Glenn Shepard’s Daily Blog

There’s a dark cloud hanging over Nashville today. Funeral services for Dr. Howard Olds, who I have quoted numerous times, are this afternoon. When he gave his final sermon at Brentwood United Methodist Church on June 29th, we knew that retirement on that date marked the end of over 40 years in the ministry, but we did not know how closely the end of his life would follow.

Part of his obituary in The Tennessean, Nashville’s main newspaper, reads, “Under his leadership, the church has refined its vision and purpose in Christ: to love one another radically, make disciples intentionally, serve the poor compassionately, and develop leaders humbly”.

If ever a leader succeeded in his mission, it was Dr. Olds. In “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”, Dr. John C. Maxwell wrote that one sign of true leaders is that they’re always grooming their successors so that their organizations will continue to thrive after their departure. While I am a huge fan of Dr. Maxwell’s and have every book he’s ever written, it certainly doesn’t feel like this church could possibly continue to thrive after the departure of such a charismatic leader. To the contrary, there’s this hollow feeling of, “How can we carry on without him?”.  I have no doubt we will, but it sure doesn’t feel that way today.

At yesterday’s seminar, the executive director of a non-profit agency told me that she now allows two of her employees to telecommute (work from home). The nature of their positions allow it, but two other employees who have to be in the office full time because of the nature of their positions are complaining and becoming resentful. The E.D. said she feels a bit guilty, but she feels what she’s doing is fair. She’s right. If telecommuting works for you as a manager, your employees, and your company, then go for it. Of course others will complain, but they chose their jobs. While telecommuting is not for everyone and certainly not possible in every position, it is a great employee retention tool that is becoming more popular than ever.

In yesterday’s seminar, we were discussing how much or how little attention managers give to how job applicants dress. I mentioned that an applicant applying for a job with an attorney in the seminar might be expected to dress well, but that it might not matter so much to the head of housekeeping for an Embassy Suites hotel in the room if housekeeping applicants were not dressed to the nines. She quickly responded, “Oh yes it does!!!” Good for her. After she said that, I noticed how well she was dressed, which shows that she leads by example.  Even more impressive.

To post a comment, enter your name and email address (email will not be published).
Then post your comment and click on the button labeled “Submit Content”.

It won’t amount to anything substantial, but you should know that the price of oil dropped from over $147 per barrel to less than $128 a barrel last week.  This illustrates the true volatility of the market, and the roller coaster ride that we’re all in for.

Unlike last year when there were several “incidents”, no one fell out this year. These are Class 4 rapids, which looks pretty harmless, but is just enough for me to get my adrenaline fix.

Today is a special day for two reasons. First, because Paul Harvey returns to do the news live, for the first time in many months. And second, because today is the day of the annual rafting trip down the Ocoee River. If I’m not back by Monday, please send help into the hills near Chattanooga…and be careful if you hear banjo music coming out of the woods.

When I talked to Laura in Paul Harvey’s office last week, they still had no date for his return. He has been recording The Rest of the Story, but hasn’t done the news for months now due to the loss of his wife Angel, and several health problems. Today Gil Gross, who’s been Mr. Harvey’s primary stand-in, announced on-air that Mr. Harvey will return to do the news live on Saturday.

If you’d like to send him well wishes, click here.

Part of the reason the economy is stumbling is because of the mortgage crisis. In order to prevent future problems, the Federal; Reserve Board has announced new home mortgage loan rules that include “Requiring creditors to verify the applicant’s income” for higher priced homes starting on October 1, 2009.

Huh? For all the idiotic laws and regulations Congress has passed over the years, why has no one made this a requirement before now? How is requiring people to prove their income before they get a mortgage that is at least partially backed by the government (i.e. through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) such a novel idea? And for that matter, why are we waiting over a year to implement such a common sense policy??

Here’s an idea. In addition to requiring homebuyers to prove their income, why don’t we require Congressional candidates to take an IQ test?

Congress is the one group of employees that I want to do nothing most of the time. But in this case, I’m imploring the 435 men and women on Capitol Hill to pass this legislation yesterday. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

To post a comment, enter your name and email address (email will not be published).
Then post your comment and click on the button labeled “Submit Content”.