It's been a while...

Hello anyone who still visits this page!

It's been nearly 7 months since my last post, and unfortunately, I can only blame life (changes in location, job, family situation, etc.). I do not plan on abandoning this blog, and I will probably return in the near future with some new posts, and perhaps even some of the other ideas that have been percolating in the back of my mind. I only ask for a little patience.

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Leadership Quote - Doc Hastings

Created by Erin Morey

Memorial day isn't about the people who served and survived. It is to remember those who didn't.Thankfully, I didn't have too many fallen friends during my time in the Army, but anyone who's served knows a few, and I lost several even after I was out of the Army. I miss those friends,  so, while you enjoy your barbeques and the beginning of summer, please take a moment to think about the men and women who have sacrificed everything, and the families that miss them as you enjoy the holiday.

Leadership Quote - Alexander den Heijer

Created by Erin Morey

My wife is a bit of an amateur gardener, and since we recently moved we've started discussing how to build raised flower/gardening beds. One of the larger concerns when gardening is the quality of the soil. You amend the soil with compost, lime, and other materials to make it a better medium for growth. It can be critically important to adjust the soil, as the wrong pH balance can kill the plants, and plants grow better in different types of soil.

What about your team? Are you giving them a rich and fertile place to grow, or is it barren and destitute? Do you provide the team nutrients and opportunities to grow (compliments, recognition, challenging assignments) or do you constantly dig up or neglect the seeds? As Dutch Speaker Alexander den Heijer identified:

When A Flower Doesn't Bloom, You Fix The Environment In Which It Grows, Not The Flower.

- Alexander den Heijer

Pretty simple this week. Are you trying to address the environment your team is in or are you trying to address the team? In real life you probably need to pay attention to both, however, if the environment isn't conducive to the growth of the team, then the team members won't grow or bloom. 

Leadership Quote - Milarepa

Created by Erin Morey

Are you able to stay focused on what you want to accomplish? Or are you like Doug the Dog from the Pixar movie Up? Unable to maintain a train of thought and easily distracted by squirrels? Regrettably, it is getting harder and harder for us to maintain our focus as hundreds (if not thousands) of things vying for our attention. Just as an example, how often has your phone pinged, vibrated, or lit up since you started reading this? I'm willing to bet it is more than once.

When these things happen, we lose focus and have to try to re-attain it. At least one study has shown that it can take up to 25 minutes to regain your focus once interrupted, and another showed that people switched their activities every three minutes five seconds (Fast Company interview with Gloria Mark, Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine). This disruption is at the expense of deeper thinking and consistent effort.

Which brings us to this week's quote:

When You Run After Your Thoughts You Are Like A Dog Chasing A Stick: Every Time A Stick I Thrown You Run After It. Instead, Be Like The Lion Who, Rather Than Chasing The Stick, Turns To Face The Thrower. One Only Throws A Stick At A Lion Once. 

- Milarepa

Are you running after sticks (or chasing squirrels) rather than disciplining your mind? As a leader, what about your team? Are you causing undue stress and impacting their ability to work? Are others? 

Often when I coach Project Managers I advise them to turn off the email notifications because it can be distracting and pull you away from the detailed work you are doing. Instead, pick dedicated times to review, triage and reply to emails. By doing this you take back more control and limit the distractions. If it was important, they would call you!

There are other tactics you can do to protect your time and that of your team. I would suggest you block some time this week and look at your distractions. Work to become the lion, rather than a dog with a stick!

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Milarepa is one of Tibet's most famous yogis and poets. He was a major historical figure of the Kagyu School of Buddhism. 

