“Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting an angry bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian.” – Shari R. Barr Humans are interesting creatures. Despite all evidence to the contrary, we always seem to start new endeavors with the idea that everything will go smoothly. … Read more
“When we are no longer able to change a situation…we are challenged to change ourselves.” – Viktor Frankl We talk with our clients a lot about the importance of being agile as an organization. As markets change, as customers change, as people change, as technology changes, our businesses have to be able to adapt. The … Read more
“Courage is the capacity to confront what can be imagined.” – Leo Rosten I spend most of my time with business leaders talking about the future. While every business or industry has some unique characteristics, in general they’re all very similar. They all have customers or clients, they all have a product or service, there … Read more
“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” – Erich Fromm One of the more common reasons I hear from leaders for why their organizations haven’t made a particular change or engaged in some particular strategy is that “We’re just not sure.” As humans I think we’re wired to want some level of certainty. … Read more
“Nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time.” – Theodore Roosevelt “If only I had known,” is one of the saddest phrases in the English language. It’s not just sad because it’s usually said after something bad happens. It’s sad because quite often we could have known if we would have just stopped to think … Read more
“When dealing with complex transportation issues, the best thing to do is pull up with a cold beer and let somebody else figure it out.” – Anthony Bourdain There’s an interesting contradiction that I hear from leaders on a regular basis. When I ask leaders about the strengths of their organization, almost invariably they say … Read more
“Slaying sacred cows makes great steaks.” – Dick Nicolose I was reminded recently of a problem that many leaders face on a daily basis. I was visiting with the leader of a business that’s been around a long time and, by virtually any measure, has been very successful. Over the past few years, however, things … Read more
“A good plan implemented today is better than a perfect plan implemented tomorrow.” – George S. Patton One of the struggles of leading in today’s world is the feeling that you don’t always have all the information. There are so many moving parts and so many things change so rapidly that we end up with … Read more
…and with it comes an opportunity for some family time. We’ll be doing that for the next few weeks, and in the meantime things will be quiet in this space. Whether it’s summer where you are or not, take time with the people who matter most to you. Nobody ever lays on their deathbed and … Read more
“The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw One of the easiest things to do in life is to make assumptions. Sometimes it feels like we have so many things going on in our lives that we have no choice. We can’t possibly be intentional … Read more
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Sheldon:
1008 Third Avenue Sheldon, Iowa 51201 • (712) 324-4614
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5130 E. 57th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57108 • (605) 610-4611
© 2017 Cain Ellsworth & Company, LLP
