12-year Learfield engineering veteran, Jim Foucault, retired today. The occasion was celebrated in Jefferson City with a cake and nice words from his boss, Charlie Peters.

In other Learfield news, the Jefferson City ladies lunched at the Country Club in celebration of, well, Spring. It was a time to be together and laugh.

And Bob Priddy and I dined with an old friend, Jim Steele, publisher of the Fayette Advertiser and Democrat Leader. [PHOTO]

–clyde

Maybe ten years ago a Learfielder came to me admitting he’d altered a broadcast log which caused us to mis-bill an advertiser.  It was his only transgression, he admitted his failing and today he–and Learfield–are better for it!  He’s a valued employee and does a great job for us.  In another situation we had a top-notch producer who had an anger problem that repeated counseling couldn’t cure.  We had to part company.

One of Learfield’s values reads:  Understanding that technical competence is no substitute for personal character. Character failures surround us:  Tiger Woods, Gov. Mark Sanford to name two.  And I’d admit to you that I fail each and every day and you probably do as well.  At home and at work.

I write this today following a post just yesterday about contrition.   They go hand-in-hand.  You work at Learfield because you’re very good at what you do.  We all have our jobs and I’d put our people up against any other company in America!  Together we’re really great!  Yet, among our family we’re going to have character failures.  So, let’s resolve to bring them to the light and swiftly work on them.  You can do so privately and confidentially through our H-R department.  If you choose, no one will ever know.  Do it now.

–clyde

Dave South (PxP for Texas A&M) sent around his daily thought this morning.  It was about the importance of forgiving people.  For me, this is a continuing struggle.  It isn’t that I hold grudges, it is that I almost always think I’m right.  I wrote a post on this on March 2, 2009 and suggest you re-read it today.  Thanks, Dave!

–clyde

Two Learfielders are in Haiti helping with relief efforts:  Greg Brown and Joshua Madden.  Give attention to Greg’s blog for frequent updates.  They’re very interesting.  Pics too!

Be in prayer for their safety and mostly that they are both impactful and inpacted!!

–clyde

We had two of our grandkids this weekend.  It’s always fun until dinnertime; when it can be a battle to get them to eat–and to eat what we’re having for dinner!  But also this weekend I was reading a book from Pritikin–the nutrition people–and had an “ahaa”.

“When a child doesn’t finish his or her food, that child is probably just no longer hungry.  You should give your child a hug and leave it at that.”

When we insist that our grandchildren (or children) finish all the food on their plates, we are really telling them “grow up to be big and strong at 20 and have a coronary bypass operation at age 50.”  We’re contributing to childhood obesity.

–clyde

I DO love St. Louis:  The Cards, the Blues, The Hill, The Symphony, the Zoo, Shaw’s Gardens, Clayton, Tony’s, picturesque neighborhoods and home to a number of America’s leading companies.  A-B used to be one of those.  When InBev of Belgium bought the storied beer biz last year there were promises nothing would change.

This week the St. Louis Business Journal reports that these execs for AB have moved to New York City:  The CEO, The CFO, The CIO, the chief legal officer, the chief marketing officer, the chief H-R person, the chief communications officer, the chief procurement officer, the chief strategy and sales officer and the chief supply officer.  And lots more.  Oh, there are “zone” officers still on Pestalozzi Street and of course the brewery is still there.  But the brains are near the financial Capital of America.  Too bad for Missouri.  And too bad for St. Louis.

Sue and I escaped Washington Friday morning ahead of any snow; one of the last planes out of Reagan. We were there all last week at the National Prayer Breakfast. Some highlights for us:

President Obama: urged civility in public discourse. I couldn’t agree more and most of the three-thousand-plus there for breakfast agreed too. We absolutely must work on being civil and understanding, liking a person, even when we don’t agree with his/her policy.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: was the featured speaker. She did very well, re-living her Methodist heritage and her growth in her faith. She recalled friends—many of opposite politics—who came to her aid spiritually when she and Bill were having difficulties during his presidency. Those women continue to meet in a small group.

