Culture Matters

By Jim Whitt I just read an article by Bill Barnett in the Harvard Business Review entitled When Choosing a Job, Culture Matters. That is an understatement. Let me share an example. I know of an employee who went to work for a company and was so excited he couldn’t wait to get started. This exceptionally talented and qualified candidate was hired for a newly created position and he was determined to show what a difference he, and the new position, could make. The problem was that he discovered he was the only one who cared about making a difference…. Read More

May 16th, 2012 at 6:44pm

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Useless College Degrees

By Jim Whitt I read an article that listed the five most useless college degrees and found out my degree is number four on the list. This really upset me. I paid a lot for that degree. Actually, a pretty good argument could be made that all college degrees are worthless. I have a nephew who graduated from high school last year and will make over $80,000 in his first year working for an oilfield service company. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were college dropouts and became billionaires. We have been conditioned to believe that to be successful we’re supposed… Read More

April 11th, 2012 at 1:38pm

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Does race really matter?

By Jim Whitt We’ve been barraged with news about Trayvon Martin who was allegedly shot and killed by George Zimmerman. I’ve seen photos of Martin and Zimmerman. I’ve read media accounts that describe Martin as an African American and Zimmerman as both Hispanic and a “white” Hispanic. President Obama said, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” I can understand Mr. Obama identifying with the parents of Trayvon Martin. There are other parents who might look at a photo of George Zimmerman and say the same about him. Since race seems to be the focal point for much… Read More

March 29th, 2012 at 10:32am

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55 Hours of Freedom

By Jim Whitt I reported for jury duty on Monday this week and spent the day waiting until I heard my name called. Since it was late in the afternoon the judge had us report the next morning for what’s called voire dire, the process by which they determine who will ultimately be chosen as jurors for the case. This was a criminal case and the charge was assault with a deadly weapon. The attorneys and judge peppered us with questions to determine if we understood our responsibility as jurors. The defendant is presumed innocent. The burden of proof is… Read More

March 8th, 2012 at 1:19pm

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Managers wanted: Must possess self-awareness, be coachable and able to coach others

By Jim Whitt I stopped at a fast food place the other day which had an interesting message on its marquee: “Managers Wanted.” Not help wanted but managers wanted. I went inside and discovered just how desperately they needed managers. I stood at the counter waiting while two employees were busy serving customers at the drive-through window. The only other employee I saw was the manager on duty who was wandering around talking on his cell phone. He nearly bumped into me but completely ignored me. No “hello,” no “I’ll be right with you,” no nod of the head, no… Read More

February 28th, 2012 at 8:49am

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Are you emotionally intelligent?

My friend Bryan McMurry wrote the following as part of a series of messages for Cargill Animal Nutrition’s Green Book, which contains their principles of how to manage their business. I thought it was something all of us could benefit from so I asked if I could share it with my readers. He graciously agreed so here it is: Emotional Intelligence By Bryan McMurry “Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. ― Lao Tzu Arguably, the most valuable trait one can possess is what psychologists refer to as emotional intelligence. Daniel Goleman raised public awareness of the importance… Read More

February 6th, 2012 at 9:38pm

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What you can learn about purpose from a HOG

By Jim Whitt My friend Don Riley sent me this email after the holidays: Hi Jim, Hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday season. I don’t know why it just popped into my head, but I have belonged to an organization for the past 10 years that epitomizes your purpose principle. The organization is called Harley Owners Group or HOG for short.  It was formed in 1983 by the Harley-Davidson Motor Company after the executives bought the company back from AMF. The purpose of Harley Owners Group has remained the same for 29 years.  The ONLY purpose of… Read More

January 24th, 2012 at 10:56pm

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PTSD: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or Purpose Taken Somewhere Distant?

By Jim Whitt In response to my December 14 issue entitled Lessons on PURPOSE from our armed forces, I received this email from my friend Fred Vocasek: Jim, My step-son served two tours in Iraq with the 82nd Airborne.  After hearing about the troop withdrawals earlier this month, he expressed concern about all of the young, returning troops.  He said they were coming back “all amped up” and had to adapt immediately to civilian life. It would be a dangerous time for them.  He was 29 and 30 when he returned from his two tours.  He watched the 19 and… Read More

January 15th, 2012 at 9:57pm

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Giving What Is Most Difficult To Give

By Jim Whitt The following story about Doc Lunsford was published on December 23, 1991. It remains one of my favorites. So much so that I decided to make it a tradition and share it with our subscribers each Christmas. At a time when Christmas seems to have lost much of its meaning in our hectic lives, it is my sincere desire that this story about Doc would remind us of what we are truly celebrating. Have a Merry Christmas and a Purposeful 2012. We called him “Doc” – Doc Lunsford. I never knew how he came by the nickname… Read More

December 18th, 2011 at 11:41am

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Lessons on PURPOSE from our armed forces

By Jim Whitt I received this email from my friend Peter McGuill: Jim, Hope all is well.  I was thinking of you earlier today.  I am participating in a Leadership Development program right now.  As part of the program we spent the day at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio listening to U.S. Army officers describing “Military Leadership.” One of the officers described leadership as “Protection, Projection, and PURPOSE.”  I was thrilled to hear someone talk about purpose as it relates to leadership.  The points he made were very much in line with those that I have heard you present… Read More

December 14th, 2011 at 11:02pm

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