Racism has to go

water lily
What we like or dislike in others is a reflection of what others like or dislike about us.

Racism, to me, feels like an extension of a larger issue, discrimination. i am not smart enough to speak expertly, only as a novice. A novice with 60+ years of observation experience.

Discrimination, in my opinion and from my six decades of experience, is rooted in strongly held stereotypes.

Ironically, stereotypes are nondiscriminatory.

There are many “categories” ripe for creating stereotypes.

Age, religion, ethnicity, sex, sexual preference, height, weight, hair color, hair style, hair length, the car (or truck) you drive (or public transportation you use), job experience, socio-economics, clothes, marriage status, kids or no kids, zip code, political affiliation, accents, glasses or no glasses, education level, hobbies, active or inactive lifestyle, and a litany of endless other categories.

The older you get, stereotypically, the more you’ve seen, learned, and experienced. You learn there are now things that matter that you didn’t think mattered before. You learn there are things that don’t matter that you once thought were written in stone (for example, marriage is between a man and woman).

Here’s to a future that’s not only better than now, but much better than now.

A future with no negative stereotypes, no racism, no hate. A future filled with positive stereotypes, unconditional acceptance, never-ending love.

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This website is about our WORK. To ponder today’s post about our HOME, click here.

You’re a zealot and it wears people out

Tim Cook March 2015 Apple event.
Aim for perfection. Settle for excellence.

 

Notes from the final Disney Performance appraisal in 2014. These are word-for-word (copied and pasted here without editing). They were typed on an iPhone sitting across the desk from the leader during the meeting. Kinda like shorthand because we were talking one-on-one:

Zealot.
Teachable moment is every moment. Wears people out.
Willingly go to extremes… All the time.
Masters at their game… Leadership team.

The fourth line was a reference that i should study and emulate the experts, our departmental leadership team. The same group of experts that the team collectively voted as ineffective as the top issue on the employee survey.

Talk about a blind spot.

It is tiring.

On both sides no doubt.

But so is this, the DNA of Walt Disney Operations:

Deliver an excellent experience to every single Guest, every single time, every single day.

No operational leader ever says, “Anything less than 100% is acceptable today.”

Shifting gears…society’s focus on Easter pales in comparison to Christmas. From this it would be safe to assume Christmas is more important.

Is it?

Case in point, today, Christmas finally makes sense.

Happy Easter 2015.

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Are we called to be signs of contradiction?

Dynamic Catholic booth in Narthex.
Yesterday at Church.

 

All are entitled to be dynamic in life, few grant themselves permission.

This post starts off spiritually but quickly addresses the business leadership application.

Pastor Ennis who recently celebrated 50 years as a Priest, caught many of us off guard yesterday at Mass. He said:

 “We are called to be signs of contradiction.”

To be a thought-provoking apostle.

Immediately thought of the business leader’s job.

To be a though-provoking leader.

To rattle the cage of everyone she leads.

Because if employees keep thinking the same way they always do and expect consistent improvements, or even a breakthrough, then we don’t need that leader.

We don’t need that leader because that leader isn’t leading.

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Perhaps it is the delusional that are best suited to lead

Disney Leadership Speakers

 

(photo: Allentown, Pennsylvania – January 2015)

Which way? This guy’s a zealot? Odds are in his favor.

There’s a fair amount of doubt in ourselves as leaders.

Perhaps it is the delusional that are best suited to lead.

Maybe they are too blind to see what a zealot they’ve become.

And if they can’t see it, it doesn’t frighten them.

Maybe?

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Is taking risks similar to comedy?

random music video screen shot about real love
Everyone has a story. Everyone has a dream.

 

She is determined, humble, and strives for simplicity.

Probably a zealot too.

She’s passionate about excellence to the point of it being a liability.

Yet others see it as a game changer rather than a liability.

Taking risks is risky.

So is playing it safe.

Maybe it’s like comedy. Timing is everything.

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