Insights with Eric T. Olson (part II)

October's issue of The Ronin Post contained part one of an interview with Eric T. "Rick" Olson, the 67^th Commandant of the US Military Academy, West Point, and former Commanding General of the 25^th Infantry Division. As mentioned there, Rick has been a servant leader for more than forty years. He retired from the Army in 2005, but continues to serve what he believes in, particularly regarding ideas, ideals, and human beings. At the present time he directs strategic communication for the Child, Adolescent, and Family Behavioral Health Office (CAF-BHO), which manages and develops programs supporting military kids and families for the US Army. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/health/supporting-military-families-the-child-adolescent-and-family-behavioral-health-office/11354/

We now continue

"Insights with Eric T. Olson"

Rick: ... Leaders who respect those who work for them and who will have their back in cases where events don't go as planned are the ones who achieve the most success and for whom people want to work. There is no room in the military for "harsh or tyrannical treatment". The same can be said for leadership in the office, boardroom, the halls of academe or wherever teamwork is a requirement.

Allied Ronin. I think it would be an understatement to say that, Vicki, your bride now of thirty-nine years, is a powerful leader. What have you seen in her? What have you learned from her, the examples she has set and the stands she has taken over her lifetime?

Rick: She is an interesting example of a special type of leader. In most instances she had to lead fairly large and complex organizations and groups without any specific mandate. What has been critical to her success has been a tremendous set of interpersonal skills, a natural enthusiasm for everything that she takes on, and the kind of fierce determination to make good things happen that inspires others to get on board. She has also shown herself to be totally selfless in her efforts-her work on behalf of Army children and families is a prime example of where she sacrificed much of herself to the greater good of the community. She also is extremely organized and disciplined in her thinking and in her approach to problem solving.

Allied Ronin. What was it like being the Commandant at West Point? What challenges did you face? What moved you the most about that time in your life? What surprises did you find upon coming into that job?

Rick: Those who have been privileged to serve as Commandant of Cadets at West Point will tell you that it is one of the best assignments that you can have as a general officer in the Army. The unbridled energy of the cadets (sometimes too unbridled) is inspiring, and the quality of the young men and women who attend the Academy says great things about the youth of America. West Point is a superb way to ensure that great people are drawn to the service of the Nation, and the systems, programs, and institutions at the Academy tend to make good people better.

My greatest challenge as the Commandant was the day that four airliners were hijacked and suicide attacks launched at New York and Washington, DC. At that moment the 4000 cadets of the Corps knew that their lives would be changed forever in a very direct and personal way. That day it became incumbent upon us as leaders at the Academy to ensure that graduates of USMA had the best possible preparation to lead soldiers in battle, in some cases within months of graduation.

Allied Ronin. Sometimes I hear people who have never been in the military talk about "the military mind", and often as an expression of something rigid or having a particular political perspective. But in my own life I've found the opposite. In other words, I have found a divergence of life perspectives across the spectrum from people who have served - not only during our time, but before and after. What have you found? How have you dealt with the struggle that sometimes comes with bringing alternative perspectives into an alignment for action that can serve a larger or common good?

Rick: It is true that men and women in uniform think about things and approach issues and problems in a manner that might be loosely classified as "military". Any group of individuals who have a relatively common background, have lived and worked together over time, and have been trained and developed as part of the same system are going to have similar characterizing traits and will react to situations in a similar manner. A "military mind" is correctly viewed by those who see it in leaders who take a disciplined and organized approach to management and problem solving. But that does not mean that such leaders-or any individuals with military experience-should be expected to have a uniform set of views on social, societal, or political matters. Nor should one equate having a "military mind" with a rigid or unyielding approach to problem solving. The best military leaders at all ranks are those who are innovative and, within certain boundaries, prone to do the unexpected. After all, surprise is one of the classic military principles of war.

Allied Ronin. What matters to you? If your voice could be heard by people young and old, of our nation and the world at large, what would you want people to pay attention to?

Rick: That's a weighty question, and one that is hard to answer without lapsing into some pretty tired saws that sound right but don't serve any real useful purpose or function. But, OK, I'll try this: don't make too much out of anything.

Allied Ronin: You currently direct strategic communication for CAF-BHO based in Tacoma, Washington. What can you tell us about this organization - what it does, its importance, the need it fills and why - and your personal reasons for deciding to do this now?

Rick: The Child, Adolescent, and Family Behavioral Health Office (CAF-BHO) was established in 2008 to coordinate the efforts of the United States Army Medical Command on behalf of better behavioral health for military kids and families who are suffering from the effects of multiple and long term deployments of a dad or a mom. The statistics are pretty clear -- about a third of military children have exhibited some sort of stress related behavioral health issue that can be tied directly to the deployment of a parent. The CAF-BHO manages 3 primary programs that support the accomplishment of this mission: Child and Family Assistance Centers that provide and coordinate care for family members at the installation level; the School Behavioral Health program that puts care providers in schools with large concentrations of military kids; and a series of training packages that target primary care providers, parents, teachers and others who experience first-hand the issues that family members are experiencing. My personal involvement in the program dates back the time that I served as the commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division when Vicki and I were involved in the setting up some of the first programs specifically designed to care for family members while soldiers were deployed.

Allied Ronin: In what ways can average people from the general public, business leaders, and organizations from outside of the military support or help your efforts, and/or the efforts of CAF-BHO?

Rick: Community leaders -- be they business executives, school administrators, local government officials and the like -- can be of tremendous assistance to the efforts on behalf of military families simply by making an effort to reach out to the installations that are part of their respective communities. There are always activities and events that are designed to help kids and families that installations are conducting. Community support can be instrumental in making these activities a success. In locations where there is no installation nearby, look for the families that include National Guardsmen or Reservists who are serving. Their families need support too. In most cases the problems being encountered by military family members can be solved without a huge expenditure of money or other resources. Understanding and reaching out to military communities and members can go a long way!

Allied Ronin. Looking back over the last forty years of your life, what one or two things in particular do you feel is important that a person should understand about self?

Rick: Develop the ability to bounce back, and everybody does this differently. Know what works best for you, and practice it. Also, in the grand scheme very few of us is as important as we think we are, but we should never underestimate the impact that we have on the ones who love us.

Allied Ronin. Thank you for the time you've given this interview, and thank you very much for the service you've given over all these years. Is there anything else you would like to add?

Rick: Thanks Lance, and good luck as you continue the important work that you do.

