US Lacks Real Leadership-Live At Osh Kosh 2017-Podcast 652

Tough weeks this summer for the United States. If you’re wrapped in the warm technology and aviation embrace of AirVenture it’s easy to forget the outside world. In the last hours of Air Venture, at a theater in the woods, I had the opportunity to hear the Apollo astronauts describe real leadership. We’ll talk about it in US Lacks Real Leadership-Live At Osh Kosh 2017-Podcast 652.

Real Leadership

Do we fully understand what real leadership is? In the closing weeks of July in Washington, it became clear we don’t have it. Especially relevant is this question of whether we are pulling together as a nation. In US Lacks Real Leadership-Live At Osh Kosh 2017-Podcast 652.

In the late 1950’s the nuclear rival of the United States put a satellite in space. Then the USSR put a dog in space. Finally, they put the first man in space. The reality of this achievement and its implications shocked the US. We had to do something to catch up.

Time Specific Goal Setting

In 1960, President Kennedy made the goal of putting a man on the moon and returning him safely, a national objective. What’s more, the president set a time limit. The US was to accomplish this goal before the end of the 1960’s. This had never done before.

EAA’s evening presentations at the Theater In The Woods are often riveting. At Osh Kosh 2017, the surviving Apollo astronauts joined David Hartman for an incredible forum to discuss their experiences. In US Lacks Real Leadership-Live At Osh Kosh 2017-Podcast 652.

Real Leaders Don’t Tweet

A standing room only crowd heard some great stories about the early efforts of the United States to develop a manned space program. For me, one of the major threads of the conversation was how the bosses at NASA and in the US Government provided the resources and allowed the pilots, managers and scientists at NASA to do the job.

When things got tough they did not publicly ridicule, blame, demand and complain. Leaders stayed on task and on schedule. On July 16th, 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. In subsequent missions which proved even more challenging, the leaders only asked what the guys in space and at Mission Control needed.

Pulling Together?

These days some of our top people could take a lesson from the experience of these guys, so young back in the day. We’re not pulling together as a nation. We’re not working specific goals to address problems, so we can move onto making things better. In US Lacks Real Leadership-Live At Osh Kosh 2017-Podcast 652.

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul

US Lacks Real Leadership-Live At Osh Kosh 2017-Podcast 652

Playing The Something Is Going To Happen Game-Podcast 644

You can already feel it. The long fourth of July weekend approaching. We’re starting to slow down. So, for the ride to the lake. During periods of rain. It’s fun to think about what might happen. In Playing The Something Is Going To Happen Game-Podcast 644.

Podcasts Have To Go Deeper

I podcast a lot about media’s role in our society. For a deeper look at angst listen to Podcast 643. We’re awash in media informing us of the latest developments. ‘Breaking News’ is the norm these days. Podcasters have to go deeper. We’ll do that in Playing The Something Is Going To Happen Game-Podcast 644.

The Next Black Swan Event Is…

Truth is, I do feel a growing sense that ‘something is going to happen’. A true ‘Black Swan’ event is something unpredictable. An event that changes the course of history. Black Swan events like the stock market crash of 1929 or the September 11th Terror Attacks were not predicted, although some might have had some forewarning. Some predicted the financial crisis of 2008, but on the whole, it was a surprise.

A Personal Story Of A Shocking and Unexpected Event

A recent example of an unpredictable event in my own life illustrates the kinds of changes we go through when things change, unexpectedly and unpredictably. Moreover in my experience a sense expectation can mean something good is about to happen too. Especially important and relevant is an expectation of a major event that changes history. This kind of expectation is a sense of foreboding.

Not The Latest Dispatch From Washington

In a broader sense our social angst is driven by constant coverage of breaking news and new opinions on every little thing that happens in a place called Washington DC. Playing the ‘Something Is Going To Happen’ game is not anticipating news out of Washington.

Making History

A true Black Swan event is something out of the so called left field. An event in the financial world. Something breaking loose from the sense of normalcy in the rest of the world. An unexpected and totally new development from the world of invention. An event that changes history.

We Don’t Change on A Dime…Or Do We?

We think of eras as decades. The 1950’s, the 1960’s, and so on. We think of changes taking place when governments transfer power. So, the Obama era gives way to the Trump era. Except that is not the way it works, Steve Jobs said what we think of as the 1960’s actually happened in the 1970’s. Events actually determine when we move from one era to the next.

To sum up, a new president took office in January. After a lot of chatter and fireworks, nothing substantial has really happened. The test of the new president hasn’t really emerged yet. Fertile ground for our imaginations to break free from the daily news feeds and imagine what could happen. Enjoy the July 4th holiday! (Editor’s Note: In This Podcast I refer to Nouriel Roubini as the person who coined the term ‘black swan’. It was in fact  Nassim Nicholas Taleb.)

Sponsored by X Government Cars and Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul

Playing The Something Is Going To Happen Game-Podcast 644

 

 

The American Dream Is Killing Us? Really? Podcast 618

Deaths of Despair” is what some researchers call them. Death due to suicide, drug overdose and the consequences of heavy drinking. Alarm bells are ringing. Over the last twenty seven years deaths among middle aged white people with a high school diploma or less have doubled. So many deaths it has caused a fall in overall US life expectancy. Let’s talk about it in The American Dream Is Killing Us? Really? Podcast 618.

Failure Isn’t Your Fault Anymore?

This is a lurid headline. Lurid headlines get attention. Writers are writing. Talkers are talking. Princeton researchers blame ‘Cumulative Deprivation’. We’re suddenly wondering if The American Dream Is Killing Us? Really? Podcast 618.

American Dream Grows Up

What is The American Dream? James Truslow Adams tied it to the Declaration of Independence. All men are created equal. We have an unalienable right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Who Says You’ll Be Happy

When did it become The American Dream? Do we expect our government to help us be happy? Are we supposed to be guaranteed success in our pursuit of happiness. A house in the suburbs? Two cars? A great job? Happy children? Retirement? Health Insurance?

Economic Inequality

Robert Samuelson thinks economic inequality is the cause. Inequality causes slow active social forces accumulating and destroying the hopes and dreams of white people with a high school education or less. It drives them to despair. Drink. Drugs. Death. Writers like JD Vance add to the ‘White Trash‘ ethos with stories of poor, dumb white people living in Appalachia.

We All Have Tough Times In Our Family Histories

In The American Dream Is Killing Us? Really? Podcast 618 I tell some stories of my own family’s history in the coal mines. I wonder what people think we’re responsible for these days. All of us have some kind of despair but we fight it. We get knocked down and get back up. Live to fight another day. Never give up.

Get Up And Fight

Life is a challenge. It does not come with a guarantee. How we define winning and success changes with age and time. Happiness doesn’t require a house in the suburbs and two cars. Happiness requires a warrior mentality to some degree. Sometimes you just have to reach down and get it.

The American Dream Is Killing Us? Really? Podcast 618

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul.