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…
Tag: leadership
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…
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…
Work at Making Friends of Adversaries
I had the opportunity to work with and for seven Tennessee governors during my time of leadership in government and education. Each brought a unique skill set to the office. I was fortunate to have a positive relationship with each one. Among the seven, Ned Ray McWherter was my favorite. I got to know him…
If You Have to Eat Crow, Eat It While It’s Hot
One of the great lessons to be learned from the infamous Watergate scandal during the Nixon administration is that human beings tend to forgive acknowledged mistakes. However, obstinate refusal to admit mistakes or, even worse, an attempt to cover up mistakes is a sure-fire recipe for failure. In literally hundreds of examples over my career,…