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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL Initiative, improvement in your organization Over the past six months, I’ve per formed health assess ments in a variety of organi zations. The leaders who ask me to conduct this intervention realize that the organiza tions are not making the progress that is possible. If their organizations were characterized by extensive initiative and improvement, they’d be handling many new opportunities. It’s not every day that organizations have an out sider come in and talk with employees about the quality of their leaders, about how reliable their operations are, and about how they might improve their culture, rela tionships and results. Though I ask about what is working well, human nature How to handle domestic violence Dear Mr. Rockefeller, I reported my boyfriend for abuse because we were fighting. Now I want to withdraw the charges but the police insist on keeping it open. What can I do? Dear Reader, Your question is particularly timely, given that October was Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I have two questions for you - Why did you fight and why do you want to withdraw the charges? Domestic violence, as dis cussed last week, is a pat tern of abuse, as opposed to a one-time incident. I suspect your boyfriend has probably been abusing you for several months, since the abuse has escalated to a physical level. Maybe you NEED these charges fully prosecuted to protect you from him? I asked, “Why did you fight?” to figure out if you started the fight or if you just feel this way because you are trapped in an abu sive relationship and it has diminished your sense of self-worth? Exploring why things hap pened, and looking at your own behavior, will help you figure out what to do. If you genuinely started things, you might need counseling to figure out why you acted inappropriately; if you only feel that you did, you might need counseling to break out of the cycle of violence. If she last comment is true, I am particularly concerned for you. Breaking a cycle of violence is extremely diffi cult for a survivor. You are probably isolated, as your boyfriend has told you that your mother is selfish and only wants to hurt you, that your friends are immoral harpies, and that all you should need is his love. He plies you to adopt this Local student attends camp Special to the Journal Amy A. Davidson attended the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Aerospace and Technology Honors Camp at Arizona State University and Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix. The Air Force has nine other approved Aerospace and Technology Honors Camp sites for the high school cadets attending in 2006. Cadets attending the camps are in the top one percent of 110,000 Junior ROTC cadets worldwide; only 500 cadets were selected and actually attended the honors camps. Selection of students/ cadets to attend the honors camp is very competitive. They must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0, be rising sophomores, juniors or seniors enrolled in col lege-prep mathematics and science courses, have lead ership ability, demonstrated an interest in pursuing tech nical and aerospace-related careers, and be U.S. citizens. She is the daughter of Angie W. Davidson of Habersham Lane, Perry. tends to cause employees to focus on the things that could be better. After a day of interviews, I am often surprised at two things. First, there is usually a nagging problem or two that several people identify. These situations often affect many people and reduce pro ductivity, quality or reliabil ity. The conditions seem to have been tolerated for quite some time. Second, employees tell me about situations within their own areas of responsibil ity that could be improved, but are also being tolerated. Often, the individual has every right and authority to tackle this problem and eliminate it, yet no initiative has been taken. I remember reading in attitude of isolation with meaningless platitudes (right before telling you how worthless you are) and with simple gestures you take as love, like buying you flowers or a puppy, but which are only gifts to bribe you into joining him in a sick rela tionship. Perhaps you feel have no one to turn to for advice. This sense of aloneness is likely driv ing you to want to drop the charges so you can take your boyfriend back. How can you bear his guilt laden col- n ' < . Jim Rockefeller Columnist lect calls from jail? He sounds so sincere in his promises not to do this again. How will you pay the bills? Who will tell you what to do? You may have forgotten how to “be your own per son;” you have let yourself go “soft” after being beaten (verbally, if not physically) into submission. What, then, are your options? Dropping the charg es is not one of them, as the decision whether or not to prosecute is in the hands of the District Attorney’s Office or the Solicitor’s Office. Ultimately, if this the first time that your boyfriend has been charged with beating Assessing Your Leadership Skills -SBS person ft ' ■ . ||r jjr _ ipl H ir „ W ■■ 1 House of Representatives Succeeding with Change, Tony Eccles’ 1994 book, that Toyota employees submitted Dennis Hooper Leader" Building Leaders do employees in your orga nization tolerate problems that frustrate many folks? Further, why do employees in your organization endure less than desirable situa