© Lance Giroux, November 2011

Insights with Eric T. Olson (Part 1)

Ours are revolutionary times. Not so much for the extent of turbulence

and disruption as because of the emergence of a significant number of thoughtful and aware people who see more clearly the world as it is and are not satisfied with it. - Robert Greenlean, (The Servant as Leader, 1970)

Eric "Rick" Olson has been a servant leader for more than forty years. Most of these years have been in the military and in places such as Germany, Bosnia, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2000, as a brigadier general, he became the 67th Commandant of the US Military Academy, West Point. Two years later he received his second star and moved on to command the 25th Infantry Division and all Army forces in Afghanistan. He was selected for promotion to Lieutenant General, but in a surprising move, he opted to end his career and move into civilian life. He served as Vice President MPEG LA (China) where he was responsible for the initiation of the first-ever effort to promote intellectual property rights and a patent license model in China. August 2006 to August 2007 found him at the US Embassy, Baghdad providing guidance and coordinating activities for provincial reconstruction. He then served as Chief of Staff and Special Advisor to the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. Currently he is the director of strategic communication for the Child, Adolescent, and Family Behavioral Health Office (CAF-BHO), which manages and develops programs supporting military kids and families for the US Army.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/health/supporting-military-families-the-child-adolescent-and-family-behavioral-health-office/11354/

Our path's first crossed in 1968, when we stood above the Hudson River and were sworn in as new cadets (plebes) at West Point. Following a three-month initiation (then called Beast Barracks) to the rigors of the Academy we were assigned as company mates. Over the next four years we became friends, and ever since then we've stayed in touch. Recently, I asked Rick if he'd be willing to be interviewed for The Ronin Post. His reply, "I'd be honored."

He should write his autobiography, a sentiment shared by a number of our classmates. If there's a stand-up guy, a person who is not only solid and smart but someone who takes time to examine the practicality of principles and perspectives, including those vastly divergent from his own, a person who cares about people and at the same time understands how to move decisively forward in the face of fear - then this is Rick Olson.

Join me now for Insights with Eric T. Olson.

Allied Ronin: You've had an incredible career. My guess is that there is still plenty in your future. But to begin with I'd like you to look back through the formative years that were your 1950's and 1960's. What was it like for you as a young person growing up and living in the family, the school and the community that you did?

Rick: I grew up in a "normal" community and had little exposure to the Army or any kind of military way of life until attending West Point. That said, my family was a stable one, I was the beneficiary of a solid public school education, and the whole community where I spent my formative years was characterized by a commitment to the importance of values and the notion that each individual had a responsibility to make a contribution to society-- that "growing up" involved embracing that responsibility and preparing to meet it.

Allied Ronin: On July 1, 1968 you stood on a grassy field, swore an oath, and became part of the West Point Class of 1972. What other college options had you considered? What influenced you to eventually decide on attending the Academy?

Rick: In high school, I ran in a circle of high achievers, and when it came to applying to colleges we all pretty much targeted the same small circle of schools-the Ivies as a first pick and local state universities as our "safe choices". Our high school had a few alumni who had attended the military academies, so it occurred to some of us (two in my HS graduating class) to take a shot at West Point.

In the end a high school classmate (who was also a lacrosse and soccer teammate and a good friend) and I chose West Point for pretty much the same reason: we wanted a challenge that went above and beyond the normal college experience. Speaking for myself, I had also begun to formulate in my own mind some vague notion of what selfless service to the Nation entailed and a belief that fulfillment would involve more than just rising in the corporate world, starting my own business, or making money. West Point just seemed like the right thing to do.

Allied Ronin: How would you describe cadet life of the late 60's and early 70's? On the one hand as one guy living inside a very peculiar system; and on the other hand as a young man living during a unique time of the United States - Woodstock, Apollo 11, Watergate, the resignations of Spiro Agnew and Richard Nixon, and what is known as "The Cold War" - how would you summarize this for you? What lessons did you learn about life and leadership from the experiences of this time?

Rick: I think too much can be made of the contrast between the life we lived at West Point in the late 60's and early 70's and what was going on "outside the gates". True, we didn't grow out our hair and put on bell bottoms, but we were not isolated from the ideas, political or societal trends, or spirit that characterized the larger American society at the time, and isn't that what that era was really all about? However, many of us who had chosen to attend the Academy at that time were probably naturally predisposed to challenge and question the direction that our civilian counterparts seemed to be choosing. Our view was that much of what was happening seemed negative and destructive-perhaps long on highlighting problems but short on solutions. If anything being at West Point at the time seemed to harden our resolve to look for constructive ways to solve problems, and perhaps to lead for positive change.

Allied Ronin: I believe that if we look we find that we all have had profound personal experiences, some large and others small, that we could call "most influential." What were a few of yours in your early career? Why were these so influential? And now, looking back, what would you say about these experiences and what they have meant to your life and the lives of others?

Rick: Rather than citing a specific incident let me give a brief description of a general situation. My first assignment as a young second lieutenant shaped an attitude and underscored a set of principles that prevailed through my entire career. The early 70's were hard years for the Army. The "hollow force" presented a wide range of challenges that we young officers and noncommissioned officers had to deal with: the shadow of Vietnam, draftee soldiers who wanted nothing more than to finish their careers and get home, broken and worn equipment, inadequate budgets that resulted in scarce training opportunities and the like. The lesson that we learned as we dealt with these challenges was that strong leadership and teamwork were essential to overcoming even the most difficult obstacles. Innovative and dedicated leaders who built, motivated, and led strong teams proved to be successful in even the toughest situations. That lesson proved to be useful to me at every level as my career continued over subsequent years.

Allied Ronin: There was a time when you had a horrible bicycle accident. I heard that during surgery you flat-lined. Is this so? Can you talk about that, how the accident happened, what your experiences were at the time and the hospitalization, and during your recovery afterward? What you've learned as a result about yourself, about life, about people and about relationships.

Rick: Well, not exactly flat-lined, though that makes for a better story! Nonetheless, there were periods of difficulty during the surgery after the accident and the subsequent recovery that the doctors considered life threatening. One lesson I learned from the experience is that you should always wear a helmet while bike riding! In all seriousness, the principal remembrance that I have from this experience is the care and concern that poured out from relatives (especially from my wife, Vicki), friends, colleagues, and West Point classmates (you were one, Lance). Times like these tend to remind you that you are not alone in the world-that people out there care about you, what happens to you, and what you do. There are lots of implications that flow from that realization.

Allied Ronin. When we were new cadets we had to memorize a lot of stuff called "plebe knowledge". One item in particular, "Battalion Orders" addressed the need to take a stand against favoritism. Another was "Schofield's Definition of Discipline". I remember being eighteen and reciting these to keep upperclassmen off my back. But then years later, as my life unfolded, these two became beacons that guided many of my decisions and actions. I've seen conflict, but never to the extreme that you have. I've had to make decisions, but never with the obvious immediacy of life and death consequences that you have. Can you speak to Schofield's Definition, its relevance to your life as a leader, and then to your understanding as to how it could be good advice for the average woman or man, boss or employee, father or mother? So that our readers can view this one themselves, here is a

link: http://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nuri/schofiel.htm

Rick: Thanks for the link-I had to refresh my memory (you were always a better Plebe than me!) It's actually kind of ironic that this definition was such an important part of cadet life at West Point in our time there because we saw up close and personally several examples of how NOT to do things. Really Schofield was writing about respect. Respect from a leader for subordinates inspires respect from them for that leader. In combat these days, respect for a junior officer's or non-commissioned officer's abilities, knowledge, and skill is essential because leaders at the lowest level must be empowered to make decisions that can have strategic impact. Leaders who respect those who work for them and who will have their back in cases where events don't go as planned are the ones who achieve the most success and for whom people want to work. There is no room in the military for "harsh or tyrannical treatment". The same can be said for leadership in the office, boardroom, the halls of academe or wherever teamwork is a requirement.

