By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to help you appreciate the value of manual labor. Reading time 2:15

The dichotomy was strident: a pristine well-polished, manicured politician vs. a grimy, scrappy dirty-finger nailed coal miner. And the leader is? Yep you guessed it – the coal miner.

Even John F. Kennedy –the well manicured politician—learned something about emotional intelligence in particular and personal leadership in general from that coal miner — a lesson that all leaders need to heed:

Don’t judge a book by its cover.

It happened during the 1960 presidential campaign. Kennedy met the coal miner one day during a campaign swing in West Virginia.

Kennedy wore his $1,000 suit and a $100 haircut . The coal miner wore ragged overalls and coal dust smudges on his face that could not cover the wrinkles of working in the mines all his life. Continue reading “Choking On a Silver Spoon” →