William Holman Hunt - The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple

My 21-year-old son Carson recently made an appearance at my keynote speech in Charlotte and, as always, he brought the house down. If you’ve read The Ring in the Rubble, you know that Carson’s story of a serious heart condition at birth and the major surgeries that followed is part of a key parable in the book. It was an experience that shaped my outlook, inspired my work and gives me a touchstone for everything I do.

Father and son book signing at the NSPRA conference in Charlotte.

Carson and his sister Kimberly constantly serve as my teachers. Youth can teach us a lot about facing fear. Youngsters are typically bold compared to their parents and teachers. Of course that may or may not be due to ignorance! Nevertheless, when I’m vacillating or trapped in “analysis paralysis” or just plain “chicken” about a big decision or choice, I like to tap into my inner whippersnapper.

Luke Sharrett at 21 is already a rising star as a photojournalist in the Washington press corp. Never mind that he’s only an intern at The New York Times. In his previous internship as a White House photographer, Sharrett was challenged by President Obama who asked why the young photographer intended to get a degree, after all, he had captured some famously iconic images of the president (see it here).

Sharrett told the president getting a degree is simply something he has to do. Sharrett’s story, described by NYTimes.com blogger David W. Dunlop, is a heartening example of youthful pluck and passion. But there’s impressive wisdom in the intern’s humility and grounded perspective.

…Mr. Sharrett’s portfolio speaks for itself. Since he arrived at the Washington bureau in August 2009 as a one-semester intern from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green — an internship that just kept getting extended — Mr. Sharrett has had more than 400 photographs published in The Times.

How can we all rediscover that post-adolescent sense of opportunity? I’m lucky to have two kids as teachers. Out in the workplace, take time to stop and talk to the interns before they go back for fall semester. If nothing else, you’ll learn some new words!

I hesitate to call it “rubble,” but is there anything more challenging to an otherwise healthy person than a lost motor skill or similar handicaps? Paralysis, impaired hearing, blindness—when your own body presents an obstacle how do you surmount the challenge on a day-to-day basis?

People do it every day and sometimes they’re also moms and dads who have to “be there” for very physically capable children.

CNN.com wrote a moving article on the lives of handicapped adults managing the physically demanding role of parenthood…

When Sarah Kovac watches her son, Ethan, crawl or grab objects, she feels proud, but also has mixed emotions. Already, the 8-month-old has abilities Kovac never had.

“He relies on me, but he’s already able to do things that I can’t, which is kind of a strange combination of feelings,” said Kovac, 26, of St. Joseph, Missouri.

Not surprisingly, a lot of differently able parents count on their children for support in overcoming physical challenges, which is an encouraging lesson in the strength of children. But also, it’s often a matter of the parents finding innovative ways around their own limitations, like the determined mom who has no control of her arms but manages to bathe her son and accomplish all the usual daily tasks, including driving…with her feet.

When you talk to people with disabilities and learn about their solutions that seem downright amazing, you start to see the potential for overcoming all sorts of situations that we too quickly consider to be impossible.

The next time my computer crashes on a deadline, maybe I’ll be inspired to find a work-around, considering what I might have to do if I couldn’t SEE my computer screen!

Inspiration abounds if we pay attention.

There’s something very compelling about a child standing up to unfortunate traditions like child labor.

Young girl working in Aït-Ben-Haddou, Morocco. Photo by Zouavman Le Zouave

World Vision, the Christian humanitarian organization for child advocacy, sponsors children around the world. They recently wrote about 16-year-old Manjula Dharwad in Holtikolti, India and her role in turning the tide of the dropout rate from the school in her village.

Manjula has been sponsored by World Vision since she was six and has benefited from a children’s club formed by the organization. When one of the club members announced he was dropping out of school to work with his family on a plantation, Manjula mobilized her club to work with the boy’s family. As a team, they managed to convince the family that education would be more beneficial in the long run for any child, while at the same time they arranged practical financial support to keep their schoolmate in school.

Choosing education over income is a tough decision in Holtikolti, India, but ultimately it results in a far greater and more positive effect for individuals and the community.

In The Ring in the Rubble, we talk about inspiring leadership through our investments in the people around us.

To better lead change in the future, build better relationships with your upcoming ringleaders now. When change hits, ringleaders are the folks you can count on to pick up a shovel without being told. And, they are the ones that others willingly follow into the pile time and again to search for the ring. — From The Ring in the Rubble, by Gary Bradt

Likewise, by motivating families and their children at the grassroots level, Manjula and many others are incrementally overcoming generations of child exploitation.

It’s probably the same with any change initiative globally, locally and in our work.

The sorrows, disappointments, bad ideas, big mistakes and crises of townspeople go up in flames each year in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The city’s Zozobra Festival has become a successful civic fund-raiser by tapping into a need that we all have: to let go of whatever is holding us down or holding us back. For ten bucks you can burn divorce papers, a box of medical receipts, a handful of credit cards or anything that symbolizes old rubble that you’re ready to be rid of. (Read about it in the September 12, 2009 Wall Street Journal.)

Zozobra goes up in flames in Santa Fe. Photo by Jeff Weiss (Creative Commons).

It’s not surprising that an artist started the festival. In 1924, Will Shuster made a ritual of burning his gloomy marionette, Zozobra. People who create, often imbue their works with deep symbolism.

Then again, don’t we all? We assign life-altering importance to things, be they tangible items or pieces of paper that represent them, sometimes without evaluating their worth. Bad habits, wasteful policies and inefficient processes become the norm, just because they’re “official” or because “it’s always been done that way.”

Fire codes prevent bonfires in most offices, but a symbolic burning is a great idea for leading change, because the first step of moving forward with a new initiative or commitment is letting go of whatever we’re holding onto that in reality is holding us back.

Set a date for a virtual bonfire within your group or organization. List the mindsets, attitudes or beliefs that are holding you back. Is it blaming others for your failures? Complaining about the economy, your market, or your clients? Get it all out; get everyone considering what’s an asset and what’s a liability in the way you think about your business. Put all the rubble on a flipchart and agree to be done with it; perhaps with a shredder versus a torch. You can’t move forward holding onto the past.

Workforce Management magazine features an excellent cover story on imminent change in NASA’s space shuttle program.

August 2009 issue of Workforce Management.

When we think of job security, “astronaut” (or any of the hundreds of supporting scientific, technical and administrative titles associated with this elite crew) sounds pretty stable, occasional zero gravity notwithstanding. But America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration is scheduled to end its space shuttle program in 2010, pending budgets and review by the Human Space Flight Plans Committee.

From the article:

NASA surveyed its civil service shuttle workforce of approximately 1,500 people in the last year to reveal employee concerns. Those include “losing the team they’re working with—especially the contractor members,” says Paul Cruz, the HR development representative for the shuttle program office at Johnson Space Center. “Some people want to know today what they’ll be doing in a year. Some people are worried that all the good jobs will be gone. They’re worried about the skills they’ll need. They fear the unknown.”

Sally Ride. First American woman to enter space.

Workforce Management reports that NASA is demonstrating proactive leadership in preparing its employees for the change, including acceptance of the intangible aspects of such transitions and offering grief counseling.

Life-changing economics are constant, but let’s concede that they’re more extensive in the current economy. And sometimes it’s helpful to realize that we’re all in this together.

If our next Neil Armstrong or Sally Ride have to divert their career trajectories—NASA is retraining personnel for different missions—maybe reevaluating our daily habits, interpersonal skills and leadership practices to respond to changing opportunities on Earth isn’t as hard as it seems.