Don't Give Up... Don't Ever Give Up...

Against massive odds James (Jim) Thomas Anthony Valvano, nicknamed Jimmy V, won the 1983 NCAA Basketball Tournament as head coach of North Carolina State. Jimmy V was diagnosed with bone cancer in June 1992. In July, he found out that it had metastasized.

On March 3, 1993, shortly before his death, he spoke at the first ESPY Awards, presented by ESPN. While accepting the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award, he announced the creation of The Jimmy V Foundation, an organization dedicated to finding a cure for cancer. He announced that the Foundation's motto would be "Don't Give Up . . . Don't Ever Give Up."

20 years later his words are still moving... may we all take his words to heart... live each day with thought, passion, and love





You can learn more about the Jimmy V Foundation, or donate to their cause HERE.

Steve Jobs: Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

"If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" - Steve Jobs

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who died this week after a long battle with cancer, is rightfully being lauded as a visionary, a person who brought technology seamlessly into our lives and who could all but see the future in his development of new ideas that would change whole industries.

Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life's setbacks -- including death itself.  It is an inspiring message for all of us, no matter what stage of life we find ourselves in...  Upon the news of his passing, it seems an appropriate time to post his Commencement address to the graduates of Stanford University on June 12, 2005. 

Inspiration, From the Mouth of Babes...

Sometimes, out of the mouth of babes comes great wisdom and ideas...


We should all take a moment to slow down, focus and recapture the energy and inspiration of this young child. He's more excited about pulling off a successful bike ride than most of us are about being alive. 

Leadership - A Rare, Precious Commodity

What is leadership?

According to James MacGregor Burns, who authored the Nobel prize-winning book Leadership, there are at least 130 current definitions of leadership; while Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus, in their book Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge, claim there are at least 350.

Despite the lack of a singular clear-cut definition, clearly there is no limit to the number of thoughts and insights on the topic of leadership.  Yet at the end of the day, sometimes the best insights are found in the words of our best leaders... 

On May 27, 2011 Secretary of Defense Robert Gates gave the commencement address to graduates of the United States Naval Academy.  In his 46 years of public service, in the Air Force, at the CIA, in the White House and now at the Pentagon - Secretary Gates has served under eight different presidents and a variety of different leadership styles.

During the commencement address, Secretary Gates offered his thoughts on leadership touching on the following qualities: vision, conviction, self-confidence, courage, integrity and common decency.

The relevant portion of the speech follows.  They are words worth reading as we all work to continually fine-tune our own leadership capacity:

...I have learned that real leadership is a rare and precious commodity, and requires qualities that many people might possess piecemeal to varying degrees, but few exhibit in total...

...For starters, great leaders must have vision - the ability to get your eyes off your shoelaces at every level of rank and responsibility, and see beyond the day-to-day tasks and problems. To be able to look beyond tomorrow and discern a world of possibilities and potential. How do you take any outfit to a higher level of excellence? You must see what others do not or cannot, and then be prepared to act on your vision.
An additional quality necessary for leadership is deep conviction. True leadership is a fire in the mind that transforms all who feel its warmth, that transfixes all who see its shining light in the eyes of a man or woman. It is a strength of purpose and belief in a cause that reaches out to others, touches their hearts, and makes them eager to follow.

Self-confidence is still another quality of leadership. Not the chest-thumping, strutting egotism we see and read about all the time. Rather, it is the quiet self-assurance that allows a leader to give others both real responsibility and real credit for success. The ability to stand in the shadow and let others receive attention and accolades. A leader is able to make decisions but then delegate and trust others to make things happen. This doesn't mean turning your back after making a decision and hoping for the best. It does mean trusting in people at the same time you hold them accountable. The bottom line: a self-confident leader doesn't cast such a large shadow that no one else can grow.

A further quality of leadership is courage: not just the physical courage of the seas, of the skies and of the trenches, but moral courage. The courage to chart a new course; the courage to do what is right and not just what is popular; the courage to stand alone; the courage to act; the courage as a military officer to "speak truth to power."...

Another essential quality of leadership is integrity. Without this, real leadership is not possible. Nowadays, it seems like integrity - or honor or character - is kind of quaint, a curious, old-fashioned notion. We read of too many successful and intelligent people in and out of government who succumb to the easy wrong rather than the hard right - whether from inattention or a sense of entitlement, the notion that rules are not for them. But for a real leader, personal virtues - self-reliance, self control, honor, truthfulness, morality - are absolute. These are the building blocks of character, of integrity - and only on that foundation can real leadership be built.

A final quality of real leadership, I believe, is simply common decency: treating those around you - and, above all, your subordinates - with fairness and respect. An acid test of leadership is how you treat those you outrank, or as President Truman once said, "how you treat those who can't talk back."

...know this. At some point along your path, you will surely encounter failure or disappointment of one kind or another. Nearly all of us have. If at those times you hold true to your standards, then you will always succeed, if only in knowing you stayed true and honorable. In the final analysis, what really matters are not the failures and disappointments themselves, but how you respond.

Being true to our individual nature

I was scanning through some of the older posts of Eric Musselman's fantastic blog "Basketball Notebook" - which as a side note is the inspiration for Corner Chatter.

