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Nagesh Belludi

Measuring Leadership Performance in Context

September 9, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

In this article from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, US presidential historian Richard Norton Smith offers ten guidelines to evaluate presidents. These guidelines apply to assessing leadership performance as well.

History’s take on presidential performance is subject to change. Presidents can only be understood within the context, conventions and limitations of their time. Each generation needs to revisit its assumptions in light of new evidence, the performance of succeeding presidents and the perspective that comes with time.

Frequently, leadership assessments disregard the fact that leadership is contextual. The common belief that Mahatma Gandhi was opposed to modernity and technology ignores Gandhi’s proposal for rural development through means such as homespun cloth, cottage industry and self-sufficiency in the just-independent India. Six decades hence, this idea now seems obviously bizarre.

Furthermore, ideas, competencies, and actions that are relevant in one context can be inhibiting in others. Comparisons of General Electric’s CEO Jeffrey Immelt to his predecessor, the legendary Jack Welch, in terms of shareholder return ignore the fact that Jack Welch’s tenure intersected with the prosperous Regan- and Clinton-presidencies and Jeffrey Immelt has faced two of the worst slowdowns in modern history.

Some of the key intellectual traits demanded of a leader—risk-taking, vision and execution, organizational development, etc.—may not see fruition until long after the leader’s tenure. Hence, a broad, sincere assessment of a leader’s performance can happen only years after his tenure.

Filed Under: Leadership

Bereavement and Death

September 7, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

The Dharma Mirror blog features Trang Tran’s touching article about the loss of his family pet dog. Trang reflects on the concept of impermanence and the virtue of compassion.

Paradoxically, [my pet dog’s] death brought to life the impermanence of our existence and how the greatest and truest love that you could ever give to anybody is in their darkest moment—the moment when they need you the most. Whether it’s your children, parents, or even a dog that you love and cherish with all your heart, you carry that love and compassion with you into your next life.

I hope that in the last moments of my life, I, too, will be surrounded by loved ones who will brush my thinning, white hair, bring in some boxes of chocolate, retell funny, familiar stories, and not part with me until I take my last breath.

Impermanence

When you were born you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a manner than when you die, the world cried and you rejoice.
* Kabir, Indian Mystic

The loss of loved ones often leads us to contemplate death—to become conscious of the fact that life is fleeting and we shall all die someday. Our education, relationships, career, possessions, belongings—none of these are stable or permanent. Reflecting on the briefness of our lives can be a powerful motivating force to help think about the purpose of life and clarify our values and priorities.

Have you reflected on the impact of your life? Have you touched others? What will be your legacy? How will you make a difference in the lives of others?

Wondering what to read next?

  1. Seinfeld, Impermanence, Death, Grief, and the Parable of the Mustard Seed
  2. Cherish Your Loved Ones
  3. Live as If You Are Already Looking Back on This Moment with Longing
  4. Life Isn’t Fair, Nor Does It Pretend To Be: What ‘Tokyo Story’ Teaches Us About Disappointment
  5. Avoid the Trap of Desperate Talk

Filed Under: Living the Good Life Tagged With: Grief, Mortality, Relationships

Inspirational Quotations #288

September 6, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.
—Zig Ziglar (American Author)

Success often comes to those who have the aptitude to see way down the road.
—J. Laing Burns, Jr.

And so our mothers and grandmothers have, more often than not anonymously, handed on the creative spark, the seed of the flower they themselves never hoped to see – or like a sealed letter they could not plainly read.
—Alice Walker

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.
—Stewart Brand (American Writer)

Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you’re scared to death.
—Earl Wilson

Good fortune follows honesty.|Fame follows sacrifice.|Education follows practice.|Intelligence follows hard work.
—Subhashita Manjari

Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate
—Indian Proverb

If you want your children to improve, let them overhear the nice things you say about them to others.
—Haim Ginott

The delight we inspire in others, has this enchanting peculiarity. That, unlike any other reflection, returns to us more radiant than ever.
—Victor Hugo (French Novelist)

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
—Steve Jobs (American Entrepreneur)

There’s no understanding the future without the present, and no understanding where we are now without a glance, a least, to where we have been.
—Joyce Maynard

Jealousy is an inner consciousness of one’s own inferiority. it is a mental cancer.
—B. C. Forbes (Scottish-born American Journalist)

Filed Under: Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotations #287

August 30, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.
—Henry Kissinger (American Diplomat)

As you see yourself, I once saw myself; as you see me now, you will be seen.
—Mexican Proverb

The criterion of true beauty is that it increases on examination; if false, that it lessens. There is therefore, something in true beauty that corresponds with right reason, and is not the mere creation of fancy.
—George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick

For every beauty there is an eye somewhere to see it. For every truth there is an ear somewhere to hear it. For every love there is a heart somewhere to receive it.
—Ivan Panin

A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve.
—Joseph Joubert (French Essayist)

The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)

Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes the ice melt, kindness causes misunderstandings, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.
—Albert Schweitzer (French Theologian)

Even as a great fish swims along the two banks of a river, first along the eastern bank and then the western bank, in the same way the Spirit of man moves along beside his two dwellings: this waking world and the land of sleep and dreams.
—The Upanishads

Death is as sure for that which is born, as birth is for that which is dead. Therefore grieve not for what is inevitable.
—The Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture)

I hear the words, the thoughts, the feeling tones, the personal meaning, even the meaning that is below the conscious intent of the speaker. Sometimes too, in a message which superficially is not very important, I hear a deep human cry that lies buried and unknown far below the surface of the person. So I have learned to ask myself, can I hear the sounds and sense the shape of this other person’s inner world? Can I resonate to what he is saying so deeply that I sense the meanings he is afraid of, yet would like to communicate, as well as those he knows?
—Carl Rogers (American Psychologist)

Faults become thick where love is thin.
—English Proverb

Filed Under: Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotations #286

August 23, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

The ultimate function of prophecy is not to tell the future, but to make it. Your successful past will block your visions of the future.
—Joel A. Barker

The world is governed by opinion.
—William Ellery Channing

Life is a lying dream, he only wakes who casts the World aside.
—Zeami Motokiyo (Japanese Playwright)

The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious—the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science.
—Albert Einstein (German-born Theoretical Physicist)

When all think alike, then no one is thinking.
—Walter Lippmann (American Journalist)

Confidence is attractive, but vulnerability is disarming.
—Derek Sivers (American Entrepreneur)

Light is the first of painters. There is no object so foul that intense light will not make it beautiful.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Philosopher)

For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Philosopher)

A wise man should keep far away from an unpleasant person, from injuring others, from other’s views, from unrighteous conduct and from untruth.
—Subhashita Manjari

Strength is the sign of vigor, the sign of life, the sign of hope, the sign of health, and the sign of everything that is good. As long as the body lives, there must be strength in the body, strength in the mind, strength in the hand.
—Swami Vivekananda (Indian Hindu Mystic)

The power of God is with you at all times; through the activities of mind, senses, breathing, and emotions; and is constantly doing all the work using you as a mere instrument.
—The Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture)

Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.
—Robert Bresson

Filed Under: Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotations #285

August 16, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

You do not destroy an idea by killing people;
you replace it with a better one.
— Edward Keating

To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.
— Bertrand A. Russell

A friend is a gift you give yourself.
— Robert Louis Stevenson

Under all speech that is good for anything there lies a silence that is better, Silence is deep as Eternity; Speech is shallow as Time.
— Thomas Carlyle

Justice is a certain rectitude of mind whereby a man
does what he ought to do in circumstances confronting him.
— Thomas Aquinas

The most effective way to ensure the value of the future
is to confront the present courageously and constructively.
— Rollo May

A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks almost instantly.
— Bits and Pieces

We all agree that your theory is crazy, but is it crazy enough?
— Niels Bohr

All great discoveries are made by people whose feelings run ahead of their thinking.
— Charles Henry Parkhurst

You can pretend to be serious; you can’t pretend to be witty.
— Sacha Guitry

Filed Under: Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotations #284

August 9, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi 1 Comment

You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
—Mark Twain (American Humorist)

Grains collected by ants, honey accumulated by bees, and wealth collected by a greedy miser, all perish along with the source.
—Subhashita Manjari

We often rebel against the strenuousness and chaos of our time. But historically it has always been in such time that man won his great inner victories.
—Unknown

It is not good enough for things to be planned – they still have to be done; for the intention to become a reality, energy has to be launched into operation.
—Vilayat Inayat Khan (British Sufi Mystic)

I don’t want any yes-men” around me. I want everybody to tell me the truth even if it costs them their jobs.”
—Samuel Goldwyn (Polish-born American Film Producer)

Self-esteem must be earned! When you dare to dream, dare to follow that dream, dare to suffer through the pain, sacrifice, self-doubts, and friction from the world, you will genuinely impress yourself.
—Laura Schlessinger (American Children’s Books Writer)

No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.
—Isaac Newton (English Physicist)

Talk happiness. The world is sad enough without your woe. No path is wholly rough.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox (American Poet)

All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when they are annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?
—The Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture)

I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.
—Jack London

Filed Under: Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotations #283

August 4, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them.
—Khalil Gibran (Lebanese-born American Philosopher)

This body, full of faults, has yet one great quality: whatever it encounters in this temporal life depends upon one’s actions.
—Nagarjuna (Indian Buddhist Philosopher)

As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.
—Andrew Carnegie (Scottish-American Industrialist, Philanthropist)

Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can play weird–that’s easy. What’s hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple complicated is commonplace–making the complicated simple, awesomely simple–that’s creativity.
—Charles Mingus

The abundant life does not come to those who have had a lot of obstacles removed from their path by others. It develops from within and is rooted in strong mental and moral fiber.
—William Mather Lewis

