Saturday, February 28, 2009

Being Words

Words are what we do with them.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Judith,

What a terrific thought! Empty words are far to common and wasteful. The ultimate measure of one's charecter isn't in what you say, it is in what you do.

I learned a great deal about leadership and management during my 24 years in the Air Force. The best leader I ever had the pleasure to work for, Col Mel Reeves, used to tell his Commanders that "leadership isn't what your mouth says, it's what your ass does!" When words and actions don't match, when leaders lack credibility, performance and results suffer. In business, politics, and life, credibility is great capital to have.

It took me far to many years to see the power and potential of the words versus action concept. But once I figured it out, personally and professionally, stuff changed. For the better!

CathM said...

Judith... I like this nugget of wisdom a lot... reminds us of our responsibility to the purposeful use of language...

Judith Ellis said...

Dave - Thank you so much for your words. I think it would be great for you to begin a blog about your leadership experience in the Air Force; it could be the start of a great book.

"Leadership isn't what your mouth says, it's what your ass does!"

The words of the good Colonel Reeves could not be more succintly and passionately said. They're so very true. The simple idea of doing words completely arrested me.

"In business, politics, and life, credibility is great capital to have."

This is another beauty. Thank you.

Judith Ellis said...

CathM - Thanks for popping in. I'm glad these words have meaning for you.

"reminds us of our responsibility to the purposeful use of language"

Love these words. Thanks!

Opaque said...

A very strong line there Judith. Yea, words give our minds wings by serving as tools to convert our imagination to reality.

Judith Ellis said...

Ah, Brosreview, the mind having wings, how thoughtful indeed.

By the way, a HuffPost piece was just published. You asked me to let you know.

Later, my friend.

Opaque said...

@Judith - Yea, thanks for letting me know. By the way, I just received an alert from Huffington post via e-mail.

Judith Ellis said...

Cool!

Anonymous said...

Isn't this why they say the pen is mightier than the sword?

Words can love, hurt, bring joy, grief and...so much :-)

Judith Ellis said...

Nice correlation, Meena.

Words must act.

Anonymous said...

:-)