tions in their own areas of responsibility? The puzzling thing to me you, he is probably unlikely to receive a prison sentence, unless you press for jail time. However, if you do need help and protection, the Judge WILL probably sentence him to prison. You can also obtain a Family Violence Protective Order with the free services offered by the Safe House at 92,‘1-6294 and HODAC at 953-5675 or by hiring an attorney. But, what you MUST do is figure out a way to regain some self-esteem, so that you can move on to a better life and let the system treat your boyfriend with the justice he deserves - its not your fault, its not your problem, PLEASE live your life with head held high! Warner Robins attorney Jim Rockefeller is the for mer Chief Assistant District Attorney for Houston County, and a former Assistant State Attorney in Miami. Owner of Rockefeller Law Center, Jim has been in private prac tice since 2000. His website, www.rockefellerlawcenter. com. offers more answers to your legal questions and archives of past articles. E mail your comments or con fidential legal questions toaj r@rockefellerlawcenter.com. All-You-Can-Eat Shrimp-$10 95 /Catfish-$9 95 Friday & Saturday - spm -10 pm weinJfglr 1-75 Butt 136 * 9874)877 40008 F. Dennis Hooper Certified Leadership Development Coach Building leaders and organizations of excellence (478) 988-0237 LOCAL 2 million sugges tions in one year, and that 85 per cent of them were adopted! Wow, that’s encourag ing! So why 37722 dhiiopcr2'« jumt.com is that when I dig deeper into these situations, they can usually identify specific steps that they can take! So why haven’t they done so already? Most organizations have ingrained ways of doing things. Everyone involved takes the existing methods for granted. These practices often become unconsciously established as boundaries in the minds of the employees. Innovations require an ability to see beyond the existing circumstances. The simple act of my asking questions about the situ ation stimulates creative thinking about improvement options. It’s not unusual for improvement to start hap pening before 1 ever deliver my findings! LETTER From page qA Houston County so you won t be faced with back door property tax increases caused by periodic property re-assessments. He 11 seek to add code enforcement offi cials to enforce environmen tal standards and protect our environment to ensure our children have clean air to breathe and water ways free of silt and debris for recreational activities. Braswell pledges to have no business interests that conflict with his duties as county commissioner. He will continuously seek to provide all citizens with the representation they desire and to listen to any petition brought for ward by his constituents. There is only one candi date who will bring forth new ideas to solve old prob lems that current county "'Sift IP "%* '■ ¥$ W mm jßf w BpilSgllp Xi pljjy I JgiliH * w m Glenda is a life insurance specialist with 19 years experience. Glenda has been living hi Warner Robins for 30 years and recently retired from Liberty National Insurance Company. Call Glenda at the office at 988-7960 or 954-5403 (cell) for a life insurance analysis. Though it seems that the individual should have the power to make improve ments, it has not been obvious to the individual. Sometimes the culture does not emphasize looking for improvement opportunities. Sometimes entrepreneurial thinking and taking initia tive have not been encour aged. In your business, are you willing to invite workers to think, “What would I do if this were my business?” Are you willing to collaborate with the workers to provide the resources they need to innovate? I conduct organizational health assessments where leaders want improvement. However, leaders have the ability to build initiative and improvement into their commissioners refuse to address. I am proud to sup port this outstanding com munity activist who served in Vietnam and prior to retirement from the Air Force was awarded mul tiple decorations for meri torious service. I urge all voters to vote for Braswell for an opportunity to build a better Houston County that protects the inter ests of all its citizens. Change is at hand and never has change seemed DAVID OVERTON JEWELERS ‘Jewelry Repair & Cleaning / ‘Watch Repair Hours: / ‘Appraisals Mon. -Fri. ‘Estate Jewelry 9 : .M>a.n5.. \/ ‘Class Rings 9:3oam-2pm 905 Downtown Carroll St. • Perry Jackie Whitley welcomes Glenda Cohen to her Cotton States Insurance Agency at 1217 S. Houston Lake Road THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2006 ♦ organization before 1 ever show up! Successful leaders create an environment where oth ers excel in using their tal ents, experience, and skill. If you are not already there, imagine yourself in the posi tion of an outside observer. Take a fresh look at your operations and the relation ships between the managers and those who do the work. Ask what would be required to inspire initia tive and improved thinking about what is so familiar to everyone working there. Dennis Hooper is a Certified Leadership Development Coach, helping you build organizations of excellence and future lead ers. Dennis welcomes your e-mails at dhooper2<ajuno. com. so refreshing. David E. Wittenberg, Kathleen Subscribe today Call 987-1823 Prime Rib Seasoned to Perfection orcen derby mjUL.*rzvnrA:rir -m *•- w 1-75 Exit 136 • 987 8877 40011 wt. ll STm Statesj 5A WhSI | 90.!2S