THEN: Secretary of State (KY), 1996-2004; Candidate for Lieutenant Governor, 2007
NOW: JYB3 Group (Owner) -public affairs consulting firm; Miller Wells law firm (Of counsel)
Full Biography:link
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Sep 6, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
Yesterday’s –first day jogging. Good news; bad news.
Bad news first. Ran just under 1/8th of a mile before capitulating.
Good news.
All things considered, it was a brisk oace for the entire 1/8th of a mile…except for the last 10-12 feet.
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After yesterday’s Herculian workout, I feel am ready for the Tinsel Man Competition (Not to be confused with Iron Man).
Iron Man regime:
Run 26.2 miles
Bike 112 miles
Swim 2.4 miles
Tinsel Man regime:
Run 1/8th of a mile from house
Walk 1/8th of a mile back to house
Shoot 2 baskets on backyard basketball goal–one jump shot and one lay-up (before going inside and showering)
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu Sep 5, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
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What book most dramatically influenced your political views?
This matter of a book influencing your political thinking isn’t quite as transformational as it sounds.
What it usually means is you found a book by an author who articulated well political beliefs and policy positions that affirmed your own developing but still unformed political inclinations.
For me (a life long Democrat), ironically, it is Irving Kristol’s “Reflection of a Neo-Conservative: Looking Back, Looking Ahead” written in 1983 and stumbled upon by me a few years later.
I liked it because it was at a time when the liberalism of the 30s–60s was coasting lazily along and in need of a more disciplined, modern and relevant set of guiding principles. I liked Kristol’s ability to insert morality without being too churchy; to respect and champion the best of market capitalism while being grounded in social justice and with a sense of community; a restrained foreign policy that didn’t meddle where it wasn’t provoked or nationally vital; a sense of tradition and patriotism that seemed lost on the liberalism prominent in the 1970s but also rationally grounded and not merely reflexive.
Sadly, “Neo-Conservativism” which I viewed at the time of this book’s publication as a hardy and healthy critique of the stupor that parts of modern liberalism had fallen into (much like the same stupor conservatism fell into in the last decade) ended up as a disdained distortion of its original self in later years. Neo-conservitism, as a philosophy, became hijacked by disingenuous ideologues who transmuted it into a failed foreign policy overreach.
But its origins, as articulated by Irving Kristol, a man who wrote with clarity, intellectual originality, sincerity, and integrity toward the goal of a better political system for all spoke to me at an important point in my personal political development. Irving Kristol had an impact on me.
He was, to me, the “grown up in the room” of all the political commentators filling up the air and airwaves at a time I was trying to make some sense of it all. He wasn’t a firebrand or shock jock or whiny knee jerk type. He was a serious person with serious ideas articulated for a serious audience in hopes of making a positive impact on the country he lived in.
He affirmed many of the things I felt and made it OK for me to think that way. And OK, too, to keep thinking for myself.
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue Sep 3, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
You know how in business we love to use sports metaphors?
You know what I mean.
We are getting the deal “across the goal line” or go for a “Hail Mary pass” strategy since there are no “slam dunks.”
And so on.
I wonder if professional athletes use business slang to drive home their points when talking sports strategy?
For example, inside a football huddle is it likely the quarterback looks at the wide receiver and says “I am reaching out to you because I am calling our new out-of-the-box synergistic play that we have had in beta. On three, go long but stay on my radar screen until I am ready to ping you! If you score, you and I are going to haveot of face time externally and internally. Are you ready to move things to he next level?”
I hope not.
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Continuing with my business managers sometimes over use of sports analogies…..
In most every sport you have highlight reels that celebrate the most extraordinary plays of the season.
Don’t over think this. Just say the first examples that pop into your mind.
“Name the three greatest conference calls you have ever been on.”
If I am truly and brutally honest with myself I can only think of two—again showing the imperfect analogue between sports and business.
By John Y. Brown III, on Mon Sep 2, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
John Y. Brown, Sr. and Ed Pritchard
In 1984, Vic Hellard, longtime director of the Legislative Research Commission and Kentucky historian, conducted a much anticipated oral history with the “Sage of Kentucky Politics,” Edward F Pritchard. Pritchard, came onto the Kentucky political scene like a meteorite—a wunderkind from Paris, Kentucky who went to Princeton and then Harvard Law and later became part of FDR’s “Brain Trust” before falling from grace, in Shakespearian-like manner, for stuffing the ballot boxes and going to federal prison.
