I couldn't get this file to save properly so check the link out yourself. This is pretty crazy and kinda ties into what I was writing about in "Change is the Only Constant"...
http://release.theplatform.com/content.select?pid=x7aVOMrlfkkijQwcLllwk6WjB5JE0zrF
Monday, October 27, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Hitler: An Effective Leader?
I believe I have previously mentioned the journal entries we are assigned in my Business Leadership class. He gives us a list of topics to choose from but says we can also come up with our own. I have no idea what made me think of it, but this morning in church I thought it would be interesting to write one about Hitler's leadership... this is what I came up with tonite...
Could an argument be made that Adolph Hitler was an effective leader? Skimming the surface of the history books, I think such an argument could in fact be made. For one thing, a leader is supposed to have experience in the field that they are leading in. Hitler served as a soldier and later the Chancellor of Germany before he took over his ultimate power role of the Fuhrer. He understood military operations and political strategies. Therefore he must have been a good leader, right? Let’s examine it further. Another quality of leadership is the ability to provide people with a vision. Hitler and his book Mein Kampf appealed to those who were dissatisfied with the outcome of the First World War and gave them an outlet to express their discontent. He blamed the nation’s problems on the Communists and the Jews. He gave the people a vision that Germany could once again be great. Hitler could be considered a visionary and therefore an effective leader, right? Let’s continue. A leader needs to be committed to their work and their cause. Hitler was perhaps the most dedicated leader Germany had ever had because he didn’t stop until his missions were accomplished. What’s wrong with a real go-getter? Doesn’t that make an effective leader?
I submit to you that on the surface, someone could suggest that because Hitler possessed some key leadership qualities, he was an effective leader. But there is only one problem. I have found many websites that consider him to be “the most evil person in the world”. That certainly doesn’t sound like the poster boy for leadership. So what went wrong? Hitler did possess some leadership characteristics but it was the way in which he used them that puts him on the very bottom of my “inspirational world leaders” list. Hitler used his power to rid the population of those who didn’t agree with him or didn’t fit into his vision of the ideal Arian society. He killed and tortured millions and brainwashed countless others. Therefore Adolph Hitler’s rule as the Fuhrer of Germany was perhaps the worst abuse of a leadership position in the history of the world.
Could an argument be made that Adolph Hitler was an effective leader? Skimming the surface of the history books, I think such an argument could in fact be made. For one thing, a leader is supposed to have experience in the field that they are leading in. Hitler served as a soldier and later the Chancellor of Germany before he took over his ultimate power role of the Fuhrer. He understood military operations and political strategies. Therefore he must have been a good leader, right? Let’s examine it further. Another quality of leadership is the ability to provide people with a vision. Hitler and his book Mein Kampf appealed to those who were dissatisfied with the outcome of the First World War and gave them an outlet to express their discontent. He blamed the nation’s problems on the Communists and the Jews. He gave the people a vision that Germany could once again be great. Hitler could be considered a visionary and therefore an effective leader, right? Let’s continue. A leader needs to be committed to their work and their cause. Hitler was perhaps the most dedicated leader Germany had ever had because he didn’t stop until his missions were accomplished. What’s wrong with a real go-getter? Doesn’t that make an effective leader?
I submit to you that on the surface, someone could suggest that because Hitler possessed some key leadership qualities, he was an effective leader. But there is only one problem. I have found many websites that consider him to be “the most evil person in the world”. That certainly doesn’t sound like the poster boy for leadership. So what went wrong? Hitler did possess some leadership characteristics but it was the way in which he used them that puts him on the very bottom of my “inspirational world leaders” list. Hitler used his power to rid the population of those who didn’t agree with him or didn’t fit into his vision of the ideal Arian society. He killed and tortured millions and brainwashed countless others. Therefore Adolph Hitler’s rule as the Fuhrer of Germany was perhaps the worst abuse of a leadership position in the history of the world.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Change Is The Only Constant
My goal this weekend was to finish reading "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?" by Lee Iacocca. I have to write an 8-12 pg. paper over it by Nov. 6th and figured that with my busy weekday scheds as of late, it would be a good idea to get the book read this weekend while I had the time. I'm proud to say that I was successful in accomplishing this goal. I had started it during the first few weeks of the semester but then hadn't touched it for weeks. I read the rest (another 163 pages!) this weekend. Iacocca presents some eye-opening views on leadership and while I was kinda shocked at how blunt he was sometimes, it was still a rather interesting read. Here's a particular passage I liked:
-----------------
Question: What is the truest definition of Globalization?