Os Guinness, author and social critic, spoke to a small group of CEOs. It was my first time to hear him, although I’d read several of his articles. Have ordered The Case for Civility.

Ken Blanchard spoke to the same group Thursday morning. His books on leadership (The One Minute Manager and others) are convincing in thoughts on parallelism between strong, effective leadership and the servant leadership of Jesus.

At Thursday’s leadership luncheon we sat with an older couple from the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Channel Islands: The Hon. Terry LeSueur,  Prime Minister of the some 90-thousand residents. And he was one of over a hundred countries represented many by heads of state.  LeSueur was probably the tiniest…nation…represented at the breakfast.

Our friends from my previously-visited “down-under” hosted a hospitality suite; good seeing Jock and Bev Cameron, Tim and Helen Pickles; John Sax, and others;

Dom, Rob, Chase, Bryant, James and Blazer—this year’s National Interns who aided in the Missouri Forum last month—were among the 500 volunteers who give their time to the event.  And we saw young folks from many years of hosting them at Saddlebrooke; neat to meet their wives and hear about their successes.

Steve and Lynette Hughes’ daughter, Amy, got engaged to Alex Braden who joined his future father-in-law, and some eight of us at Shelly’s Cigar Bar downtown Tuesday.

Sue and I helped Steve and Cheryl South love on business executives new to the breakfast;

Had lunch with entrepreneur and Maryland Governor Candidate, Brian Murphy, who’s marketing 10-layer cakes and a shave oil.

It was a full and fun week. If you ever want to attend, let me hear from you.

–clyde

Two years ago when Sue and I were on a cruise ship, I thought it would be a treat to get a real shave from a barber.  As a kid, I remember watching the barber prepare the beard with a hot towel, then using the chair-side strop, sharpening the razor before ever-so-gently drawing the blade across face and neck of the customer.  So my first experience on the Holland America Line a few years back was absorbing.

And, my barber recommended that when I shaved at home I use shaving oil instead of shave cream or gel.  I’d never heard of shave oil, but I took home a sample bottle to try.  Let me recommend it.  There are lots of benefits–primary of which is it gives a much closer shave therefore there’s not a late-afternoon shadow.  Shave oil eliminates shave burns and razor bumps.  So, I’m hooked and highly recommend you try it.

–clyde

This is the man who founded Walmart and regarded as maybe America’s most successful business entrepreneur.  And, he came to my office one day.  How’d that happen?

The link is my assistant, Jan Prenger.  Jan, you see, was Sam’s executive assistant when the Prenger family lived in Bentonville, Ark.  Jan’s husband, Mike, was a banker there.  When they moved back home to Missouri, Jan needed a job and I needed an assistant.  So there you go.

One day soon after we’d moved into our new building Jan told me that “Mr. Sam” was coming to Jefferson City that day and asked me if I’d like to meet him?  WOW! That would be a bigger deal for me than if the President of the US were coming. Mr. Walton flew his own plane into little Jefferson City airport; Jan picked him up; they went to a quick lunch at a local diner; then out to our place.  I was SO excited.

Walton was born in Oklahoma but really grew up in Missouri: high school at Columbia Hickman, and then the University of Missouri, where he was an athlete and a scholar and a member of Beta Theta Pi.  I’d recommend you read one of the many biographies about this man.  He was in town to visit the new Supercenter that had just opened.  After our meeting he was going by to visit.  He said he would just walk around unannounced looking it over.  But just in case they didn’t eventually recognize him, he had a Walmart baseball cap and an employee badge that simply said “Sam”.

One story of that day which says tons about this conservative guy:  On the way out I proudly showed off our new building, particularly the classy conference room.  He inquired if I’d gotten value returned for what I’d invested in expensive wall covering and furniture.  ”Of course not,” I responded.  And he wisely retorted:  ”then you paid too much.”

Mr Sam died in 1992.  Call or e-mail Jan if you want to hear more about this man of legend.

–clyde