Happy New Year!!

I wish you all A Very Happy, Healthy, Prosperous, and Joyful New Year!! May your 2010also be filled with lots of love and laughter!! And always remember that "The leader you seek is you™"

You as leader

For far too many people, looking for a leader outside of themselves is the easiest way to pass off responsibility, motivation, and cognitive thought. That's how entire populations get controlled.

Don't ever forget: YOU are the leader you seek!!

Leaders always question

One of the major traits of a real leader is the fact that he or she always questions what they see, hear, or read. They use their cognitive abilities to go beyond what they're told. They research, think, and reason. That way they come to their own conclusions and have new, and/or perhaps broader, perspectives on issues.

When a leader has done their research, and thought things through, they often come up with new ideas or recognize the fact that things should stop being as they are. Those are the leadership qualities that set them apart! Leaders think!!

A Novel Idea for World Leaders - A New TV Network

Amidst all the reality shows, cooking channels, news broadcasts, nature programs, travel documentaries, and all the other stuff we see on TV and the Internet, I think there could be one network that would be interesting and informative but...it's no where to be found.

How 'bout the United Nations Network. Yeah...that's right, an entire TV network devoted to the U.N. And - it could be simulcasted on radio.

First, each member would be asked to address the world and tell everyone why their country exists, what they plan to do to have peace in their country, how they would make the world a better (and more peaceful) place, and how they would co-exist (and prosper) with the other countries around them. Each country's leader would have one to two hours of prime time TV. After a substantive address to the world, they could show videos, have guests, spotlight people and/or groups within their country (like scientists, farmers, everyday folks, entertainers). We'd have a least a year's worth of great television. The leaders would put the world on notice of their intentions, and perhaps it would also act as an accountability factor.

Hmm...there's so much more that could be done. Geez...how would you like to produce that!! It would leave reality TV in the dust!!

Leading into the New Year

May this season and the New Year bring all of us the greatest gift of all...Love. And with that, Peace, Repect, and the ability to live in Harmony with our fellow beings!

Why listening is a key to leadership

Did you ever hear the phrase, "Everything you want to say you already know." Well, that's why leaders understand that listening is a key to effective leadership.

Finding out what others think enables a leader to learn how to communicate with those he or she leads. In a world where listening has become a tool that few have mastered, those who know how to listen (and act on what they've learned) will find it much easier to succeed.

Since you already know what you're gonna say...why not find out something new instead?!

Join me on facebook and twitter

Well...I've done it. I'm following Gary Vaynerchuk's advice that he wrote in his book Crush It! I'm on twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/dannygoldberg, have a facebook fan page at: http://www.facebook.com/DanGoldbergFB, and have a new facebook group, "Mastering enLightened Leadership™" at: http://bit.ly/DanGMeL

I hope you'll join me at all three venues. Look forward to seeing and hearing from you soon!

Best,
Dan

Hope Copenhagen Leads to Something Substantive

After viewing President Obama's speech about the Summit in Copenhagen on Climate Change, I'm waiting to see what really comes out of it.

It was nice to hear the he met with the leaders of China, India, Brazil, and South Africa and came away with them all pledging to do "this and that" and make sure that the global temperature doesn't exceed 2 degrees Celsius (or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit...that's A LOT) over the next 10 years, (which will still be more than enough to keep the ice caps melting AND the oceans rising). But where's the meat? Where's the caps and reduction of carbon emission guidelines? When will documents be released to the public? What are the biding resolution? Eh...there isn't any biding resolutions you say...oh! So what the heck were these people doing? You know - it would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.

At least Obama went. And perhaps what transpired is a framework for stiffer regulations. We'll see. Otherwise, our grandchilren may see sea in places where its never been seen before.

Leadership in Copenhagen

It will be interesting to see how world leaders resolve the climate crises later this week. When the President arrives on the 18th and confers with others about global warming, I hope something meaningful comes out of the discussions and the conference.

For those who STILL don't believe that human activities are having a negative affect on the environment, I ask you this. Even if we, as humans, aren't causing global warming (although every peer reviewed scientific paper says we are), what's wrong with cleaning up our atmosphere anyway? Do you really want to breath in the crap we're putting into it? Eat the food that absorbs the junk that gets into the feed and the air THEY (plants and animals) consume? Do you want to expose your kids to the stuff we put into our air and food?

So...let's make sure something's done about it. And, hopefully the summit in Denmark will be the next step!

Watching the Leaderboard

Yesterday I was watching CNN when anchor Don Lemon announced that they were going to spend a good portion of the 6:00 hour speaking about Tiger Woods with "experts" on the subject.

Huh? Has our country (and the world) become so debased that we're completely transfixed on an individual's infidelity while the economy struggles, our soldiers are in wars, our healthcare system is a mess, and we're in need of serious discussion on all those topis and more, yet...we (they) choose to talk about a golfer who beds down with numerous women? What the heck's goin' on?

I just turned off the TV!

Is CNN really the "World's Leader in News?" or is it the leader in meaningless banter to everyone except Tiger's wife.

Leadership beyond the norm

We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.
Nelson Mandela.

After seeing the movie "Invictus" yesterday, the enormous Leadership qualities shown by Nelson Mandela are, once again, in the forefront of my mind. I suggest you see the film, take your friends and family, and witness what leadership can be like when commitment and compassion meet.

A leadership trait worth noting

The business leader who does not put the welfare of his or her employees and customers at the top of their list, will soon lose the repect of both. And eventually their position, and/or that of their company, will collapse.

Glad to see that the President is taking leadership on climate change seriously

President Obama is doing what Bush never did. He's taking climate change seriously.
Here's a piece from the Boston Globe:

Obama will be at the summit on Dec. 18, considered a crucial period when more leaders will be in attendance, as opposed to his scheduled stop in Denmark on Wednesday on his way to pick up his Nobel Peace Prize the next day in Oslo. The earlier stop at the two-week meeting was looked upon by many as a sign that an agreement was still a long shot. But now with the United States, India, and China all with specific proposals on the table for the first time to cut carbon emissions, a political agreement seems more likely. None of the three countries - which are among the top five emitters of carbon dioxide in the world - were subject to limits put in place by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the treaty that negotiations in Denmark seek to replace.

IT'S ABOUT TIME!!