It’s just a hunch, but I have a sense that Tuesday, June 25, 2019 may be remembered as a game changer for our national political landscape. Three separate developments emerged that day, each powerful and consequential and collectively simply dynamite. First, the horrifying picture of the father and young daughter lying dead in the border…
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Define Yourself or Be Defined by Others
Retirement offers many benefits. For someone who spent more than a half century in the public arena, decision making has now become a parlor game of sorts. Each day I scroll through a dozen or more media sources in search of a story or two about something that relates to lessons learned during my lifetime…
Select Your Team Carefully, and Listen to Them
Recent events in Washington remind me of how important this is to the success of any leader. See “Sometimes, Aides Save a President From Himself.” Early in my career I always shot straight with my bosses. Later, when I became a leader I always tried to surround myself with people who would tell me what…
Know When to Speak and When to Be Silent
The Mueller report spotlights two conflicting faces of the highly-charged Washington political scene — secrecy and leaks. See “Turn in Your Smart Phones.” Ironically, both ‘faces’ are featured in the pages of my recently published book. – CES My debut into the world of politics occurred in late January, 1970. My mentor, John Seigenthaler, then…
Zadrian’s Commentary, Part 3
Fifteen-year-old granddaughter Zadrian, was recently inspired to connect each lesson (ie chapter) in my book to a Bible verse. With her permission, I share the last 16 her 32 observations. Enjoy! See Part 1 here See Part 2 here —————————————————————————————————————– Lesson 17: Know When to Speak and When to Be Silent Knowing when to speak…
There are No Secrets in the Big Tent
Note: Given the high profile media attention being given to release of the Mueller report, the thought occurred that this excerpt from Chapter 12 of my book might be of interest. – CES There are two fundamental truths that a leader must understand: (1) There are no secrets, and (2) truth is almost always better…
Zadrian’s Commentary, Part 2
Fifteen-year-old granddaughter Zadrian, was recently inspired to connect each lesson (ie chapter) in my book to a Bible verse. With her permission, I share the next 8 her 32 observations. Enjoy! ——————————————————— Lesson 9: Communicate, Communicate, Communicate What makes a successful leader is communication and timing. There is always a time to make a certain…
Zadrian’s Commentary, Part 1
Fifteen-year-old granddaughter Zadrian, was recently inspired to connect each lesson (ie chapter) in my book to a Bible verse. With her permission, I share the first eight of her 32 observations. I hope you will be delighted and inspired! ————————— Lesson 1: Select Carefully Your Mom And Dad Parents make such a huge impact on…
What Goes Around Comes Around
As chronicled in my previous post, my selection as Nashville Banner editor was more than a bit bizarre. However, the story of how John Jay Hooker became publisher of the newspaper takes incredulousness to an even higher level. It is a story of what goes around comes around, with a bitter twist. The Nashville Banner…
Be Careful In What You Wish For
One of the questions most often asked of young people is, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” Initially, I had a passion to be a play-by-play announcer of sporting events. As an undergraduate, I majored in broadcast journalism and had the opportunity to broadcast the University of Tennessee’s basketball and baseball…