Wacky Wednesday - Accidental Art

Since this weeks quote was provided by Vincent Van Gogh, I thought it would be fun to share some Accidental Art. Thanks to the constant efforts of my loving wife, I've grown a greater appreciation of art over the years (It may have grown to the point of "cool" rather than "eh"). Well, sometimes I'm amazed at what people do, and sometimes I'm amazed at the accidents that can provide moments of beauty. This week I share a couple of interesting picks and a link to a list of 25+ accidental beauties:

Google Glitches - Sleevelessocks

Tree Pattern In a Tree - AbortedGallow

Oranges through Greenhouse Glass - Mikeleus

Chipped Windshield Like a Bird - AshlynnMartell

Accidental Dragon Egg - AwkwardPigeon

Snoopy Under the Moon - Tacec

Plumbing Spray Pattern - LysdexicPenguin

Do you want to see more? Check this out, compiled by BoredPanda.com

Leadership Quote - Vincent Van Gogh

Created by Erin Morey

Last week we discussed how the turtle needs to stick its neck out in order to make progress. This week I'll encourage you to be careful of Normality (status quo). The two can often seem related, but I would encourage you to think of them separately. The road can be comfortable, and you can make great progress rapidly by traveling down a road, but you can miss the adventure (or flowers) by staying on the road. Hence this week's quote:

Normality Is A Paved Road: It Is Comfortable To Walk, But No Flowers Grow.

- Vincent Van Gogh

In fact, one of my kid's favorite movies touched on the topic (first 22 seconds Cars by Pixar): 

Wacky Wednesday - The Marvel Bunch

This has been going through my head all week... AND I HAVEN"T EVEN SEEN INFINITY WAR YET!

The only thing is that I wish they had done it with Civil War, so that Cap and Iron Man would be the parents.... Missed opportunities!

Leadership Quote - James Bryant Conant

Created by Erin Morey

This past week I presented at the Nashville PMI Symposium on Change Management. The Opening Keynote was provided by Dan Thurmon,  NSA member, acrobat, and juggler. At 50 years old, this man provided a keynote meant to inspire the audience to be Off Balance on Purpose (also his book, affiliate link). I can only hope to summarize his key point but basically it's that you can expend a lot of energy maintaining balance (the status quo) but you only make progress when you are off-balance; so lean forward and intentionally become off balance.

Wacky Wednesday - Lighthouse

Earlier this week we shared a quote about a Lighthouse... sometimes no matter what you try you just can't help some people:

Ahhh... my fellow servicemen in the US Navy!

Just Kidding Guys!

Leadership Quote - Unknown

Created by Erin Morey

Too often Leaders see their job as being the rescuer. In fact, I once had a co-worker tell me I needed to stop being the hero all the time. I rarely think of myself as the hero. More often I like to think of myself as a mentor. When I make decisions or try to smooth out roadblocks, if I can, I like to take time to educate my team on why certain decisions are made or even get them involved in the decisions. When I am able to do this, then this week's quote is true:

I am a lighthouse rather than a lifeboat. I do no rescue, but instead help others to find their own way to shore, guiding them by my example - Unknown

Most leadership experts would agree that we are at our most effective when we can provide for the growth of more leaders. Our first goal is typically to achieve a specific objective; however, one of our most important and often overlooked goals is to improve our teams and hopefully grow a few leaders along the way. In that case we should strive to be the lighthouse that provides a direction for our team's growth and guidance so that they can progress safely.

What are you doing to grow your team? Are you providing them with the opportunity for education? Are you taking the time to explain the decision you've made or why you chose the path you are heading down? This works to educate, but it also builds trust. What more could you be doing to provide the light to help them get to shore?

Wacky Wednesday - People Are Awesome - March

Alright folks, for another Wacky Wednesday, here is the compilation video for People Are Awesome for the month of March 2018. Enjoy!

Leadership Quote -

Created By Erin Morey

Leadership is a tough endeavor. Defining a vision, getting the team to buy into it and then working toward that end goal are not easy things to do. Add in the very human response of resistance to change and a person can find themselves very easily at odds with the very people he/she is trying to lead and hopefully help.