The boy wonder who many thought early in his career could have been a Kentucky governor, US Senator or even Supreme Court Justice, slowly re-emerged as a behind the scenes force in Kentucky politics as an advisor to governors, trusted commentator, and a singular force as an advocate for improving education that culminated in the creation of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, which helped usher in Kentucky’s landmark education reform. He ended his life on almost as high a note as he had begun in his early career.
“Pritch” as he was affectionately called by those who knew him well, had paid his dues for his earlier excesses and political peccadillos. In his later years the rehabilitated and wiser Pritch was subdued by the humility that escaped him in his youth and hardened by the realities of the limitations of a world he once believed he was destined to leave an even greater mark on—but still managed to leave a profoundly important legacy on nonetheless. And to stand out as one of last century’s most fascinating and important political characters. Just not in the way he had originally desired or planned….but, in retrospect, perhaps the best and most fitting legacy for his personality and capabilities. Life seems often to work out that way. For all of us. Even those of us bestowed with the rarified talents of an Edward F Prichard.
When I first heard about the oral history in the mid 1980s, I called UK to try to get my hands on them. I wanted to hear the history of our state and nation from the lips of the pedagogical and pugnacious pundit who I marveled at as a young man. Pritch was a sort of intellectual hero to me. And, secretly, I also wanted to see what, if anything, he had to say about my grandfather, John Young Brown Sr, who was Pritch’s contemporary. How did this fabled hero assess my own flesh and blood?
Unfortunately, the tapes were embargoed until Pritch’s death for reasons that had been worked out with the University of Kentucky. Later the interviews came out in a Digital Collection and I found them fascinating. And found a brief description of Pritch’s take on my grandfather (see below).
Pritch’s comments about my granddad were, more or less, about what I expected. The praise wasn’t as glorious as I had hoped; and the criticisms weren’t as disappointing as I had feared. It was good enough….and in the scheme of things, put in its proper perspective, something to be proud of and grateful for. Life seems often to work out that way.
“Vic Hellard: And what were your— what’s your opinion of John Y. Brown Sr.? Has that changed over the years or—
Edward F Prichard: No. I’ll never forget the first time, did I tell you the first time I ever met him, when he came to our school and gave a chapel speech, and I was just dazzled by him, eloquent, full of force, and I— I just thought he was marvelous. And I’ve followed him ever since with interest. I’ve sometimes been for him, sometimes not. We’ve been good personal friends, always.
Vic Hellard: Is there— how about—
Edward F Prichard: He’s even been a benefactor, but I think that he has some tendencies to be a demagogue. He is not a profound intellect. He has a good command of language, a good command— good presence as a speaker.
As he’s got older, he’s tended to be a bit garrulous. He has a big ego. But I think he’s, in his way, he’s always been for the common man and the little man. Naturally, he has a weakness for his own son. Who wouldn’t?
There’s a certain element of casuistry in his makeup, rationalization.
But by and large he’s been for more good things in Kentucky than he has bad things. He’s sponsored a lot of progressive legislation. He has been a strong defender of the working man, of the people that needed help.
As I say, there’s some foolishness about him, some, a lot of ego. But on the whole, this is a better state than would have been if we hadn’t had him.”
A final footnote: Several months before my grandfather died, we had dinner together at the Cracker Barrel in Lexington. I was 21 and he was 84. I asked him specifically “What was Ed Prichard like?” I honestly can’t remember the details of what he told me. Maybe it will come back to me. It was a kind and warm and respectful comment from my grandfather about Pritch…. but also somewhat lackluster and not reverential, as I had expected.
The heroes we have when we are young are almost always seen in more pedestrian terms than we hoped and expected by those who knew them as their contemporaries and who worked alongside them. Maybe the only thing that distinguishes heroes from mere mortals is time spent in their presence. But heroes are still, in the scheme of things and put in their proper perspective, something to be proud of and grateful for. And sometimes as we seek them out we find out that our real heroes are those much closer to us in proximity. Like our own flesh and blood grandfather. Life seems often to work out that way, too. As it did here, for me.
By John Y. Brown III, on Sun Sep 1, 2013 at 10:10 AM ET
I Have a Dream, Too (Albeit a tongue in cheek one. But it’s still worth dreaming about. Especially on Sunday mornings.)
50 years ago this week, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr, gave his historic “I Have a Dream” speech which helped usher in the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Was it enough? It was a start. And 50 years later we have made great progress toward racial equality. But there is still work to be done. Six days a week—Monday through Saturday—there are still inequalities between the races in terms jobs, pay, standard of living, and other economic and material measures. But fortunately, the gap is slowly closing.
