Author Chris Brady's Leadership Blog

The World Needs Leaders

Perhaps now as much as ever, the world is in dire need of leadership. 

I don't speak of the candy-coated, teleprompter variety, or the plastic-faced tell-you-what-you-want-to-hear politician. I am also not referring to the high-born, or the well-connected, or the well-to-do. I don't refer to the do-gooders, or the world-controllers, neither the people arrogant enough to think they can save the world if only they could impose enough of their infallible wisdom upon others.

No.

What I'm referring to is real leadership. The kind that bubbles up from among the population of good, hard-working, honest people. 

I don't know why, but it seems as if the general mindset of people today runs along the tracks of, "There ought to be a law," or "The government should do something," or "An agency must be created to make this better." 

This mindset is dangerous, cowardly, and lazy. The world has rarely been made better by centralized, top-down impositions of somebody's concept of utopia. But yet, that is the exact type of solution to which we have either become accustomed, or conditioned. 

Many, many of our problems today are the direct result of top-down, collectivized, centralized decision making. "Government this," "agency that," until we are smothered under regulation and control. The problems thus created cannot be solved by the same false thinking that created them.

The challenges of our times call for solutions, for certain, but solutions of the grass-roots variety; fixes that spring from the individuals most affected, and most concerned, with the state of things around him or her. Individual initiative and pluck, combined with ingenuity and creativity, is responsible for more good and progress in the world than any collective body of government bureaucrats and professional nincompoops. This occurs when individuals are free to conceive and create, build and construct, produce and prosper. In short, when individuals lead.

Leadership is not a subset of management theory or political theory or business theory. It is central to all human activity. There are always those individuals who dare to stand up to injustice, stand in the gap of need, and stand on principle. They use what they have, where they are, to fix what they see as being wrong. They improve things, move them along, and contribute to the overall picture by their individual actions. 

That is leadership. 

And we need it now from individuals everywhere.

Will you respond? 

The Tri-Lateral Leadership Ledger

This next installment in Orrin Woodward and my Launching a Leadership Revolution series is perhaps the most important. The Tri-Lateral Leadership Ledger gives one a concrete measurement of his or her leadership abilities in three fundamental categories. The interplay of these strengths, as well as their individual magnitudes, play a critical role in a leader's effectiveness. Enjoy!

The Cycle of Achievement for Leaders

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Here is the fifth installment of the Launching a Leadership Revolution series. 

A Leadership Deficit

The following link will take you to a phenomenal movie short entitled "IOUSA."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_TjBNjc9Bo

This film presents America's fiscal crisis in the clearest terms I've found yet. The progression is easy to follow. The implications, scary.

The most intelligent observation made during the film is that we suffer from a "leadership deficit." No phrase could more accurately describe our precarious position as a nation. No concept could be more disheartening. 

America aches from many ailments. At the root of all of these, however, can be found a failure of America's so-called "leadership." I deride the term as used here because what our elected officials have done to our once-limited Republic is inexcusable, and qualifies for nearly any description except that of "leadership." They have not led our nation, they have bled it.

This is not a partisan issue. For too long the American people have been divided like sheep into two compliant, and blind, camps. The administration of George W. Bush could not have behaved more fiscally irresponsibly if it had deliberately set out to do so. Further, this film was made before the exasperatingly outrageous spending programs being ramrodded through the legislative process by the current administration. Just imagine if Nationalized Healthcare, Reparations, Illegal Immigrant Amnesty, and the whole host of entitlement and resurrected Great Society programs being proposed actually make it into existence. Under such incredible circumstances, the financial ruin of our economy will be even more imminent than demonstrated by this film; a fact that should chill anyone with a calculator and half-a-brain to the bone.

America is ailing desperately. She needs reviving. And she needs revival. Just how will this happen? The same way it always has throughout history and always does in smaller ways in our lives each day:

1. by the Grace of God

2. by the efforts of true leaders.

We will pray to God for the first.

And we will strive ourselves to provide the second. 

We certainly have a leadership deficit, and maybe we can change that.

We can only pray that we don't have a Grace deficit, as well. 

The Three Levels of Motivation

Here is installment #4 in Orrin Woodward and my Launching a Leadership Revolution video series. I hope you enjoy it! (If you haven't yet obtained a copy of the book, these topics and more are covered in more depth therein). 

Peter Schiff on the U.S. Economy

Peter Schiff has a clear understanding of America's current economic condition. He has repeatedly held strong to his predictions in the face of withering opposition - and has repeatedly been proven correct!