Allied Ronin. I think it would be an understatement to say that, Vicki, your bride now of thirty-nine years, is a powerful leader. What have you seen in her? What have you learned from her, the examples she has set and the stands she has taken over her lifetime?

Rick: She is an interesting example of a special type of leader. In most instances she had to ...

© Lance Giroux, September 2011

Understanding The Leaders’ Retreat

"The Japanese word shibui summarizes all the best in life,

yet has no explanation and cannot be translated.

A person is said to be shibui when

he or she greatly contributes to others

without doing anything to draw attention to self.

The retreat is VERY shibui."

Derick Tagawa, DDS, Whittier, California

2003. On a drive up Highway 101 from Santa Clara, California, I receive a request to design a Leaders' Retreat and make it available to the public. The request is from George Hersh, Owner/CEO of the GMJ Companies. The idea - bring together a small mix of men and women from diverse backgrounds who understand that their lives impact the lives of others. Potential attendees need to make application on their own or be invited. Who to come? Business leaders, students, artists, moms and dads and grandparents, athletes, managers, academics, teachers, professionals, military and former military, retirees and young people: basically, cut across the spectrum of experience, skills, levels of income and educations, political and spiritual beliefs.

George’s motivation? He had just spent an exceptional weekend retreat with Dr. Kathleen Kane and me that we had put together for the University of San Francisco (USF) available to MBA candidates, alumni, staff, faculty and family – and guests. Our USF weekend included ample time for attendees to interact and relax, to study and play, to refresh and reflect – but MOST IMPORTANTLY to immerse themselves in The Dialogue Method – meaningful, purposeful talk and listening generated through experiential means.

Kathy was responsible for my introduction to The Dialogue Method. She was using it to enhance the core MBA Leadership Course at USF. Dialogue, as both art form and skill, requires keen attention and practice. It linguistically connects the right and left-brain functions. The word sounds simple, and it is. But by no means is the method accomplished without effort, focus and attention to mindful service to all involved. Dialogue empowers individuals, couples and teams to engage with each other in an effort to build understanding and deepen learning.

Persons often come together from polarized perspectives loaded with conflicting agenda. Therefore one’s attitude must be disciplined to listening and learning rather than convincing, cajoling, belittling or debating. Briefly stated, when I first encountered Kathy’s students in Dialogue, I saw, felt and experienced the same principles that are richly present in aikido. Yes, Dialogue is verbal, but it begs attention to individual and group reactions/responses experienced emotionally and physically.

George Hersh comes from a hectic service industry integrating multiple companies engaged with each other, the public, private businesses and government agencies across time zones in diverse transportation, moving/storage and records keeping businesses. He owns Sports Associated, Inc.; Topeka Transfer & Storage,; Capital City Distribution; Professional Records Management; O’Neil Relocation; etc. He entered our USF weekend filled with anticipation and a definite need to relax. His businesses demanded that he remain home and at work. Yet, he understood that the time for a retreat is often when it is least convenient to take the time to relax, i.e. when pressures are at their highest. What he found was exactly what he needed. Fresh ideas. New interpretations. Supportive communications. Rich experiences transporting him out of his norm. Positive and constructive perspectives and feedback. And a physical body (his) freed from tension and tightened muscles. He left refreshed and keenly more aware of what he could do to better problem solve, save time, energize, communicate and focus. On this basis came his request to me.

2004. The first Leaders’ Retreat – Scottsdale, Arizona. There were a handful of us. George, plus: a long-time friend of mine who owned a medical equipment company outside of Phoenix; an orthodontist from the Los Angeles area; the director of in-home services for two California counties (himself a paraplegic); a senior vice-president of a global construction firm; a fellow in the real estate development business. What to do? – Dialogue, exercise our bodies, we play one constricted form of nine-hole golf that was quite revealing, Dialogue, take walks together and read, Dialogue, watch films, Dialogue, eat meals together, Dialogue, throw out ideas to assist our individual personal and professional lives, Dialogue and … Dialogue. At the end of three days we looked around and asked ourselves “Why stop?, When can we do this again?” So, a second Leaders’ Retreat was scheduled for the following year.

The second Leaders’ Retreat – Scottsdale. One year later. Some of the same people returned. Others joined in. What to do? - Dialogue, exercise our bodies (we integrated some aikido movements), Dialogue, eat meals together, Dialogue, take walks together, Dialogue, one person took time for a massage, Dialogue … get the picture? In other words – we kept things simple, purposeful and definitely in the Here & Now. At the end of three days the response - “Why stop?” Someone suggested, “This should be made available every six months, whether I can come or not. Give me a winter option and a summer option.” Another requested – “Scottsdale is great, but can you find somewhere out in nature, somewhere that we can get away from pavement and traffic and phones and restaurants and the stuff that’s normally in our lives?”

Another year later. The third Leaders’ Retreat. We are now using Four Springs Retreat Center, Middletown, California www.FourSprings.org. Some of the same folks return. Others join in. Our schedule expands by a full day. What to do? Guess. You got it – Select topics for self-study, Dialogue, take walks in the forest, Dialogue, laugh together, Dialogue, integrate somatic work, Dialogue, etc. On the second day a real Type-A businessman who spends most of his time traveling the globe makes an odd request, “Can you get me some construction paper, some colored pencils and chalk?” We do. He spirits himself away for that day into the small art studio under pine trees on the property. That evening he returns grinning and whistling with a pile of drawings to take home, “I’ve been jamming at life so hard that I’d forgotten what it’s all about,” he says. “How young and alive I used to feel and how important my wife and kids are. These are for them.” The same guy cooks supper for us all on our last evening together– traditional homemade Japanese cooking - another art form that he had set aside that once kept his youthful juices flowing.

The fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, etc. Leaders’ Retreat (How many by now? I’m not counting anymore.) We’ve long since established (as requested) a six-month schedule with both winter and summer offerings. Four Springs Retreat Center is now our home for many years. What’s been added: walks through the forests to enhance situational awareness, centering practices, somatic education, Feldenkrais Method® classes, use of TED films to stimulate thought and understanding, music, creative cooking experiences, creative problem solving activities, a class to assist understanding the health benefits of herb and plants found in the forests we occupy – plus more. Yet, remaining consistent throughout is The Dialogue Method. Thank you Dr. Kathy Kane – who by now has attended The Leaders’ Retreat and is always an invited guest.

