From Franklin to Lincoln

On Tuesday, I shared some of my thoughts on writer Jonathan Shapiro’s new book, How to Be Abe Lincoln. However, you’ll notice the image on today’s post is Benjamin Franklin. That’s because Shapiro points out that Lincoln “read with a purpose,” and Franklin had much to teach. (I also like the imagery of Lincoln’s portrait on our smallest denomination and Franklin’s on our largest.)

One can find many commentaries on Franklin’s 13 Virtues, but Lincoln focused on five themes he saw exemplified in Franklin’s life: Hard work, Common sense, Thrift, Respect of others, and Duty to serve the community.

As business leaders, or family members, or community leaders, these character traits serve all of us well. I often see these values reflected in purpose-driven organizations that deliver sustainable results over time, and that demonstrate strong work-place cultures. The two – great results from great cultures – often go hand in glove.

Shapiro’s observations remind me that the more we read, the more we learn. The more we learn, the more we can teach. The more we teach, the better the people and the teams around us.

To learn more about how we can teach and develop your teams, contact us at the CMO Syndicate.

About The CMO Syndicate

The CMO Syndicate is a diverse group of world-class Chief Marketing Officers who rapidly solve growth and profit problems for CEOs, VCs, CMOs, and PE firms. As global CMOs from the world’s top companies, The CMO Syndicate is not a traditional marketing consulting agency, and we are not typical marketing or growth consultants. We are growth experts and operators who actually do the work on a part-time or project basis as outsourced fractional and interim CMOs.