Additionally, Schiff is a very clear articulator of topics which have been confused and obscured by mainstream pundits and government officials. Just listen to Schiff for yourself and see if you don't think he makes a lot of sense! My favorite line in this video is in reference to America's taxation system which punishes the performer in order to give handouts to non-performers. Schiff likens it to a "Reverse Darwinism: A survival of the unfittest." Very clever. Enjoy.

Cletus and Bubba (Part 2)

    It was a bright and sunny morning late July when Bubba and Cletus finally got back out onto Sister Lake for some more fishing.

    Bubba said, "You know, Cletus, that there Guvmint class o' Mister Tate's is getting mighty, mighty intristin'."

    "Oh yeah? Howzat?"

    "Ever heard o' somethin' called inflashun?"

    "Yep. Like fer tires and such," answered Cletus while casting his first line.

    "Naw, now, come on, man, I'm tryin' ta have an telligent conversation with ya and you go kiddin' round. Frum what Mr. Tate says, this guvmint stuff ain't no joke."

    "Who says I'z kiddin'? Inflate tires, get it? Inflate!"

    "Well," answered Bubba, "It's got another defnishun. It's one of them economic terms, says Tate."

    "Umm hmm, ya got my tention."

    "Well, it's like this. Guvmint prints the money, seems like, much as they want."

    "That'd be nice."

    "Got those big ol' printin' presses. Mr. Tate dun showed em to us in a film strip."

    "Film strip? Not a DVD? Pretty old equipment ya all got down at the school."

    "Cletus, quite yer opinions, geesh. Trying ta teach ya something an all you can do iz produce commentary on the format of the videos. You think yer a regular Bill Jobs or somethin?"

    "Steve Jobs," asnwered Cletus, full of self-satisfaction.

    "Whatever. He the geeky one with the glasses?"

    "No. Black sweater. Bill Gates is the one with the nerd glasses."

    "Ha, yeah, yer right. Anyway, what wuz I sayin? Ya dun gone and made me fergit."

    "You wuz sayin' I wan't him," answered Cletus.

    "Right. Zactly. You ain't, just so ya know."

    "Got it," answered Cletus. "Preciate that info, too, seein as how I wuz confused and all."

    "Aw now come on, Cletus, are you gonna let me git to the point?"

    "I ain't stoppin' ya, am I?"

    "Anyways, Mr. Tate says we're an Inflashun Nation now."

    "That kinda reminds me of that cartoon they used to play back during those three years I wuz in the fifth grade. You remember? Conjunction Junction, what's yer function, hooking up trains and watching 'em grow now," Cletus sang, proud to remember the tune.

    "It's not 'watching 'em grow,' it's watching 'em go!' Trains don't grow!" said Bubba.

    "Aww, and now yer a music expert, too. Gotta tell ya, Bubba, not sure I like what all this schoolin's doing to ya!"

    "Yer a pain, Cletus, ya really are."

    "Tell me 'bout yer Inflashun Nation already," said Cletus, reeling in a small panfish.

    "Well, seems the guvmint can print all the money it needs. Only problem is, the more they print, the more it hurts all the other dollars already out there."

    "How so?" asked Cletus.

    "On account of the fact that if everybody has more, it's all worth less."

    "Did you say worthless, or worth less?"

    "Worth less. Man, yer a picky one."

    "Well," answered Cletus, a little offended, "They mean two very differnt thangs!"

    "Not really, according to Mr. Tate. If the dollar's worth less long nuff, then it will be worthless."

    "Got me there."

    "So as I wuz sayin'. Seems the guvmint's been crankin' on the ol' printin' press quite a bit lately. Pumping trillions a them dollars out there."

    "Sure wish they'd pump some in my direction," said Cletus.

    "Wouldn't matter eventually, you knucklehead. Cuz the more they pump out there, the more the one's already out there's worth less."

    "Worth less. There you go. You said it again."

    "Yes Eisenhower, worth less."

    "You mean Einstein."

    "Who?" asked Bubba, clearly annoyed at being interrupted again.

    "Einstein. You called me Eisenhower for being so smart. I think you meant Einstein. Eisenhower was a president or a general or a post master or sumthin'."

    "So now yer a dawgone geologist, too?"

    "What?" asked Cletus, tossing the panfish back into the water.

    "Never mind. Anyways, Cletus, inflashun is a lot like beer at a party. It's great in little doses at first."

    "I hear that!"

    "But after a bunch of forties, they kinda don't mean as much to ya."

    "You mean ta say, they're worth less."

    "Worth less, yes," said Bubba, placing heavy emphasis on the break between the words. "Mr. Tate says it's a lot like the Law of Diminishing Reruns."

