MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18 IS PRESIDENTS DAY

Washington and Lincoln on Management:

“My observation is that whenever one person is found adequate to the discharge of a duty,it is worse executed by two persons, and scarcely done at all if three or more are employed therein.”

George Washington

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln, Deal Guy

Lincoln has received enormous publicity in recent months due to the Steven Spielberg movie on his crusade to pass the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution.  Aside from George Washington, it would be difficult to find a President held in higher regard.   Lincoln has more than a little to teach CEOs.  For a quick overview, check out these articles: The first  “Making The Biggest Deals- Abraham Lincoln style” offers three lessons on negotiation drawn from major events of Lincoln’s presidency. If you want some general leadership wisdom from our sixteenth president, check out Lincoln: Five Leadership Lessons.

Econ Recon: Still Plowing Along…Your Peers’ Take on the Economy….Canada Can, Can We?

Still Plowing Along:  Despite the constant gloom of the mainstream media about the economy  (most notably regarding a stubbornly  high unemployment rate),  the fact is that the economy and total employment  (not the unemployment rate) have been improving for three and a half years; albeit at unacceptably slow  pace. Economist Brian Wesbury looks why our growth is so slow and explains why we seem stuck with a   Plow Horse State of the Economy.

Your Peers Take on the Economy: The Q4 results for the Vistage Confidence Index are now available.  Click here for a sense of how Vistage CEOs see the economy in the coming year.

Canada Can….Can We? : Looking for a developed country that seems to have its house in order?  Look up  (on the map, that is).  Vistage Staff Economist  and Institute for Trend Research principal  Alan Beaulieu takes a quick look at our neighbor to the north and points out a few lessons we could learn from them.

The Man Behind The Arches

If asked who was the man who made McDonald’s what it is, most business people automatically say Ray Kroc, who saw a terrific opportunity that the original McDonald’s brothers did not.  True, but every business needs not only a visionary, but also a missionary….someone who lives the brand and whose zeal demands unbending adherence by all to the founder’s vision.

Such was the role of Fred Turner, Former Chairman and CEO of McDonald’s, who died in January at age 80. Turner started off running a grill at a McDonalds, became operations manager in 1958 and CEO in 1973.     The Economist Magazine runs one obituary each month, almost always of someone not well known who nevertheless had a significant influence in their chosen field.  In January, they chose Fred Turner.  Take a moment and read this missionary’s obit.   Who is the “Fred Turner” in your company?  Do you have one?