Think About It

I kind of wish things were the way they were in 1974. During that year, I played a ton of baseball and spent a lot of time on the beach. We vacationed in the Blue Ridge Mountains where I honed what few water-skiing skills I had. Sure, I know there was a war in Viet Nam, the nation was struggling with civil rights issues and there was a growing concern for the state of our government after the resignation of President Nixon, but in 1974 I had just entered my teen years and I was living large. Nostalgia is the essence of dissonance. On one side of our brain, we remember what we want to remember, but the other contains the realities of life. While this is a challenge in our everyday lives, I think plays an even bigger role in leadership. As leaders, we think back on the good old days when we had answers to questions; but when we look at today’s issues we can be confused and confounded by what we face. We like reflecting on success, but we are concerned about failure in the future