“The fundamental value in relations among people is to respect the dignity and the individuality of fellow men, to treat them not as objects to be manipulated for our purposes or in accordance with our values but as persons, with their own rights and their own values – as persons to be persuaded, not coerced, not forced, not bulldozed, not brainwashed.” –Milton Freidman, American Economist

I am reflecting again today about the turbulent, yet predictable, changes sweeping the Middle East. First in Tunisia, then Egypt, Bahrain and now Libya. The Saudiis are throwing money at the problem to placate their people, bribery through which they intend to put out the fire of democracy.

Milton Freidman’s quote seems like an anecdote to all of this. What if we treated people as though their aspirations for freedom and democracy were a human right?

What if the wealth of a nation, confiscated by tyrants who believe it is their entitlement, were enshrined as a national resource rather than a job perq?

What if young, educated people were able to find meaningful work because their governments placed it as a top national priority rather than a risk to totalitarian rule?

What if women in first, second and third world nations actually felt empowered to lead their countries?

What if the armies of all nations were the instruments of peace rather than war?

What if the world declared the end to dictatorship as a legitimate form of government? What if powerful western nations refused to support dictators?

What if the $87 billion dollars being spent by the US government to wage war in Iraq and Afghansitan were used to support the economies of the developing world?

What if coercion was extinct?

What if values and principles were the currency of international politics?

What if…

© Patrick O’Neill 2011. All rights reserved.

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Report on Business
Leadership lessons from The King’s Speech
HARVEY SCHACHTER
Special to Globe and Mail Update
Posted on Tuesday, February 22, 2011 6:42AM EST

It was a nice surprise to be again featured in Canada’s National Newspaper, The Globe & Mail. The columnist, Harvey Schacter, has really supported my newsletters by featuring them in his column. I don’t know Mr. Schacter, but he strikes me as a brilliant, well-educated and extremely competent journalist. Good taste too.

If you didn’t catch the newsletter, you can click onto it either in a previous blog post or by going to my website.

© Patrick O’Neill 2011. All rights reserved.

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If you watched last night’s award show, I wonder if your agree that Mick Jagger stole the Grammies?

For sheer energy, professionalism, and musicality, Mick was hands down the best performer of the night. How does he do it?

In a tribute to Solomon Burke, Jagger showed why he is an enduring rock legend. He was mesmerizing. Don’t get me wrong, I love Bob Dylan and M&M is a genius. But Mick was the whole package last night.

It reminds me of the Carlos Castaneda line: “To be young and vital is nothing. To be old and vital…that’s sorcery!”

© Patrick O’Neill 2011. All rights reserved.

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http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Transformation-Leader—Feb-2011.html?soid=1102590621438&aid=P36QySY6KEY.

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By the time you read this Hosni Mubarek may be past tense. The Egyptian strongman has lost support of the Army and could be eyeing Baby Doc’s recently vacated pile in France for his asylum.

On the heals of the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia, where authoritarian president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali made a hasty get-away after twenty-three years of rule by iron fist, I’m thinking it might be a good idea to review why it’s not so smart to be a tyrant.

Who would have predicted that the Arab world would be subject to such sweeping leadership changes? Even the pundits are scratching their heads about the intensity of the demand for free elections and participatory government sweeping the region.

Young, well-educated and under-employed people with internet connections to the rest of the world will no longer tolerate dictatorial regimes that impoverish and oppress them. The leaders of Sudan, North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China and Zimbabwe (to name a few) should take note here. Change is coming like a freight train.

So too should the command and control autocrats of public and private corporations that are still use fear tactics to ‘motivate’ their employees.

Iron-Fisted Managers

The workplace may be the last public refuge of tyranny in the west. Many workplaces are still governed by iron-fisted managers who rule by command and control, meting out reward and punishment with impunity.

You would think that style of management died out in the 19th century, but no, it still hangs on today with the resiliency of a cockroach. Here are some of the characteristics of the Tyrant at work:

• They are controlling and manipulative;

• They have low tolerance for viewpoints or approaches that are different than their own;

• They divide and conquer, pitting people against each other;

• They employ bullies to do their dirty work;

• They lack empathy and sensitivity to the problems or needs of their people;

• They are impatient, reactive and volatile especially when things don’t go their way;

• They play favorites but will banish a favorite who becomes too popular or powerful;

• They are secretive and trust no one.

• They are arrogant and hubristic.

Not so good, right?

The tyrant is not going to change unless the Ghost of Christmas Past shows up. We kind of missed the window on that a month and a half ago.

Many people think that they are trapped in their job, prisoners of their economic circumstances. That is never true. You might have to get very creative and be very patient but there are always opportunities available to those who are alert to them.

Three Basic Needs

David Sirota, Louis A. Mischkind , and Michael Irwin Meltzer, writing in The Harvard Management Update, identify three basic needs for all employees:

“Equity: To be respected and to be treated fairly in areas such as pay, benefits, and job security.

Achievement: To be proud of one’s job, accomplishments, and employer.

Camaraderie: To have good, productive relationships with fellow employees.”

At the end of the day, talented people want to work in an environment where they can do their best work and enjoy the experience of making a valuable contribution. They won’t put up with the nonsense that exists where tyrants maintain control through fear tactics.

And, if you are a petty tyrant in the workplace, remember the prophetic words of Mahatma Gandhi:

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall – think of it, always.

© Patrick O’Neill 2011. All rights reserved.

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Snow, snow and more snow.

Toronto looks like a winter wonderland. That’s a bit unusual because we aren’t in the snow-belt. But this year, we have had our fair share of the white stuff.

Last week, the forecasters were calling for Snowmaggedon. Of course, it never materialzed. It never does. But the weather folks sure love to huff and puff about it, what with their special bulletins and radar maps and all.

Makes us the laughing-stock of the rest of the country. Our relatives in Quebec are always anxious that we call out the army to help with snow removal, like we did when Mel Lastman lost his mind in the 90′s. To them Toronto is pathetically funny.

Then there’s the driving.

It seems like there is collective amnesia when it snows. Everyone forgets how to drive and turns the roadway into roller derby. Of course, those of us who emmigrated from Quebec become quite superior. We learned how to navigate in any weather and revert to parochial arrogance when we witness the agony of Toronto motorists.

We took a long walk through the park yesterday, just to enjoy the winter scene. People were out on their cross-country skiis, the kids were tobaggonning and a hockey game had broken out on the pond. Perfect.

In the back yard, a small fox was playing in the snow on the ravine, a dash of red breaking through the white drifts.

There is much to love about winter, even here in the city.

One thing is that we’re not in Buffalo. The joke around these parts is that if you live a bad life, you are reincarnated in Buffalo. There, everything is either on fire or under a ton of snow.

Makes for good television.

© Patrick O’Neill 2011. All rights reserved.

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