Week of 10/12/2008 - 00:00 to 10/18/2008 - 23:59

Austin bills itself as the live music capital of the world.  With SXSW and the Austin City Limits festival, there is some merit to the slogan.

Another recent poll on LinkedIn shows some interesting results.  The poll is on the level of trust that people have in their company's leadership.  Trust is the foundation of leadership.  Without trust, few, if any, will follow.  Violate your people's trust and you've lost the ability to lead them.

After completing a coaching session today with one of my clients, I was going over my notes and saw the words "building blocks and ripples".  We had been talking about actions for her to take over the next few weeks, and how some of those actions would lead to changes in what she does, how she does them and to new relationships, too. 

A fact in corporate America is that there are fewer women CEOs than men.   Surveys in the Financial Services sector found that they tend to be "hostile towards women workers", in essence, not being sensitive or supportive of women's needs. I heard a discussion on the radio, then came across a blog where the topic was "would women leaders have kept us out of this financial mess"?  Did too much testosterone cause this issue?

About all you hear or read in the news these days is "crisis".  Fear is the strongest weapon used against people.  Sometimes we create our own fear, sometimes outside influences do.  The media and government seem to delight in stirring up fear amongst the people.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not saying everything is just fine in the world.  It's not.  Before you decide to sell everything because you think it's the end of the world,  stop and ask yourself a few questions:

1.  Am I healthy?

2.  Is my family healthy?