At one point in our lunch I mentioned a quote from Psalm 78:72 about King David’s leadership of Israel.  The New Living Translation of the Bible states it this way: “he cared for Israel with a true heart and led them with skillful hands.”  It’s a variation of the “Task Excellence + Relationship Excellence” model we teach at organizations.  After hearing the Bible verse, Mrs. Hesselbein leaned over toward me, looking me directly in the eyes and said “and he cared for them first.”  I will never ever forget those words coming from a leader who lived them out.

Here are a couple updates on some things I’m doing and what I’ve noticed of interest in the media.

Training Industry Quarterly magazine invited me to write an article on the science of connection. You can read the article here.  Note on the article’s first page you have the option to click on a link and listen to a podcast version.

I hope you’ll check out my friend David Burkus’ new video on taking a creative risk.

On May 6-9, I hope to see old friends and make new friends at this year’s American Society for Training and Development’s International Conference where 8,500 training professionals will gather in Denver.  At the conference, I’ll be speaking on the topic “Do Leaders Need to Make Employees Happy?” which also is the title of a chapter I wrote for ASTD’s The Management Development Handbook: Innovations for Today’s Managers (edited by the talented and charismatic Lisa Haneberg).  Kevin Eikenberry, Alfredo Castro and I will join Lisa in a panel discussion at the conference and a book signing.

David Brooks of The New York Times continues to write on issues related to connection and character.  Check out his recent columns entitled “The Talent Society” and “The Rediscovery of Character.”

Finally, I just completed interviewing Anne Mulcahy, the former CEO of Xerox.  Ms. Mulcahy led a miraculous turnaround and shared with me her thoughts about how she kept the senior leadership team together and motivated people to give their best efforts for a decade long endeavor.  Ms. Mulcahy has much wisdom to share and I know you’ll enjoy reading her stories and advice that is extremely relevant to leaders in today’s challenging economic times.

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