In a post from February of 2009, Coach Musselman recounts an article written by Po Bronson, author of the book "What Should I Do with My Life? The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question." The article from Fast Company magazine contends that "instead of focusing on what's next, let's get back to what's first."

The post details Bronson's thoughts on the exceedingly large number of "smart, educated, talented people operating at quarter speed, unsure of their place in the world, contributing far too little to the productive engine of modern civilization."

There are far too many people who look like they have their act together but have yet to make an impact. You know who you are. It comes down to a simple gut check: You either love what you do or you don't. Period.

According to the author, "those who are lit by that passion are the object of envy among their peers and the subject of intense curiosity. They are the source of good ideas. They make the extra effort. They demonstrate the commitment. They are the ones who, day by day, will rescue this drifting ship. And they will be rewarded. With money, sure, and responsibility, undoubtedly."

Bronson writes that "most of us are blessed with the ultimate privilege: We get to be true to our individual nature. Our economy is so vast that we don't have to grind it out forever at jobs we hate. For the most part, we get to choose. That choice isn't about a career search so much as an identity quest."

Asking The Question aspires to end the conflict between who you are and what you do. There is nothing more brave than filtering out the chatter that tells you to be someone you're not. There is nothing more genuine than breaking away from the chorus to learn the sound of your own voice. Asking The Question is nothing short of an act of courage: It requires a level of commitment and clarity that is almost foreign to our working lives.

The Meaning of Failure

It's always interesting to read about, talk with, and learn from CEOs and leaders in various industries. Many of the challenges they face are no different than the ones faced by you and I every day - often times they only differ in magnitude. The strategies, perspectives and ideas they have are often helpful to those pursuing a greater leadership legacy in their own life.

For example, in a previous issue of Fortune magazine, the author asked two CEOs and one business consultant about failure and what it means to them. Four goods points:

1. You can be tolerant of failure, but not of mediocrity and incompetence. Incompetence is a lack of commitment to excellence.

2. Failure is a motivator. Thomas Edison achieved his great success through repeated failure.

3. Give people who have failed another chance. Give them more resources or the opportunity to institutionalize what they've learned.

4. The only way to come up with a breakthrough is to take bigger risks.

The final point echos a point made by Richard J. Machowicz in his book: Unleash the Warrior Within.

It’s not until you risk it all and go for the thing you really want that life becomes unlimited. All the shackles are released.

Culture is everything. Not race. Not money. Culture.

The people of Japan are still recovering the tragic events surrounding the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck the island nation on Friday. The 8.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami wreaked havoc in the northeast portion of the country. This is reportedly the strongest earthquake to hit Japan in at least 150 years.

A colleague forwarded me this article from the Telegraph which discusses the remarkable social fabric of the Japanese culture...

The landscape of parts of Japan looks like the aftermath of World War Two; no industrialised country since then has suffered such a death toll. The one tiny, tiny consolation is the extent to which it shows how humanity can rally round in times of adversity, with heroic British rescue teams joining colleagues from the US and elsewhere to fly out.

And solidarity seems especially strong in Japan itself. Perhaps even more impressive than Japan’s technological power is its social strength, with supermarkets cutting prices and vending machine owners giving out free drinks as people work together to survive. Most noticeably of all, there has been no looting...

In the face of the worst naturual disaster in their nation's history the Japanese people are displaying amazing altruism even in adversity.

As my colleague notes: Culture is everything. Not race. Not money. Culture.

Are We Willing To Make That Commitment

One of the most powerful and moving books I've read in recent years is Richard Stearns' The Hole In Our Gospel. The book is a story of how a CEO faced his own struggle to obey God, whatever the cost, and his passionate call for Christians to change the world by actively living out their faith.

At it's very core the book is a challenge to American Christians to remember their place in the family of the Body of Christ and the responsibilities that come with affluence and relative security. The book is not only compelling but motivating:

The question for us is whether we are willing to make that commitment-to live and act differently, and to repair the hole in our own gospel. If we are, then God will use us as parts of His amazing plan to change our world....

...this... involves an intentional decision. It doesn't just happen.

The truth is, demonstrating commitment is hard work - but in all walks of life, leadership comes down to commitment. Commitment focuses on eliminating complacency, confronting what is not working, and consistently striving for improvement. The spirit of improving is rooted in challenging current expectation and ultimately taking the risk to make changes.

Wavering commitment is usually seen as no commitment at all. It takes determination and persistence. Possibly the best description of commitment is "persistence with a purpose".

So the question then becomes, are you willing to commit yourself to a higher standard - a greater purpose?

Talent Bolstered by an Undaunting Work Ethic

Lionel Messi, regarded as the world's best soccer player, led his Barcelona squad to a crucial victory over Arsenal in the Champions League. This New York Times article details the dramatic style and flare of one of his two goals which shows why they call it "the beautiful game".

Rob Hughes of the Times also notes that it's not just Messi's God given talent and ability that make him the best player in the world, it's his undaunting work ethic:

One of the keys is Messi’s genius. Another is the work ethic that Messi, and all the rest of Barcelona’s players, display. It is almost as if they enjoy running as much as they enjoy caressing the ball, and it is a built-in response, honed in the academy of La Masia, that the instant a Barça player loses possession, he, or the nearest player to the ball, hunts it down like a ferret.

I know of no player, past or present, who has witnessed a greater amalgam of talent and persistence throughout one team.