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
—Aristotle (Ancient Greek Philosopher)

There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out.
—Russian Proverb

All that is real in me is God; all that is real in God is I. The gulf between God and me is thus bridged. Thus by knowing God, we find that the kingdom of heaven is within us.
—Swami Vivekananda (Indian Hindu Mystic)

The secret to success is to know something nobody else knows.
—Aristotle Onassis (Greek Businessperson)

Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves, they will never cease to be amused.
—Unknown

I think it’s generally a mistake to assume that rationality is going to be perfect even in very able people. I think hubris contributes to it.
—Charlie Munger

Filed Under: Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotations #282

July 25, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.
—Theodore Isaac Rubin (American Psychiatrist)

It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.
—Niccolo Machiavelli (Florentine Political Philosopher)

Life comes from the Spirit. Even as a man casts a shadow, so the Spirit casts the shadow of life, and, as a shadow of former lives, a new life comes to this body.
—The Upanishads

He who through the error of attachment loves his body, abides wandering in darkness, sensible and suffering the things of death, but he who realizes that the body is but the tomb of his soul, rises to immortality.
—Hermes Trismegistus

If you can’t get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you’d best teach it to dance.
—George Bernard Shaw (Irish Playwright)

Without haste, but without rest.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German Poet)

This above all—to thine own self be true; And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.
—William Shakespeare (British Playwright)

Laughter is the greatest weapon that we humans possess and it’s the one we use the least.
—Mark Twain (American Humorist)

He whom love touches not walks in darkness.
—Plato (Ancient Greek Philosopher)

This I have seen in life—those who are overcautious about themselves fall into dangers at every step; those who are afraid of losing honor and respect, get only disgrace; and those who are always afraid of loss, always lose.
—Swami Vivekananda (Indian Hindu Mystic)

Dharma means the natural state or condition of beings and things, what sustains, the law of their being, what is right for them to be, the very stuff of their being.
—S. N. Tandon

Filed Under: Inspirational Quotations

No Swearing & Profanity: Mind Your Language

July 23, 2009 By Nagesh Belludi 2 Comments

Last week, Time Magazine discussed research that suggests that using curse words can help cope with physical pain. This reminds me of a 2007 research that implies that regular swearing helps employees better express their feelings in stressful circumstances and boosts team morale.

Such research is misleading in that the findings may be perceived as approving of profanity at work. As work environments have become more laid-back over the years, swearing is more commonplace than in the past, especially in blue-collar environments and certain other workplace cultures.

Harry S. Dennis III of The Executive Committee (TEC) in Wisconsin and Michigan explores two bases for the tolerance of profanity in workplaces.

  • The laid-back we-are-all-in-this-together culture is almost like a fraternity environment. The use of profanity somehow communicates a symbolic unity. Employees believe that their degree of comfort with one another means it’s OK to let down their guard. It becomes a casual exchange and falsely suggests a degree of communication intimacy.
  • In the hard-driving aggressive environment, employees use profanity to communicate urgency, a need for action. Most swear words are one syllable, so they carry a bullet-like impact and light a fire under the butt of the person on the receiving end so they get the job done. It is, in fact, a terrible negative motivator.

Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer at Microsoft, Bob Nardelli at Home Depot, Carol Betz at Yahoo! and other executives are reported to have cussed at work. When leaders and managers swear without restraint to express annoyance at an employee, colleague, competitor, customer or circumstance, the message they convey to their organizations is that profanity is acceptable. This is akin to potty-mouthed parents hinting that it is probably OK for their watchful kids to use curse words.

Swearing and poor language is not acceptable in any professional setting. Swearing is dysfunctional to the cohesiveness of teams. Many employees find use of expletives as discourteous and quickly lose respect for those using profane language. Managers’ abusive management style can quickly intimidate employees who may hesitate to speak out.

Bad language is unacceptable behavior. Organizations should require that employees exercise common sense and avoid using colorful language. HR must deal with issues of swearing in the workplace as they occur and institute disciplinary procedures to prevent charges of workplace bullying, abuse or discrimination. Leaders and managers should curb their own language and comply privately and publicly. Employees, even high-performing ones, who repeatedly disregard such requirements and undermine the trust and morale of workplace environments must go openly.

Wondering what to read next?

  1. Four Telltale Signs of an Unhappy Employee
  2. Why Your Employees Don’t Trust You—and What to Do About it
  3. Fear of Feedback: Won’t Give, Don’t Ask
  4. David Ogilvy on Russian Nesting Dolls and Building a Company of Giants
  5. Competency Modeling: How to Hire and Promote the Best

Filed Under: Managing People Tagged With: Communication, Great Manager

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About: Nagesh Belludi [hire] is a St. Petersburg, Florida-based freethinker, investor, and leadership coach. He specializes in helping executives and companies ensure that the overall quality of their decision-making benefits isn’t compromised by a lack of a big-picture understanding.

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