“The key to wisdom is this — constant and frequent questioning … for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning we arrive at the truth.” – Peter Abelard (1099-1142)
Flickr Photos
Thought For the Day: The Key To Wisdom Is This – Constant and Frequent Questioning…For By Doubting We Are Led To Question and By Questioning We Arrive At the Truth
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Arrive, By Questioning, Constant, Doubting, Frequent, Key, Led to Question, Peter Abelard, Questioning, The Truth, Thought For the Day, Wisdom
Leave a comment
First Principles: An Elective Despotism Was Not the Government We Fought For
“An elective despotism was not the government we fought for; but one in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among the several bodies of magistracy as that no one could transcend their legal limits without being effectually checked and restrained by the others.” – James Madison (1788)
Thought For the Day: On Organizational Leadership
Five Characteristics That Define An Outstanding Leader:
There are more than five characteristics that define what makes an outstanding leader. Of the many that do, some of the most valuable include continued growth throughout career and life; purpose and passion for that purpose; decisiveness and dedication coupled with persistence; transparency and desire for the best of all in any specific group accomplished through teamwork; and courageous humility tempered with a developed sense of humor about oneself and all the myriad of things that can go awry prior to success being had. In contemporary times it might well be said that we are in transition in part between the “Leader-As-Hero” leadership style which is based on a more individualist approach to life and work to more of a “Level-5” leadership style which has been contrasted as being collectivist in its approach (Campion, 2019). It has been characterized that when times are tough, depending on viewpoint, the public tends to gravitate toward the charismatic “Leader-As-Hero” be it Obama for the Left or Trump for those more conservative (Draft, 2017).
What is the Source of This Leader’s Authority:
Authority is the agreement to follow a person’s vision and that power rests on respect that has been earned or will be earned. A handful of leaders seem to be born. Most, however, are made through careful cultivation and lessons along the way. While some authority comes from the label or title of a leader’s position, without the meaningful and significant acts that demonstrate that leader’s abilities including listening to and promoting the well-being of others, that leadership soon looses its unsubstantiated authority. It is the getting of things accomplished that matters far more than a title can ever bestow in matters of establishing authority. In modern times, there is the additional requirement of being skillful in collaboration as part of the authority necessary to be a good and well thought of leader (Draft, 2017). The case may well be made that this was a downfall for former President Trump.
What Contextual Factors Affect This Person’s Leadership:
There are multiple slices in the cultural pie that are the contextual factors that drive which sort of leadership is best in a given set of circumstances and how each individual leader selects the leadership style(s) they believe to be most appropriate. One of the principle factors that cannot be ignored is the influence derived from that individual’s innate personality. Some may lead through charming charisma with a great deal of flexibility. Others may choose to lead through more rigid sets of protocol. Then there is the impact of belief systems which may lead a more democratic leader to emphasize teamwork while others may stress self-reliance. Depending on the company or organization’s established ethics is another contextual influence that impacts how leadership manifests itself. Employee diversity is yet another of the contextual factors that will impact leadership styles. Studies have shown that since the onset of the 21st Century the leadership paradigm has been forced to change due to the context that change and crisis are ongoing and require a new style of leadership to cope of with changes (Draft, 2017).
Leaders Illustrative of the “Leader-As-Hero” and Level 5 Mindsets and How These Characteristically Differ:
The “Leader-As Hero” leadership style relies on and requires demonstrated excellence. The downside, however, is that despite any such excellence the authority that provides the power of leadership still requires earned respect. Without this, there will be leadership concerns to overcome. Moreover, being too much of a “hero” can undermine others on the team and disempower them. While leadership always requires a bit of a hero it can be counter-productive to rely on this leadership style. It might be stated that the last greatest “Leader-As-Hero” recognized in contemporary media would be the late Steve Jobs. A more controversial example would be, depending on who is asked, former President Donald Trump. Regardless of political stripe, it may well be a lesson to be learned in the Trump Administration that there has been no clearer example that brow-beating not very effective with respect to leadership (Draft, 2017).