In this week's quote, President of the United States Ronald Regan shares his thoughts on this concept:

When You Can't Make Them See The Light, Make Them Feel The Heat. 
- US President Ronald Regan

When President Regan first thought of this statement, he may have been relating to another common American Idiom: If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. The point I take from his line is that people who can see the light will be generating the heat and excited about the change. They will be creating fire and using it to help reach the goal.

However, there can be another effect of all this progress. Others may feel the heat and be scared of it. They can become afraid that the fire will burn them, or burn down the comfort and habits that they knew and relied upon. These people have a choice to make:

Leadership Quote - Darth Vader

Darth Vader is, perhaps, the most recognizable movie character in modern time. All you need to hear is the respirator to think of this fantastic, black encased leader who is known for getting things done, even if he needs to get his own hands dirty. Showing up to take over projects that fall behind (i.e. the second Death Star) he pushes people to achieve as much as humanly possible, and then beyond. Known as a fantastic motivator, it is almost like he has some hidden force behind him, especially when he wants to reach out and choke someone!

In case you haven't guessed yet, APRIL FOOLS! While I agree with the quote, as with so many things, context is everything. I don't think that the original author (whoever that is) would have thought of this when providing the quote. Strong leaders do lift up their team so that they can achieve more; but usually not in such a literal fashion. 

Have a great week!

Wacky Wednesday - People Are Awesome (Feb)

Happy Wacky Wednesday Everyone! This week I bring you the best of February People Are Awesome video! Check-out their YouTube channel, I could share them almost every week (but like to provide some variety so I'll keep it to the best of). Enjoy!

Leadership Quote - Maya Angelou

Created by Erin Morey

My apologies for the missing posts. I've been away with the family on vacation and we ran into a problem with the scheduled posts. Hopefully we can return to our regular program this week. 

Recently my family and I revisited an old stomping ground of mine: The Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville Alabama. Way back in 6th grade I paid half of the price to attend Space Camp for 1 week and it was a fantastic time. My wife loves the pictures and VHS of me in my flight suit and going through simulators. She always laughs and says: "You were such a dork!" Is it any wonder that I love her?

At the Center there are all types of things that can grab a kid's (or kid trapped in a grown-up's body) attention. You can see how impacts affect the different types of shielding on the space shuttle, adjust vibrations through material to see what happens when you hit the resonance frequency, and even design your own jet and fly it through a simulated obstacle course (mine took 5th for the day!).

Wacky Wednesday - Celebrities in Japanese Commericials

I use to frequent a movie theatre called the Alamo Drafthouse, which was originally an old movie theatre with sloped seating and a kind of dive bar feel. They served real food, had beer and alcohol and very often would show old movies along with new releases. You haven't experienced Mony Python and the Holy Grail until you are gleefully clopping away with two halves of a coconut and counting "1, 2, 5!"  in unison with everyone else in the theatre. Or perhaps screaming "Inconceivable!" while watching The Princess Bride and eating a pizza and drinking a local beer.

One other gem from the theatre was they would find obscure videos related to the main stars, genres, or themes of the movie and play those until it was time for the previews (much more entertaining than watching constant commercials in most major movie chains today). It was during a screening of The Running Man when I was first exposed to Japanese Commercials with U.S. Celebrities (Specifically Arnold Schwarzenegger). Here's a video with 5 from Rhett and Link, who are trying to guess what the person is doing/selling in each commercial. Enjoy!

Leadership Quote - General Robert Baden-Powell

Cub Scouts Arrow of Light

This was a big weekend in the Morey household. Our oldest son crossed-over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts, earning the Arrow of Light badge and the Super Achiever accolade. In this day and age, where there are so few milestones to celebrate within a growing child's life, we decided to treat it as a big deal, presenting him with several gifts as well as acknowledging the work he did to earn this recognition and the significance of his accomplishments.

