“When you’re through changing, you’re through.” – Bruce Fairchild Barton One of the most challenging things leaders have to deal with is what I call a “legacy of success”. Leading an organization with a long history of high achievement sounds like it should be a great thing. It usually means a solid foundation of people, … Read more
“The success combination in business is: Do what you do better…and: do more of what you do.” – David Joseph Schwartz Leaders get pulled in a lot of different directions. That’s true whether you’re leading a small business, an international corporation, a local nonprofit, or any other group of people anywhere. Everyone in the group … Read more
“There exists in the world a single path along which no one can go except you: wither does it lead? Do not ask, go along it.” – Friedrich Nietzsche One of the marks of a great leader is the willingness to ask for and accept help from others. Regardless of the topic – people, products, … Read more
“If you don’t think every day is a good day, just try missing one.” – Cavett Robert Being a leader is difficult. You get bombarded with questions and requests and complaints. You’re asked to make decisions that no one else wants to make. You’re responsible for organizational outcomes, even if you didn’t necessarily have any … Read more
“Reflect upon your present blessings – of which every man has many – not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” – Charles Dickens I’ll be taking the next few weeks to reflect and enjoy the company of some of my favorite people. Make sure you take time every day to be … Read more
“If you’re the boss and your people fight you openly when they think that you are wrong – that’s healthy.” – Robert Townsend One of the struggles that many people in leadership roles face on a regular basis is a lack of honesty. It’s not because leaders are surrounded by people who are habitual liars. … Read more
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” – Henry Ford I’ve never met a leader, good or bad, who believed that everything about their business was perfect. Even the least self-aware leaders understand that some things are not the way they need to be for their organizations … Read more
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Almost everyone likes to brag about their work ethic, or at least likes to feel pretty good about it. I can’t remember the last time I heard a leader say “Boy, I sure don’t work very … Read more
“Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.” – Elbert Hubbard Normally in this space we’re talking about leadership, or change, or some kind of challenge we face in our organizations. Today is a little different. It’s still about a challenge, but that challenge is of a completely different … Read more
It’s a holiday today in my part of the world. We tend to use holidays as an opportunity to remember how fortunate we are and how grateful we ought to be. That’s great – let’s resolve to spend the next year remembering our good fortune and gratitude on a daily basis. See you next week.
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