Reflections from "An Afternoon with Supreme Court of the U.S. Justice Sonia Sotomayor" at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh; Ethics in a Tangled Web, December 8, 2018

Kip Currier; Reflections from "An Afternoon with Supreme Court of the U.S. Justice Sonia Sotomayor" at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh

 

"Life is about differences and how we manage them." -- Justice Sonia Sotomayor

That was just one of the many practical insights from a refreshingly grounded conversation that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor--one of the storied nine from the highest court in the land--had Friday afternoon with an audience of several thousand at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Indeed, after taking roughly three questions each from Duquesne President Ken Gormley and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Marjorie Rendell while seated with them on the stage of the A.J. Palumbo Center, the sciatica-battling (by her candid admission!) Justice Sotomayor literally descended from the stage--flanked by hypervigilant security--to wander amongst the audience, randomly shaking hands while responding to questions from eight Duquesne students. Toward the end of the impromptu walk-about, the Justice spotted one young girl dressed in judge's robes as Justice Sotomayor herself, observing with audible delight that her mini-me "even has the curly hair!"

I'll post the video of the event that Duquesne said they will be making available, as soon as it's released.

Some of the most powerful, relatable moments came when Justice Sotomayor shared the doubts that she faced about whether to continue with the nomination process, following her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court by former President Barack Obama, in the face of attacks by opponents. She spoke of fear as being "the greatest obstacle to success", that "most of the time we fail to take chances", and the importance of taking a chance at something new and different that comes our way, even when we are afraid. And the pride that comes with trying to do that which we fear. Even if we fail. "Failure is a teaching tool", she noted, adding that we often grow the most from the introspection we do after a failed relationship. After we've critiqued the other person, she interjected, eliciting a swell of knowing laughter from the audience.

Other advice from the Justice, along this line of discussion:

It takes courage to admit your own limitations.

Get over your fear and ask the questions you need to ask; go to someone safe and ask the questions you need to ask.

Being too comfortable "may be the worst thing in life."

Sometimes opportunities come your way and you have to be open enough that you throw out the playbook and try something. Create a new playbook on the spot; what really stellar attorneys do, for example, she opined.

On the importance of college, Justice Sotomayor shared that "college gave me the foundation of a liberal arts education." "I wanted to be a citizen of the world." And she spoke of "the foundation" that courses in art, philosophy, and religion gave her for life, encouraging students to "take courses that will teach you something new". And how she wished that she had taken anthropology, and would someday, when she retired. The Justice stated that "the beauty of college is becoming a well-rounded human being" and that "the Founding Fathers were well-educated world citizens".

The line that started this post--"life is about differences and how we handle them"--was a response to President Gormley's question "How do we take the lead in restoring civil discourse?", invoking the recent trauma that Pittsburgh had experienced from the Tree of Life synagogue massacre. The Justice spoke of encouraging open conversation, understanding why the other side feels the way they do. And, turning to President Gormley, she said that if you (meaning higher education institutions like Duquesne) can teach that to students like those at the event, "you can teach it to the world." 

One of the very last observations that Justice Sotomayor shared will particularly warm the heart of any teacher, librarian, bibliophile and writer:  

"Reading was the key to my success."

So 2 Goats Were Stuck On A Beam Under A Bridge ...; NPR, Goats and Soda, April 6, 2018

Marc Silver, NPR, Goats and Soda; So 2 Goats Were Stuck On A Beam Under A Bridge ...

[Kip Currier: Amidst many "heavy" and thorny ethics-related stories/topics lately, here's a feel-good story about compassion, ingenuity, and persistence, from right here in Western Pennsylvania.
--May make your palms sweat a bit, picturing these unshrinking Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Samaritans and two plucky goats...]

""The initial plan was to try and separate the goats so we could could grab the goat facing the wrong way and turn it around," McCarthy says. But the white goat wasn't cooperating.

"I said, 'I'm going for it,' " he recalls. "I grabbed the goat as tight as I could." And he lifted it into the bucket.

The white goat was deposited on the bridge and handed over to its owner's son. McCarthy then tapped the beam with a pole to encourage the brown goat to make its way back.

Asked about the possible cost of the rescue, Tilson says, "We didn't even calculate it. We were just trying to be a good neighbor and get the goats back safely."

McCarthy is a happy man. "In this day and age, when things can go terribly wrong," he says, "it was great to see things go right."

His success is a testimony to a value that is sometimes lost in our quick-attention-span age: persistence.

"There was no way," he says, "I was letting go of that goat."

Meanwhile, no word on how the goats are faring, but I'm sure they would agree with a classic proverb from Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav: "The whole world is a very narrow bridge; the important thing is not to be afraid.""

Corner Office, Interview with Aaron Levie, co-founder and C.E.O. of Box.net, an online file storage company; New York Times, 7/25/10

Adam Bryant, Corner Office, New York Times; Interview with Aaron Levie, co-founder and C.E.O. of Box.net, an online file storage company: Always Keep a Few Tricks Up Your Sleeve:

"Q. Talk about the culture of your company.

