“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt I was fortunate enough recently to have the opportunity to assist the leaders of a 120+ year-old business that was … Read more
“Opportunity is sometimes hard to recognize if you’re only looking for a lucky break.” – Monta Crane Last week in this space the topic was patience. More specifically, the idea that a lot of leaders have a tendency to use the term to hide the real issue – passivity. At some point, we have to … Read more
“God gives every bird a worm, but he does not throw it in the nest.” – Swedish proverb Patience is a complicated virtue. The dictionary says that patience is “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset”. We prize patience, we tell people they should be patient, we … Read more
“One should pay attention to even the smallest crawling creature, for these too may have a valuable lesson to teach us.” – Black Elk Last week in this space the idea was that leaders need to make decisions and deal with issues that need to be dealt with, rather than hesitating until someone or something … Read more
“Not to decide is to decide.” – Harvey Cox I talk to a lot of leaders who say that “being decisive” is a key trait of a leader. I’m not sure exactly what they mean by that. The dictionary says that the word decisive means “settling an issue” or “producing a definite result”, or “having … Read more
“Everybody believes in innovation until they see it. Then they think, ‘Oh no; that’ll never work. It’s too different.’ “ – Nolan Bushnell I’m fortunate to be able to work with leaders from a wide variety of backgrounds and industries. Learning about each of their unique situations is one of the best parts of my … Read more
“My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.” – Steve Jobs People talk constantly about how busy they are. For some people it’s a badge of honor, as though being busy is the ultimate goal in life. For others it’s a … Read more
“The world changes in direct proportion to the number of people willing to be honest about their lives.” – Armistead Maupin Last week in the is space, the conversation was about letting go of what’s worked in the past in favor of what can work in the future. That’s a hard thing to do. And … Read more
“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
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