Nate’s Notes 207: Judge Bruce Smith | True Leadership Is Based on Character and Ethical Decision Making

This was such a fun interview for me to learn more about my dad and connect with one of his friends and colleagues.

I love the story Bruce shared about the hospital that was responsible for a child’s death. Rather than lawyer up, deny, and delay, the hospital admitted their mistake and took full responsibility. Sadly, in Bruce’s experience as a judge for decades, this sort of accountability is far less common than it should be.

Saying we screwed up is not a sign of weakness, but rather it’s a sign of strength and character. And speaking of character and ethics, we should follow the law, we should make sure our behavior benefits people and the planet, and we should never do anything that we’d be embarrassed to tell our mothers about.

In summary, true leadership is about character and ethics. It’s a simple idea. Please take it seriously.

Bruce Smith Bio:

Judge Bruce Smith, the first judge to appear on Meikles & Dimes, served as a judge advocate in the United States Air Force for 22 years. After that, he served for more than a decade as an administrative law judge with the United States Department of homeland security. After his time on the bench, he founded the successful business venture, BartlettJames, LLC, serving as CEO.