Paterno's greatest lesson

Penn State's head football coach Joe Paterno died today. He died just two months since the revelation that he did not prevent a child molester, one of his assistant coaches, from abusing young boys on the part of the campus he was responsible for the last 45+ years.

Paterno was fired in disgrace after reports came out about him ignoring witness reports of sexually abusive behavior taking place in the football team's locker room. Paterno himself admitted to not doing enough to prevent further abuse. The university fired him and severed all media and marketing ties with him. Some are saying he died of a broken heart after being so humiliated by the disgrace of his firing from his beloved university.

Since the child molestation crimes of Penn State's former assistant coach and Paterno's knowledge and acceptance of the molestation have become public knowledge, millions of people are angry at Paterno, but he still has some supporters. There are some people who have said today that "we should let the man rest in peace." Others have said they "will show Paterno the kind of peace he showed the children victimized on his watch: none!"

Within the Penn State family, Paterno was treated as a saint and revered as a man of remarkable character. Outside of Penn State, however, stories about his poor character, rudely offensive behavior, and lack of discipline among his teams are common, if not well known. Paterno's reputation within Penn State and outside of it have always been very different. The difference is even more evident since his lack of action to prevent child molestation became public.

In November, just after the assistant coach was arrested, I blogged about Paterno and others being true to who they are. (blog post) I wrote: Live All-In so when you are treated the way you deserve to be, you are treated very well. You are who you are when no one is looking. But, you should look. See yourself.

Now that Paterno has died, I wonder if he ever saw himself for who he really was.

I wonder what went through Paterno's mind during the last few hours of consciousness of his life. I wonder if he prayed and sought forgiveness for allowing the abuse to continue for so many years. I wonder if he hoped his legacy would be the good things he did during his life instead of the revelations of the last two months. I wonder if he was mad at Penn State for severing ties, thinking he didn't deserve it. I wonder if he was at peace with the legacy he leaves behind.

The lesson we can all take from Paterno's death and the recent months is that we should live so the answer about our legacy is clear. And, is desirable.

Whether we're thinking about the legacy of our lives or our departures from our jobs, volunteer leadership positions, or social events, we should live deliberately so there is no doubt about our legacy.

What do you want people to say about you after you leave your current company? Or, department, neighborhood, school, client, networking group, association chapter, or church? If you do not want people cheering your departure, choose your actions accordingly. If you do want people to miss you, remember you fondly, and appreciate your work, choose your actions accordingly.

So, whether you are on a big stage like Paterno was, people in your life will remember you one way or another.

You decide.

Speakers: we've got to do better!

Some young business colleagues posted this video with the caption "this is why we all hate speakers!" Oh, sure, a few bad lecturers give all speakers a bad name. The only way to change that reputation is by being interesting and impactful--not like this video!



What do you think: are the thoughts conveyed here realistic or way off base?

Papa John's culture of crass

Have you seen this Papa John's receipt posted by a customer last weekend?

Note the third line from the bottom where next to "Name" an employee entered "lady chinky eyes". The customer tweeted the picture of her receipt along with "Hey @PapaJohns just FYI my name isn't "lady chinky eyes".

The receipt is from Friday (January 6th), it was tweeted Saturday, and Sunday Papa John's issued an apology on its Facebook page.

"This act goes against our company values, and we've confirmed with the franchisee that this matter was addressed immediately and that the employee is being terminated," the pizza company said on its Facebook page. "We are truly sorry for this customer's experience."

Hey @PapaJohns, firing someone does not address the matter.

Why would an employee think that description was acceptable? 

Clearly there is a culture at Papa John's that enabled that employee to think it was acceptable to post such a crass description of the customer.

Do you think that was the only time such a description was used? And, do you think there was just one employee in the entire Papa John's organization speaking about people that way? Do you think firing that employee means the culture is fixed?

I do not. Firing someone does not align the culture with their values.

I'd like to know what Papa John's is doing, if anything, beyond firing someone. Are they doing anything to retrain customer service people? If so, is the training anything beyond admonishments such as, "Do not type physical descriptions on receipts"? The culture issue extends beyond what the employee typed on the receipt. Hopefully, Papa John's knows that and takes steps to fix it.

What do you think: did Papa John's do enough to address the matter by firing the employee?