The Level-5 leadership style/mindset requires the paradoxical combination of humility coupled with professional will to get the job done, whatever the job may be established as. Examples of this sort of leadership are found in Lincoln and Ghandi. This sort of leadership is great at identifying the right persons for tasks needed accomplished; risk taking; equal comfort with data crunching and brutal truth as well as seemingly boundless optimism; flexibility in aligning and then re-aligning themselves while working toward their goals; and taking a disciplined approach to work-life. The text refers to the current Pope Francis as an example of this. That would seem controversial to some.
References:
Campion, L. L., & Wang, C. X. (2019). Collectivism and Individualism: the Differentiation of Leadership. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 63(3), 353–356. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-019-00399-x
Daft, R (2017) The Leadership Experience (7th Edition) https://purdueuniversityglobal.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781337469500/cfi/6/8!/4/4@0:0
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged 21st Century, Accomplish, Agreement, Align, Authority, Belief Systems, Boundless, Brutal Truth, Career, Change, Characteristics, Charisma, Collaboration, Collectivism, Conservative, Contextual Factors, Controversial, Cope, Crisis, Cultivation, Data Crunching, Decisiveness, Dedication, Differentiation, Discipline, Downfall, Employee Diversity, Flexibility, Ghandi, Goals, Growth, Humility, Individualism, Innate Personality, Leader-As-Hero, Leadership, Lessons, Level-5, Life, Lincoln, Obama, Optimism, Organizational Leadership, Outstanding Leader, Paradigm, Paradox, Passion, Persistence, Pope Francis, Power, Professional Will, Protocol, Purpose, Rigid, Risk Taking, Self-Reliance, Sense of Humor, Tasks, Teamwork, The Left, Thought For the Day, Transparency, Trump, Vision, Work-Lfie
Leave a comment
Thought For the Day: The Primacy of the Individual – That We Judge People Not By Their Lineage But By Their Deeds – Is At the Very Foundation of A Free Society and of the American Experiment
“The primacy of the individual—that we judge people not by their lineage but by their deeds—is at the very foundation of a free society and of the American experiment.” – Zaid Jilani
Kept In A Hillside Perspective
Kept In A Hillside Perspective
by Michael Doyle
I've heard a lot of jokes
About being close to inbred
It's the kind of a thing
That rolls around in my head
Over and over again
Playing a memory's allusion
Against something, I can't defend
As I have been searching in confusion
Yet, I know my momma
She was born in those hills
And was proud of West Virginia
Always doing as she believed the Lord wills
Some times things said
Burn something fierce and incendiary
As these roll around in my head
Turning hillbillies into something legendary
Called stupid and other such names
With almost nobody thinking it's cool
Knowing of the hurts and the shames
But, my momma had me reading before pre-school
On life's rocky road sort of driven
There's no way there but to go through
In all the grief lived and hope given
Those who make it are the proud but few
Yet, every inch of it is lived loud and proud
As we make our own dreams come true
And city folk, they say that's not allowed
Yet, country folk only listen when they want to
In all of the little battles of life
That are quietly fought in
Let the presence of the Lord
Never be something that is forgotten
There were many lessons learned
At my hillbilly mother's knee
Most of the best, powerfully discerned
As I have comfortably grown into me
I don't mean to make this moment sound
Too inwardly awkward and reflective
It's just something kept there inside
That helps keep things in perspective
It's said, my mother did things in her time
This, I have always been reminded and told
It's just a bit too unfortunate
How she never lived to learn how to be old
(c) March 29, 2021 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Allowed, Allusion, Awkward, Believe, Born, Burn, City Folk, Come True, Comfortably Grown, Confusion, Cool, Country Folks, Defend, Discerned, Dreams, Driven, Every Inch, Forgotten, Go Through, Grief Lived, Head, Helps Keep Things In Perspective, Her time, Hillbillies, Hills, Hillside, Hope Given, Hurts, Incendiary, Inisde, Joke, Kept, Learn, Legendary, Lessons Learned, Life, Little Battles of Life, Lived, Lord Wills, Loud and Proud, Make It, Me, Memory, Momma, Mother's Knee, My Momma, Never Lived, Nobody, Only Listen, Other Names, Perspective, Poetry and Poems, Powerfully, Pre-School, Presence of the Lord, Proud But Few, Quietly Fought In, Read, Reflective, Reminded, Rocky Road, Search, Shames, Sound, Stupid, There, Things Said, This Moment, Told, Unfortunate, Want To, West Virginia