As he moves into Boy Scouts, my wife and I found ourselves thinking of Baden Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts. As we reflected on what to share this week for a quote we came across one that stands out not only for the boys but for the teams that these boys will hopefully lead one day (and you may be leading now):

Wacky Wednesday - Miracurl on Ice - USA Curling Gold

In a story that belongs with Cool Runnings or the Mighty Ducks, the USA Men's Curling team won Gold last week in Korea. This was the first US gold in curling and it happened in the most improbable way, with one "former" superstar player (John Shuster) who was basically ostrasized from the USA Curling High-performance program in 2014 and whose name was a joke for Olympians making clutch mistakes, built a team of nobodies to make it to the Olympics and win everything! The team comprises a liquor salesman, a sporting good store salesman, a technicion for consumer products and an engineer, all from Minnesota or Wisconsin. They even go by the name Team Reject and were supported by curling fan Mr. T!

CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times

Here are the highlights from the Gold Medal round:

Leadership Quote - William Arthur Ward

Created by Erin Morey

The Mediocre Teacher Tells. 

The Good Teacher Explains.

The Superior Teacher Demonstrates.

The Great Teacher Inspires.

- William Arthur Ward

Like many professions there are great teachers, good teachers, and of course bad teachers. Teachers do not have an easy job, with more and more weight put on their sholders even as their resources are limited and their tools become more restricted. Add in what the media portrays as a dangerous work environment (and some may very well be), especially in the last 2 weeks, and it is amazing that there are people who are willing to become teachers, but many will do it because of the students they teach.

But you don't find teachers only in schools. A great leader is also a great teacher, because a great leader will grow other leaders and make sure the team is growing to meet the needs of the mission, task, job etc. The funny thing is that great teachers, who inspire, also become leaders because they lead the student to becoming better, whether that education happens within the walls of a school or not.

Look at the team that surrounds you and ask yourself "How am I inspiring them?" If you don't know the answer, then perhaps it is time to put some real thought into it.

When you're done with that, take a moment and think of a teacher who inspired you. If you can, reach out to her or him and thank her/him. It is through the efforts of those people, who are so often taken for granted, that you are where you are.
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William Arthur Ward is an American writer and perhaps one of the most quoted writiers in American history. He's published 100+ articles in Reader's Digest, The Upper Room, Science of Mind, Ideals, and many others.

Wacky Wednesday - Beautiful Pictures, No Photoshop

I have to thank my wife for improving my appreciation of photography. I've become more amazed at what people can capture, especially when they don't use a program like Photoshop.

Please enjoy some of my favorites and you can see so many more at Brightside.me (here).

A Dragon

© imgur   ©    

An Autumn Forest. 50% Downloaded

© ©Dan Tivada  

My Neighbor Totoro

© Tanja Brandt 

Leadership Quote - Gruenert & Whitaker

Created by Erin Morey

Part of the Downtown Houston skyline, we see office buildings that possibly house a wide variety of companies (perhaps 1, perhaps 100s), and in each company (or for that matter within each company) there is a culture formed by the leaders and people within the organization. Perhaps each floor could have its own culture. But what is one of the driving characteristics that forms culture:

The Culture of Any Organization Is Shaped By the Worst Behaviors The Leader Is Willing To Tolerate.

- Gruenert & Whitaker

Wacky Wednesday - People Are Awesome! January 2018

Happy Valentine's day! I originally thought about sharing something Valentine's related, but that would be too predictable. Instead I found a compilation video for the first month of 2018. I've shared some of these videos before and will probably continue to share them as people do amazing feats of strength, agility, and sometimes stupidity. I prefer watching the People Are Awesome videos as compared to the Fail Army videos (mostly because the latter makes me cringe way too often).

With that in mind, here is a compilation video of January 2018 from People Are Awesome:

Leadership Quote - Amelia Earhart

Les Brown would say in his speeches "The graveyard is the richest place on earth because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled..." Why were they unfulfilled? I think the answer is Amelia's quote:

The Most Difficult Thing Is The Decision To Act, The Rest Is Merely Tenacity. 

