Lights, Camera, Action: The Hollywood Effect
In 2006, the action movie Miami Vice was released around the world. It’s the story of two rugged cops who use unconventional methods to get their job done. The movie was actually a re-make of a 1980s television show, which starred Don Johnson. Don Johnson was “the man” back in his day. He was cool. He was tough. He shot
The Gardner’s Job
One of the Habitudes in our series is called, “The Gardener’s Job.” It simply reminds leaders that in the same way a gardener understands her primary job is to cultivate the soil and grow the plants in her garden, leaders must see their primary job as growing the people under their care. It isn’t just about doing a program or distributing
Will They Grow Up? (Part II)
Yesterday, I started a list of ideas adults can use to help teens and young adults grow up. Our society, which used to be part of the solution -- is now part of the problem in why these kids stall and fail to mature until their late twenties. These twenty-somethings have gone through our school systems and come out ill-equipped. Somehow,
Victims Don’t Share
Do you mind if I vent a little, as long as I offer some value by the time I’m through? Last week, I walked into the Dekalb County Courthouse to pay a traffic citation. I had been driving 68 in a 55 mph freeway. I don’t fancy visiting courthouses, but I tried to pay my fine on their website and it
Are You a Parent or a Commander?
From time-to-time, I reflect in my blog posts about leadership and parenting styles I see today. At times, the styles we choose (by default or design) are damaging. One kind I’ve seen recently is a style I’d call: “Commando Parent.” Have you seen them? Commando Parents They have been around for centuries and often are called “military parents.” Sometimes they attract that
Why Bullying is Hot Again and What You Can Do
I have worked with students for thirty years. I distinctly remember when bullying became a topic of discussion across the American education landscape. It was around 1995, the same time social scientists began to measure bullying on the school campus. The issue of “no bullies” became vogue for a while. Then, for years, it seems like we didn’t hear about
The Youth Population is Doing “Swell”
I just read the numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau. The population of kids worldwide from birth to college age is 2,987,230,232. In case this number represents too many digits for you -- that’s nearly three billion people. It’s about half of the world’s population. There is a worldwide swelling of young people. In China and India (the two largest
Still More Ideas to Equip Generation iY
This week, I am drilling down on practical ideas you can use to equip Generation Y (or the students I call Generation iY who have been born since 1990). I have a couple more suggestions below to add to our list… 5. Help them to focus. Generation Y often becomes fuzzy because they scatter themselves so thin in a variety of different
A Superficial World
Below is word number four in my series of six words that describe the world in which our kids are growing up. I am hopeful we, adults, can lead them well, but there’ll be changes we must make to prepare them to enter the world of adults. Below is my latest entry. See what you think… Their world is superficial. Kids
Duck Hunting
One of the Habitudes I included in Book Three of our series is an image called: Duck Hunting. It illustrates one of the most important truths leaders must embrace. I want you to imagine something. Pretend you have a friend who just returned from a hunting trip. It was his very first duck hunt. He was excited when he left for
Drivers and Passengers
One of my favorite “Habitudes” is found in Book One of our series. It is called “Drivers and Passengers.” It’s simply a fresh way to communicate a growing issue in our culture today. Consider this. People get into a car with different perspectives, based on whether they are driving the car, or merely a passenger on the trip. If you are