Who attends the Leaders’ Retreat? As the years have unfolded a number from our first two offerings held in Scottsdale continue to return, plus others: women and men from the broad spectrum of experiences, ages, beliefs and backgrounds. A retired school principal, a former professional baseball player, two young professionals both graduates from USF who (having remembered their days at the retreat Kathy and I created) jumped at their chance to come – and each more than once, a retired park ranger, a young man from Mexico who is into mixed martial arts, another from Mexico who delivers educational programs for children, a magazine publisher, a former Army Special Forces LT Colonel, a single mom raising two young boys, married couples attending together to get-away, an executive and a shift manager from a Native American casino, attorneys, a chef, financial planners, the former manager of a radio station, a consulting engineer key who played a key roll in cleaning up the mess that Boeing has made with their 757 aircraft, a retired military chief warrant officer, real estate brokers, a woman who owns and operates vacation rental properties in three states, and many other people.

Is the Leaders’ Retreat for you? It is certainly designed with you and your well being in mind. To understand its essence you need to grasp the notion that you are already a leader, i.e. that being a leader means you are indeed a person who in some way influences others to action. This fundamental and key principle was put strongly forth at West Point, the school I attended many years ago. It holds that being a leader is not dependent on rank or position or job title or level of education or the amount of money one has in the bank or gender or length of time on the planet or religious affiliation, etc. etc.

What The Leaders Retreat is NOT. It is not a “management” retreat, nor is it an “executive” retreat, nor a “bosses” retreat. It is NOT even a “leadership” retreat. And, it definitely is NOT a golf outing offered in disguise so that good old boys can sit around, chew the fat and tell each other worn out stories (and yes, as mentioned above, we did use golf at one retreat as a metaphor). This is The Leaders’ Retreat, i.e. a gathering of sincere individuals who understand their lives influence other lives, and who want to enhance their capacity to influence by taking time to rejuvenate, relax and exercise, deal with abstractions, think and play, study and serve themselves and others for the sake of creating a healthier and more constructive world – beginning with their own.

Our time together is simple and fulfilling, skill building and enriching, thought provoking and reflective. It is conducted in a most respectful, peaceful and pressure-free environment, void of criticism and “have to’s”. Moreover, the Leaders’ Retreat is a place where Dialogue is encouraged, studied, embodied and practiced.

To obtain an application for the Leaders’ Retreat download pdf document “Leaders’ Retreat Invitation” found at www.AlliedRonin.com/services.htm. To register for the July 16-20 Summer 2011 Leaders’ Retreat call 707-769-0328 or email your completed application to AlliedRonin@aol.com or info@AlliedRonin.com.

It will be great to have you there.

“Very rewarding!

If your life makes a difference in the lives of others

then I highly recommend you attend

for yourself, your family, and your colleagues.”

Dr. Lulu Lopez, Former Principal

Mt Vernon Community Schools, Alexandria, Virginia

Paragraphs. Life Lessons in Bite Size Pieces

"Life will come at you from out of nowhere.
And into nowhere it will return."
- Pappi Conpelo.

January 21. 11:00 a.m. Email arrived from my friend John Pace of Bothell, Washington, (July 2010 newsletter "Somewhere in the midst of our conversation he offers, 'You know, hospitals are interesting places to study people. In the morning you can read hope and good wishes in the way they carry their bodies. By evening -'"). John's email was replying to one I sent earlier today suggesting he the news at AOL regarding the Boeing 787 aircraft progress - actually lack of progress. John, a highly skilled consulting engineer and pilot has spent years finding and fixing Boeing mistakes. When John and I walked the forests at the 2010 summer Leaders' Retreat we talked about how management mindsets regarding the 787 situation could possibly mirror the mindsets held by expedition leaders of the 1997 ill-fated climbs on Mount Everest (see "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer), and mindsets of managers at NASA and Morton Thiocol prior to the Challenger disaster (1986), and similarly at NASA preceding the disintegration of the Columbia (2003). John's words today by email, "Thanks for the link, all I can do is shake my head. The US auto industry had to learn not to let the accountants run everything, and now Boeing needs to learn to not let salesmen and purchasing people run everything. They are at high risk of not getting certified." Reading what John has written I recall times I've received requests from potential clients asking for a lowering of standards in order to save time or make more money or deliver something "a little sexier". Usually accompanied with, "You need to understand, we're different here. We're smarter than most people. We can skip the lead-up and the introduction and get to the juicy stuff." My response? Calmly refuse the work, state my reasons why and let the client walk on. Not a formula for quick riches, but the night's sleep sure feels good. FYI, for the Boeing link Click here.

January 21. 3:30 p.m. The shadows outside Starbucks at Truckee's Northstar Ski Resort say today's sun is on a waning trail. The rapidly falling temperature agrees. My youngest son, Alex, has been snow boarding his heart out for hours. Good for him. Doing what he cherishes, pushing his edge on great snow. He loves returning to the cold white powder, to the speed and to the thrill that all of this offers. Not my bag of tea. But his way is not my way. I confess that there was a time that I wished it were. Not any longer. Life's too important to be spent trying to live up to someone else's expectations, or another's personal dream of self.

Autumn 2010. A message arrived from Joan-z Cirie. Her rquest, "What's your US mail address?". Our professional paths crossed mine in the late 1980's. A result of that crossing was that her brother, Jack, became a momentary colleague before his untimely death. I sent her a quick reply along with, "Why you ask?" To this she responded - "Because I'm sending you something." Days later a box waits in Petaluma's main post office. A note advises the contents are now mine for well-keeping, "Please do with these as you wish." Unwrapping the box I find: Jack's well-worn training garb, his aikido gi; then his small cherished Marine Corps emblem; and finally his old black three-ring binder. What to do? Follow Joan-z' instructions. So I search my heart. The gi and the emblem, I decide, ought go to a mutual friend. The notebook? It will remain under my stewardship. Yet as I write this today it sits and sits, and images come to me of days when I was very young. Then I would walk with my father in the Arizona desert searching for hidden treasure locked in stone. Mineral Creek, Wooly Wash, Hackberry Wash, Devil's Canyon were among the names of places where stone captured stories could be unlocked and told anew - stories and stones that formed millions of years ago. They exist in the present as fossils and sometimes as geodes. Geodes are formations that occur in sedimentary and certain

volcanic rock. On the outside geodes can appear rough and none-impressive. Stones that you might kick aside and walk right past. Crack open a geode and a treasure of crystal will reveal itself.

Last Week.