- Amelia Earhart

Lots of people, myself included, have great ideas that never see the light of day. Because people don't want to risk action. So long as it stays an idea and not a reality there is no risk. Unfortunately, there is also no reward.

Waky Wednesday - Super Bowl Moments

NFL Is over and the Eagles are the Super Bowl Champions (again ouch for this boy with family in New England).  To salve the wound below are two videos with the best and worst plays in Super Bowl History. Enjoy (or not depending on your team; for some reason, a lot of these plays seem to be against the Patriots). One of the plays is in the Best and Worst. Can you find it?

Best

Worst

Leadership Quote - Unknown

My Responsibility Is Getting All My Players Playing For The Name On The Front Of The Jersey, Not The One On The Back. 

- Athor Unknown

With the Super Bowl yesterday I thought this old throw-back was pertinent. Championships are won by the team, not by individual players. It is when the entire team plays to the same plan, without playing for their own stardom that amazing things happen, including an underdog fighting their way past the defending Champions with the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) Quarterbacks at the helm.

Congratulations to the Philidelphia Eagles (Ouch that hurt)!

Created by Erin Morey

What are you doing to make sure your team is pulling for the name on the front of the jersey? Do you have a team or a group of superstars who all play for themselves? What activities do you do to build a team? What do you do to ensure that the superstars aren't the only stars? I would love to hear from you! Share below in the comments, and happy Super Sick Day!

Which Type of PM are you? Project Manager or Project Monitor?

In the early part of 2017, Lifelock released a set of commercials I found amusing but didn't give much thought. Perhaps you've seen them:

A couple of weeks ago I was discussing different projects and roles with a friend and we made an amusing discovery. Many companies don't want a Project Manager... they want a Project Monitor! Here's what I mean:

Wacky Wednesday - 1 in a Million! - NFL

No (real) football this week. So to tide you over, I bring you the 1 in a million plays of the NFL. Have a great week!

Leadership Quote - Dee Dee Myers

Created by Erin Morey

As we take a break from to prepare for the Super Bowl, I found this quote to be overly appropriate. There are so many conversations about the leadership of the two teams, and what the leaders and coaches of the teams will need to do in order to win. But there are more leaders than just on the football field, and perhaps some of the most important leaders are identified in this quote:

I am endlessly fascinated that playing football is considered a training ground for leadership, but raising children isn't.

 - Dee Dee Myers, Clinton Administration Press Secretary

Do You Know Your People? Do You Show You Care?

Over the weekend I was at Vanderbilt University learning about their Executive MBA program (always learn). During the preview session, one of their professors, Michael Burcham, provided details for one of the courses he teaches, Launching New Ventures. I won't go into those details, but he did say something that sparked a couple of memories that I thought should be shared, especially as a lesson learned.

I'm paraphrasing here, but what Michael said was:

With the way the world and business is today, I guarantee you that one of your coworkers is homeless. Someone is living in a car or crashing on a sofa. Do you know who that is?

Those words took me back more than a decade. The 4th Infantry Division just returned from Iraq in 2004 and soldiers were returning home to the families. Perhaps you've seen the news with the joyous returns and pictures of soldiers kissing wives or lifting kids into the air? It's supposed to be a happy occasion, a return to their loved ones! Unfortunately, not all those encounters were happy ones. One Specialist (SPC), who was 21 years old, returned after a year-long deployment to his apartment to find his wife had moved her boyfriend in and he wasn't welcome anymore!

Not my soldier, From The Blade in Toledo

The SPC grabbed some of his belongings and immediately walked out of the apartment. He didn't want to admit to anyone that anything was wrong, didn't call anyone, but instead headed to an overpass near the military base and set-up base camp.

For the next 3 weeks, no one knew there was a problem. He showed up at PT at 05:30, showered on base, ate at the DFAC, did his work and then returned each night to the overpass. He put up a brave front, never showing anyone how much he was hurting. It wasn't until one of his fellow soldiers was driving home from a movie and happened to go under that overpass, recognizing the SPC, that we learned about the situation!