Answer: Princess Diana's death.
Question: How come?
Answer: An English princess with an Egyptian boyfriend crashes in a French tunnel, driving a German car with a Dutch engine, driven by a Belgian who was drunk on Scotch whiskey, followed closely by an Italian Paparazzi, on Japanese motorcycles, treated by an American doctor, using Brazilian medicines. This is posted by an American, using Bill Gates' technology, and you're probably reading this on a computer that uses Taiwanese chips and a Korean monitor, assembled by Bangladeshi workers in a Singapore plant, transported by Indian lorry-drivers, hijacked by Indonesians, unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen, and trucked to you by Mexican illegals. That, my friend, is Globalization!
I'm not trying to make light of Princess Diana's death. But it kind of makes your head spin to consider how interconnected the world has become. Some people are nervous about globalization. And some people are just in denial. But it's impossible to escape it - the way the world seeps in. You can't fence the world out, and you can't fence yourself in. Technology knows no borders. As one of the first computer geeks stated, "Information wants to be free".
To fear globalization is to fear change, but like it or not, change is a constant in our lives.
Now I don't know about you, but every time in my life I got secure and complacent, God threw me a curve. Looking back, I now see that it wasn't a curve, it was a challenge. A challenge I needed. I had to shake off my complacency and change. Whenever you hear anyone saying, "Let's keep doing things exactly the way we've been doing them for twenty years," watch out. A shake-up is coming.
The seasons change. Summer follows spring, and night follows day. Life is full of ups and downs. Business cycles go round and round. Events happen that rock your world: People in the family die. You get a divorce. You get fired. Your business goes under. I've been through all these changes, and each time I've had to wake up and try something different.
Before you can deal with change, however, you have to see it. Then you have to accept it. Sometimes that's the hardest part - acknowledging and then accepting that the way you've always done business or lived your life just won't work anymore.
"Where Have All the Leaders Gone?" (copyright 2007 by Lee Iacocca & Associates, Inc.)
----------------
I thought his globalization point was very valid. The dialogue about Princess Diana's death only further drove home the point that as Thomas Friedman has said "the world is flat". On one hand it's kinda scary to think about having to compete with people all over the world for jobs in today's global marketplace. At the same time, I find it rather exciting to think about how interconnected the world has really become. For example, I'm wearing a t-shirt made in Haiti, sweatpants made in China, and a watch made in Japan. I'm blogging on a computer with components made in Malaysia and anyone around the world can read this post with a click of a mouse. I've chatted on this computer to people everywhere from Germany to Guatemala.
I also appreciated his comments on change. Just yesterday I wrote a journal entry (one of 6 that I have to do for an assignment in the same class that I'm reading this book for). The topic was "Recall a life experience that you feel you learned a major life lesson from". I wrote about how my parents' divorce affected me. Now I didn't go into the messy details of everything that happened but focused instead on what I learned from it. The biggest point I tried to address was learning to adapt to change. In a world where change truly is the only constant, I believe that this flexibility is a crucial skill. I'm nowhere near being perfect in that category but I really do think that my experiences have helped me in that regard. I think Tracy Lawrence pretty much summed it up in the following song:
Time marches on, time marches on.
South moves north, North moves south
A star is born, a star burns out.
the only thing that stays the same
is everything changes, everything changes...
-----------------
Question: What is the truest definition of Globalization?
Answer: Princess Diana's death.
Question: How come?