My friend, Estevan, informed me that he is re-reading Laurence Gonzales' "Deep Survival". This time his page turning will be effortful, i.e. more than for the sake of just reading something recommended. Now he is into the study and application of what he is finding. Estevan says he found relevance to the way he has been strategizing and acting - particularly when it comes to seeking safety where safety is an illusion. He related to me the incident that precipitated this re-reading. It was such a minor happening: an engine alert on his truck's instrument display triggering physical sensations inside his body that he immediately felt, sensations followed by a flood of automatic mental chatter. Whether one's insight comes from something minor or major - that's not what's important. What's important? Estevan recognized his own chain reactions and touched on something. His awareness shifted his action on the spot. With this his practices have altered. Is this what real learning is about? Hmmmm.

January 22. 7:50 a.m. A friend called. Someone I met five years ago while we both were serving Vantage Corporation in Xiolan, situated on the outskirts of Zhongshan, in China's Guangdong province. We have stayed in contact on and off over the years as both our lives have taken twists and turns. She needed to talk and she needed to be heard. I have two ears. So, I listened. No assessments. No evaluations. No suggestions. No fixing. No comparisons or stories of my own to offer. I just listened, and that alone helped - at least that's what she said. Relatively speaking distance is a thing of the imagination. Ninety- nine hundred miles can shrink to a few centimeters and years can shrink to a moment when we listen. A lifetime can be served when we are willing to simply listen for an hour or so. What is the foundation for service, if not listening? What is the foundation for friendship, if not listening? What is the foundation for education, if not listening? What is the foundation for leadership, if not listening? What is the foundation for any form of healthy relationship - business, international, cross-cultural, cross-generational, employee-employer, with customers, with clients, with vendors - if not listening? Are you hearing this? Are you listening?

January 22. A little while later. Today's the day I've picked to open up Jack Cirie's three ring binder and begin to uncover what this geode holds. There definitely are crystalline gems inside. George Leonard's "The Art of Loving Combat" (Esquire, May 1985); Tim Hose's "FIC Search for KI: Karate and Behavioral Kinesiology" (date unknown); Dr. John Painter's "Confused About Chi (1983); and on and on and on. Then the Ten Precepts of the Key Society (1979) expanded upon. There are notes covering different ways to test one's body learning. In the middle of this old black book sits an entire section of favorite quotes that Jack had accumulated over time. My page turning is slow. Time stops.

January 22nd 4:35pm. My mobile phone rings and I look up from the binder and glance at my watch. I've been here for over four hours. Alex is calling, "Hey Dad, what's up?" His voice, a stream of pulsing energy, is fully alive and he's about to start his final down the mountain, ending our three-day outing. We have a quick chat. Soon we'll head back to a

friend's home in Truckee for supper, then begin our drive home. I flip the phone closed and reflect on the life we've crammed into these last thirty-five hours. I gaze down at the In- Jack's-Binder-Quote staring back at me. It reads: "If love is the answer, could you please rephrase the question." (Lilly Tomlin)

Many of Pappi's lessons came as we sat around evening campfires while he sipped boiled coffee from an old metal cup. One evening he told me he had once heard Fritz Perls' Ghestalt prayer. He said it had touched him so deeply that he had refashioned it for himself and someone special to his life. His eyes closed and his voice lowered. I pulled a pencil from my backpack and dictated.

~
"I am the person who I am
You are the person who you are
I have my life
You have your life

I do not live to meet your expectations
You do not live to meet my expectations
I walk my way of life
The same is true for you

I ask you to let me learn the lessons of my way
I promise you the same

On the road of life
If we are to meet
It will be beautiful

Whether our meeting
Is for a lifetime or only a moment,
Laughter or tears,
It will still be beautiful"
~
Pappi and I sat in silence for a long while after that.

(from the Life & Times of Pappi Conpelo)

© Lance Giroux, January 2011

A True and Short Story

Any definition of leadership raises semantical issues, as the terms leadership, management, and command overlap widely in military (and) civilian usage. To many military personnel the terms leadership and command are synonymous. Likewise, industry frequently makes little distinction between leadership and management.

The Study of Leadership

P 1-3, Introduction, Volume I, PL 401 AY 1971-72

OMPL, USCC, USMA

Chapter I - The Dinner

I had dinner last night with a friend of mine - a former Marine Corps Major helicopter pilot. He's a great dad, loving husband, good teacher, very good manager, and gentle in his demeanor, always looking carefully for the nuances about how others are feeling, what they might need from him to move forward in the direction of their goals. I've observed him working with people under stress. I've noticed that he's almost always paying attention to others and simultaneously monitoring his own internal reactions and what these might cause. When he senses a need in others he artfully delivers a word or glance or gesture that creates an opening into which people move for their personal betterment, and for the betterment of all. When riled, which from my vantage point is rare, he stays in that state for only a moment and then lets that energy pass away.

The Marine Corp might take credit for him being this way, "He's an example of our fine training." Others might say, "He's a pilot and pilots take their lives and the lives of others into their hands on a daily basis." I think these are both valid perspectives, and you know the old sayings - Once a Marine, Always a Marine - Once a Pilot, Always a Pilot. But what I really think is that somewhere along the line in the life of my friend he got clear that:

#1 - Attitude, the way one views something, is paramount;

#2 - Attitude influences both short and long term behavior and action;

#3 - Attitude affects environment - the people and things that surround a person;

#4 - His attitude is solely his responsibility;

#5 - He attracts people and things into his life, or repels them from his life.

We talked about leadership over our meal, and the need for people in positions of power - fathers, mothers, teachers, managers, CEO's, presidents of companies, heads of organizations, principals, VP's, sole practitioners, executive assistants, etc. - to be able to shake off negativity when it occurs; the kind of negativity that accompanies stress, strain and the pressures that you may find yourself subject to given the current and almost constant attention to negative or uncertain financial news, fear based advertisements, or sensationalism focused on violence or hype.

We talked about our shared practice - one that places physical, emotional and intellectual demands on a person who is being struck, grabbed and physically attacked. Our conversation revolved around how that from our beginnings in this practice (nine years ago) to today the seemingly key ingredient to successfully developing and unleashing it is learning to relax under pressure. We agree that the same is true for leadership.

Midway through dinner he said, "People have to learn and know why an ability to relax under pressure is so important. And it's the responsibility of a leader to show them."


Chapter II - The Book

The 1972 US Military Academy (USMA) senior class course reader on psychology and leadership provided some great distinctions between leader, manager and boss - or in the later case - commander, reflecting the language of West Point and the military. Those who read that introduction back then (I was one of them) were advised to pay attention because an embodied understanding of the distinctions would effect the lives of real people.

I broke with my normal approach and read that introduction rather than skip past it to chapters that I was sure would be on the end-of-semester exam. I'm not the only person who has rushed past necessary foundations to get to what they thought was more important stuff. Those days I was short sighted; I wanted to get a grade and graduate.

