“Fear, like joy or curiosity, is contagious among beasts and birds, as it is among men . . . . Animals are afraid on general principles.  Anything new and strange excites their suspicions.  In a herd of animals, cattle or horses, fear quickly becomes a panic and rages like a conflagration.  Cattle men in the [...]

A Sampling of Wall Street Journal Headlines from the past week . . .

* New Fears Jolt Credit Markets (March 6)

* Housing, Bank Troubles Deepen (March 7)

* Jobs Data Suggest U.S. Is in Recession (March

* Grim Reaper of Jobs Stalks the Street (March 11)

How do these affect your thinking first thing in the morning . . . as you head in to lead your company?

“As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” — Jewish Proverb

Leaders must be intentional about their thought life. Everything they DO is traceable to how they THINK.

Uncertain times?

Let’s see . . a stock market that no one can forecast . . . a presidential race completely up for grabs . . . and a 31 year-old trader who just cost his company $7.2 billion.

What a great time for Leaders to step up.

I read a great story last week about one Leader whose company is thriving amidst a crisis that has tanked most of the rest of his industry.

This past Spring I noticed a rash of reports (in less than one week!) about current and future leaders of all ages caught lying.

* April 27th ”The Dean of Admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was forced to resign after the school confirmed . . . that she had lied about graduating from college herself.” Marilee Jones is 55. (The Wall Street Journal)

* May 2nd Fifteen freshmen Air Force Academy cadets were expelled in a cheating scandal. The cadets “either confessed or were found guilty by an honor board of sharing answers to a test . . . .” (Louisville Courier-Journal) Assume their average age was 19.

* May 2nd (This right below the Academy cheating article . . . .) Duke University is threatening to expel or suspend 24 of 34 graduate students caught in “the largest cheating scandal ever in its Fuqua School of Business . . . . Similar answers to a take-home test led to an investigation of the final exam and other assignments . . . . The average age of students in the first-year class is 29.” (Louisville Courier-Journal)