“Few days are sunny. Few days are perfect. Instead, most days have something wrong with them, us, or others. Stop waiting for perfect days and start marching forward.” – Jim Collins One of the critical things leaders do is make decisions. Whether it’s about people, products, customers, whatever – fixing priorities and goals and a … Read more
“The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.” – Kakuzo Okakura Change is constant. There is no part of our businesses that is exempt from it. Our customers change, our competitors change, or people change, our products change, the rules we’re required to follow change – there’s no end to it. … Read more
“We cannot become what we need to be without changing who we are.” – Max DePree The vast majority of the conversation in this space revolves around change. Changing environments, changing customers, changing markets, changing technology – there’s almost literally no end to the list of things that are changing around us and that we … Read more
“Predicting rain doesn’t count. Building arks does.” – Warren Buffett Over the years I’ve been fortunate to spend a lot of time with experienced leaders, people who’ve been running businesses for a long time. Most of those people have seen and learned a lot over their careers, and while most of them wouldn’t admit it, … Read more
“Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The thoughts in my head today aren’t new. If you like you could go back and read this, and this, and this and get roughly the same idea. And yet every day I’m reminded that the topic is … Read more
“Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who’ll argue with you.” – John Wooden There are a dozen or more things that great leaders do effectively, but one of the most important involves making decisions. That’s obviously not some kind of mind-blowing revelation. And yet, so many business leaders go about making … Read more
“You are never strong enough that you don’t need help.” – Cesar Chavez We work almost exclusively with small- to mid-size businesses. One of the things I consistently see leaders in those businesses struggle with isn’t innovation or efficiency or sales. It’s isolation. It’s the fact that in terms of leadership they’re on an island. … Read more
“It takes something more than intelligence to act intelligently.” – Fyodor Dostoevsky Most people who lead businesses are extremely gifted, great learners, willing to try new things, open to new ideas, etc. Yet so many people who lead businesses make what seem to be horrendous decisions. Or, in some cases, they seem to make no … Read more
“If your vision is for a year, plant wheat. If your vision is for ten years, plant trees. If your vision is for a lifetime, plant people.” – Chinese Proverb Every time I read that quote I like it a little more. Partly that’s because I really do think the most impactful and longest lasting … Read more
“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought into a focus.” – Alexander Graham Bell Time seems to fly by, and this year is no different. It’s already November, which means 2019 is right around the corner. Regardless of what kind of business you’re in, it … Read more
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