Selective reading in order to pass a paper exam is akin to rushing into a business opportunity to make a quick buck, no matter the long-term consequences; or like disregarding someone's temperament at the beginning of the dating scene and then somehow hoping for a happily ever after relationship.

I passed the semester exam and the course with a good grade, and graduated. But the data regarding distinctions wasn't knowledge - at least not yet. It remained only a scrap of information. Fortunately, a year and a half later, someone with real-life experience cared about me enough, to point out my past lack of vision. He did so by getting in my face about how I was being, which with him wasn't very good.

That was a risk for him because I held higher rank. Rank, position, title and office are important in some social, professional, familial and other structured environments. Disregard for rank can have severe consequences under certain conditions. But his risk caused me to think about what had become valuable to me (my status, position and opinions - all temporary) rather than what should have been vital to me (the people I served and a healthy understanding of myself - a life-long endeavor). His risk brought me back to the fundamentals.

The distinctions that follow have appeared in past Allied Ronin newsletters and blogs, but they certainly aren't carved in stone and solely definitive. West Point doesn't have license on the English language or opinion. But long-term experience and on-the-job real-world case studies - real life and death stuff - support the importance of these. At minimum, they might be worth pondering again if you are already aware of them. Some things are like that. So the purpose for mentioning them today is for the sake of encouraging action.

Management. The planning, organizing, directing and controlling optimum use of money, human resource, energy, time and material to accomplish something. A Manager is a person who holds a position created by a system. This person is often identified by a title, someone, whose job (a do function) it is to optimize the use of those things listed above. The system that created the position and identified the person with title can take many forms.

Bossing(commanding, in military terms). Exerting authority over others. A Boss (commander) is a one who holds a position given by a system. He or she is someone who, because of a system, tells others what to do, and when and where to do it. The system that creates their position and title can take any form - autocratic (I have the biggest hammer or knife so we do it my way), democratic (we elect you), committee appointment (a bunch of us want you and we'll put you in charge), historic (because I'm your father or mother, and I say so), etc.

Leading. The influence human behavior. A Leader is one who (regardless of position or title) influences human behavior. Leading is not a function of job position or title or status. Systems do not create positions called leaders. People move in and out of states of influence regardless of, and sometimes independent of, systems. If you have had children, you know this, because you know what it's like to hear your baby cry in the middle of the night, and then you get up to change the diaper and rock him to sleep. In those moments the infant was Leader; you were Follower. With mindful practice one can become an effective leader, regardless or age, rank, title, position, looks, gender, amount of money in the bank, status, etc.

Leadership is an art. It is learned, embodied and practiced over time - sometimes without awareness. As an art practiced purposefully it carries power. If the practitioner's influence is constructive, she or he will be known by others as a positive leader. If the practitioner's influence is destructive, he or she will gain a reputation as being a negative leader.

One can be a Good Manager and not a Boss; a Good Boss and not a Manager; a Lousy Boss and a Great Manager; a Good Manager and a Lousy Boss - or both Boss and Manager and good at each. One can be a Powerful Leader and never ever be a Manager or a Boss.

The fact is at any time anyone can be a leader in any circumstance. This is important to remember.

Chapter III - The List

My Marine Corps former Major helicopter friend got me thinking. So this morning I began making a list:

A relaxed mind lowers blood pressure. A tense state of mind raises it.

A relaxed mind makes for good digestion. A tense state of mind creates constipation.

A relaxed mind calms agitated people. A tense state of mind increases agitation.

A relaxed mind attracts people. A tense state of mind repulses them.

A relaxed mind is creative. A tense state of mind hits the same nail with the same hammer.

A relaxed mind is cooperative. A tense state of mind looks for a fight.

A relaxed mind sees opportunities, that otherwise are invisible to a tense state of mind.

A relaxed mind sleeps well. A tense state of mind tosses and turns.

A relaxed mind bends and rebounds quickly. A tense state of mind gets brittle and cracks.

A relaxed mind learns new behaviors. A tense state of mind repeats old mistakes.

A relaxed mind grows. A tense mind decays.

A relaxed mind is youthful. A tense mind grows old before its time.

A relaxed mind finds things that are lost. A tense state of mind walks right past what is missing (often repeatedly) and doesn't see it.

A relaxed mind is hopeful. A tense state of mind is depressing.

A relaxed mind attracts abundance. A tense state of mind denies abundance even in the midst of it.

A relaxed mind can hold and operate on many thoughts at one time. A tense mind squeezes the power out of many thoughts and has a hard time dealing with just one.

The rest of this chapter is up to you - continue on with the above list by adding to it and create one of your own. No limits here. You can make this a month long process - and work on it every day. You can paste your list on the refrigerator door, on coffee room bulletin board, or your night stand. This exercise might actually help any condition you find yourself in, because the act of writing things like this will effect your attitude. I promise you - you're not immune from being human. Or you can skip over this and do nothing, like I used to skip the introductions of the assigned course readers given me at West Point, looking for the stuff that would be on a test in order to get a short-term good grade.

But before you do either, skip the list or work on it, here's the news for this month's newsletter. Allied Ronin is a loose alliance of a few people scattered around the globe and listed at www.AlliedRonin.com/Associates.htm. The primary mission of Allied Ronin is to serve human beings by developing leaders. (ß- that's a period right there, subtle but important point.) These individuals have their own firms and businesses. We look anywhere and everywhere to take on this mission and we do it, often on our own, with all kinds of people who find themselves in all kinds of circumstances. Most of the people served are not formal managers or bosses. But every person served is a leader, and that's a fact. Sometimes we charge a lot of money. Sometimes we serve for free. And sometimes it costs us a lot of money to provide the services we do, and we pay prices for that. Regardless of this, our alliance is bound by each individual's understanding of this mission, a mission we feel is important. To a person, everyone on the list that you'll find on the website has a growing and embodied understanding that being able to relax under pressure is important, and a growing understanding of why this is so.

Here's some advice - and perhaps a challenge. To whatever degree you are doing something to purposefully enhance your capacity to relax under pressure then continue that practice. Consider increasing it and influencing others to do likewise. If you are not currently engaged in doing something to purposefully enhance your capacity to relax under pressure then the time to start is today - right now. It's worth the investment in time, energy and money to do so no matter what else you are committed to or have on your calendar. Don't wait. Your today will be traded for something. Might as well make it something worthwhile and useful for a healthy future.



Mind is the master power that moulds and makes

And Man is mind and evermore he takes

The tool of thought and shaping what he wills

Brings forth a thousand joys, or a thousand ills.

He thinks in secret and it comes to pass.

Environment is his looking glass.