Wacky Wednesday - "What are you doing?" - NFL Style

After last week's playoff games and this past weekend's division championships, I thought it would be fun to see some of the more "interesting" plays in the NFL. The real lesson here is that even professionals can make mistakes. Pay attention all the way through until you're done, and not just until the finish line is in sight!

Leadership Quote - Harry S. Truman

Created by Erin Morey

As the federal government is plagued by yet another shutdown I feel this quote is appropriate to share (thank you to my wife for pointing me to it!):

Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better. 

- Harry S. Truman, 33rd Us President

The media is having a field day pointing fingers at Democrats, Republicans, the President, and all three are pandering for their own audiences, but I am at a loss to point to real leadership. How do you hold an entire government hostage to your bases' issues? People will go without pay, without work, without support, and without services because these two parties are too hung-up on grandstanding and not leading!

Can We Build It? - 3 Things To Know Before Building a Software Add-On In-House

Bob The Builder by HiT Entertainment

When my kids were growing up they loved a show called Bob The Builder. The show always focused on a challenge and sometime during the show the Bob would ask "Can we build it?" and the entire team would respond "Yes we can!"

This mentality permeates not only early morning kid's shows but apparently businesses too. I've worked with several companies that while working a massive software implementation (typically an Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP solution like Oracle or Microsoft Dynamics AX) decided to use in-house IT assets to build new code for the system and/or custom code a solution to a problem. The typical thought process goes something like this:

Wacky Wednesday - Patrick Stewart... Cowboy?

My wife shared this on my Facebook feed, and I couldn't resist sharing it with my readers. Admittedly, I am a Star Trek fan, and Patrick Stewart is amazing! At this point in his life I honestly think he's just saying "Eh, Why not?" and it is great!

Leadership Quote - Confucius

Created by Erin Morey

A phrase about making too much out of a little thing is "making a mountain out of a molehill", but Confucius takes a slightly different approach:

Men Do Not Stumble Over Mountains, But Over Molehills

- Confucius

In this case, Confucious is telling us that we should sweat the details because it is the details that can trip us up. Leaders are often encouraged to keep to the big picture and not sweat the small stuff. What I've learned over the years as a project manager is it is the small stuff that will kill a project; because those small items can start to accumulate quickly. Now a leader must trust his/her team in order to accomplish the mission, goal, objective but there is a reason why "Trust but Verify" is Morey's Laws #3. In the military, we called it spot checks where a leader will go out to the field and look at specific details for a mission, equipment, unit, etc. The intention of these spot checks aren't to play "Gotcha" but instead to:

Are You Celebrating Your Victories?

Image Courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Are you taking the time to celebrate your victories? How about recognizing your key performers? Too often leaders expect their team to just do their job, and the only time the members get an indication of whether they are doing good or bad is when they are being yelled at for a mistake, and this is despite studies that show people are motivated by praise and will work longer and harder for a manager who provides praise rather than scold.

For this reason, I often say that many managers and leaders will finish a job but not Complete it, and hence why the final C in the C4 Leader formula is Complete. One of the aspects of Complete is recognizing milestones and significant team players throughout a project. A while ago I was on a project for an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation, and I came in as the 4th Project Manager. The project was supposed to last 18 months, but 3 years later I joined the team as it was struggling through the bog of missing requirements, rotating developers, and apathetic management support.

With the help of new Functional and Quality Leads, as well as a redefinition of process and roles, the project lurched into motion. Roughly 6 months after the project stabilized we were able to go live with a Phase 1 version of the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 implementation.