Answer: An English princess with an Egyptian boyfriend crashes in a French tunnel, driving a German car with a Dutch engine, driven by a Belgian who was drunk on Scotch whiskey, followed closely by an Italian Paparazzi, on Japanese motorcycles, treated by an American doctor, using Brazilian medicines. This is posted by an American, using Bill Gates' technology, and you're probably reading this on a computer that uses Taiwanese chips and a Korean monitor, assembled by Bangladeshi workers in a Singapore plant, transported by Indian lorry-drivers, hijacked by Indonesians, unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen, and trucked to you by Mexican illegals. That, my friend, is Globalization!
I'm not trying to make light of Princess Diana's death. But it kind of makes your head spin to consider how interconnected the world has become. Some people are nervous about globalization. And some people are just in denial. But it's impossible to escape it - the way the world seeps in. You can't fence the world out, and you can't fence yourself in. Technology knows no borders. As one of the first computer geeks stated, "Information wants to be free".
To fear globalization is to fear change, but like it or not, change is a constant in our lives.
Now I don't know about you, but every time in my life I got secure and complacent, God threw me a curve. Looking back, I now see that it wasn't a curve, it was a challenge. A challenge I needed. I had to shake off my complacency and change. Whenever you hear anyone saying, "Let's keep doing things exactly the way we've been doing them for twenty years," watch out. A shake-up is coming.
The seasons change. Summer follows spring, and night follows day. Life is full of ups and downs. Business cycles go round and round. Events happen that rock your world: People in the family die. You get a divorce. You get fired. Your business goes under. I've been through all these changes, and each time I've had to wake up and try something different.
Before you can deal with change, however, you have to see it. Then you have to accept it. Sometimes that's the hardest part - acknowledging and then accepting that the way you've always done business or lived your life just won't work anymore.
"Where Have All the Leaders Gone?" (copyright 2007 by Lee Iacocca & Associates, Inc.)
----------------
I thought his globalization point was very valid. The dialogue about Princess Diana's death only further drove home the point that as Thomas Friedman has said "the world is flat". On one hand it's kinda scary to think about having to compete with people all over the world for jobs in today's global marketplace. At the same time, I find it rather exciting to think about how interconnected the world has really become. For example, I'm wearing a t-shirt made in Haiti, sweatpants made in China, and a watch made in Japan. I'm blogging on a computer with components made in Malaysia and anyone around the world can read this post with a click of a mouse. I've chatted on this computer to people everywhere from Germany to Guatemala.
I also appreciated his comments on change. Just yesterday I wrote a journal entry (one of 6 that I have to do for an assignment in the same class that I'm reading this book for). The topic was "Recall a life experience that you feel you learned a major life lesson from". I wrote about how my parents' divorce affected me. Now I didn't go into the messy details of everything that happened but focused instead on what I learned from it. The biggest point I tried to address was learning to adapt to change. In a world where change truly is the only constant, I believe that this flexibility is a crucial skill. I'm nowhere near being perfect in that category but I really do think that my experiences have helped me in that regard. I think Tracy Lawrence pretty much summed it up in the following song:
Time marches on, time marches on.
South moves north, North moves south
A star is born, a star burns out.
the only thing that stays the same
is everything changes, everything changes...
Saturday, October 18, 2008
This Day Just Keeps Getting Better
Charlie Walker (our former SA president) managed to convince the admin to give us a long weekend once a semester so we had the day off class. Matt and I took advantage of it and went to Blanchard Springs Caverns and surrounding area for a wonderful day. The weather was perfect, the sights were amazing, and it was great to just be able to spend a whole day together. (More pics of the day are on facebook but here is a sampling for your viewing pleasure...)
The "cathedral room" of the caverns
Hilarious tour guide: "What do you see up there? If you are newlyweds you see a love boat. If you've been married awhile you see a battleship. If you see the Titanic... your marriage is probably sunk!"
After the cavern tour, we walked up to the actual spring. 
Matt found this really cool rock when we were down by the water in the campground area.After all of our outdoor adventures, we went for dinner at Colton's in Batesville. Then we watched Fast and the Furious on my laptop in his blazer. I can't stop smiling when I think about our day. It was just so wonderful! And to top it all off... I came back and checked the Oilers' website to find that we beat Calgary 4-3 tonight. This day really does just keep getting better!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Eating Up The Competition
I wonder what reaction I would get if I randomly stuck this on a slide in one of the many presentations that I'm forced to give this semester...?