Leave a comment
First Principles: All the Authority of the Declaration of Independence rests… On the Harmonizing Sentiments of the Day, Whether Expressed In Conversation, In Letters, Printed Essays, Or In the Elementary Books of Public Right, As Aristotle, Cicero, Locke, Sidney, et al
“All [the] authority [of the Declaration of Independence] rests … on the harmonizing sentiments of the day, whether expressed in conversation, in letters, printed essays, or in the elementary books of public right, as Aristotle, Cicero, Locke, Sidney, … ” – Thomas Jefferson
Thought For the Day: On An Introduction to Environmental Science
Two Issues Described Related To Environmental Science Either Local or Nationwide:
Of the many and varied facets of environmental science, there are at least two general areas that have have been of interest for many decades. The first of these is the ideas surrounding reasonable efforts at sustainability such as the further development of sustainable and cleaner methods of aquaculture to feed the growing populace. An interesting point brought up in the text is that after being fed a doomsday scenario with respect to population growth from the days of Malthus through Ehrlich to almost the present up to and including Al Gore, the newer and probably more accurate prediction is that population growth is now predicted to stabilize in the 21st Century (Hassenzhal, et al., 2017). This provides us a reasonable trajectory to look at when making our balanced considerations
The second area of major interest interrelates to nearly all aspects of environmental science, particularly as it pertains to the development of public policy. That is the reduction of polarization of the dogmatic positions taken by many on the multiple issues and concerns studied within environmental science. As is noted, science is a “process” (Hassenzhal, et al., 2017) not a foregone conclusion however firmly held the opinions are on one opinion or another based on scientific analysis and open discussion of the possibilities and probabilities that each deserve careful consideration. The marketplace of ideas coupled with empirical observation and reasoned not impassioned conclusions should be the driving force behind public policy determinations. It is or should be of some very determined importance to keep Einstein’s own thoughts about his General Theory of Relativity in which he was extremely open to the idea that especially where science calls for conjecture that there is no scientific theory that should be seen as infallible. Where any part of his theory(ies) were found to be wrong and to the degree this called his General Theory into question, this question or question should be very carefully considered and not censored but welcomed. To do otherwise is a disservice to science, society and the world.
A Brief Summary of Facts Surrounding These Issues:
With respect to sustainability, the UN and the studies of other organizations have found that our reliance on the oceans for our food sources and other resources will greatly increase in the coming century (Osborn, 2019)). We must take great care to do so in ways that control the discharge of effluents and prevent cross-contamination of the species being managed as well as those in the surrounding biomes as well. The mistakes in farming the terrestrial realm should be avoided where and when this is a possibility.
With respect to reducing polarization as to the multiple concerns covered under the umbrella of Environmental Science. Even those who believe any challenges to the climate change paradigm is due primarily to ‘pseudo-skepticism’ see the problematic nature of rabid polarization of thought even if largely holding against the persons challenging their favored position (Torcello, 2016).
What Things Currently Not Understood Might This Course Clarify:
The thing that I most want to learn from better understanding the interplay between our common blunders of being innately human as well as our best or at least better angels is how to approach concerns and issues in ways that better foster dialog between disparate approaches to life so that we might better once again unite to foster the common good of our local communities, our nation and the world in a utilitarian manner that still makes room for the underlying philosophy of individualism in an world that has too many people shouting and not enough taking time to listen to the valid viewpoints from multiple sides and not just their chosen outlook. Perhaps that is a bit utopian. But as we have seen burning down society to allegedly save society is not a very fruitful way of doing life.
What do you all think on these subjects?