    "Diminishing Reruns? What's that?" asked Cletus.

    "When the more ya git of sumthin the less it means to ya, said Mr. Tate, anyway."

    "I think ya mean Diminishing Returns, least-wise, that would make more sense," said Cletus catching another panfish.

    "Now yer a dad-gummed spelling teacher!" barked Bubba.

    "Spelling? That ain't spelling! It's nomenclature!"

    "Nomen what?" asked Bubba, completely frazzled.

    "Aw, never mind, Bubba. Jis keep on teachin' me, will ya? You were sayin' bout the Inflashun Nation bein' like beer."

    "So the more they print, the less yours is worth."    

    "Here we go agin."

    "But that's how it works. Mr. Tate sayz its like robbin' ya during broad daylight. Even if ya saved a bit a money, the value of it disappears out of it."

    "How's it do that?"

    "Like beer from a bottle at a party. I thought I already told ya that part."

    "Oh yeah."

    "So that's Inflashun."

    "Conjunction Junction, what's yer function? Hooking up trains and watching 'em grow, yeah!"

    "You gotta stop that singing Cletus, or I'm not gonna be able ta fish."

To Be Continued

The New Empire of Debt

Every once in a while something awesome happens to a reader. Like a treasure hunter discovering some titillating chest of third-century gold Bezants, a book is found that not only teaches, instructs, and entertains, but actually thrills: its content is relevant, its references interesting, and its sentences crafty and witty. I have made such a discovery, and I am so enthralled with it that I must pass it along to all three of you loyal blog readers out there. 

The book is called "The New Empire of Debt: The Rise and Fall of an Epic Financial Bubble," and it is written by William Bonner and Addison Wiggin.

It is unfortunate that the book has to have a title, because no matter what title would have been chosen, its description of the contents therein would not be sufficient. It is not merely a book about finances, bubbles, markets, empires, or anything else so neatly categorized and named. Rather, it is a work of art depicting human nature and its follies and foibles which have led us to our current malaise. But that is not even a valid description. To understand why this book literally (notice the pun?) defies classification, you must obtain a copy and read it for yourself.

One of the book's most redeeming features is its ability to inform without the need for prior initiation on the subjects contained therein. I realize that many have not read anything regarding economics, geopolitics, history, or sociology in years, if ever. No worries. This book uses human nature as its starting point for all points, then applies it to each of these categories in an eclectic but smooth way. And that is especially convenient and entertaining because, well, every reader is automatically qualified as a human (members of the Council on Foreign Relations excepted).

Also, the book is entirely non-partisan: something extremely refreshing in a brainwashed world where people are conditioned to automatically categorize and align everything "left and right," as if artificial constructs of supposed political policy had any bearing on the reality of government and control. 

Below are a couple of my favorite passages:

"American spending created a boom in China, where the average person works in a sweatshop, lives in a hovel, and saves 25 percent of his earnings. Meanwhile, in the United States, the average man lived in a house he couldn't pay for, drove a car he couldn't afford, and waited for the next shipment from Hong Kong for distractions he couldn't resist."

"There are no exceptions. All empires die."

"There is nothing quite so amusing as watching another man make a fool of himself. That is what makes history so entertaining."

"The two most important public issues of the early twenty-first century were the growth of debt in the United States, both public and private, and the stretch of American military resources around the world."

"The prejudice for action in public affairs is a constant. And a constant disappointment."

"The American system of the twenty-first century has no more in common with the system set up by the Founding Fathers than, say, a Mercedes Maybach has with a Tin Lizzie."

"But people find it easier to die than to think; and for most people, it is probably preferable."

"Within every world improver and empire builder lurks a vain animal - displaying his tail feathers. For it is neither love nor money that makes the world go 'round - but vanity."

Like all books, of course, I don't agree with everything. Attempting to be a bit too contrarian, at times, leads the authors into some odd cul-de-sacs. They also lose their grip in their direct, though funny, attacks on New York Times colunist Thomas Friedman. Their points are correct; their personal assault is not. But these minor detractions only add to the eclectic and refreshingly different voice of the work. Strange it would be, indeed, if wit and cynicism didn't occasionally go awry (after all, I can relate!)

Judging by what passes for curriculum in today's public school civics books, this book should become required reading to offset the claptrap. I hope you enjoy it!  

Foundational Qualities of Leadership

Here is the third installment in the video series featuring Orrin Woodward and myself discussing the Launching a Leadership Revolution book. Don't worry, we will continue with the award winning, stunningly creative mix of content you've come to expect from this blog, but I wanted to get a few of these videos up. I hope you enjoy them

Art and Science of Leadership