Good evening
and thank you. I am so very pleased to be a part of
this celebration of the Boys and Girls Club of Carbondale.
I have to be
up front with you and tell you that I had an accident that has rendered me
somewhat immobile. I’m nursing an injury suffered two weekends ago while carrying
out some very specific instructions from my wife. We were trying to trim up and
spruce up our backyard and I had been ordered…..instructed….to use
hedge-trimmers to manicure some unruly scrubs which are part of an upper
terrace in our backyard. To accomplish the task, I had to crawl up onto a
ledge, about 3-feet above the rest of the yard.
As I was
expertly doing the job, I could see something in the shrub…..that something was
a yellow jacket….and it saw me at the same time and decided to fly….at warp
speed….towards the space between my eyes. As it hit my head, I threw the
trimmer into the air and fell doing a graceful plant of my left shoulder into
the turf.
Now, my wife
and I are empty nesters…..but we do own a rescue basset hound. Her name is
Jacqueline Basset…..and as I rolled onto by back, dazed, she loped up next to
me.
For a
moment, I was transformed to my childhood…..when each week I watched a
television show called Lassie….where the reoccurring plot was……the main
character, Timmy, would get himself into some sort of jam…and expect his collie
to get him out of it. Timmy would fall into a well and yell for Lassie to “go
get help.” Lassie would then fight through a pack of coyotes, over rivers,
through deserts, to get the authorities to follow her back to the well…..Timmy
would be saved…..Lassie is a hero…..all within the confines of a 30-minute
show.
So, I roll
over dazed and my dog, Jackie, a 70-pound basset hound, jogs over to me. I,
somewhat jokingly, say to my dog------“Lassie, go get help.”
Instead of
running to Carol…..Jackie lines up parallel with my body and rolls onto her
back so I might be able to scratch her ample belly.
In other
words, If Lassie had been a basset……Timmy would be 63-years-old….still in the
bottom of a well.
I was asked
to pay homage to the theme of “Great
Futures, Great Leaders ” tonight….and I have some things to share about my own
leadership journey…
Why aspire
to be a leader?...you might ask. Honestly, I have often thought about that. Aren’t the soldiers who lift their heads out
of the bunker, the ones who get shot?
The best
quote I’ve ever encountered about leadership came from the pen of Southern
humorist Lewis Grizzard who once said----quote----If you are not the lead dog,
the scenery never changes.”
I can
honestly tell you---I was not a leader at birth. I became a leader through a
conscious effort at followership. Seems
odd, doesn’t it? Learning how to lead…by being an active follower. I learned a great deal about leadership at
the knee of my father, who helped found the Bethalto Boys Club in the late
1960s. He was a cop…..a juvenile officer who saw too much idle time on the hands
of the kids in my hometown. In his mind, idle hands were the devil’s workshop. …or
at least contributed to the number of juvenile delinquents roaming the streets
of our little town.
In my own
life, I learned how to lead on the athletic fields and courts. The older
classmen were the leaders and I watched and learned from their examples.
Unfortunately, my high school career as a football and basketball player was
fraught with problems.
You see, I
was short……but slow.
My nickname
in high school was Cold Gravy…..because cold gravy doesn’t run….and neither did
I. Unfortunately my oldest son also got my speed gene. His nickname in high
school was “Frozen Gravy.”
But
seriously, sports is a wonderful classroom to learn leadership. The concept of
“hard work equals success” has merit….and we all must learn the value of
teamwork if we are going to succeed in our careers.
Identify the
leader in your industry….then go to school on his or her traits, their
strategies….and their practices. I once was a radio broadcaster….so I went to
school on the best broadcasters of my era. And I went back decades to study the
fathers of broadcasting…people like Edward R. Murrow. I learned a lot by
following….
When I took
classes for my academic degrees, I got dual benefit. I, of course benefitted
from the content of the course. I also greatly benefitted from the way the
instructor presented the material. I liberally stole those teaching strategies.
Leadership through
followership works.
The second
concept I would share with you tonight is that of having well defined values…
I admire
honesty. I believe it is the single trait that separates Abraham Lincoln to
make him the greatest American president. Oh, yes, there was that Civil
War….but Lincoln’s extreme candor….his unimpeachable honesty…is what makes him
great.
I spent a part
of my life as a reporter. And I learned about something we called “the second
day story.” What I
noticed is…..the really good politicians made sure there was no opportunity for
“the second day story.”
If they did
something wrong….unethical….and they were caught doing it. The smart ones would
step up to the microphone and quickly admit their mistake…and seek forgiveness.
The story would die.
But the less
skilled politician denies the slip-up….and the story develops legs…and becomes
a series of stories.
History is
replete with examples of the downside of not accepting responsibility for one’s
actions….or words.
President
Richard Nixon was not impeached because he initiated a wiretap of the
Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel….he was impeached
because he tried like the dickens to cover it up.
