“I am in competition with no one. I have no desire to play the game of being better than anyone. I am simply trying to be better than the person I was yesterday.” – Unknown I’ve had several eerily similar conversations with leaders over the past two weeks that really forced me to stop and … Read more
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Joe Sabah One of the things I hear leaders talk about negatively on a regular basis is people. They’re frustrated that their people don’t want to work, or don’t want to work enough, that they have a bad … Read more
“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” – John Maxwell When we read about changes throughout history, it’s usually something huge. Somebody invented the automobile, somebody found a cure for polio, etc. Big, giant, huge, immediately world-altering stuff. … Read more
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” – Steven R. Covey I know we talked about this same topic not that long ago, but it keeps coming up over and over again. It’s the idea of listening, and how most leaders aren’t very good at … Read more
“Don’t mistake activity with achievement.” – John Wooden Early in my career, I worked for an individual who measured the value of those who worked for him by the number of hours those people worked. Anybody who got there early and stayed late was, in his mind, a rock star. Never mind what you were … 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 Most leaders are swamped. I can’t remember the last time I met a leader who felt like they had plenty of time to do all the things … Read more
“You never really learn much from hearing yourself speak.” – George Clooney Most leaders talk too much. There are a few exceptions, but not many. Sometimes when I’m in leadership team meetings or board meetings I wonder if maybe some of them are getting paid by the word. You could argue that the verbal avalanche … Read more
“People learn something every day, and a lot of times it’s that what they learned the day before was wrong.” – Bill Vaughan In general, most people like stability. We want to wake up in the morning and know we can count on certain things to be the same way they were yesterday. People will … Read more
“Predicting rain doesn’t count. Building arks does.” – Warren Buffett One of the things you’re supposed to do as a leader is think about the future. It’s why there are so many books/articles/podcasts/whatever on planning, strategic planning, long-term planning, etc. Everybody knows it’s important and understands that it’s something they probably should be doing. Some … Read more
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” – Zig Ziglar I had a conversation with a leader a few weeks ago that went something like this. Leader: “I’m frustrated with our people.” Me: “Why?” Leader: ”They don’t understand our vision.” Me: “Why might that … Read more
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