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SMALL—FAST—and WRITTEN WHEN THE MOOD STRIKES.
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Congressional Gold Medal is approved for the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots of WWII (the WASP)!!
Many of you wrote your representatives after last issue’s story about my Mom. At age 93, those memories of flying remain her most precious. (Dare I say even over birthing three kids!) Thank you all so much!
Press Release
President Obama Signs Bill Awarding Congressional Gold Medal to Women Air Force Service Pilots.
First women to fly American military aircraft served courageously, blazed trails during WWII.
WASHINGTON DC, President Obama today signed into law S. 614, a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP). WASP was established during World War II with the primary mission of flying non-combat military missions in the United States thus freeing their male counterparts for combat missions. Its pilots were the first women ever to fly American military aircraft and flew almost every type of aircraft operated by the United States Army Air Force during World War II on a wide range of missions.
“The Women Air Force Service Pilots courageously answered their country’s call in a time of need while blazing a trail for the brave women who have given and continue to give so much in service to this nation since” said President Obama. “Every American should be grateful for their service, and I am honored to sign this bill to finally give them some of the hard-earned recognition they deserve.”
From 1942 to 1943, more than 1,000 women joined the WASP. 38 of them made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation in performing its mission. But their contribution went largely unrecognized for years, not even being acknowledged with veteran status until 1977.
The groundbreaking steps taken by the WASP paved the way for hundreds of United States servicewomen combat pilots who have flown fighter aircraft in recent conflicts.
The bipartisan effort in Congress to recognize the contributions of the WASP was led by Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Susan Davis (D-CA). At today’s signing, President Obama and Rep. Ros-Lehtinen were joined by three members of WASP as well as five active duty United States Air Force pilots who have followed in their footsteps.
The names of the pilots in attendance are below:
Women’s Air Force Service Pilots
Elaine Danforth Harmon
Lorraine H. Rodgers
Bernice Falk Haydu
Active Duty United States Air Force Pilots
Colonel Dawn Dunlop
Colonel Bobbi Doorenbos
Lieutenant Colonel Wendy Wasik
Major Kara Sandifur
Major Nicole Malachowski
Update From Eileen
It’s officially Summer! I’ve finished my morning run down Magnolia Boulevard. For a road to carry that name, one would expect we’d have sticky air, mint juleps, and sounds of “ya’ll come back” wafting across the street.
Not so. I’m gazing out across the Puget Sound with thick rain clouds closing in behind me and a crack of blue sky toward the northwest. Seattle yearns for the sun to break through. It’s been a longer, colder, snowier, wetter-than-normal winter and spring than any of my Pacific Northwest buddies can remember.
I’m here to address a women’s leadership conference and the weather provides an ideal backdrop for what some many have faced during the first six months of 2009: a recession/depression that is longer, colder, harder than anyone expected.
The flowering shrubs, roses, dogwoods, and peonies that now grace Magnolia Boulevard have proved their hardiness over the rough winter. Likewise, the businesses that make it through these times will have found ways of adapting, of hunkering down, of spreading deeper roots to hold on to valuable employees and customers.
New breeds of plants have appeared, ready to respond to a different environment. New businesses will appear – born from the creative minds of leaders willing to embrace a new world.
So we hope. So I believe. Just before my run ended, the blue sky widened, revealing the snowcapped Olympic Range. Yes? Summer will show its face in the natural world and in our global world.
“To have hope one does not need certainty, only possibility?”
- Howard Zinn
Does Success Stand in the Way of Your Innovation?
Does success stand in the way of your innovation? When companies hit on a formula for success, they can get carried away and forget to look for ways to be even more successful, Scott Anthony writes. Consider the pharmaceutical industry: Most drug makers want to develop medicine that treats extremely common conditions, but officials with Novartis say that approach may be inefficient. Instead, Novartis is working on better-designed drugs with a range of possible uses, leading to medical discoveries that might never have occurred under the old innovation formula. HarvardBusiness.org/Innovation Insights blog (From SmartBrief.com).
P.S. I’m addressing the Novartis Women’s Leadership conference
Some Words to Ponder
“What makes you a man is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise one.”
-Barack Obama; father first and President second.
GREAT Leaders are GREAT Storytellers
We follow leaders who capture us by stories that draw us in and give us purpose for being part of the company or movement. Martin Luther King’s speech, “I have a dream”, was actually a compelling story that pulled many people into seeing possibilities. Don’t we all yearn for the person who could tell us a story about a world that works for everyone? If someone could articulate that story, we’d have no close national elections.
We buy products when we see or read of the human experience with that product. (Remember the Maytag Man?) And we accept the call to action if we hear a compelling story about triumph over odds. Think about the solicitation letters you get from non-profits. They are often stories of individuals who suffered greatly until the non-profit’s “product” allowed them to regain a semblance of their life.
In short, crafting compelling, honest stories that resonant core values in action is a skill worth learning by any leader, manager, sales executive, or parent.
In his best-selling book Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting, Robert McKee, the world’s best-known and most respected screenwriting lecturer, argues that stories “fulfill a profound human need to grasp the patterns of living” not merely as an intellectual exercise, but within a very personal, emotional experience.” Or as USC leadership guru Dr. Warren Bennis states: “Man cannot live without story any more than he can live without bread.” What’s the point you want to make at your next meeting? Is there a story that can be crafted to that point? not a sermon to be intoned?
Who has used your product and reported a wonderful story that came as a result of that product? Or did you even say to your client, “Tell me a story about a time when—”
What stories are told in the coffee room about what it is like to work where you are? What contribution could you make to this story that could improve the ending?
What future do you want? Create a story about it.
