An Interview With Charles Glover
In honor of this great humanitarian, friend and mentor we’d like to share our final interview with Chuck. We think you’ll see just how special he was to us.
Why do you think that Heroes for Humanity is so important?
"I have been involved in this program for almost four years now. To be in these troubled times, people are seeking good news. Certainly, we have enough bad news. I think people want to feel good about things and they want to admire heroes. I believe that Heroes for Humanity accomplishes that goal for feel-good, positive news.
The whole concept of heroes has changed since 911, given the fact that the NY firemen and policemen risked and, in many cases, gave their lives to save people in those Twin Trade Towers. So I know that we are on the side of the angels on this one. "
What qualities do you think make a great leader?
"A great leader is one who sets goals, then finds people to join him or her in achieving those goals. A leader is one makes it very clear to his people what he expects or she expects of them.
When I first became publisher of the papers in Dayton Ohio, the guy that succeeded me used to take a vote on decisions. He took a vote so, when something went wrong, he could say that they all voted for it. My first meeting I said, I’ve got all the votes. I will listen to you, but I have all the votes. I told them, I am not going to ask for undated resignations. That is probably too extreme, but I do have a club in the closet. If you make me open the door and I show you the club, you are in trouble.
When I was a young, as a member of a Navy assault unit in the Pacific, I came to admire Winston Churchill a great deal. He precisely gathered the support of the English people. He told them of Hitler and Hitler’s desire to conquer their island. He told them there must be war and then sent then into battle. Winston Churchill offered the English people nothing but blood, tears, sweat and toil.
He told them concisely, “Therefore, let us brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say that This was their finest hour.” Winston Churchill made it clear what he expected of the English.
So, I came to admire him as a great leader.
Later in my life, I knew a young teenager named Danny McCormick, who was a friend of one of my sons. One winter day in Ohio, he turned his back into the wind on a highway, was hit by a car and became a quadriplegic. Danny has since had the courage to go on and graduate from college. He has several graduate degrees, has written a book and still writes with a pencil in his mouth tapping out the characters. Courage makes a great leader. "
Can you talk about setting goals and how that empowers people’s lives?
"Well, I think that you set goals and sometimes goals are hard to achieve. I think what matters most sometimes is that you just take chances. You research the facts before you take that risk; therefore, the odds are pretty good that you are going to succeed. You know, the last thing that I used to hate to hear is that it can’t be done.
I remember a strike on the newspaper in Dayton. The teamsters struck the newspaper and stopped delivery for seven days. I crossed the teamster picket line and broke the strike on the eighth day. Everyone said it could not be done. The newspaper had me under guard and my house under guard. The teamsters had me tagged as number 99. I put on a T-shirt with 99 on it and had a truck filled with guards and the newspapers. We crossed that picket line to the post office, sent the papers through the mail and let the Feds deliver them. The teamsters did not dare interfere with the Federal government.
That is the sort of thing that you do. You take some risks. I set that goal, figured out a way to achieve it and found the right people willing to help me. "
How do you define success?
"Success I guess is what makes you happy. Not necessarily tied to compensation. You set a goal and you achieve that goal. I would like to think that you find contentment in that achievement. No matter which level of society that you are in, I think success is working hard and feeling that you have accomplished something. It does not matter if you are a CEO or in any other position. You do your job the best that you can, no matter what your job, in order to advance to a better position.
I definitely think that the best definition of success is contentment. The happiness of knowing that you are working toward your goal, doing your best at all times and knowing that you have done a good job.
They also say that to be a success in business you should tend to be good to the people going up because you may meet them again on the way down.
Who is the person who had the biggest effect on your life?
My mother had the biggest effect on my life. She had polio as a teenage and was crippled all 95 years of her life. Within her difficult circumstances during the Depression, she lived in a rooming house and shared a bathroom with two other families. She had a two-year college degree, and she told me of the better things in life. She bought books for me. She bought the complete set of Stephens and Mark Twain for me. My mother paid a quarter a week for them, which was an immense amount of money considering the times and our poor economic state. She was my true inspiration in life. "
Chuck always said that Heroes for Humanity was on the side of the angels, and now we know we know it’s true.
