Category Archives: Karl’s blog entries
BOOKS FOR FEBRUARY AND JANUARY – 2021
Why We Have a Holiday Today
On April 4, 1968, I was in a barbershop late in the day. My father took |
me for a haircut and while I was waiting, a bulletin came in on the news to
explain that Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. had been killed. I was only 14 years old. What I remember the most was that my dad said “why can’t people just vote against someone? Why do they have to kill anyone?” That is a good question even today. |
When I later visited the tombstone of Dr. King it was a very solemn
experience for me. To think for a minute about the causes that he stood for, and how much courage he had, especially to stand up for people who could not defend themselves, is amazing. |
Not everyone was so excited. I taught Management at the University
of Dallas for 19 years before my stroke hit me. It was only two years ago that the school decided to observe the holiday. |
It is also true that President Ronald Reagan was opposed to the
holiday, claiming that if we have any more, why do people need to go to work? On the floor of the U.S. Senate, without evidence, Jesse Helms claimed that King was a communist supporter. When asked, Reagan said “we will know in about 35 years won’t we,” talking about when the |
ceremonial capsule would be unsealed. However, under pressure, Reagan
capitulated in the final months of 1983. He sat on the White House lawn and signed a bill establishing a federal holiday for a man he had spent the previous two decades opposing. What did they do? They sang “We Shall Overcome,” which was very appropriate for the occasion. |
It is impossible to cover everything he did, and what he was, in this
space. Dr. King was known as an activist and minister who promoted and organized nonviolent protests. He played a pivotal role in advancing civil rights in America. Dr. King won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to fight racial inequality in a non-violent matter.
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Books for December and January

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Pity is Not for Us

Take-Aways from “Your Next Five Moves”
PATRICK BET-DAVID author of Your Next Five Moves
You will gain:
CLARITY on what you want and who you want to be.
STRATEGY to help you reason in the war room and the board room.
GROWTH TACTICS for good times and bad.
SKILLS for building the right team based on strong values.
INSIGHT on power plays and the art of applying leverage.
Take Aways
- Always think beyond your first move. Anticipate how others will respond and deploy additional moves that can’t be counteracted.
- Subscribe to the Valuetainment YouTube channel for educational content.
- Take the personal identity audit at the back of the book to learn more about yourself. The goal is to have a breakthrough.
- Discover what role suits you best and who you want to be. Examples include being an entrepreneur, intrapreneur, CEO/Founder, support team member, solopreneur, influencer, salesperson. Find the path that allows you to use your unique talents with the best odds for the highest possible return, and that also fires you up.
- Before making a decision, start out with the “rule of three” by creating three different proposals for dealing with an issue. It will allow you to compare them against each other to have some sort of reference.
- When you lose, fail, or make mistakes, reflect on the situation and learn from it. Don’t lose the lesson. Great processors rarely repeat their mistakes.
- Look at life as a big list of mathematical problems to solve. For effective decision making, solve for X to isolate your problem.
- Don’t be afraid of friction. Friction is good. Whether in life or business, it takes both courage and skill to be direct with people.
- When running your business, do not compromise on speed, execution, or efficiency. Look for ways to compress your time frames.
- When selling, negotiating, or influencing, instead of thinking only about what’s in it for you, think about how to find wins for those you are working with.
Books I Have Read – September-October 2020
Here are the newest books that I have read recently:
(Note: The books marked with a (*) are current best-sellers)
