Sunday at the Post

QUOTE/STORY OF THE WEEK...

“Remain in peace in the unity of God and walk blindly in the clear straight path of your obligations...If God wishes more from you, his inspiration will make you know it.” -- J.D. Salinger, 1958

I’m sure many of you have read “The Catcher in the Rye.” Some may have liked the book, others may have hated it, but for me, it was one of the first books I read that I just couldn’t put down. I loved Holden Caulfield and loved the fact that the author, J.D. Salinger, went to Valley Forge Military, as I did.

The reclusive Salinger died last week at the age of 91, which I found ironic. Last week in the Sunday Post, I included a quote from the movie “Finding Forester,” which is very loosely based on a character who had some similarities to Salinger. Salinger had been living in his cabin in Cornish, N.H., surrounded by a six-foot-high fence to keep strangers away and protect his privacy. But like the character in “Finding Forester,” he wrote every day for his own pleasure. As the Forester character told Jamal, “Whatever we write in this apartment stays in this apartment.” Nothing Salinger wrote has left his cabin. Maybe now we might see some of his works.

“In the manner of a great Indian composer of the 16th Century, Swami Haridas, who would sing and play only for God, Mr. Salinger ceased to publish in the early ’60s and now evidently writes only for God or for himself — the two are not strictly divided in the Vedantic philosophy which informed so much of what Salinger wrote (and with which I also share a strong affinity). To the untutored — or perhaps far too tutored and jaded literary sensibility — such a refusal of publicity would appear to be nothing more than a failure of nerve, a childish refusal to enjoy fame.” -- Sam Buntz, The Dartmouth

AROUND THE NFL…

“A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.” -- Francis Bacon

1. It was with great sadness that I heard the news of the passing of former CBS announcer and local Philadelphia sportscaster Tom Brookshier. Brookie was a former Eagles player who rose to fame being on the No. 1 team at CBS with his partner, Pat Summerall. Summerall was asked about Brookie when he left CBS and was quoted saying, “I won’t miss Brookie on Sunday, but I’m going to miss the hell out of him on Saturday night.” The two had a great friendship as well as a great partnership on the air. He will be missed.

2. I have never seen a player get more attention than Tim Tebow received last week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. Tebow was in and out of the hospital all week with a viral infection, but he didn’t miss a practice or the game. He didn’t back down from the challenge of playing and seemed to relish the opportunity to compete.

3. Kurt Warner’s retirement on Friday wasn’t a surprise, but his positive outlook regarding Matt Leinart had to make the Cardinals coaching staff feel a little better. Leinart will be given the chance to show he can be the man, but the word coming out of Arizona is that the Cards will make sure there’s competition in camp. Might be a place where Derek Anderson ends up once he’s let go by the Browns.

4. Bears head coach Lovie Smith and Mike Martz have a great relationship, and despite the concerns about hiring Martz as offensive coordinator, the Bears would be smart to make this move. Martz can handle quarterback Jay Cutler and put the Bears’ passing game on par with the Vikings and Packers.

5. The hiring of former Redskins head coach Jim Zorn as Ravens quarterbacks coach will be key in the development of Joe Flacco. Flacco needs to take a giant step next season in terms of his development and growth as a player, and Zorn might be the perfect person to help. Cam Cameron, the team’s offensive coordinator, is often critical of Flacco, which has strained their relationship on occasion. But with Zorn as a buffer, it might help Flacco learn to be more open to coaching and not hear it as criticism.

6. Defensive linemen Brandon Graham of Michigan and Dan Williams of Tennessee looked very impressive at the Senior Bowl, and their performances will certainly help their draft stock.

7. This week in Miami, the National Football Post staff will be providing daily news and notes from the game as we get ready for the Super Bowl. Make sure you check back early and often.

ARTICLES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THAT AREN’T WORTH MISSING...

“Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.” -- Mohandas Gandhi

Philosophy is Back in Business by Dov Seidman

A great story on the relief effort going on in Haiti from Dr. Mark Hyman

LEADERSHIP TIP OF THE WEEK…

“All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.” -- Epictetus

Came across this excellent blog to help everyone perform at a higher level — or at least try to. The Blog is called Talking Story with Rosa and offers very practical advice.

From the Web site:

Talking Story is a blog published by The Ho‘ohana Community, champion of the values-based Managing with Aloha workplace movement. Updated at least twice a week, Talking Story features the most current writing of author, entrepreneur and manager’s advocate Rosa Say -- that’s me. I spend most of each day as a business coach working to make organizational culture healthier, and my intention is to provide you with easy to use workplace resources that are the result of our day-to-day lessons learned: Talking Story helps me do so.