Everything's Funnier at 37 000 Feet
A friend had the following pics posted on her facebook and since I am the daughter of a flight attendant (let me hear it for WestJet!) and a frequent traveler, I found them rather amusing...
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
When Going Green Goes Too Far
Please watch the following video before reading the rest of this post...
It's sad to me that a movie about saving the environment wins over a life spent saving innocent people. I have nothing against the idea of saving the world we live in because we definitely have put a strain on our planet with all of our advancements. But where do people fit in? At what point do those created in the very image of God even matter? Congratulations Al, you won a prize for trying to save the planet. But what's the use in saving the globe if nobody cares about the people living on it?
R.I.P. Irena... you still have my vote.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving! (Canadian Style)
It's kinda sad being away from home on family holidays. I talked to Mom yesterday afternoon and she was busy cooking a big dinner for Dale's side of the fam that was coming over for the celebratory meal. After I got off the phone I wallowed in self-pity for awhile because I was not only away from home on Thanksgiving... but everyone in my suite was gone and I felt all alone. I quickly fell into a reparative cleaning mode and got a lot done but that's a whole other story. Matt took me to Dixie Cafe yesterday for dinner, hoping they would have their turkey dinner on special but the special hasn't started yet. He was like "mann, that's the whole reason I brought you here!" It was sweet of him to care that I was missing home that much tho :) So despite the fact that I was gone for the holiday, I was still there in spirit and this picture really made me smile...
Saturday, October 11, 2008
You Can Only Pick 2
This last week held 2 presentations, a test and a huge section of our business plan that was due. I survived the week (just barely at times but still) and am now in the middle of a rather relaxing weekend. However, I found this bumper sticker on facebook and thought that it was rather fitting to describe my week...
Monday, October 6, 2008
I'm Pressing On...
...the upward way... new heights I'm gaining everyday?
Well if you consider new heights to be more assignments due and more meetings to fill up my schedule than... sure. I'm not gonna lie, school has been kinda stressing me out as of late. Last week Dad was here for Lectureships (which was great) but it made for a tight schedule. I tried to take in some of the lectures, spend time with Dad (playing tennis, going out to eat, hanging out at a park... all of which were great), and still balance my school sched. I had a project due on Tuesday, a big test on Thursday and outrageous amounts of reading to do in between (one prof assigned 130 pages to be read in 2 days!). I got it all done but I was a little stressed by the end of the week. This week is even worse. I had a test this morning, I have 2 presentations due tomorrow and the next section of our business plan is due Friday. After a great weekend away with Matt (more on this later), it was a real let down to come back to school and get back into the never-ending to-do lists and a planner full of meetings, projects, presentations and tests.
Ok I'm done venting. I better get ready for class (6-8:30), a POM presentation meeting (8:30-9:00) and IB presentation meeting (9;00-??). Sigh...
Well if you consider new heights to be more assignments due and more meetings to fill up my schedule than... sure. I'm not gonna lie, school has been kinda stressing me out as of late. Last week Dad was here for Lectureships (which was great) but it made for a tight schedule. I tried to take in some of the lectures, spend time with Dad (playing tennis, going out to eat, hanging out at a park... all of which were great), and still balance my school sched. I had a project due on Tuesday, a big test on Thursday and outrageous amounts of reading to do in between (one prof assigned 130 pages to be read in 2 days!). I got it all done but I was a little stressed by the end of the week. This week is even worse. I had a test this morning, I have 2 presentations due tomorrow and the next section of our business plan is due Friday. After a great weekend away with Matt (more on this later), it was a real let down to come back to school and get back into the never-ending to-do lists and a planner full of meetings, projects, presentations and tests.
Ok I'm done venting. I better get ready for class (6-8:30), a POM presentation meeting (8:30-9:00) and IB presentation meeting (9;00-??). Sigh...
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