On Friday morning, I had the privilege of sitting down with others from my program with Dennis Bakke, who wrote the book Joy at Work. It was part of a mentorship course we are taking here at ASP. As former CEO of AES energy corporation, he had the goal of creating the most fun workplace ever. That goal came from his intense belief that work is meant to be a fulfillment of what God created us to be. Both in his book and in person he expounded on his view of organizational management and how the leader is best able to fulfill his own role through delegating responsibilities to those he or she is leading. In doing so the leader not only finds greater joy, but also the others who may not necessarily be reponsible for the organization in title.
What he states is basically what I have been learning this semester, at least in regards to leadership. People who are closest to the issue at hand are best equipped to make decisions. When we, as human beings, are able to make decisions and take responsibility for the consequences, we gain more purpose because that is what we were designed for. The consequences entail both success and failure.
Also on Friday, I went over to the Rayburn House office building to talk with a legislative assistant on the House Foreign Affairs committee about Iran, since I am working on an Iran-US relations project with some others. It was an informative time for sure. However the highlight was walking back upstairs to my friend's office next to Barney Frank. She noticed him at first and I was able to catch his back as he walked the corner away from us. His shinanigans with the bailout have not deepened my respect for him, to say the least.

Today I did end up going to the newly reopened American History museum. I saw the new, fancy star-spangled banner display, the great American hero R2D2, George Washington, fife and drum corps and sweet exhibits. It was a better museum than I remember. Maybe that's because it was refurbished.