Violence is bad for business. That view, held by a handful of Houston’s business and political leaders in the early 1960s, contributed to the peaceful integration of Houston’s lunch counters that decade. One business leader at the time, Bob Dundas Sr., was acutely aware of mayhem resulting from racial tensions. He was a teenager in the summer … Read more
Americans have long placed a high premium on their business, political and military leaders being tough and hard-nosed, or at least appearing so. While blatantly weak leadership is obviously not virtuous, behavioral values associated with compassion don’t seem nearly as highly valued for leaders in our society. And yet, in my various supervisory roles in … Read more
Thanksgiving dinner reminds me of a very useful analogy for helping corporate executives better appreciate the health and safety concerns of their fence line neighbors. I was introduced to the analogy about 20 years ago by risk communication expert Peter Sandman, who spoke to several hundred employees and wholesalers of Texaco’s marketing business who had … Read more