But what about that seventh day, Sunday? Sure, whites continue to have it better the first six days of the week where work and material measures dominate. But on the seventh day, Sunday, blacks continue to have vastly superior church services than whites. In other words, in the spiritual realm, the gap between black and whites at church on Sunday mornings is as stark in 2013 as it was in 1963.
Dr King’s historic speech in 1963 was conspicuous in its absence about referencing lackluster white church services that Caucasians have been forced to endure for several centuries.
And so… 50 years after much of the economic racial divide is being closed, it is time for someone to raise the question about whether the spiritual racial divide will ever be bridged. After all, what is true color-blindness if any blind person can be escorted into a church and know instantly whether he or she is in a white or black church? Predominantly Black churches tend to have lots of energy and Spirit. Predominantly White churches tend to have lots of quiet orderliness and throat clearing —and people whispering, “Excuse me. What time is it, please?”
Worst of all, there are no historic laws or cultural prejudices that caused this disparity. There were no faux “separate but equal” laws that allowed black churches to be more alive and fun while white churches seemed dry and stodgy. That’s right. We weren’t even discriminated against. We white folks did this to ourselves.
Perhaps it’s time someone in my race stood up and said “Is this really the best we can do?” Or more to the point, “Will going to church for white folks ever look like it is as spiritual, as inspired, and as inspiring and as it is for our African-American brothers and sisters?”
Well?
May I get an Amen out there?
Unfortunately, no. Not if you are white. Because, like, “What would people say?” Right?
C’mon folks. Let’s dedicate ourselves to make white church the new black in 2013. White folks can dream, too, you know. And this is my dream as a way of celebrating and honoring the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s historic speech. And, with hope, closing the racial divide in America just a little bit more.
(Footnote: Of course, my church is the exception to all of this. But could still be a tad more soulful. With both a lower case and upper case “S” But I’m nitpicking. The only other exception is Lyle Lovett. (See below.) Perhaps Lyle Lovett can lead us from the low-lying foothills of churchiness to the inspired mountain top of the fully engaged church services of the Promised Land. And without programs to pass out. Anyway, that’s my dream.)
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Aug 30, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
How numbers lie!
My book Musings from the Middle is currently ranked as the 865,544th best-selling book on Amazon.com.
To someone who didn’t know better, they may think, “Wow, John. That’s not very good.”
And that would be understandable…. But wrong.
Why?
Click here to purchase
Because numbers lie and the number (or ranking) 865,544th is compared to “all” books currently selling on Amazon.com.
That includes every genre fiction, non-fiction, sports, biography, crime, history, religion, comic, fix it, nature and so on and so on.
In the important and more appropriate category (or genre) for me, “Books published in July of this year in the non-fiction, human interest and humor categories that starts with the letter “M” and ends in the letter “E” and is written by a self-published author from Louisville, KY” well, let’s just say, my book would then rank in the Top Ten.
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu Aug 29, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
They say that when you give a speech you really give three speeches.
The one you planned on giving. The one you gave. And the one you wish you gave on the way home.
At last night’s My Recipe for Peace Dinner I was asked to prepare 3 minutes of remarks describing my personal recipe for peace. I did. And after starting off the speech on an unrelated note and talking around the issue for 4 or 5 minut…es, I covered about 1/20th of the speech I had planned to give. And I didn’t bother concocting a third speech on the way home that I’d wished I’d given. Because I figured I’d just post the original. And wouldn’t feel so bad about never getting around to giving it. ; )
It’s Being of Service, Stupid!
Remember the famous mantra from Bill Clinton’s successful presidential campaign in 1992, “It’s the Economy, Stupid?” Well, my recipe for peace is a re-phrasing of that formulation that is applicable in our everyday business (and personal) lives.
We are the “I” generation. We have iPods for “our” I-music, I-Phones with our personalized I-apps and our iPads where we get our I-News that tends to reinforce our comfortable echo chamber in our I-world we have proudly created for ourselves. And we want our food (and about everything else we buy) “my way.”
We live in a custom suit— not an off-the-rack —world. And can scarcely remember when we didn’t. We celebrate our individuality but often to the point of vanity and short-sighted narcissism
Yes, our I-World mentality is a proud celebration of our individual uniqueness, an indication of our real personality, and a reflection of our authenticity. And all that is a good thing. But like all good things taken to an extreme it has a destructive side as well. If we take our “I” absorption to an extreme—which is easier to do than resisting doing once we begin down this path—it can eventually lead to lives of intolerance, selfishness, disconnectedness and self-absorption. And that is bad thing for all involved. Bad personally and bad professionally.
