Upbeat and Downstairs: Home of Daryl C. DuLong
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This weekend is the University of Rochester alumni/reunion homecoming, named Meliora Weekend, which has grown from a small(-ish) gathering of classmates to a 3-day mega-event filled with keynote speakers, diplomats, scholars, comedians, performers, game changers, big thinkers, etc. This year’s keynote speaker was Former President Bill Clinton, and alumni turned out in droves today to hear him speak.
He spoke about the challenges we face as a nation, and offered some tangible, actionable solutions to address those problems. I recall in a speech earlier this year President Clinton said “I’m not President so I get to say and do unpopular things”, referring to the fact that he’s not campaigning, so he gets to call things as they are. Today he did a fantastic job of presenting a non-partisan view of the issues, and further displaying his already incredible wealth of knowledge on a variety of subjects. As one commentator said, “he’s a true polymath“.
Whatever you decide to do in this century, I think perhaps the most important question will be “how do you propose to do it?”, so that you turn your good intentions into positive changes. –Fmr. Pres. Clinton
As I do more and more research, I find the work of The Clinton Foundation to be absolutely fascinating, and the strength and breadth of the support in only 10 short years is astonishing. (Something to the tune of 2,000+ commitments helping more than 300 million people.) He drew parallels between the Foundation’s work and the issues we face as a nation and a world, highlighting the importance of co-operation, and the fact that many other developed and prosperous nations embrace the idea of co-operation, which typically leads to positive outcomes. “The debate [in the U.S.] is all wrong,” he said.
He also commented on how he’s worried, even more so recently, about the future of our country and what it means for our ongoing competitiveness among the global economies. The key to long-term success is to improve the percentage of Americans who actually finish a 4-year degree. (He added that the United States is 1st among nations for percentage of population who start a 4-year college degree, and an astonishing 23rd among nations for percentage of population who finish a 4-year college degree.) When asked about the outlook for recent graduates amid the current economic uncertainty, he provided some encouraging words:
Don’t ever make a decision to be disappointed. Make a decision to be happy, to be fulfilled, to succeed. Life has disappointments enough and setbacks enough without that. But there’s no reason for you to be all that pessimistic if we just get our heads on straight and start doing what works. –Fmr. Pres. Clinton
The biggest thrill for me was that David and I happened to be in the right place at the right time following his talk. We found ourselves among a small group of audience-goers who were lining up to shake hands with or get autographs from President Clinton. Lo and behold, David and I both got to look him right in the eye, shake his hand, and thank him for a great talk. I wasn’t fast enough to capture photos of either David or me mid-handshake, but these two images to the right illustrate the moment fairly well.
It was a very memorable experience for me.
Thank you, President Clinton, for your visit and for your enlightening and thought-provoking keynote address.
The latest development in the saga between Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis and the United States Treasury/Federal Reserve brings up yet another classic example of the Knowing-Doing Gap gone awry. I’ve been hot on this topic for a few weeks, following a recent lecture by Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer on evidence-based management. He writes:
“Fear helps create knowing-doing gaps because acting on one’s knowledge requires that a person believe he or she will not be punished for doing so—that taking risks based on new information and insight will be rewarded, not punished. When people fear for their jobs, their futures, or even for their self-esteem, it is unlikely that they will feel secure enough to do anything but what they have done in the past. Fear will cause them to repeat past mistakes and re-create past problems, even when they know better ways of doing the work.”
– Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton
Mr. Lewis embodies Prof. Pfeffer’s criticism of management almost to the word. His decisions were short-sighted, and put his fear of his employment (and of the ultimate loss of a deal) far ahead of what would be a good, sound business decision. I would argue that his transaction with Merrill Lynch’s CEO John Thain was an even further example of Mr. Lewis trying to be the hero, versus trying to grow the business in an appropriate way. Frontline ran a special about Ken Lewis and his appetite for deals, and they draw a conclusion that supports Prof. Pfeffer’s theory.
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden practice their putting on the White House putting green April 24, 2009.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
Today is Earth Day, and in addition to turning off unnecessary lights, drinking less bottled water, and switching to biodegradable clothing (watch out for rain storms!), it is also an excellent day to become a bit more educated on the perpetual dialogue about climate change.
One aspect of the discussion is the level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere — grouped in as one of the “greenhouse gases” — and how it has been rising steadily. If nothing else, use today as an excuse to learn how to reverse the trend:
On a slightly less serious note, in celebration of Earth Day, NASA presents images of Earth captured by cameras aboard the International Space Station. Traveling at an approximate speed of 17,500 miles per hour, the space station orbits Earth every 90 minutes from an altitude of approximately 220 miles, and can be seen from Earth with the naked eye. Its crew experiences 16 sunrises and sunsets each day.