- James Allen


©Lance Giroux, 2009

Hitting a Point Again

Hitting a point again. A few days ago I received a surprise gift from a West Point classmate I haven’t heard from in a long time, Dr. Judson Belmont. The gift, a book, “Shackleton’s Way” by Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell. Sir Ernest Shackleton, explorer and captain of the ill-fated Antarctic voyage of the Endurance (1914-1916) is one of my favorite subjects when it comes to leadership. I sometimes use the Liam Neeson narrated film “The Endurance” in the Allied Ronin Leaders’ Retreats.

In the book’s introduction the authors quickly lay out the challenges that Shackleton and his crew of twenty-seven faced, challenges that seemed to escalate exponentially month on end, challenges that are worth considering in light of today’s sad times. Somehow, though, all survived. How? The author’s put it in two words, “Credit Shackleton.” We should not underestimate the power of the individual when much is at stake.

Morrell and Capparell write – “According to Napoleon, ‘a leader is a dealer in hope.’ Shackelton knew how to keep hope in plentiful supply….” When it was preposterous to think they could get out alive, he convinced his men that only a fool would say they wouldn’t.’”

So, I’m hitting the point again from my just published newsletter. If you are in a leadership position, people are depending on you, looking for you, relying on you. For what? For the simple idea that one must go it again for another day.

Some years ago many of my colleagues got caught up in a jargon fostered by numerous training organizations. “There is no hope,” they would say in effort to have people take personal responsibility rather than sit idle and wait for a rescuer to come fix their situation. From that perspective maybe it worked, and got people off their duffs to get on with it. But, when one becomes convinced that hope is a meaningless thing, let’s be assured that hopelessness isn’t. Hopelessness leads to all kinds of maladies. Strong arguments exist that hopelessness undermines the body’s immune system. Hopelessness causes corporate cave-ins.

I’m not talking about false hope – the kind that comes with false promises. I’m talking about the will to continue generated by strong spirit. And when team spirit is waning, people look for a leader (anyone really) who can keep a spark of hope alive within.

Another Day. Another Leader.

November 1, 2008, sitting at Pete’s Coffee on South Petaluma Boulevard, in Petaluma, California. Three days to go in a contest, a process, that started two years ago, and arguably for some long before that. And it will continue past Tuesday. You can bet on it. The headlines of our local newspaper, The Argus Courier, read “Record number of Petaluma voters” – and indicates that more than 90% of those registered may cast ballots. That’s good news.

The plea for leadership is strong and loud. Yet, unfortunately it’s also numbing. That’s sad news. I wish that weren’t so – the numbing part. But it is, as evidenced by a medium complaining how long this process has been underway, and how wonderful it will be when it’s over. How come that’s sad? Because we cry out for leadership when our times are bemoaned, or when we feel victimized by the economy or stressed because of a war or the downslide of the stock market or global warming or based on whatever situation we’re in. But when things are cushy and pleasant and easy and there’s no perceived threat, either internally or externally, leadership as a topic is at best either something reserved for an MBA semester elective; or a slogan in some mission statement that isn’t really a mission statement but actually an advertisement some focus group spent a couple of hours playing with (man am I tired of slogans). At worst leadership as a study in practice is something left as a discretionary spending budget line item when our organizations can afford a management retreat which really isn’t a retreat nor does it have much at all to do with leadership but rather is a sit-around-the-bar-session-knocking-back-cocktails-and-beer-while-discussing-blends-grapes-the-pour-and-nuances-of-the-day’s-last-putt. Have another cigar? Think I will, thank you very much.

Truman as quoted by Miller was often short and to the point, e.g. “The only thing new in the world is the history you don’t know.” (p. 69, Plain Speaking). He understood the need for average persons to wake up to how much they matter in life. I imagine this was so for him because he understood that he was an average man. FYI, 1973 a lowly second lieutenant in the Army, married with dependents (me at that time) was making about $550 per month. A four star general with 30 years of service, married with dependents was making about $2800 per month. Kind of makes one think, especially in light of the roller coaster of the past months. And all of us, 2nd Lt’s and Generals alike, sat in hour-long lines waiting to fill our cars with gas.

So at this moment and for this month’s newsletter and blog, I think I’ll rant a bit.

First. Leadership isn’t academic, though it definitely should be a topic in every school from grade one through all doctoral levels. It should be included in dialogue in all extracurricular activities such as music, sports, art, home economics, etc. Why? Because those activities really aren’t extracurricular. They are educating half of the brain, the right half, the activities that enhance full mental capacity and they are just as important as the left-brain activities commonly referred to as curricular, i.e. reading, writing and arithmetic. Someone, somewhere should be asking the following questions in our schools all the time: who and what is influencing you; who and what are you influencing; how is what we have been doing and studying going to be of influence in life when you step outside this room or off this playing field? We don’t need to tell our kids the answers to these questions, because the answers will change.

Second. Leadership isn’t about having the right slogan. It’s about everyday reality. It’s not reserved for some time when some person or some team occupies some office or position or has some kind of title affixed to some name or has amassed some certain level of fortune and is then entitled to be called Leader. Leadership is as present and as simple as the average person making coffee, taking time for shampoo, washing hands or the dog or the car, raking leaves, saying something simple to your son or daughter, putting gas in the truck or changing the oil. [Maybe changing oil should be left off the list because some folks have forgotten that lubricants, like old ideas, need changing; and yet lubricants, like old ideas, are universally necessary!]

Third. Leadership should never, ever, ever be attended to only when we have set aside enough discretionary funds to attend a retreat. In fact attending a retreat should not be hinged to discretionary funds. Refreshing the mind (i.e. going on retreat) ought be thought of as something necessary for good mental, emotional and spiritual regularity. We don’t consider the respective parentheses associated with refreshing physical regularity (i.e. meal time and toilet time) as things reserved for when our pockets are flush with cash. We get it about that – bodily inflow and outflow are essential to physical health. But when it comes to the digestive processes of the mind, the heart and the soul – ahhhh, some-a-day when there’s enough money and time, maybe we’ll attend to the inflow and outflow of that. In case you haven’t noticed, our yesterdays are quickly becoming the some-a-days that we should have been attending to. [I said this was going to be a rant]

Fourth. Let’s be straight. You and I are being influenced all the time by someone or something. Additionally, we’re influencing someone else and/or some situation all the time. Influence surrounds and binds us and it flows through us. Influence is the essence of what it means to lead. I realize this may sound rather Yoda-ish. Alas, some have either forgotten the lessons of Star Wars Episode IV or they have never seen the movie.

We grow blind the fact that, regardless of station or age or title or whatever else we want to call it, we are always leading and being led all of the time. We get so used to the influences that press on us daily (or the influence that we have on others) that we numb out to them. It doesn’t mean that they (we) are no longer of influence. It merely means that we are no longer conscious of this influence at work.

