A collection of lessons dedicated to those willing to dream the impossible while seeking the improbable,
to those willing to reach for the stars when establishing their reality,
to those who would accept what could be as a destination rather than being content to live life within what is,
to those willing to innovate as they fulfill their dreams,
to those accepting the responsibility for individual accomplishment within a world that too often rewards the accomplishments of society,
to those accepting the responsibility of initiating change within a world that too often rewards stability and the status quo,
to those accepting the responsibilities of leadership within a world that too often shifts blame and seeks credit,
to those accepting the responsibilities of life within a world that too often rewards the way things are (or have been) rather than what they could be if only.
A book of thoughts to help identify the passages that lead from here to there that give hope to those having lost their way during the journey, and a book that provides support to those in need.
Über den Autor
David J. Smith, CAE, president and CEO of the Employers’ Association
I have provided practical HR solutions promoting operational excellence to members of the Employers’ Association since 1989. During this time, I have developed more than five hundred compensation administration plans throughout the United States, focusing on total compensation, including benefits, stock ownership, and bonus program design, so organizations can attract and retain talent. Additionally, I conduct seminars on wage/salary administration, performance management, and recognizing (and rewarding) generational differences in the workplace. Having previously worked in labor relations, safety, recruitment, and operations management, my travels into the world of leadership and human resources have been upon winding and twisting paths.
I look at business through a poet’s eyes. Though writing is not my livelihood, it makes up a large part of my life. Having grown up in a small community in the Midwest, I spent hours in the woods, by lakes, near streams, sharing creation with a handful of close friends through the eyes of an innocent child. When others saw danger in storms, I saw awesome power. Where others sensed fear in being alone, I focused on the subtleties of life that present themselves only in the silence of solitude, on the motion of the wind, on the power of the sea as it pounded upon a seemingly secure shoreline, on the current of a stream as it swept away a child’s dreams, on the depths of emotions, on living within a dream while reaching out toward an undetermined destiny. A product of parents that nurtured my creativity, encouraging me to pursue my love of the arts and the sciences, many of my early writings were about feelings, thoughts, and perceptions.
I graduated from Hope College with majors in chemistry and psychology then took further studies in pharmaceutical chemistry (Purdue University) and attended the Thomas M. Cooley School of Law. I have achieved the designation certified association executive, been accepted into both the national and international Who’s Who Registry of Business Professionals, and been recognized as one of America’s best poets. I contribute to and edit the Employers’ Association newsletter (Executive Update), publish a blog (Dave’s Deliberations), and have written for both the Grand Rapids Business Journal (People Matters) and Mi Biz (the Human Factor). Over time, my fascination with nature and passion for life prompted me to write poems, thoughts, and perceptions about the simplicity—and complexity—of life, leadership, and change. While my poems have been published in several national anthologies, Pathways and Passages to Leadership is my first published collection. Should those who share my feelings on life, leadership, achievement, change, and the realization of dreams embrace these writings, it will not be my last.
Sit back and ponder life as you read this volume, a collection of thoughts from the soul of a dreamer living within a business-oriented world. Study the passages in both word and picture as you make the transition from “does” to “leader, ” or simply seek affirmation or confirmation of the position to which you have arrived.
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