The Spirit of Liberty

Learned Hand is remembered for a speech given at an I Am An American" celebration in Central Park in 1944 entitled “The Spirit of Liberty”, which he later turned into a book of the same name.

A good friend and colleague, Ed Robinson, sent me Hand's words as a 4th of July greeting. Ed said, "I always find that the great speeches never lose their luster or impact with the passage of time, sometimes they resonate even more."

From the speech, "The Spirit of Liberty":

We have gathered here to affirm a faith, a faith in a common purpose, a common conviction, a common devotion. Some of us have chosen America as the land of our adoption; the rest have come from those who did the same. For this reason we have some right to consider ourselves a picked group, a group of those who had the courage to break from the past and brave the dangers and the loneliness of a strange land. What was the object that nerved us, or those who went before us, to this choice? We sought liberty; freedom from oppression, freedom from want, freedom to be ourselves. This we then sought; this we now believe that we are by way of winning. What do we mean when we say that first of all we seek liberty? I often wonder whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon laws and upon courts. These are false hopes; believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it. While it lies there it needs no constitution, no law, no court to save it. And what is this liberty which must lie in the hearts of men and women? It is not the ruthless, the unbridled will; it is not freedom to do as one likes. That is the denial of liberty, and leads straight to its overthrow. A society in which men recognize no check upon their freedom soon becomes a society where freedom is the possession of only a savage few; as we have learned to our sorrow.

What then is the spirit of liberty? I cannot define it; I can only tell you my own faith. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the mind of other men and women; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interests alongside its own without bias; the spirit of liberty remembers that not even a sparrow falls to earth unheeded; the spirit of liberty is the spirit of Him who, near two thousand years ago, taught mankind that lesson it has never learned but never quite forgotten; that there may be a kingdom where the least shall be heard and considered side by side with the great.

And now in that spirit, that spirit of an America which has never been, and which may never be; nay, which never will be except as the conscience and courage of Americans create it; yet in the spirit of that America which lies hidden in some form in the aspirations of us all; in the spirit of that America for which our young men are at this moment fighting and dying; in that spirit of liberty and of America so prosperous, and safe, and contented, we shall have failed to grasp its meaning, and shall be truant to its promise, except as we strive to make it a signal, a beacon, a standard, to which the best hopes of mankind will ever turn. In confidence that you share that belief, I now ask you to raise your hands and repeat with me this pledge:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands--one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for All.

Happy Independence Day!

Do Women Require More Praise at Work?

When John Gray wrote Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, he started a wave of books and articles on genders differences. However, sometimes men and women behave differently in the workplace, sometimes they don't.

Lucy Kellaway wrote in the Financial Times:

The correct praise dosage is gender dependent, as it is with alcohol. Men tend to take all praise at face value and so are sustained by less. Women reject half the praise as being insincere or misdirected or offensive and so need more to get by on.

Do you agree? Why or why not?

Read Kellaway's entire article here: Kudos to Bosses Who Use Praise Wisely

Improve Performance by Taking a Break

What happens when a factory worker is tired and overworked? Big mistakes, preventable accidents, and serious injuries.

What happens when a decision-maker is tired and overworked? Problems get worse, opportunities are missed, and business performance suffers.

What's a leader to do? Take a break.

According to Harvard Business's Jeff Stibel, "Taking a break provides an opportunity to reflect and often it is during such times when the best ideas, our deepest insights, emerge."

David Bohl points out

How many Saturdays have you gotten up in the morning with the intent of “doing something productive?” How many times do you get on your own case about “wool gathering” or daydreaming when you feel you “should” be working?

I do it often and enjoy that time.

When we push ourselves too hard to be productive, we’re missing out not only on the balance we could have in our lives, but also on the benefits of this time when we feel we’re not being productive.

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

Read Jeff Stibel's blog post here: 7 Ways to Be Happier at Work

David Bohl explains: The Myth of Productivity

Molded by Unique Personal Talent

Peter Bregman writes in his blog, How We Work:

To allow yourself to be molded by your gifts takes courage. By recognizing and encouraging the particular gifts of their employees, great managers increase the chance that those employees will be willing to stand there, exposed and authentic, while their audience rolls their eyes and sneers, expecting failure.

And then, when their talented employees fail (which they inevitably will at some point), after they laugh or cry at their failure, great managers hold them up, keep them focused, help them refine their talent and keep going, until one day the audience stops laughing and starts clapping.

Are you recognizing the Susan Boyles among your employees?

Susan Boyle: A Lesson in Talent Management

Health Advisory - Avoiding Swine Flu

A recent health advisory from Johns Hopkins advises parents on preventive measures to avoid spreading swine flu. Please distribute this photo illustrating an important practice to avoid.

Advice to Entrepreneurs: Join a Peer Group

Brad Feld reflects upon his own experience as a serial entrepreneur:

. . . I realize that one of the key pieces of advice that I regularly give entrepreneurs is to “join a formal group of your peers that meets regularly and spend deep time with them.” I don’t mean “industry associations” or “random networking clubs” – I mean things like EO, Vistage, or YPO. When I was a first time entrepreneur, I often thought “I don’t have time for this.” Bullshit – I didn’t have time not to do it. And that continues today even after having been involved in hundreds of companies. Entrepreneurial communities aren’t merely geographic or industry focused – peer groups that build deep, intimate, and long term relationships between the members play a key part in the process of entrepreneurship.

Read Brad's entire article here: The Power of Peer Groups

Step Away From The E-mail!

I've heard it from so many sources that I'm starting to listen. Whatever you do, do not read your e-mail at the beginning of the day.

The mind cannot focus on strategic thoughts and tactical thoughts at the same time. I find that it takes a lot of energy to focus on strategy and priorities. It's so easy to read "just one" e-mail, and then suddenly I'm sucked into the e-mail vortex.

Tim Ferriss, beset-selling author of The 4-Hour Work Week recommends:

Do not e-mail first thing in the morning or last thing at night
The former scrambles your priorities and plans for the day, and the latter just gives you insomnia. E-mail can wait until 10am, after you’ve completed at least one of your critical to-do items…

More of Ferriss' recommendations: The Not-To-Do List

What works for you?