by ajrobinson | Feb 15, 2019 | Culture Change, Strategic Execution
This is a message for those Trump supporters who claim they don’t condone who the president is, just his policies—especially those who claim to be people of faith. You may think you can get away with pretending that you can separate the leader from the strategy. But...
by ajrobinson | Feb 8, 2019 | Strategic Execution
I spent the last month writing about the importance of having a destination and a road map. There’s more to be said. We all know that once we begin a journey we’re forced to confront the terrain ahead of us. Even the best road map can fail to get some people to the...
by ajrobinson | Feb 1, 2019 | Strategic Destination
“Life has always been hard, but many millennials are unequipped to deal with the particular ways in which it’s become hard for us.” These aren’t my words. They were written by Anne Helen Petersen in her recent BuzzFeed article “How Millennials Became the Burnout...
by ajrobinson | Jan 25, 2019 | Strategic Destination
This week, most of us in this nation celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a variety of ways, many of which have become routine in our culture—from acts of service, to video tributes, and social media posts from professional athletes, celebrities, and...
by ajrobinson | Jan 17, 2019 | Strategic Destination
In an earlier post, I wrote that a leader’s role is to articulate a destination for others. I also cautioned leaders to be responsible and to bring a road map with them. Let’s talk about the design elements that constitute an effective road map—for yourself and for...
by ajrobinson | Jan 11, 2019 | Emerging Leaders, Executive Leadership, Mobilization, Strategic Destination
Way back in the day, when my parents wanted to take me and my sister on a road trip, they would call up the local AAA rep and request a road map. We’re talking late 1970s now—the days when the Afro pick held priority in the back pocket of my jeans and everyone cool...
by ajrobinson | Jan 4, 2019 | Emerging Leaders, Engagement, Executive Leadership, Headlines, Mobilization, News, Obstacles
“He ain’t heavy, Father… he’s m’ brother.” Growing up, my parents had a small wall plate in our home with these words on it. It made an impression on me as a young boy. I can’t say that I remember exactly how old I was when I first encountered that wall plate, but I...
by ajrobinson | Jan 1, 2019 | Headlines
Have you ever heard the story of the Neelakurinji? You should, because it’s a story with powerful metaphors for life. “Kurinji” is a flower and “neela” means “Blue”—loosely translated as the “Blue Flower.” The Neelakurinji is a rare flower that shares its...
by ajrobinson | Nov 13, 2018 | Collective Impact, Culture Change, Headlines
There is a special cohort of leaders who are spread out across the Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services (FNCS) Division of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) who believe deeply in the power of intra-agency collaboration. FNCS oversees many programs...
by ajrobinson | Oct 28, 2018 | Culture Change, Executive Leadership, Headlines
One of my favorite definitions of leadership casts it as an act of persuading others to think or to do things they would’t normally do on their own. I carried this notion of leadership with me last week when I delivered a workshop at the Annual Retreat of the...