Remember, people are not inspired to act by reason alone. The heart holds hands with the head.
In case you think I am just a blowing smoke, you might check out what FORBES magazine has to say about this.
Laugh!
It’s the BEST Medicine
for CRAZY Times
“My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint.”
-Erma Bombeck
Wanted in TOUGH TIMES: Leaders With ESP-Written by Beverly Kaye and Eileen McDargh !!! Yeah!
This was one of the featured articles in the June issue of the American Society of Training & Development T&D Journal.
If you’re a reader, go to this link: http://www.eileenmcdargh.com/ESP.TandD.6.09-1.pdf
And if you prefer to LISTEN to the article, just click on the word “listen” and please scroll down to find the June 2009 issue – Wanted: Leaders with ESP and download it.
Don’t worry – ESP is not a whoo-whoo psychic piece but rather a guide for how leaders can offer an Emotional Stimulus Package to shell-shocked, recession-weary, stretched thin employees. I’d love to know how YOU will use the advice.
That means it’s all of us or none of us. Listen to these statistics: 36 million Americans are facing hunger and more than 9 million of them are children! And these are 2008 figures!!
Let your imagination figure out what it might be now. Motivation, productivity, and great work are at the top of Maslow’s hierarchy. Can’t get there if people are hungry. My goal is to donate 10% of my fee in the name of each client to Feeding America. Perhaps you will join me in this endeavor or another one that calls to you.
Creating Connections That Count!
Best Universities
Rated PLAIN TALK BLOG
in their
Top 100 Leadership Blogs
What to Remember this July Fourth
Faced with wars on multiple fronts, severe economic turmoil, rising unemployment, foreclosures, and a host of other bleak scenarios, the one thing we can cling to this July Fourth is HOPE? the catalytic ingredient that has marked our nation.
Hope rode in the cargo holds of the Mayflower and mounted the Conestoga wagons trudging westward. Hope disembarked at Ellis Island and sat in the cockpit of John Glenn’s spaceship. Hope stood beside Martin Luther King and marched in unison with women demanding the right to vote.
Hope raised a flag on Iwo Jima and planted itself on the moon. Hope raises a hammer to nail a roof for Habitat for Humanity and runs in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Hope hitched a chair beside two engineers in a garage dreaming of a computer and fueled the dreams of college dropouts fascinated by technology.
With hope come conversations about alternatives and ideas for innovation. Hope can cross political aisles and link arms with difference. With hope resides the belief in a better future for seven generations.
Howard Zinn said it best, “To have hope, one does not need certainty but only possibility.”
This July fourth we salute the possibilities.
I HOPE you had an enjoyable holiday!
Must Read Books
The Hampster Revolution for Meetings – Song, Halsey and Burress, Berrett Koehler Publishers, 2009
Brought to you by the same folks who taught us how to handle the tsunami called e-mail, (The Hampster Revolution). Now this threesome tackles the 800 HOURS per year executives spend in meetings. Don’t let the title fool you. There’s practical put-in- place advice to tame this huge productivity tiger.
Wired to Care – How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy – Dev Patnaik, FT Press 2009
I met Dev when we both spoke at the Professional Business Women’s Conference in San Francisco. Dev is the founder of Jump Associates, a growth strategy firm with clients that range from Hewlett Packard to Nike. Maybe because he’s an adjunct faculty member at Stanford or maybe because he has extensive experience in real-world companies, but you will read this book and become a believer. Without creating empathetic understanding of our customers, we can’t create products that last or employees who stay. Don’t take my word for it- read the book.
And for your summer evenings–because it’s too heavy to lug to the beach:
Making Music – Unique Ways Songs Became Hits – John Gregory, Book Surge Publishing 2009.
I don’t know about you, but it’s fascinating to discover such tidbits like how a riot on Sunset Blvd. produced the lyrics for Buffalo Springfield’s famous line “Stop, Hey What’s That Sound.” Or how Sting created a melody inspired by Bach and Sting’s childhood at the last outpost of the Roman Empire in England. If you’re a lover of music you must get this book.
Something To Think About
A must-watch commentary. You won’t know whether to laugh or cry. Let’s face it: those of who love news print with our morning coffee might find this all too true. And, coming from a field of marketing and public relations, I also find it funny! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CqRcCHk_Pc&NR=1
Welcome to the McDargh Clan of Clients
COBALT
PBWC
ACCE
DUKE CLINICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Overview and Contact Information
Is life leading you instead of you leading a life?
Is work working you instead of you doing the work?
You’re not alone! It’s the challenge of our times.
From business leaders to rank-and-file workers, the competitive 24/7 world of heart-stopping change has left many feeling in need of new tools to answer these questions:
- How do I engage more of my talent and that of the folks around me in meaningful work?
- Why is it that resiliency is a word I think of only with rubber bands?
- Why does it seem that we compete more with each other than the competition?
It’s tough when the rate and pace of work leaves you feeling disconnected, unheard, and certainly not aligned to produce results that matter in the long run.
Then there’s the issue of joy. Flat out joy. You don’t want “work” to become exclusive of play. Leave your spirit and heart at the door, and it’s hard to be creative and productive. You want to be connected with people who respect you and vice versa. You want to do good work— no, make that GREAT work– in the bargain. You want to spend your time in a place that lets your spirit soar and your talent shine. My joy is in helping individuals and organizations rediscover the joy of living and the joy of satisfying work.
If you want results that go well beyond the bottom line—contact us. Since 1980, we’ve been engaging the human spirits of individuals and organizations. Now—it’s your turn.
Call 949-496-8640 or send email eileen@eileenmcdargh.com
McDargh Communications
(949) 496-8640
Eileen@EileenMcDargh.com
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