Matt Heemstra 
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” – Joseph Campbell Planning is an important part of leadership. No organization was ever successful for very long without taking time to plan for its future. Regardless of size, purpose, location, or … Read more
“I always wanted to be a procrastinator but never got around to it.” – Anonymous A week ago in this space, the topic was avoidance. That topic was framed around the idea that leaders have a tendency to avoid things that are unpleasant. Maybe it’s a difficult conversation, maybe it’s a difficult decision, whatever. Today’s … Read more
“You cannot find peace by avoiding life.” – Michael Cunningham Last week in this space the topic was leading with the knowledge that, no matter what happens, you can’t make everyone happy, so do what you think is best and deal with what happens. Based on the feedback we received, that touched a nerve. Apparently, … Read more
“I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure. It is: Try to please everybody.” – Herbert Bayard Swope The world is always changing, and as it changes, leaders are continually faced with new opportunities and challenges. Sometimes the opportunities and challenges are two sides of the … Read more
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” – John F. Kennedy Everyone knows change is hard. And it’s not only hard to change, sometimes it’s hard to even wrap our minds around what change to make. We’re bombarded with ideas … Read more
“The extra mile is a vast, unpopulated wasteland.” – Jeff Haden People like to talk about work ethic. It’s one of the core things that we value. Questioning someone’s work ethic is considered by almost everyone to be a huge insult. Any suggestion that we lack work ethic is a personal affront. And lots of … Read more
“Stop making excuses. You’re the only one stopping you.” – Issa Rae Life can be overwhelming. There are literally thousands of pieces of information coming at us on a daily basis. A study done not that long ago determined that we are hit with the equivalent of 150+ newspapers’ worth of information every day. It’s … Read more
“Courage is the resistance to fear, the mastery of fear – not absence of fear.” – Mark Twain Way back in January – that seems like years ago – we declared 2025 the year of No. Now that the year is nearly a third over, it seems like a good time to revisit that declaration. … Read more
“You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can be grateful that thorn bushes have roses.” – Tom Wilson It seems to be fashionable these days to be as negative as possible. Finding something wrong in every situation and then complaining about it has become something of an art form. It’s almost like we’ve … Read more
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