Fake News and Other Opinions

The Oxford Dictionary defines the word belief as; an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists. Oxford defines the word opinion as; your feelings or thoughts about someone or something, void of proven fact.  

Which side decides which belief or opinion is true? Is it the guy who uses ALL CAPS to make his point? Is it the dirtbag who became president and when caught in a lie, doubles down with another lie? Some won't accept a fact even with overwhelming evidence if it doesn't serve their agenda. 

Facts are irrelevant. 

I believe US politics is a bit of a dumpster fire; you may not and that's cool. We do have to give kudos to the red team for their strategy of taking the win when they win but blaming all other humans when they lose. That's what five year olds do. What a spectacular way to get yourself out of every jam in your life. It's literally never your fault. Try it with your boss the next time you miss an important client deadline. 

Despite one shred of evidence, millions still believe the 2020 US election was stolen. Apparently if you call something a witch hunt and fake news long enough, some will believe you. If you don't get your way, apparently acting like a giant baby is the way to go. I live in Canada and it's like watching the WWE from the cheap seats.  

Many who start the rumor only care about winning at all costs. Their belief is irrelevant as long as they serve their opinion. But that's just my belief and opinion, of course.

I'll get the popcorn.

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Wanted: Real Leaders

I live in Canada and we had our second national election in two years this week. The government spent over $600M CDN on an election that resulted in absolutely no change in power or the configuration of our national political landscape. 

Like many parts of the world, we are experiencing the fourth covid wave yet my government felt it necessary to hold an election no one could afford to garner no new results. Why is that? It's simple - power. The ruling party - the Liberals under leader Justin Trudeau - wanted a majority government so they could run the country however they wanted with no opposition. 

Great leaders wanted 

They got another minority government which means the other parties can influence decisions. It also means, we are in the exact same place we were before this election. Additionally, word is that we may have another election in less than two years while the two biggest parties continue to lob mud at each other getting nothing accomplished during a pandemic. 

The topic of what makes a great leader has been debated since humans could say the word. When you think of the values a mentor has brought to you, it's often those intangible aspects which are more difficult to define. It's tough to be thrown into a new role when you may be good at the work but not as well versed at the people part. 

It's about the math

It’s easy to point to those who have handled leadership with grace but it's not a skill you learn in short order. And it can certainly be a balancing act when the company continually reminds you profit is the goal. That is even more complex when discussing political leadership of a democratic country when the Liberals won the election with less votes than the Conservatives where each got about 30% of the 65% of registered voters. Just imagine running a company with those metrics.

Words such as power and fear may be the reasons why strong balanced leadership is often as rare as great customer service. But despite the election this week that changed nothing, I am proud that I have the privilege to vote which is not something all humans have the ability to do. While politicians and pontificators throw jabs, I have an idea. 

 Let's be kind to each other.

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Wisdom and Inspiration

Tell me and I'll forget.
Show me and I may remember.
Involve me and I'll understand.
Chinese Proverb

The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people,
but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already.
John Buchan

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.
Steve Jobs

Don't waste a single second.
Just move forward as fast as you can and go for it.
Rebecca Woodcock

The price of greatness is responsibility.
Winston Churchill

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
concerned citizens can change world.
Margaret Mead

Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers,
who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer
a solution everybody can understand.
Colin Powell

If you want anything said, ask a man.
If you want anything done, ask a woman.
Margaret Thatcher

Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.
John F Kennedy

Never hold too closely to your idea but be open to change and innovation.
Jean Chong

The led must not be compelled; they must be able to choose their own leader.
Albert Einstein

When you accept a leadership role, you take on extra responsibility
for your actions toward others.
Kelley Armstrong

If you're not confused, you're not paying attention.
Tom Peters

Take successes and failures as they come,
since things often change at a moments notice.
Juliette Brindak

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more,
do more and become more, you are a leader.
John Quincy Adams

The road to success is always under construction.
Lilly Tomlin

Leadership is the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard;
the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.
Peter Drucker

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
Mother Teresa
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It's About People

The topic of leadership has gotten quite a good trouncing in the U.S. lately. There is anger and finger pointing, claims and promises, fuzzy plans and selective history, polls and opinions, red and blue, and 314 million people hang in the balance.

It has been an interesting election to watch as a foreigner but I thought it would be good to step away from the noise and offer some leadership inspiration.