We all fall
short….it is our nature….we just fall short. Learn how to fess up…quickly and
never blame someone else for your sins. Our society, our culture….and for most
of us….our Christianity teaches us to confess our errors and we will be
forgiven. To err is human, to forgive divine. People love to forgive in our
society. They want to give you a second chance. But nobody can tolerate a liar.
The third
idea I will share with you is the whole idea of being front and center for
failure….and in the back row when things go well.
I have a
saying….think I made it up myself…..don’t think I stole it…..here it is:
“Be careful
of taking too many bows----it makes it all the easier for someone to kick you
in the butt.” I cleaned it up for this event.
The point
is----I had a colleague once who always was accepting atta-boys from the boss
for work done in his department…by his people. He was taking credit for
everything that went right at the college….until something went wrong….and his
silence was deafening. Always give credit to others…be humble in accepting kind
words.
Accept bad
news with good humor. My grandfather was an incredible optimist. When grandpa
was a young man he rode on the freight trains---in and out of Nashville,
Illinois---as a hobo during the Great Depression. There were two trains that
rolled into his little Illinois town…one stopped for coal and water….the other
didn’t. One day, while riding back into town, he became convinced he was on the
train that did not stop….so….at fifty miles per hour…..he leapt from the train
and rolled to a stop with cuts and scratches all over his body as he watched
the train roll to a stop in Nashville…. just up the track.
When grandpa
told me this story I suspected there was some grand lesson attached to it. I
asked….what’s the point? Why did you tell me this story?
He used to
call me Mikem-----“Well Mikem, he said…..I guess I could have jumped on the other
side of town.”
A point well
taken….with humor.
Think hard
about your principles, commit yourself to those core beliefs, and don’t
compromise. To thine own self be true. If you wake up each day and test the
political wind to determine your own direction, you will waffle through life. I
respect people who have counter opinions to my own but I can spot a phony from
across the county.
Lesson three?---and
to illustrate this point---I will once again quote myself: “Leadership should
be a given ----rather---commit to
becoming a leader of leaders.”
I grew up
near St. Louis…and still live and die each summer with the St. Louis Cardinals
baseball team. They had a player named Albert Pujols, who was the most valuable
player in baseball a few years back….and might be in the same category as the
greatest Cardinal ever….Stan the Man Musial. Pujols said it best:
“I am at my
best if I make my teammates more complete players.”
In other
words, a rising tide lifts all boats. Work hard at being a good follower…be responsible…take life with a smile… and help others around you become better…and you will someday find yourself---in your late fifties----with a great life being shared with a great wife.
I believe that history is our greatest teacher. Learn from
your past. Before I met Carol, I spent two years thinking hard about the
mistakes of my past relationship. I wrote down eight things that I simply
needed to have in any future relationship. It was remarkable to me that Carol
perfectly matched those eight things. I couldn’t have written the manifesto if
I had not learned from my past mistakes. Fool me once, shame on you…..Fool me
twice….shame on me.
Here’s
another quote that I love-----from someone----I don’t know who to
attribute...
“There is no
limit to the amount of good that people can accomplish if they don’t care who
gets the credit.”
Next
lesson----I like to engage in a practice called, “Random Acts of Kindness.”
It’s really quite easy. In my daily life, I try to find ways to overtly
interject myself into people’s lives in a positive way. I will warn you….it
takes time….but I find it most rewarding. It can be as simple as finding a
student walking down the hall with a confused or worried look on his or her
face. You make eye contact and offer to help. They almost always smile….and
express their gratitude.
I have
friends who are going through trials in the lives……we all do. I offer to be
there for them. I know it sounds simple…but in this text message
world…..offering to listen is golden. Offering to act for a friend is the
ultimate act of kindness. Try it. It works.
And finally,
St. Louis University had a basketball coach who died way too young. His name
was Rick Majerus. Before he died at the age of 64 from heart disease…he
said….quote…”You examine your life, your values, your failures, the things that
make you proud. You think about the people you’ve helped, and the people you’ve
let down. And then you rethink it all over again.” I never met the Coach…but from everything I have read about him, he was a wonderful leader of young men. His players….past and present day…speak in glowing terms of him. His death, a few years ago, made me think and define my values. Most of mine are grounded in my Christianity. Honestly, the leaders I couldn’t follow in my life were the ones who couldn’t identify their values…or bent them…or had values totally foreign to the ones taught to me in the Bible.
I’ve learned
it is wise to…like Coach Majerus….remember the failures in my life. They can be
plentiful, painful….but highly educational.
As a final
thought---Pope Francis reminded us of the wisdom of the Word in his visit this
week to America.
“Do unto
others as you would have them do unto you.”
We all know
it as The Golden Rule.
It’s also
the Golden Rule of Leadership….and a pretty good place to focus your life….
Thank you Randy,
thanks to the board of the Boys and Girls Club….and all of you for your
attention.
God Bless You
and God Bless the Boys and Girls Club of Carbondale. 
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