A. Everyone has a start-up mentality still, and we’re small enough where you get the right kind of energy and dedication, so everyone feels really a part of what we’re doing. People are able to question each other about strategies, whether they’re in marketing, engineering or product.

We try to keep it fairly low on hierarchy. Everyone is encouraged to be entrepreneurial and people tend to be extremely passionate, but it’s not about taking credit or being arrogant about what we’re doing.

We’ve been able to do away with just a lot of the corporate kind of things that I think slow down organizations and don’t result in productive behavior, and instead we’ve been able to get a lot of people focused on really having a good time, which helps us stay fast and innovative. And I think that ultimately is the only reason that people even want to go to work or want to stay in business — to have a good time while collaborating to accomplish a big vision.

Q. So what are some specifics?

A. We had our first ever “hackathon” at Box a few months ago. The engineering team pulled an all-nighter, from 8 p.m. until noon the next day, on projects outside their daily job description.

We then had a judging panel at lunch, and the entire company got to watch the engineers present some amazing new features. It was fun and people goofed off but it was also really inspiring, and I think it brought the whole group together.

Q. What were some important leadership lessons for you?

A. In middle school, I did magic shows. It actually applies to what I’m doing now because it’s all about getting in front of people and telling a story, something that people buy into that is hopefully entertaining. It’s all about capturing people’s imaginations and getting them excited about what’s possible.

Q. What about as a C.E.O.?

A. I think a big jump was to managing or helping the managers of the people doing most of the hands-on work on projects — being one degree away from the action and figuring out and understanding what that means in terms of leadership.

Q. And what does that mean?

A. As much as I would love to be involved in every single decision that gets made in the organization, not only is that not scalable, it’s also not leveraging or capitalizing on the amazing experience of the people that we have on the team. It’s really hard to let the details go. Every sort of decision is really interesting. So you come up with a big goal, and hopefully everyone comes together to figure out how to accomplish it.

Q. Talk more about that process.

A. I’ve made some mistakes in terms of getting involved at the wrong level of the problem or the wrong time. I’ll think I’m speeding things up by saying, “Oh, let’s just solve it that way,” but then it turns out I’m slowing things down because I’m breaking a healthy system that’s emerging.

Q. Let’s talk about hiring.

A. One thing that’s really important is understanding what they’ve done in their career. Just walk me through how you got to where you are today. What are the factors that led to specific decisions — that can give you a level of insight into behavior and how they make decisions. One thing that I’m asking now is to talk about a project or job — “What could you have done differently to do that bigger or get more revenue or execute better?” You see if they can look back on their decisions and find out where they could have improved.

Energy and persistence are the two most important factors, in addition to just having a clean résumé where there’s nothing crazy going on. In a business like ours, we have to be super, super competitive, and we have to be able to get people who are going to be persistent and relentless and have a level of energy that gets them through challenging things.

Curiosity is another big thing and a way to identify who’s going to be energetic and have the right attitude. Sometimes the best people are the ones who are very curious about our business model, how we’re going to grow. They actually care a lot about us as a company; that’s actually been a pretty good way to find people who are going to be really dedicated to the business.

And ultimately, we’re looking to hire people who can adapt to what a role might become, not just what it is today. When you’re at a start-up, things move and scale very quickly, and you want to hire people who can grow with the company and into roles that expand beyond the job description they were hired for.

Q. If you could ask a job candidate just a few questions, what would they be?

A. “What questions do you have for me?” That will help you see how they’re thinking about the challenges. A lot of times I’ll say, “When you’re thinking about Box as an opportunity, how do you compare it to other organizations? What do we have that you want to be a part of?” Getting them to articulate the values back to you about what kind of organization they want to be a part of can actually be very useful.

Q. What advice would you give to somebody who’s about to become a C.E.O.?

A. I think people are always able to achieve more than they think they can. While that’s cliché, I don’t know if managers think about that enough. You have to set your sights extremely high.
We often go through a process of thinking about the best way to execute on something, whether it’s a product launch or a sales strategy, then come back again after a day or two and figure out how can we do this even bigger or better. It often leads to better decisions and ideas.

It’s also important to know where your gaps are and what resources you need. So, one thing that I often do with my co-founder is to look at the organization and figure out what we’re missing, where our gaps are, where our weaknesses are, and then how do we solve for those things. We know our strengths, and sometimes it’s important to look at your strengths. That way, you sort of continue to push on those and invest in those areas. But it’s really important that you constantly know why you wouldn’t succeed, and what you need to do to change that.

Feedback is really critical, too. The day you notice there are challenges or issues, you get involved — don’t let things boil up.

I think bad politics are incredibly dangerous, so it’s important to make sure that people are communicating well. Culture and morale are super important. It’s best to not force it, but let it happen organically and genuinely. It certainly helps if you know a couple magic tricks, but if you don’t, then there are other things you can do.

Q. Given your experience with magic, I take it you’re comfortable in front of a crowd. What was the biggest crowd you played to?

A. Probably about 400 people. It was a corporate event. I did corporate parties and stuff when I was 11 or 12 years old.

Q. How much did you charge?

A. About $300. We’re making more money now, so I’m very happy about that."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/business/25corner.html?pagewanted=2