I recently came across an interesting document titled Standards in Public Life. It’s a 1995 report from the Nolan Committee and was commissioned by British Prime Minister John Major to

“…examine current concerns about standards of conduct of all holders of public office, including arrangements relating to financial and commercial activities, and make recommendations as to any changes in present arrangements which might be required to ensure the highest standards of propriety in public life.”

As part of its recommendations the committee felt it necessary to restate some general principles of conduct. These 7 principles serve as an excellent guide for not just public servants but for everyone in a position of responsibility. They are:

These are not new concepts, of course, but they definitely merit review in the context of how we lead our lives and manage our affairs. I know I struggle with some of them on a regular basis, and I’d be willing to bet that you do, too.

And don’t even get me started on the vast majority of our current crop of politicians….

We’re working hard behind the scenes preparing to roll out the new functions, new features, new look and new focus that I told you about in the previous post. We hope to make the transition as smooth as possible, but there’s bound to be a few hiccups along the way. Please bear with us as we fine tune thing and by all means let me know if you come across any glitches that we may have missed.

If you navigate here using the www.dougpetch.com url you’ll know when we’ve made the change as that address will take you to a new start page. Not to worry, though - there will be an easy to find link to my online journal. Feel free, though, to take a look at all the shiny new stuff before you jump on over to the journal. On the other hand, I really don’t know what will happen if you attempt to use the current journal URL (www.dougpetch.com/weblog). I’ll post an update once we sort that out, but if all else fails, just go to www.dougpetch.com and follow the journal link from there. Finally, if you subscribe to the site feed I’m hoping that you won’t even notice it when we throw the switch, but I’ll provide updates as that moment draws closer just in case. Of course, just because you subscribe to the feed doesn’t mean you can’t stop by the site to check out the changes….

I’ve been dropping hints for the last month or so that something big is afoot around here. I haven’t been very active with posting lately, either, leading a few of you to ask me what’s up. I’m finally at a point that I’m comfortable in going public with the news that I quit my day job and am striking out on my own as a speaker and voice talent.

(Dramatic Pause)

Ok, so that may not be big news to you but it’s a pretty big leap for someone who has enjoyed the security of steady employment for the last 30 years or so. I’m as excited and as apprehensive as I’ve ever been about a career move, but I’m also confident that this is the right move at the right time.

As a speaker I’ll be concentrating on the topics of leadership, communication and personal effectiveness through keynote presentations, workshops and seminars. After 20-plus years in the military - not to mention my educational background and varied private-sector work experience - I think I’ve learned a thing or two about these topics that I can share with others. The voice talent side of things is, in my opinion, a natural outgrowth of my public speaking. I plan to be active in radio and TV station imaging and identification, commercials and narrations.

What’s all this mean to you? Simply stated, you can expect to see some changes around here in the days and weeks ahead as we retool dougpetch.com to support my new career direction. It should be fun and I hope you’ll stick around to enjoy the ride with me. You can be sure that my online journal will survive the transition and who knows - I may even pick up the posting pace….

My previous post centered on what I labeled as a snarky comparison of Judge Lance Ito to Judge Larry Seidlin.  Now I have a question for you - was my observation disrespectful to the judges, the courts in general, or my readers?  If it was, why do you believe so and if it wasn’t, at what point does a snarky observation cross the line and become disrespectful?

The temptation is just too great - I’ve got to take a break from some ongoing projects to make a rather, umm, snarky observation. Having had the Anna Nicole Smith circus hearing on as background noise for the last day or so I can’t help but believe that Judge Lance Ito is absolutely giddy over Judge Larry Seidlin’s courtroom performance.  I wonder if Jay Leno is considering an updated version of Dancing Itos?

Here’s a thought - in place of the advocacy journalism that seems to be de rigueur of late, why not give us both sides of an issue and let us decide for ourselves what we believe.  Maybe we could start with the hot topic du jour, global climate change.  I would love to find a legacy media source that provides a balanced look at that topic, to include a discussion of why, 30-some years ago, we were worried about global cooling as opposed to the current concern over global warming.

I long ago developed the habit of waking up at 4:30 a.m. It’s a habit born of necessity - my unit’s physical training program started mighty early - but maintained out of an appreciation for how it shapes my day. It’s amazing how much can be accomplished in a few very quiet hours in the morning. On most days I’m able to catch up on the latest news, analysis and opinion, clean up any stray email I may have missed the previous day and generally lay the groundwork for a productive day.

an early and structured start to the day provides a much needed opportunity for study, exercise and reflection.Now that I’m in the middle of a major personal and professional shift I’m seriously thinking about moving my wake-up call to 5:30 a.m. I would enjoy the extra hour of sleep (or maybe be able to stay up an hour later each day to enjoy the company of my wife) and, I believe, still manage to effectively jump start my day. And, it turns out, I would be aligned with a number of successful business leaders who find that the first few (early) hours of the morning are critical to setting the tone for a productive day. As Jim Citrin discovered when he surveyed 20 top executives, an early and structured start to the day provides a much needed opportunity for study, exercise and reflection.

So, how about you? Do you like to get the most out of your day with an early start, or do you think that some extra time in bed is more beneficial? And regardless of when you get up, what specific morning routines have you developed to set the stage for a productive day?

(thanks, Bert)

UPDATE:  Post modified with the addition of a pull quote.

Jeff Jarvis riffs on the internet as a Society 2.1 enabler in what should be a must-read post for anyone hoping to understand the impact, influence and importance of the internet.

So, what are you waiting for? Click the link already….