Hello and welcome to our 343rd issue of Uncommon Sense, a publication I launched in 2011! The purpose of Uncommon Sense is to shine a light on a variety of issues, hoping to bring clarity and intelligence in areas of self-development, national (and world) affairs, and a variety of salient topics of interest to a wide audience. Let’s see what we have in store for you this go-round.
In the Self-Development column, I explore some ideas around the question of how it is that some great teams operate so well. For many, it seems as if getting a team to gel and perform is like herding cats. I maintain that there is a method to great teamsmanship, and I share some must-dos below.
Bill O’Reilly has been a media force to be reckoned with for quite some time. After stints at CBS, ABC, and Fox News, where he hosted The O’Reilly Factor for over 20 years, and now, with his own cable news broadcast called The No-Spin News, he is one of the most recognizable names in media. He also has co-authored (with Martin Dugard) some of the best-selling non-fiction books as part of The Killing Series, including Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Killing Reagan, Killing the SS, Killing The Rising Sun, Killing The Killers, and many others. I’ve read a number of them, and they are, indeed, riveting! O’Reilly is very familiar with President Trump and speaks to the President directly on occasion. O’Reilly penned an interesting column last month discussing the leadership style of President Trump during his first term in office, and contrasting that with Trump’s approach to leadership during this second term in office. I felt it was an interesting contribution, so I reprint it here in full in The Elephant in the Room column. I hope readers find it enlightening.
Grief is one of those things that hits all of us hard every so often. I offer some perspectives about grief in the From Ara’s Journal column.
The World of Words column brings up the rear with, as usual, a gem of a word to add to your growing vocabulary that will help you express yourself with greater elegance and erudition.
OK, let’s get started.
Ara Norwood
