leaders – Page 18 – CainEllsworth

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

Be Real & Get Help

“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 There’s an interesting contradiction that I hear from leaders on a regular basis. When I ask leaders about the strengths of their organization, almost invariably they say … Read more

You Have to Talk!

“The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw One of the easiest things to do in life is to make assumptions. Sometimes it feels like we have so many things going on in our lives that we have no choice. We can’t possibly be intentional … Read more

Culture Doesn’t Just Happen

“Corporate culture doesn’t happen by accident – and if it does, you’re taking a risk.” – Monique Winston It’s always interesting to ask leaders about the businesses they lead. I always ask what the leaders think is the real strength of their business, the thing that really drives their success. People answer that question in … Read more

Don’t Tell Me How Hard You’re Working

“The extra mile is a vast, unpopulated wasteland.” – Jeff Haden Most people you meet like to talk about how hard they work. They talk about putting in a lot of hours, about their terrific work ethic, and, depending on their age, how younger people just don’t want to work as hard as they do. … Read more

The Only Thing We Have to Fear…

“Don’t try to be fearless…Just try to prevent fear from making your decisions for you.” – Chris Guillebeau We mention beliefs a lot in this space (like here, here, and here, for example) because our beliefs as leaders are so important to our performance and that of our businesses. What we believe drives our behavior, … Read more

GPS Blog

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