“The energy of the mind is the essence of life.” – Aristotle Someone recently clued me in to an organization called The Energy Project. If you’re interested, click here to get to their web site. The gist of it is this: a huge percentage of people are disengaged, beaten down, unproductive, etc., and as leaders … Read more
“Nothing changes if nothing changes.” – Unknown We talk a lot in this space about change & how hard it is for us to change, both individually and organizationally. I had an interesting conversation recently about a different aspect of change – how do you get others to change? More specifically, how do you convince … Read more
“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” – George Patton Not that long ago I was visiting with a local business owner, one we’ve been fortunate enough to work with over the years. Eventually our conversation ended up on the topic of his management team. He got really excited talking about how great … Read more
“Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.” – Winston Churchill As leaders, a big part of our job is thinking about the future. Unfortunately, too often that thinking becomes worrying, complaining, stressing, obsessing, energy destroying – you get the picture. I’ve been involved way too many management team meetings where all I did … Read more
“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.” – John F. Kennedy I was going to start this week’s post talking about a client of ours who struggles to “do” anything. They talk and talk without it ever amounting to any action. There’s … Read more
“Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe I feel like I’ve written about belief a lot lately. If you’re sick of it, my apologies. Unfortunately, I keep running into situations where it’s obviously an issue. I’m not sure why I didn’t notice this for the … Read more
“The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.” – Michael Porter We live in a world that likes to measure worth by accomplishments. We’re always talking about what we’ve done, about what goals our businesses have achieved, by what items we’ve crossed off our to-do lists. It’s implied that the more things we … Read more
“In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” – Eric Hoffer I’m sure some of you reading this have either read or at least heard of the late Stephen Covey‘s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It’s … Read more
“When you’re through changing, you’re through.” – Bruce Fairchild Barton I’m a huge sports fan. I’ve probably spent more time playing & watching sports than all my other leisure activities combined. It’s always interesting to watch teams that seem to have an identity. They know who they are, they know their strengths and weaknesses, and … Read more
“If you don’t think every day is a good day, just try missing one.” – Cavett Robert Over the past year I spent (wasted?) a fair amount of time trying to help a particular local business owner. Finally, after several months of misguided effort, I finally managed to end our business relationship. It took me … Read more
Get to know our proven, forward-thinking accounting, planning and business consulting experts.
1008 Third Avenue Sheldon, Iowa 51201 • (712) 324-4614 & 5130 E. 57th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57108 • (605) 610-4611
© 2025 Cain Ellsworth & Company, LLP
Sheldon:
1008 Third Avenue Sheldon, Iowa 51201 • (712) 324-4614
Sioux Falls:
5130 E. 57th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57108 • (605) 610-4611
© 2017 Cain Ellsworth & Company, LLP