Tell me and I'll forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I'll understand.
Chinese Proverb

The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people,
but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already.
John Buchan

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.
Steve Jobs

Don't waste a single second. Just move forward as fast as you can and go for it.
Rebecca Woodcock

The price of greatness is responsibility.
Winston Churchill

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change world.
Margaret Mead

Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.
Colin Powell

If you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.
Margaret Thatcher

Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.
John F Kennedy

Never hold too closely to your idea but be open to change and innovation.
Jean Chong

The led must not be compelled; they must be able to choose their own leader.
Albert Einstein

When you accept a leadership role, you take on extra responsibility
for your actions toward others.
Kelley Armstrong

If you're not confused, you're not paying attention.
Tom Peters

Take successes and failures as they come,
since things often change at a moments notice.
Juliette Brindak

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more,
do more and become more, you are a leader.
John Quincy Adams

The road to success is always under construction.
Lilly Tomlin

Leadership is the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard,
the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.
Peter Drucker

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
Mother Teresa

Kneale Mann

istock

Inspirational People #4

A while back, we started a regular feature on this site highlighting people who inspire others. There are three rules. Is the information valuable to my work or life? Is the author doing actual work to back it up? Do they challenge me, make me think, and/or make me move to do something? If you have someone in mind, send me an email. I'm currently sifting through more than two dozen lists from contributors so be patient.

These inspirational people were suggested by Jennifer Johnston. If you need a bright and experienced digital marketing professional who will help your company grow, Jennifer can help so reach out to her.

April Dunford

Take an engineer, toss in marketing expertise, mix in a lot of business start-up experience, finish with a nice layer of leadership and that’s April. She remains an adviser and board member for many start-ups while consulting the likes of IBM and Siebel Systems. And she is fully immersed in the social web.

Nate Silver

As the world appears to get more complicated, the importance of mathematics and literature continue to increase. Nate is a statistician who first made a name for himself by predicting performance and development of Major League Baseball players. He applied it to the 2008 U.S. Presidential election and correctly predicted the winner of 49 of 50 states. He then established his own website and is now a regular columnist for the New York Times. Have a look at his predictions for the 2012 election.

Steven Pinker

Language is an interesting topic. There is much more going on behind the words we use including culture, intention, slang, innuendo, and euphemisms. Canadian born Pinker has been studying cognitive behavior and linguistics for years. While we struggle with the intricate art of communication, Steven studies the mind as a writer, published author of six books, and professor at Harvard. Fascinating guy.

Dave Brodbeck

Another brainiac, David specializes in cognitive psychology with a key interest in learning and memory in both humans and the animal kingdom. He is a avid researcher in behavioral ecology, animal cognition, statistical procedures, and evolutionary psychology. In his spare time he enjoys studying video game design using psychological techniques. And we thought we just did stuff.

Thanks JJ!

Kneale Mann

devita

Political Lessons

The U.S. political chatter is heating up this week with the Republican Party taking the first swipe with their convention in Tampa and the topic of leadership returns to the forefront. Imagine if your direct report talked like those at the podium about generic promises to change vague issues with dynamic language that hold very little meaning.

Now think about your career or your business and imagine what it would be like to stand on your own record and your own ideas. If they work, take the credit. If they don’t, own the blame. That happens never in politics so let’s look at the real world for lessons.

Back to Reality

It’s easy to point to politicians and poke holes in their theories and fuzzy memories but how often does it happen in our everyday lives? Do you own it when you mess up? Do you avoid blaming others to take the focus away from you? Do you show compassion to those who make mistakes and collaborate with them for solutions?

How can we better work together and show leadership in solving issues, building companies, growing people and improving our world without blaming others for all the problems and taking credit for all the victories?

It's up to us to show our leadership through our actions.

Kneale Mann

chesspieces

Rights and Privileges

We All Remember Where We Were When

That is a phrase that is only uttered a handful of times during a lifetime. Depending on your age, that is a reference to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the death of Kurt Cobain, September 11th or last night when the world tried to digest the news that one of the most sought after criminals had been killed.

At the height of the frenzy, there were over 4,000 tweets a second and every news agency on television, radio, print and online were scrambling for information. We were the news cycle. We were instantly brought back to 2001.

Your Vote Counts

Today is a national election in my country. Canadians were cynical that the government had passed a non-confidence vote in our house of commons to force the minority leading Conservative party to call an election. It’s expensive and no business or country or individual can afford to spend unwisely these days. According to the polls, this will be an historic day. Time, as they say, will tell.

We live in an instant news world. About two billion of us are online which is still only a third of the world's population, but the power for each of us to publish information has caused exponentially more content. Some is correct, some is reactionary, some is for good and some is not.

The Social Web has Changed the World

Through years of building online relationships, it is an honour to be able to send a message to people I have connected with from all over the world. There are kind emails and texts from caring people from places I’ve never been. They are people, not job titles. Last night, we shared something profound and most of us were alone or with a couple of other people. Billions were getting the news one-on-one.

Digital channels have given us the ability to share information quickly. Last night, major news agencies were quoting the social web as much as their own sources. Twitter, Facebook and the Blogosphere is a constant hum of information and opinion. As the saying goes, we must remember so we don't forget. And millions of us have the ability to share our voice.

Some call that a right, some call it a privilege but it certainly should not be taken for granted.

Kneale Mann

image credit: istock