Taking a Closer Look at Integrity

For the past several days, I watched the horrors at Penn State University unfold with a heavy heart. My parents both graduated there as did my sisters and scores of other family members and friends. Academically, PSU is one of the nation's great learning centers and still is. The cloud that has now covered the entire school is tragic at many levels but especially because of the fact no one stopped a predator from destroying so many young lives.

As a child, I remember my grandfather, who had zero interest in football, placing a petition in the entrance of his small clothing store about 20 miles west of the school asking Joe Paterno to not leave for the NFL. I asked him why this was so important and he told me it was because Joepa meant so much to the local economy and there was not a better man with higher mral standards (something my granfather was very big on) to be found.

My dad and I spent countless Saturdays in NJ struggling to get the radio broadcasts from Happy Valley so we could follow the legend of Joepa. My daughter was 2 weeks old when she sat in my lap as I tried to get her to understand the greatness of this program as they demolished U. of Cincinnati on 9/1/1990.

For years, I defined integrity as Joe Paterno and PSU Football and have always defended the program when others tried to challenge it. High graduation records, swift correction of disciplinary issues, refusing to pour it on when playing lesser opponents, all signs of high integrity, or at least that is what I thought.

What I have learned this past week is that no one is perfect. No one can go through life without making mistakes. Accountability is essential at all levels. Whistle blowing is essential to a safe and healthy workplace and should not be frowned upon. All employers, public, private, governmental need to be held to a higher level and looked at through a more powerful microscope than ever before. We all need to taka our jobs even more seriously than most of us now do and demand higher levels of integretity from our organizations and ourselves.

Some Very Random Thoughts

A few may have noticed I have been quiet of late. Battling annoyng bronchitis is the main reason for my disappearance as it has been tough putting intelligible sentences together. One thing about lack of sleep, restlessness, coughing, etc. is that may random thoughts move through my mind. What follows are a sampling what has been spinning past me of late.

Retirement used to mean somewhere between 65 and 70 years old, people packed up their offices and headed to the golf course, a condo in Florida, or perhaps a life of fishing in the Poconos. I guess that is not so anymore. NJ native Jack McKeon just came out of his semi-retirement at age 80 to serve as interim manager of the Florida Marlin baseball team, claiming he feels good enough to coach another 15 years. Joe Paterno, the 85 year old living legend with the Penn State Nittany Lions now skypes with his football recruits and has told them he expects to coach another 4-5 years.

Getting elected to Congress, the role of Governor, etc. once was held in high regard. Folks like Anthony Weiner and Elliot Spitzer, to name just a few, have certainly changed that perspective. I imagine lot of young prospects are thinking twice before making runs for high profile elected positions.

As small businesses are gradually being replaced by branches of nationally owned companies, I worry about the future of customer service. How could a pharmacy chain that regularly changes change the staff in each branch, possibly know the medical quirks of its customers? There was a time when we could walk into the local branch bank, realize we forgot our ID's or account information and be treated like a friend, not an adversary.

I guess that is enough ranting for one day as it is time for some rest, fluids, and antibiotics.

Public Perception

After watching too much football of late, I am deviating from the norm today to look at how the public perceives people through some personal observations dealing with college football coaches.

Urban Meyer has been highly successful where he has coached and I think the University of Florida would have been happy to keep him around for many decades. Last season he had some health issues and almost stepped down. This season, he found himself tired and missing the time he should be spending with his wife and 3 children so he resigned. Rumors have him doing some part-time work for ESPN but nothing at anywhere near the magnitude of a D-1 football program. He put his family and health ahead of his ego and preserved his future if he ever wants to return.

Dave Wannstadt was a fiery NFL coach who came back to his roots to coach at the University of Pittsburgh. While there, he forced several touted recruits (Joe Flacco-now an NFL QB for one) out to make room for his style of athlete. Most of his work backfired and now he is publicly stating he is angry at Pitt for forcing him to resign.

Pitt's new hire, Mike Hayward, came with only 2 unimpressive years as a head coach at a smaller school but with lots of talk about improving the discipline, GPA's, and dress codes of his players. Less than 3 weeks after being hired, he spent a night in jail before posting bail on a felony charge of domestic aggravated assault. Pitt fired him a few hours later.

George O'Leary was hired several years back to revive Notre Dame's slumping football program after some successful years in the Big 12. He was fired a few weeks later for falsifying his resume and has struggled to regain respect in the coaching world taking low paying assistant coaching jobs before making his way to the University of Central Florida.

Finally, there is Joe Paterno who just completed his 45Th season as head coach at Penn State, 60Th overall at PSU. 'Joepa' has never changed one thing about his approach to coaching, always putting integrity of himself, his staff, his athletes, his family and the university ahead of winning. Albeit a tough loss yesterday, he has taken his teams to 37 bowl games in 45 years. His graduates have become classically trained musicians, noted surgeons, politicians, corporate presidents, educators, and yes, football coaches and athletic directors. Those who got in trouble got a second chance but he strongly adheres to two strikes and you are out.

These contrasting stories could easily transfer to any profession. As 2011 begins, I urge you to take a good hard look at yourself and make sure you represent the type of person you really want to be!