Your father bound the army under a strict oath, saying, 'Cursed be any man who eats food today!' That is why the men are faint."  Jonathan’s response, "My father has made trouble for the country. See how my eyes brightened when I tasted a little of this honey.  How much better it would have been if the men had eaten today?”  Jonathan's words and actions show his men he has no "Trust" for his father.

What a difference in the way the soldier spoke of his leader and the son spoke of his father.  The soldier has trust and deference and the son only has condescension.  Why the difference?

The level of trust that we have in a leader dictates the speed and obedience of our following (the concepts are derived from a book by Stephen Covey Jr. called “The Speed of Trust”).  High trust, high speed and high obedience.  Low trust, questions, debates and delays.  Where does trust come from?  Character and competence.  Character is comprised of integrity and intent.  Competence is built on capability and results.   Let me break this down a bit further:

  • Integrity – when there is no gap between intent and behavior.  You see this in people when they act in harmony with their deepest values and beliefs.
  • Intent – based upon motive, agenda and related behavior.  It is the reason why you do something.
  • Capability – the knowledge, skills, ability and attitude that a person brings to a situation.
  • Results – getting stuff done matters. Or as Master Yoda says, “Do or do not, there is no try

Each of us falls short on one of more of these four items at any point in time.  The more we demonstrate a complete picture to our team and improve each of these areas, the more they trust us, the faster we operate together and the more effective we become.

So what was the difference between Jonathan and Saul?  The soldier saw a few specific things in Jonathan.  First, he demonstrated capability and results in the first attack he led.  Second, his character was on display before heading into the raid on the Philistines when he told the soldier “Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few”.  Jonathan was a capable man of action who walked the talk in terms of his belief system.  He showed integrity and intent.

Contrast the view of Jonathan with the view Jonathan might have of his father.  Saul could not put arms into the hands of his people and took credit for actions that were not his.  He could not get results and his intent was suspect.  Although Saul was strong and effective, his flaws caused him to do things that negatively influenced the way his people viewed his character and competence.

What is the lesson?  Objectively review our integrity, intent, capability and results.  Score ourselves, where do we fall short?  Be surrounded with a few trusted advisors.  Seek their input, ask them to articulate the areas where we are lacking and ask them to help us improve.  And then – trust your people.  Operate with an internal compass that says most people really want to do the right thing.  Henry Stimson, who was an American statesman, served as Secretary of War, Governor-General of the Philippines, and Secretary of State said, “The chief lesson I have learned in a long life is that the only way you can make a man trustworthy is to trust him; and the surest way to make him untrustworthy is to distrust him.”

Know you have to earn their trust, but trust them first.

Friday, February 27, 2009

David's lessons on leadership - Take a Stand

In a series of posts I reflect upon what we can learn about leadership from David, King of Israel.  If this is the first post in the series you have read, please do a quick review of the January 2, 2009 blog titled  “David’s lessons on leadership – Intro”; that post outlines why I am looking into David’s life.

The previous blog dealt with knowing we all have flaws and being aware our flaws can lead us to join the ranks of “Tragic Heroes”.  This post deals with the topic of “Take a Stand

There was a long period in David’s life when he was on the run from Saul.  Recall that Saul was David’s mentor and king, he became jealous of David and went through a bi-polar experience some days loving David and some days wanting to kill him.  It was in one of these ‘kill him’ moments we see David stand tall among his men and “Take a Stand

Around 1000 B.C., Saul was chasing David through the Desert of Maon when he broke off his pursuit of David because the Philistines were raiding his land.  As Saul turned, David went up and “dwelt in the strongholds at En Gedi”, which is the largest oasis along the western shore of the Dead Sea. 

Saul finished his battle with the Philistines and took 3,000 men back to En Gedi to capture David.  Saul basically calls in the cavalry; he now outnumbers David 5:1.  Saul ends up having to relieve himself in a cave that turns out to be the very same cave that David and his men are hiding in.  David’s men encourage him, telling him, "This is your moment, go kill Saul, it is a sign from above”.  Six hundred frightened men, badly outnumbered convince their leader that in this moment he can deliver them from their weary travails.

David sneaks up to kill Saul and at the last moment spares him.  David merely cuts a piece of Saul’s robe (which he later shows Saul to prove that he does not want to kill him).  David comes back to his men and rebukes them.  He does not allow them to attack Saul.  He tells them, “Saul is my king and I made an oath not to lift my hand against him”.  David’s men see him “Take a Stand

I look at this story and think “What are David’s men saying about him?  Were they saying, “Look how great and glorious our leader is because he kept an oath and see how gracious he is toward Saul”?  Or were they saying, “What the heck has gone wrong with David?  We are on the run, tired, hungry, living in a rock, he has every chance to deliver us and yet he does not!

We never know their reaction.  As you study this story you see the reaction of David’s men upon finding Saul, yet there is nothing about their reaction to David letting Saul go.  Why is there no record of their reaction in that moment?  Here I think is the lesson – it did not matter…

There will be moments in which you are publicly presented a situation where you have to either “Take a Stand” or please the people you lead.   Until people see you “Take a Stand” they will never know your values or be in a position to choose to accept your values or move on.

So here is a moment for David’s men; they see the choice that David made.  They know the sacrifice of this choice since David is on the run with them.  They see David have the opportunity to end it all yet choose to keep an oath and respect authority.  David’s men now know his values and can choose to follow him and his belief system or move on.

We do our people a favor when we “Take a Stand”; we let them know our value systems and ourselves.  We are no longer anonymous.  There is an old Chinese proverb - “A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows public opinion

Show your values, don’t just talk about them; “Take a Stand