September 2016
VIDEO OF THE MONTH: Rory Sutherland: Sweat the Small Stuff
  
Rory Sutherland stands at the center of an advertising revolution in brand identities, designing cutting-edge, interactive campaigns that blur the line between ad and entertainment.
From unlikely beginnings as a classics teacher to his current job as Vice Chairman of Ogilvy Group, Rory Sutherland has created his own brand of the Cinderella story.  
  In his Ted Talk:
Mr. Sutherland states "It may seem that big problems require big solutions, but he says "many flashy, expensive fixes are just obscuring better, simpler answers."
           
ARTICLE OF THE MONTH: 33 Ways to Define Leadership

Webster's Dictionary defines leadership as "the power or ability to lead other people," but for most people, there's a lot more to it than that.
 
Ask anyone what it means to be a leader, and you'll likely hear something unique every time. That's because everyone has his or her own idea of what leadership is, but not every boss leads a team the same way. Some people think leadership means guiding other to complete a particular task while others believe it means motivating the members of your team to be their best selves. While the definitions may vary, the general sentiments remain the same: Leaders are people who know how to achieve goals and inspire people along the way.
 
So how do you define leadership? Business News Daily asked business owners, managers and experts to explain what leadership means to them.
 
Here are 33 different ways to define leadership.
The Feiner Points of Leadership by Michael Feiner
Book Review by a TLP Cohort #4 Member

My father was a man of few words. He was known to say "Always lead by example." He set a high standard of morality and personal values, and proceeded to live by them. He expected his children to live by the same standards.
 
Michael Feiner, the author of The Feiner Points of Leadership, has become a successful leader by also setting high moral standards and personal values. The examples of which, based on his high level experience in the corporate world, is broken down into fifty laws that a High Performance Leader should live by.
 
Public Works Departments are often lead by tough, no-nonsense bosses who achieved their success under difficult circumstances. This may pose a challenge to professional relationships. This text reminds us that the most successful way to proceed is to have the courage of your convictions. Use your value based knowledge of the job to present the facts even when they might not be popular.
 
 
Michael Feiner has authored The Feiner Laws of Leadership in a font and format that is easily read and relatable. Although it would be difficult to absorb all the references to leadership in one reading, through real life examples and situations he immediately establishes reoccurring themes and tools that are relatable and can be implemented in day to day operations. A Matrix has been provided at the rear of the text, to reference specific circumstances against the "Laws" which may be the most effective toward resolution.
 
I enjoyed reading this book as much as I learned from reading it, and would recommend it to all leaders.
A Note from Donna Shea: Congratulations to Members of TLP Cohort #3 - Completing Their Final Projects

On August 25th, we had the first of two opportunities for members of TLP Cohort #3 to give the presentations of the outcomes of their final projects.
 
Congratulations to the following members who have successfully completed their projects, great job on your presentations:
 
Peter Kurpeawski - Town of Greenwich
Mark Piccirillo - Town of Madison
Paul Holmes - CT Department of Transportation
 
On September 22nd, many more of the TLP cohort members will give their presentations, we are looking forward to learning from all of their hard works.
 
Sincerely,
Donna Shea
Director - Technology Transfer Center
Addition to the T2 Center's Leadership Library

Based on the recommendation of one of the TLP Cohort Members, we have added the following publication to the Transportation Leadership Lending Library.
 

Management Recipes for Success
Taking Public Works Managers and Leaders from Potluck to Gourmet
American Public Works Association.

We have six copies available for loan. Give us a call if you would like to borrow a copy.

"Every job is a portrait of the person who did it... Make yours a masterpiece." - Unknown
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