So this morning I am sitting down in the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco trying to concentrate on finalizing my piece this week for the Huffington Post, thinking about my next book project for late 2011, and preparing for my lunch meeting in the city, and the ever-focused me had trouble doing exactly that; focusing. The "why" was a troubling conversation taking place two tables away from me (which also means they were talking LOUD). A couple things became almost immediately obvious; the one "selling" the CEO on the other side of the table worked for our federal government, in the Department of Energy, until late last year. And the "thing" she was selling was not knowledge or know-how, but base, arrogant access. She wanted to get paid, simply because she could get around and into the right doors – from the Administration, to other CEO's, whom she "met," she admitted, while in the Administration. Now, besides the fact that the woman was irritating, and the CEO seemed rational enough to not hire her, it just saddened me. This is part of what is wrong with America, and our world today. We have lost our storyline (check out the piece I wrote this week in the Huffington Post which touches on this). It's all about money, and not about adding real value in and to our world. And until we "repair this fault" of our virtues and values, we can forget about America leading the world into the late 21st century. No one wants to follow a chump who only wants to make a buck. America will lead again. You will be part of that reason. Let's go.
Recent Posts
- Operation HOPE and FEMA Partner to Help People Build Financial Resiliency After Disasters
- The Movement Begins! Financial Literacy for All Celebrates Successful Launch.
- Operation HOPE CEO John Hope Bryant’s #1 Amazon Best Seller ‘Financial Literacy for All’
- Dow Jones Smart Money, a Collection of Free-to-Read Personal Finance Content, Launches Today
- Saluting Lance Triggs — 30 Years of Service to Operation HOPE and the Communities We Serve