1: The phone rang around midnight as Martin Luther King Jr. was getting ready for bed. It was January 27th, 1956, “the most important night of his life,” says Martin’s Pulitzer-winning biographer, David Garrow, “the one he would always think back to in future years when the pressures again seemed too great.” The man on the other end of the phone called Martin the N-word and told him, “We are tired of you and your…
1: The greatest American civil rights leader was at first an unwilling one. In September 1954, Martin Luther King Jr. was 25 years old. He had just completed studying for his doctorate at Boston University. He and his wife Coretta moved to Montgomery, Alabama to realize his career goal of becoming a pastor. A little more than a year later, on November 17th, their first child, Yolanda, was born. “Around the same time, the Montgomery…
1: The date was June 4, 1940. Nazi Germany was on the verge of victory over France. The situation was desperate. Prime Minister Winston Churchill had to prepare the British people for a momentous challenge ahead. “We shall fight in France. We shall fight on the seas and oceans. We shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches. We…
Last Monday, we celebrated the birthday of one of my favorite Americans, Martin Luther King, Jr. Fifty years later, his “I have a dream speech” continues to inspire us toward a better future, to become a better country. As leaders, we should take note: vision is powerful, one of the most powerful tools in our leadership tool belt. This week we’re exploring five lessons from PCI ‘s 100 years which have allowed us to survive and…