Wacky Wednesday - Great Photos, Right Moment

Over the years I've gained a whole new apprecaition of photography and visuals, thanks mostly to my wife Erin Morey. You see, I'm mostly an auditory learner and I don't tend to see pictures in my head, but instead words and phrases that catch the significance of a situation. As my exposure to great photography and art has grown, I've come to appreciate a strong visual. Today I share a series of perfect timing pictures:

WhatStartsTheHeart

bestdayforpizza

John H. Moore

If you would like to see more, please click here!

Leadership Quote - TS Elliot

Image Created by Erin Morey

Last week we celebrated New Years, and as we continue into 2018 I wanted to share the words of T.S. Eliot:

Only Thos Who Will Risk Going Too Far Can Possibly Find Out How Far One Can Go 

- T.S. Eliot

Today I invite you to review your goals for the coming year. Are they SAFE Goals? Perhaps they might be too safe? The world today tends to be extremely risk adverse where companies and people only make minor adjustments in areas where they can be reasonably certain of the end results. Instead, the people and companies that make a splash are the ones who take the risk and perhaps can even go too far. What was the world like when Steve Jobs introduced his Apple iPhone? At the time could it easily have been a flop?

Wacky Wednesday - Looking Back 2017

As we progress into the first week of 2018, I found an article that identified a few scientific items from 2017 that, well makes you say "Whoa, that's awesome. (from Vox.com)." Considering the quote this week from Albert Einstein about learning from yesterday. I've listed the first 3:

1. The total solar eclipse transfixed the nation and I MISSED IT! We are in the Nashville area, so we should have had prime viewing of the eclipse, but mother nature can be a heartless creature sometimes. 5 minutes before the total eclipse started the winds shifted and roughly 2 minutes before the full eclipse a cloud that wasn't a threat before moved between ourselves and the sun. The cloud cleared the view roughly 4 minutes after thte total eclipse had passed.  It was amazing to watch the world go dark, but my wife and I along with several friends from out of town missed the event, thanks to good old mother nature!

2. Gene therapy approval by the FDA falls into the "Cool, but..." category. This is one of those items that could be used for good, or could easily find its way into medling with things that many would argue shouldn't be meddled with. Are you familiar with the movie Gattaca?

3. CRISPR became an even more precise tool to fix nature's "mistakes." As if to back up my point, number 3 falls into the same category. Another tool to rewrite genetic code. The current target is to cure genetic disease, but what other areas could this be used for? How about Kahn from Star Trek?

From Star Trek: Into Darkness

As we continue to progress in science and in many other areas of endeavour perhaps it is more important than ever that good leadership be present. I can think of a lot of good and an end of suffering from these things, but our popular culture warns us about the impact of this path:

From Jurrasic Park

When I first started writing this post I didn't think it would turn into an ethics conversation, but it has migrated in that direction. Science will continue to progress and it is up to leaders to ensure it is for the benefit and done ethically. Leadership is more than about accomplishing a goal, but also about accomplishing the right goals. Next week I'll post a quote and talk about goals needing to scare you, but perhaps the follow-up question should be "Is it scaring you for the right reasons?"

I won't review the whole list, but thought the article was worth sharing. Take a look and let me know what you think!

Leadership Quote - Albert Einstein

Created by Erin Morey

As we celebrate the end of one year and the start of another, I think of the words from Albert Einstein:

Learn From Yesterday, Live For Today, Hope For Tomorrow

- Albert Einstein

Let's look back to 2017. What have you learned from the year past? What did you do well? What could you have done better? Many people will not take the time to look back before considering the path forward, especially in a leadership or business sense. That is why Complete from the C4 Formula is so important. Have you really taken the time to learn from yesterday?

Live for today. Do you enjoy what you are doing? Are you acting with motivation, perspective, and a plan? Or are you just going through the motions, unclear on what you want to accomplish and trying to take everything one day at a time? If you find yourself in the latter than you are probably not living for today, but instead marking time wishing for a better tomorrow, rather than hoping for it. In addition, Living For Today means being present in the moment. Right now will never come again, and even the moment that you are reading this has already past. Are you present in what you are doing? Working with intention?