We love you Chuck.
Why do you think that Heroes for Humanity is so important?
"I have been involved in this program for almost four years now. To be in these troubled times, people are seeking good news. Certainly, we have enough bad news. I think people want to feel good about things and they want to admire heroes. I believe that Heroes for Humanity accomplishes that goal for feel-good, positive news.
The whole concept of heroes has changed since 911, given the fact that the NY firemen and policemen risked and, in many cases, gave their lives to save people in those Twin Trade Towers. So I know that we are on the side of the angels on this one. "
What qualities do you think make a great leader?
"A great leader is one who sets goals, then finds people to join him or her in achieving those goals. A leader is one makes it very clear to his people what he expects or she expects of them.
When I first became publisher of the papers in Dayton Ohio, the guy that succeeded me used to take a vote on decisions. He took a vote so, when something went wrong, he could say that they all voted for it. My first meeting I said, I’ve got all the votes. I will listen to you, but I have all the votes. I told them, I am not going to ask for undated resignations. That is probably too extreme, but I do have a club in the closet. If you make me open the door and I show you the club, you are in trouble.
When I was a young, as a member of a Navy assault unit in the Pacific, I came to admire Winston Churchill a great deal. He precisely gathered the support of the English people. He told them of Hitler and Hitler’s desire to conquer their island. He told them there must be war and then sent then into battle. Winston Churchill offered the English people nothing but blood, tears, sweat and toil.
He told them concisely, “Therefore, let us brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say that This was their finest hour.” Winston Churchill made it clear what he expected of the English.
So, I came to admire him as a great leader.
Later in my life, I knew a young teenager named Danny McCormick, who was a friend of one of my sons. One winter day in Ohio, he turned his back into the wind on a highway, was hit by a car and became a quadriplegic. Danny has since had the courage to go on and graduate from college. He has several graduate degrees, has written a book and still writes with a pencil in his mouth tapping out the characters. Courage makes a great leader. "
Can you talk about setting goals and how that empowers people’s lives?
"Well, I think that you set goals and sometimes goals are hard to achieve. I think what matters most sometimes is that you just take chances. You research the facts before you take that risk; therefore, the odds are pretty good that you are going to succeed. You know, the last thing that I used to hate to hear is that it can’t be done.
I remember a strike on the newspaper in Dayton. The teamsters struck the newspaper and stopped delivery for seven days. I crossed the teamster picket line and broke the strike on the eighth day. Everyone said it could not be done. The newspaper had me under guard and my house under guard. The teamsters had me tagged as number 99. I put on a T-shirt with 99 on it and had a truck filled with guards and the newspapers. We crossed that picket line to the post office, sent the papers through the mail and let the Feds deliver them. The teamsters did not dare interfere with the Federal government.
That is the sort of thing that you do. You take some risks. I set that goal, figured out a way to achieve it and found the right people willing to help me. "
How do you define success?
"Success I guess is what makes you happy. Not necessarily tied to compensation. You set a goal and you achieve that goal. I would like to think that you find contentment in that achievement. No matter which level of society that you are in, I think success is working hard and feeling that you have accomplished something. It does not matter if you are a CEO or in any other position. You do your job the best that you can, no matter what your job, in order to advance to a better position.
I definitely think that the best definition of success is contentment. The happiness of knowing that you are working toward your goal, doing your best at all times and knowing that you have done a good job.
They also say that to be a success in business you should tend to be good to the people going up because you may meet them again on the way down.
Who is the person who had the biggest effect on your life?
My mother had the biggest effect on my life. She had polio as a teenage and was crippled all 95 years of her life. Within her difficult circumstances during the Depression, she lived in a rooming house and shared a bathroom with two other families. She had a two-year college degree, and she told me of the better things in life. She bought books for me. She bought the complete set of Stephens and Mark Twain for me. My mother paid a quarter a week for them, which was an immense amount of money considering the times and our poor economic state. She was my true inspiration in life. "
Chuck always said that Heroes for Humanity was on the side of the angels, and now we know we know it’s true.
We love you Chuck.
posted by Laurel Barrett at 1:13 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home