Up, Down and Around Our Town

Yogi Berra was quoted as once uttering the words that "you can observe a lot about people by just watching." While not trying to usurp the wisdom of Lawrence Peter Berra, I might add a phrase to that quote by saying that you can also learn a lot about a lot of things by just listening. That was the type of week that just finished; for the record, the audio of my world just made a lot of sense and to my knowledge, those that uttered those words had not rehearsed their thoughts.

First my friend Steve Hall. This accomplished business executive from St. Louis was on campus to address a group of students. Part of the college's Business and Leadership Exchange. While he shared some of his ups and downs, he mostly spoke to the young people about their lives and what they might consider when making choices. He used a lot of contemporary thoughts (there is much to choose from in this economy) and then put them into words that almost anyone could have understood. Little things like courage and being able to take criticism and make it work for the next time they find themselves in the same situation. He spoke of the honor or work; the joy of completing a job or learning how to do it better and the final act of being able to grow as your base of information grew. But his fitting words were based around his love of reading and that a hidden joy was being able to add to your pedigree by reading and absorbing what others were writing. Some were famous in their writings; others were not. The lesson was getting used comfortable and becoming a regular reader. His parallel was a simple one. The ability to negotiate and understand more than one view is based on your breadth of understanding; that can be widened by appreciating the written word.

Then my friend Don Gnuse. He was on campus as the keynote speaker for the induction of the newest members of Sigma Beta Delta. That's the business fraternity on campus that each year welcomes the best and the brightest. And, for the record, an honorary membership was extended to Mr. Gnuse. Then we made him work for it. His words were simple. Honesty and Greed. The bookends of success and failure. The ability to anticipate and react in the proper manner or undermine and attack for the wrong reasons. Plus, in that wonderfully supportive tone that can only be gained with a lifetime of walking the talk, he pointed out that there was much to gain. Personally, professionally and individually in being able to constantly and without regard render the opinion based in honesty. To make his point, he illustrated what might have happened on Wall Street and in other areas of the financial markets if honesty, not greed, had been the lead card. And he said all of this in 12 minutes. Perhaps streamlined should also be in that hallmark of business leadership. What I noted was that the young people couldn't take their eyes off of him, nor could the parents in the room being honored with their children. Having something boil it all down in such simplicity is one of the reasons why Don Gnuse has been an icon for those he has represented. His long tenure at the helm of the Board of Trustees points this out even more.

Finally, I invited a good friend to address one of my classes. Actually, two friends in two classes, but the similarities are striking. One is active in the business field of image and sales; the other is the sitting President of the college. One class was mostly underclassmen and the latter was all soon-to-be graduating Seniors. The common theme was so simple; deal with your clients in a way that will give them a sense of confidence and build loyalty. Leave a trail of doing work the proper way and those that will follow will have no difficulty understanding both a changing culture and a changing vision. The responses were warm, genuine and passionate. The interaction was priceless. Learning at its most basic level; it never gets better than that.

And I got to be present for all of it.

We write stories every day. Every week and every year. We get to invade the privacy of others without invitiation and sometimes without warning. We get to influence those that are closest to us without regard. We celebrated my bride's latest birthday with friends and particularly with family. Our hero was the centerpiece of Grammy's celebration and her brother was equally featured. During the week. When it is busy. Because people want to hear things like this from a variety of vantage points.

It was a very good week. Let's hope the coming one is equally as rewarding. Till then, and as always, I remain....