“Denial is a common tactic that substitutes deliberate ignorance for thoughtful planning.” – Charles Tremper Last week in this space, the topic was leaders operating in fantasyland. Based on the feedback we received, it’s even more common than we thought. In particular, leaders are apparently demonstrating the highest levels of delusion when it comes to … Read more
“Imperfect action stops incessant overthinking.” – Jake Thompson It seems like an oversimplification to say that many leaders suffer from paralysis of analysis, but just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s not true. Leaders everywhere routinely fail to make decisions or take action because they can’t stop thinking. Obviously, you shouldn’t make decisions or take … Read more
“Make sure you don’t start seeing yourself through the eyes of those who don’t value you. Know your worth even if they don’t.” – Dr. Thema Bryant It’s easy for leaders to become reactionary on a lot of different levels. Sometimes we’re living in periods of massive change (hello 2025!) and we find ourselves jumping … Read more
“Be scared. You can’t help that. But don’t be afraid.” – William Faulkner It’s in our nature as humans to comfort. We want to be comfortable at work and at home. We want to be comfortable financially. We want our relationships to be comfortable. The root of that comfort-seeking comes from our ancestors. If you … Read more
“Saying YES to happiness means learning to say NO to things and people that stress you out.” – Dr. Thema Bryant I had a conversation with a leader recently that seemed very normal. We were discussing the coming year and talking through opportunities, challenges, etc. This leader had a number of extremely valuable things on … Read more
“Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy.” – Saadi We would all love it if the world went exactly the way we want. We make a plan, and everything falls into place. We take some chances, and every potential roadblock disappears. We make some assumptions, charge ahead, and find out that every … Read more
“There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try and those who are afraid you will succeed.” – Ray Goforth Part of Newton’s First Law of Motion says that an object in motion stays in motion with the same … Read more
“A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.” – Muhammad Ali I heard someone say recently that one of the things she was most proud of in her career was the fact that she’d stuck to the same principles in 2024 … Read more
“The responsibility of each generation is not to please our predecessors – it’s to improve conditions for our successors.” – Adam Grant A few weeks ago, I was working with a leader who faced a frustrating, but not unusual problem. He was dealing with what I’ll call an Alumni Leader. The individual who had been … 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
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