Bulletin Board Lessons For Elected Leaders

I recently attended a meeting held at the Business Department on the campus of Minot State University. Because I arrived early, I checked out what was posted on the bulletin boards in the hallway outside our meeting room. The poster that was most impressive was one with the MSU logo entitled “Fundamentally Different Fundamentals.” It had thirty bullet points which are practical guidelines to success.

Please allow me to share with you those points subjectively determined by yours truly to be the highlights, although the other twenty were equally spot on.

• Check your ego at the door.
• Seek to create win/win solutions.
• Practice blameless problem solving.
• Maintain a solution orientation rather than a problem orientation.
• Listen generously.
• Speak straight.
• Practice the human touch.
• Take responsibility.
• Be quick to ask and slow to judge.
• Honor commitments.

Aren’t those practical goals for success whether it be friends, family, business, law, medicine, or politics? With all due respect to our present and future presidents, wouldn’t we have a better country if these basic fundamentals were followed by them? With all due respect to the currently elected members of Congress and senators of both political parties in Washington, D.C., is their current behavior living up to these fundamentals?

I’m proud that our local university is setting high goals for our future leaders. Hopefully MSU students are repulsed by the behavior of their current political “leaders,” whose example of leadership is disgraceful. Minot State University is teaching its students grace rather than disgrace. That’s more important than winning football games. Wouldn’t we rather have them win in the game of life? If they win, we all win.