leaders – Page 17 – CainEllsworth

What Are You?

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle I don’t think I’ve ever been in a meeting where I heard somebody say, “You know, what I’d really like for this organization is to be consistently mediocre. Run of the mill, average, maybe even a little bit … Read more

Take The Blinders Off

“Diversity is a competitive advantage. Different people approach similar problems in different ways.” – Rich McGinn One of the realities of being a leader is that at times it can feel pretty lonely. The world is full of leaders who have the sense that they’re pretty much on their own, working without a net. And … Read more

You’re Driving the Car

“Destiny is a name often given in retrospect to choices that had dramatic consequences.” – J.K. Rowling I’ve had the opportunity recently to visit with a number of leaders who are nearing the end of their careers. They seem to be spending quite a bit of time reflecting on the past, as people in that … Read more

Change & Confidence

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw What do you really believe about change? Do you actually think you’re capable of making change in your life or your business? When … Read more

What Are You Actually Doing?

“Make every detail perfect, and limit the number of details to perfect.” – Jack Dorsey It’s been mentioned in this space previously (here and here, for example) that focus is one of the most critical parts of success for any organization. When I talk to leaders, they all agree that’s true. And yet nearly all … Read more

Real Leaders

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs Innovation is a popular topic. If I Google innovation I get somewhere north of 3 billion hits. I get links to webinars about innovation, I see articles about innovation, there are books written about innovation – it’s one of the primary topics of conversation … Read more

Plan for the Unplanned

“Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting an angry bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian.” – Shari R. Barr Humans are interesting creatures. Despite all evidence to the contrary, we always seem to start new endeavors with the idea that everything will go smoothly. … Read more

Change Means You Too

“When we are no longer able to change a situation…we are challenged to change ourselves.” – Viktor Frankl We talk with our clients a lot about the importance of being agile as an organization. As markets change, as customers change, as people change, as technology changes, our businesses have to be able to adapt. The … Read more

Let It Go

“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” – Erich Fromm One of the more common reasons I hear from leaders for why their organizations haven’t made a particular change or engaged in some particular strategy is that “We’re just not sure.” As humans I think we’re wired to want some level of certainty. … Read more

Look Ahead

“Nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time.” – Theodore Roosevelt “If only I had known,” is one of the saddest phrases in the English language. It’s not just sad because it’s usually said after something bad happens. It’s sad because quite often we could have known if we would have just stopped to think … Read more

GPS Blog

It's time to go "Beyond the Numbers".