Some influences that touch us (or that we are) are attractive: beautiful music, vivid colors, sweet odors and tones and textures, supportive voices and the like. Some are repulsive: yellow tarps over spread next to overturned smoldering cars; hateful graffiti splashed across walls or doors; anguished faces viewing the remains of cherished children or parents suddenly gone; the homeless one passed out late at night inside a post office; spittle on the sidewalk; the roll of untrusting eyes or the sneer of disgusted lips; sharp unforgiving comments; raw vulgarities of racial, ethnic or sexist slurs; the dull dazed look of a drugged kid sitting on a curb. Either way, pleasant or ugly, we don’t notice or we pretend we don’t notice or we walk quickly on by or we soon forget. We become, as Marshall McLuhan put forth in a 1969 Playboy magazine interview, so used to the environment we’re living in that we no longer see, feel or hear it talking to us or about us or from us. (“I don’t know who first discovered water, but we’re pretty sure it wasn’t the fish,” McLuhan.)

Today is November 1st. By the time these words are delivered and posted in e-newsletter form or at www.AlliedRonin.blogspot.com either a McCain or an Obama will be the President-elect of the United States. As I write these words that outcome is a mystery. By the time these words get posted and delivered online that outcome will be history. Both Obama and McCain are leaders. So are you.

US citizens are involved in a grand experiment, an experiment rooted 2,500 years ago in the ground of ancient Athens. An experiment that Abe Lincoln wrote of as being “of the people, by the people and for the people.” We are not separate from government, no more than we are separate from nature. True, we can think of ourselves as separate. But thinking that we are separate does not change the fact that we are connected, no more than thinking the world is flat changes the fact that it is round. We are the government. Some may reply, “How naïve!” OK, but where does that kind of cynicism lead? There are people alive today by trainloads wishing they could get here or wanting their own land to change so that could enjoy the freedom to actually exercise this kind of naivety at home. Last month’s newsletter addressed some lessons learned by viewing the US from outside our borders. Add to that this thought: the things you and I do here over the next few days either through action or inaction may be small, but in time they make a difference. On Election Day or on any other day millions, actually billions, of human beings living elsewhere see the truth of this and wonder why we have such difficulty seeing it for ourselves.

When you read this whether you voted or didn’t vote in the election of November 4, 2008 – you voted. And your vote was counted. You contributed somehow to the outcome.

Bringing it back to everyday stuff of the average person. Like the man sitting on the bale of hay and the boy in his arms in the photo above - we’re all influencing and being influenced all the time by someone or something. What influence does the boy have on his father? What influence does the father have on the boy? You can’t see either of their eyes. Yet it’s clear that on that day they were each looking in different directions, existing simultaneously in the same place yet holding vastly different perspectives. You may not be the boss. You may not be the manager. You may not be the person in charge. You may not be the employee. You may not be office temp. You may not be the father or the mother. You may not be the son or the daughter. You may be big. You may be small. But somehow right now you are a leader. You’re affecting an outcome.

Who and what are you influencing? Who or what is influencing you? Stay alert!

RISK-BELIEF- LUCK: Lessons from Lenny Semis

Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico (aka Rocky Point) is quite a drive from the corner of San Francisco’s Townsend and Embarcadero streets - but certainly closer than Russia. That (actually then called the Soviet Union) was Lenny Semis’ initial point of departure when his family immigrated to the United States two decades ago.

Fast-forward to the early 2000’s. Lenny finds himself sitting in a classroom at the University of San Francisco where I, as an adjunct professor, was teaching the core MBA leadership course – highly experiential by academic standards, yet well grounded in the rigor of research and instruction expected in a major college environment. I recall him as always very involved in class discussions, seeking to view things from new perspectives and thinking through tough questions to find new understandings; maybe because he was (still is) hungry for life. We found time to get to know each other outside the classroom. I had been an officer in the US Army during the same years his father was a Soviet army officer, making us (his father and me) once-upon-a-time enemies. This mixed with class material created interesting “office hour” conversations for us - always held in the coffee shop on USF’s Lone Mountain campus. One highlight for me was the day he introduced me to his dad and we (his dad and I) got a chance to chat about our memories of when our countries were adversaries.

Sometimes when you see the unexpected
you decide to do the unexpected

On somewhat of a whim, not long after he secured a consulting position in Accenture’s San Francisco office Lenny decided to take a few days off from work and with his friend Vlad (another Russian) go to Mexico to hang out. Soon after arriving something caught their attention. It wasn’t what they saw. Rather, it came in the form (really void) of what they didn’t see: a lack of service in the midst of a high need - a growing presence of Americans buying or building homes just south of the border. Homes in need of furniture. People with no way to furnish them. Nothing and no one around to help them accomplish that.

This definitely was not corporate consulting, or blue suits, or starched collars and red ties. It wasn’t double-late’-capa-rapa-frapacino, and definitely not do-as-you’re-told-fit-the-mold-climb-the-appropriate-ladder-until-you- -are-old- reach-the-top-and retire-with-fat-pension job. It was something strange and new and demanded creativity, flexibility and a seize-the-moment awareness for action. Lenny and Vlad didn’t go to Mexico looking for this; they went there to enjoy the beach, the beer and the shrimp. Sometimes when you see the unexpected you decide to do the unexpected. Vlad and Lenny quit their jobs, traded in their Gucci’s and tailored digs for tennis shoes and Levi’s, and started a furniture store, but without …well … the store.

Within days they were in business selling and shipping truckloads of furniture - no showroom – using pictures and virtual presentations, and making promises and then making good on those promises. Surprisingly (or not) their business grew. Lenny’s office became: “Wherever I am with a cell phone and a computer.” His business schedule became: “Whenever the phone’s on.” His clients became: “Everyone.” This lack of structure isn’t for some people. But for Lenny, it was (and remains) perfect.

I … ummm … sell things

Lenny’s vision began shifting from chairs and tables and beds and night stands to the homes and condos and buildings and developments that housed them. With this shift in vision came a shift in business. Still sans the suit, and with only cell phone and computer, he now says his primary job is being creative enough to solve problems associated with getting people together in order for them to have the homes and condos and land developments that they dream of. “Are you a real estate agent?” I asked. “Nope,” he said, “I’m a problem solver.” “What’s your title with the firm you’re now part of?” I inquired. He responded, “I don’t have a title and I don’t want one. A title limits you and your thinking. I … ummm … sell things. From there it’s a matter of time, trust and perseverance.” A far cry from the structured world he was so eager to foundation his life upon when he graduated from USF.


Just before we broke for the morning to go our separate ways, I asked him if he were able to go back to USF as a guest lecturer and advise other soon-to-be MBA’s what would he say his biggest lessons learned were. Without hesitation he responded, “Take risks. Believe in yourself. Luck is important, too … it creates opportunity. So, accept the luck that comes your way.”

To see what Lenny Semis is dong visit http://www.lpsgc.com/. There’s a photo of him of the “Contact” page, but no title. Remember, he’s just “sells things.”

©Lance Giroux, 2007