Wishing you all the blessings of this season

Winter is coming home to the heartland this week, and families across our country will gather and celebrate. Children of all ages will discover warm connections, joy, and love, all gifts of the heart.

As our own two sons travel back home, my wife, Jane, and I stand in the door way with open arms, counting the blessings. In a world filled with such challenges, upheaval and strife, we are tremendously grateful for the simple blessings of clean water, good food, safe shelter, and being together as a family. I am especially thankful for the many opportunities I have had this year to work with each of you in large and small group settings plus our private visits together.

This journey we are all on comes with great troughs of chaos and tremendous mountains of challenge. Yet, as we learn, unlearn and relearn together, we recognize that we are not alone but are in reality deeply blessed by the opportunity to be of service to each other.

From our office to your office, from our home to your home, my family and I send you joy, love and peace during this holiday season.

Wishing you and yours every good thing that the season can bring.

Geery Howe, M.A.Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer inLeadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational ChangeMorning Star Associates319 - 643 - 2257

Planning for 2012

It is hard to believe, but we are nearly halfway through December. The entire fall just zipped right by. Now winter is moving at the same pace. Blink twice today and the holidays will be gone. Do it again and we will be waking up in mid-February 2012, wondering what happened to most of the first quarter.

Unfortunately, some people are just becoming aware that they need to plan for 2012. With fifteen working days until the New Year, they are stumped by the magnitude of this task. Like deer-in-the-headlights, they are overwhelmed and all they can see is that 2012 is barreling down upon them.

For those of you who are in this predicament or working with people who just realized that they need to map out some goals for the first quarter of 2012, I always remember the advice of Peter Drucker who counseled executives to practice “planned abandonment.” As he wrote, “Make a list of all the things you are doing today that, if you were not already doing, you would not start doing. These are your candidates for abandonment.”

While making a list is not the end of planning, this marvelous exercise can be very helpful whether you are working at the personal, team, or organizational levels. It can be the foundation for great reflection and inquiry. I encourage all of us this week to start thinking about the future and using this simple exercise as the start for a great strategic dialogue.

If you need further help planning for the future, please do not hesitate to call me.

Geery Howe, M.A.Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer inLeadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational ChangeMorning Star Associates319 - 643 - 2257

A Quick Reminder

Friday, December 9, is the registration deadline for the 2012 From Vision to Action Leadership Training.

We will meet for this unique learning opportunity in 2012 at the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, Coralville, Iowa on the following dates:

- March 7 - 8 - 9, 2012

- May 9 - 10 - 11, 2012

- September 12 - 13 - 14, 2012

- November 8 - 9, 2012

If you and/or members of your team are interested in registering for the 2012 training, then please click on the following link for more information: http://www.chartyourpath.com/VTA-Leadership-Training.html or on the this link for the registration form: http://www.chartyourpath.com/pdf/2012-From-Vision-To-Action-Leadership-Training-Regist.pdf.

I look forward to hearing from you today.

Geery Howe, M.A.Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer inLeadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational ChangeMorning Star Associates319 - 643 - 2257

The Power and Importance of Compassion

During certain times of the year, I do quite a bit of public speaking before large and small groups. As many of you know, I also share quite a few stories about my personal journey, and the journeys of others who have gifted me with their stories. The result of this depth of sharing is that people write me or stop me after a presentation and share their own insights, journeys or challenges. Here is a copy of a letter that I received a while ago:

“I wanted to let you know how I enjoyed your presentation.... I could have listened to you all day.

I also wanted to thank-you for what you said on compassion. I felt as though you were talking about me. You see, my 28 year old son died of AIDS.... I also cannot tell anyone because they laugh or make fun of people that have this awful disease. Why people do this is a mystery. When you loose a loved one - it doesn’t make any difference how they died - the pain is still there and it never goes away.

[During our time together as a group,] we went to a dinner show and the girls that sat across from me again showed no compassion. Our waiter looked a little feminine and they started joking about it. Then, AIDS was brought up. I thought to myself, these women just figure that people around them have not experienced this disease. My heart was breaking - this was the anniversary of my beloved son’s death. And they were joking about AIDS. Then my heart went out to the young man’s mother. She was no where around, but I felt compassion. And love for her and I prayed she would never have to go through the AIDS death with her son. Then I thought, this woman across from me has a 12 year old son. I didn’t know my son’s destination when he was 12, and I prayed that she would never have to go through an AIDS death with her son either.

Please never leave compassion out of your presentations. Maybe some day people will listen to someone like you. Then people like me can hold their head up and share their pain instead of hanging their head and being so alone.”

My hope is that all of us will show more compassion for each other this holiday season. As I often remind leaders, there is always more to the story. Our work life and our home life are all one life.

Geery Howe, M.A.Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer inLeadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational ChangeMorning Star Associates319 - 643 - 2257