Why the Right People Matter

I hope you don't mind if I take a moment to stand on my soap box for a moment, but I have been reading again...well actually listening because my latest selection has been a book on tape. This book has been proliferated throughout corporate offices for the past few years as THE book to read if you want to get ahead, etc. etc. I will be the first to admit that lots of folks especially leaders (including pastors yall) get hooked on catch phrases of the moment, and life changing books, etc. So I am not claiming that to be the case with this book. If you are not into business reading don't read it...you will not enjoy it. However, there is one concept that is addressed in this book that I believe applies to every aspect of life. The author highlights one of the keystones of moving a company or any organization from "good" to "great" is to have the right people on board. This may not seem like new to most of you...but for me it was one of those common sense awakenings...something that I already knew but never really thought about. The more I thought on this topic I realized that this was not only true in corporate America, but also applied in our personal lives. We all have friend, associates, lovers, whatever you want to call them...who are not the "right people" in our lives. They are not supportive, they are not there for you when you need them, they seem more interested in themselves than in anyone else around them. If we really took a good inventory of the people we carry around in life we would be shocked at how much time we spend on people who don't do anything to add value to our lives. So, in essence, if you want to move yourself from "good" to "great" as a human being...start by looking at those that are around you...and ask yourself - "Are they the right person?" If you are not opposed to reading or listening to a business book check this one out. Good to Great by Jim Collins.

Justices Rule in Favor of Military Recruiters

The issue of whether or not military recruiters should be allowed to recruit on college campuses in light of the military's anti-gay stance has been one that I have watched with much interest. 35 prominent law schools leb by Washington University challenged the military by banning military recruiters because of the military's position on homosexuality. The Federal government countered that action by threatening to deny any school that adopted similar policies of all federal aid. The Supreme Court's 8-0 ruling in favor of the Pentagon's recruiting forces is a major blow for efforts to erradicate discrimiantion. What is so astounding about this entire issue if that the highest court in the land allows the United States government to use discriminatory hiring practices, while in many other federal and state cases the courts have found corporate america guilty of using the same devices. Why the double standard?