So, how do we bring balance back from this imbalance? If we are focusing too far inwardly into serving ourselves the obvious answer is to focus more outwardly toward serving others.
How do I do that in my daily life? That was the question I was tasked to ask and answer for myself tonight. Well, quite frankly, I don’t. Not every day anyway, if I am honest. But I try and do it some days….perhaps many days. But I have to be mindful of this discipline and very deliberate or it fades quickly from memory.
Throughout every day in my job I am involved in multiple meetings on behalf of clients who I represent and advocate for. My job is, using the language of the day, to make sure clients I work with “get theirs.” After all, isn’t that what most people do each day? Make sure they “get theirs”?
Nothing wrong with that in and of itself. We all first and foremost need make sure we take care of our basic survival needs. But I believe there is an even better way to approach the world that is more a reflection of peace than fear. A way that allows all parties, in most cases, to get theirs too and to make the world in that particular instance just a little bit better for all involved.
Is that a Pollyanish viewpoint? No, it’s not. It is a fact I get to live and see daily.
Several years ago I was advised by a wise and caring mentor to take a different approach than I had been trained to do. Before each “meeting” I was told to pause before the meeting began, quietly bow my head and say a prayer something like this
“Lord, please help me be of service today and to be useful to You and others as we begin this meeting. Amen.”
That is a simple prayer. But has at times had profound results. It is a simple but powerful prayer.
It recalibrates me at the very time (moments before a business meeting) when I am leaning toward the brink of my most closed-off, defensive, narrow, and self-serving self and moves me into a completely different mindset that allows me to see many more possibilities, opportunities and to convey sincerity, genuine concern for all involved and credibility to be trusted by both my clients and the other side and encourage them both to work toward a common and mutually beneficial resolution.
And it works.
It doesn’t work in the “graph it on an Excel spreadsheet to prove it to me” kind of way. It does work in a way that can be conveyed as a successful mantra hanging in an office much like candidate Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign mantra, “It’s the Economy, Stupid”
Except it is “It’s Being of Service, Stupid!”
One final point. This isn’t a gimmick to help you get more of what you want. It is a prayer to help us be as useful as we can be in our daily lives. And that is the first and last goal. It often includes getting more for everyone but if service isn’t the primary motive it doesn’t seem to work so well. And this small act ….this short silent prayer….almost always leads to our own enhanced peace of mind. And it is also–and especially on this night— my offering of a small recipe for peace I would like to share at this blessed event.
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Aug 28, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
“As a man thinketh in his heart –so is he. ” –Proverbs
Of course, we try to fill our minds with lofty, visionary and aspirational thoughts that lead both to self improvement and a better world.
But what does a man (or woman) really and truly thinketh in the course of a day? If you really want to know look at your internet search history. Mine over the last two days includes:
Looking for the actual name of a restaurant in Louisville I had forgotten but had the word “pig” in it.
Ebay and charging cables for my cell phone
Looking up the definition and history of the word “Nimrod” which came to me out of the blue and I wanted to make sure if I ever used the term I would use it correctly
Terry Meiners Twitter account because I heard he tweeted a funny Sigmund Freud quote yesterday about assholes.
Whether it was “John” or “David” Hume after my son made a joking reference about the English philosopher and I couldn’t remember his first name. (It’s David Hume and John Locke).
The number of calories in a pineapple curry dish that I like a lot from Viet Nam kitchen.
The lowest BMI number for my height for “obesity.”
Googled myself and my book to see if anyone had written a review on Amazon.com. They hadn’t.
Pictures on Facebook of some of the students in my daughter’s sophomore class. And to see if the boys were bigger than me yet. (Only taller)
Looked up “How to meditate” without wasting a lot of time. And if meditation can improve circulation. (Open to debate.)
Zillow to see if the estimated value of our house had gone ip enough to refinance and borrow a little more. (It handn’t)
Googled myself and my book to see if there were any new reviews on Amazon.com. (There weren’t.) Thought about increasing my own review of the book from 4 starts to 5 starts but couldn’t find out how to edit my review.
Dates of Kentucky’s special legislative session.
Checked if the classic rock group Traffic was touring through Louisville this year. (Steve Winwood is but didn’t buy ticket and may not if Winwood is by himself.
Confirmed exact definition of Nimrod since I was having trouble remembering it from earlier in the day.
And so…..as Proverbs teaches us, more or less……”As a man searcheth the internet–so is he.”
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