I mostly write about values, management and leadership, for I work within businesses large and small as the founder of Say Leadership Coaching. However, here on Talking Story we get very individual and personal, and we apply management and leadership theory to our self-management and self-leadership practices, looking for our daily opportunities to do so. We get real with the stuff we learn. We own up to our responsibility to be a bit better every day, improving our world by merit of our good example. We talk story, and we walk our talk.

Here is an example:

The Basics: What is it?

The Daily 5 Minutes (D5M) is a conversation you give to another person, as a gift of your full attention and good intentions. It is a new conversation: When you invite them to “Take 5” with you, they know the conversational agenda is of their choosing, and you are giving them your all-in listening time so they will feel completely heard and valued.

The D5M has been a workplace practice taught by me, organizational culture coach Rosa Say, for nearly two decades now, and it continues to deliver stellar results. It is core to the Managing with Aloha philosophy, a values-based curriculum brought to workplaces so they can be as healthy as possible.

I shared more about the D5M history in a recent posting on Joyful Jubilant Learning this past summer if you are interested in reading the full story: Learning to Listen with The Daily Five Minutes. The D5M was put into practice long before I was an author, consultant and coach teaching workshops: It was created within my work as a manager leading other managers as well, to fill a need and communications void, one which we encountered daily.

Our workplaces are only as healthy as the people within them, and what the D5M does is help us shape the relationships which matter most to us in our day-to-day living. We in the Ho‘ohana Community of Talking Story practice, teach and coach the Daily 5 Minutes freely (i.e. free of charge; this is not a sales page) because:

It’s simple (to learn).
It’s easy to do (as a useful practice)
Once it’s your daily habit, you can’t fail at it.
(This post elaborates on each of these three things.)
The Daily 5 Minutes helps you be more effective in communicating with the people who surround you. Day by day, 5 short minutes at a time, you build up your confidence — and significantly enhance a relationship you have with another person.

Listening better, so you can respond better (the basics of what you do when D5M-ing) turns into the 5-minute building blocks of greater managerial self-esteem, whether you adopt the practice:
to improve your approachability (think you’re approachable?)
to learn self-management and self-leadership through better conversations, or
to manage and lead others as well with better communication established in conversational agreements.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK….

“Leadership is the wise use of power. Power is the capacity to translate intention into reality and sustain it.” -- Warren G. Bennis

A must watch. New York Times columnist Tom Friedman, talking to Dov Seidman about integrity in companies and the difference between a sustainable organization and a solution based on organization.

QUOTES OF THE YEAR

“Memory is the mother of all wisdom.” -- Aeschylus

This comes from Dr. Michael of South Florida, who thought it would be a good thing to post what he thought were the quotes of the year from the Diner.

Here are the Top 10 Michael Lombardi quotes from the 2009-2010 NFL season. I started in September up until the present day to cover this last NFL season. The quotes are from DMN, Tavern Talk or Sunday at the Post and are from a wide array of world leaders, coaches, players, celebrities and two from the author himself, Mikey "the Boss' underboss” Lombardi (the Boss being Springsteen)! The quotes are listed in order per the calendar day they appeared and the date on which they appeared is in parentheses next to each quote’s author.

10. (9/20/09) "Appeasement is the hope that the crocodile will eat you last."  -- Winston Churchill

9. (9/23/09) "Success makes life easier. It does not make living easier." -- Bruce Springsteen

8. (10/15/09) "Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them. -- Orison Swett Marden

7. (10/19/09) “From the errors of others, a wise man corrects his own.” -- Syrus

6. (11/08/09) “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem.” – President Ronald Reagan

5. (11/16/09) "That's what being a boss is. You steer the ship the best way you know how. In the meantime, you find your pleasures where you can.” -- Corrado “Junior” Soprano

4. (12/1/09) " Just look at Sean Payton’s play call sheet -- it reminds me of the menu at Ponzio’s diner in Philadelphia." -- Michael Lombardi

3. (12/06/09) “A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall.” -- Vince Lombardi

2. (12/23/09) "I hope I never get tired of watching the Three Stooges. As I grow older, I hope I never grow up." -- Michael Lombardi

1. (1/26/10) "If you don't have enemies, you don't have character." -- Paul Newman

STORIES TO SHARE...

“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” -- Albert Einstein

Weakness or Strength?

Source: Linda's Inspiration Pointe

Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take, for example, the story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move.

"Sensei," the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?"

"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a timeout. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.

"No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue."

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: He dropped his guard.

Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

"Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"

"You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."

The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

Follow me on Twitter: michaelombardi

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