Mahalo and aloha,
Michael Doyle
References:
Hassenzhal, D., Hager, M. & Berg, L, (2017) Visualizing Environmental Science (5th Edition) Purdue University Global Bookshelf: Visualizing Environmental Science (vitalsource.com)
Osborn, A., & Henry, J. (2019). The role of aquaculture farm biosecurity in global food security. Revue Scientifique et Technique (International Office of Epizootics), 38(2), 571–587. https://doi.org/10.20506/rst.38.2.3005
Torcello, L. (2016). The Ethics of Belief, Cognition, and Climate Change Pseudoskepticism: Implications for Public Discourse. Topics in Cognitive Science, 8(1), 19–48. https://doi.org/10.1111/tops.12179
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged 21st Century, Al Gore, Approach Concerns and Issues, Aquaculture, Balance, Better Angels, Better Understanding, Biomes, Biosecurity, Burning Down Society, Climate Change Paradigm, Cognition, Common Blunders, Common Good, Consideration, Control, Cross-Contamination, Decades, Discharges of Effluents, Disservice, Dogmatic Positions, Doomsday Scenario, Ehrlich, Einstein, Empirical Observation, Environmental Science, Ethics of Belief, Farming, Food Sources, Foregone Conclusion, Foster Dialog, General Theory of Relativity, Global Food Security, Individualism, Life, Listen, Malthus, Manage, Marketplace of Ideas, Multiple Concerns, Multiple Sides, Not Censored, Oceans, Open Discussion, Opinion, Outlook, Polarization of Thought, Population Growth, Possibilities, Prediction, Probabilities, Problematic Nature, Pseudo-Skepticism, Public Discourse, Public Policy, Question, Reduction of Polarization, Save Society, Science, Science Is A Process, Scientific Analysis, Shout, Society, Species, Stabilize, Sustainability, Terrestrial, Thought For the Day, Trajectory, United Nations, Utopian, Valid Viewpoints, World
Leave a comment
Thought For the Day: However Well Equipped Our Language, It Can Never Be Forearmed Against All Possible Cases That May Arise and Call For Description: Fact Is Richer Than Diction
“However well equipped our language, it can never be forearmed against all possible cases that may arise and call for description: fact is richer than diction.” – J.L. Austin, philosopher of language (28 Mar 1911-1960)
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Arise, Call, Description, Diction, Equip, Fact Is Richer, Forearmed, J.L. Austin, Language, Possible Cases, Thought For the Day
Leave a comment
A Change to the Format
As I have renewed this for one more year, I want to announce that there will be a change to the format beginning tomorrow in which instead of trying to simply keep this a poetry, first principle and thought for the day, my time at Purdue will be used to attempt collecting the writing that I spend most of my time now doing. This means that where appropriate this will feature more of my philosophical meanderings used for school purposes. It has simply been nearly impossible to attempt to keep up with writing poetry. For example, this past week I have had three major papers due along with 12 dialog posts for a total of 15 substantive writings simply to keep up with school work let alone other writings such as the rare poem inserted here and there. This next month is the international poetry month. I will attempt to keep up with this. But, my 14 volumes worth of poetry past may have to do until this accelerated paced schooling is over.
I hope that this will not be overly disappointing to anyone. It just seems a wiser investment of my time. I do not even know if this message will be seen. In all of the time that I have spent writing poetry over these years, exactly one person has tipped me to go buy a cup of coffee. Do not get me wrong, I wrote a note of gratitude to that person. The point is simply that the lesson is learned and my poetic thoughts not being appreciated, I believe it is time to approach another direction.
Thanks and aloha,
Michael
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Change, Format, Poetry, Prose, Thought For the Day
Leave a comment
Thought For the Day: After A Shooting Spree, They Always Want To Take the Guns From the People Who Didn’t Do It
“After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn’t do it. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to live in a society where the only people allowed guns are the police and the military.” – William S. Burroughs (1914-1997)
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged After, Live, Military, Police, Shooting Spree, Society, Take Guns Away, The People, Thought For the Day, Who Didn't Do It, William S. Burroughs
1 Comment
