HOT READS FOR THE PRACTITIONER
Title: A Graduation Address Especially for You
Competencies: self-development, managing self, leadership, ethics
Who benefits: those who could appreciate a motivational speech
Consultant Usage: pass it on to friends and clients
What’s it about? It is that time of the year when (mostly) young people graduate from high school or college. Do you remember your last graduation? Do you remember the speaker? Do you remember how you felt listening to the wisdom of the commencement address?
I remember as a freshman going as a guest of my college friend Alice Kepler to her graduation ceremony. Hard to forget the commencement address at her graduation. The speaker was President John F. Kennedy. That day he announced the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
Sorry to report that at my own graduation ceremony three years later I can’t remember the speaker. But I remember the feeling. I was going out into the Big World and by golly I was going to do something important. I was going to make a difference.
It was a great occasion. It was a feel good day. It was a kick start.Â
But over the years those words of wisdom faded. Reality, whatever that is, consumed my hours and days. I wondered less about doing something important. I didn’t have time to worry about making a difference. I had meetings to attend, reports that were due, bosses with insatiable appetites to satisfy. No time to dream.
Another good friend of mine graduated about 10 days ago. From a distance of 2,000 miles I thought about her commencement address. I wistfully wondered what words of wisdom were delivered that day. And I thought that possibly as part of our own development, maybe we all need an annual commencement address to keep us focused on the big picture, what is really important. We need someone to remind us to be difference makers, not paper pushers.Â
So today I offer up a commencement address for you. The speaker is Tom Brokaw, a man who has spent a lifetime surveying the world. He imparted his wisdom last week to the students of St. Lawrence University. But really his address is to the world. To all of us. It is a universal reminder of who we are, where we are, and most importantly and no matter our age, what we can be.
Catch you later.
[tags]commencement address, commencement speeches, commencement, tom brokaw, self-development, managing self, leadership, ethics, envisia, envisia learning, bill bradley, william bradley, bradley[/tags]
Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.
Brokaw’s speech is superb…very thoughtful. I will definitely forward this. Thanks…
Well, my graduation ceremony was Jun 21, 2011. I don’t remember her name either, but I remember her saying “I’m a slow walker but I never walk backwards†(Abraham Lincoln) How I felt while listening to the wisdom of the commencement address, well… I thought I would never overcome language barrier. I felt like it will take an infinite time to do reading, writing assignments and exams. I was a slow walker but I didn’t give up nor walked backward. “The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.’ Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.†(Abraham Lincoln)