“The world changes in direct proportion to the number of people willing to be honest about their lives.” – Armistead Maupin I have conversations with successful leaders on a daily basis, and while I hope they receive some kind of value from the conversation, I know without question I receive value from them. I learn … Read more
“I am not young enough to know everything.” – Oscar Wilde A few weeks ago I posted something about how important it is for leaders to be lifelong learners. An enthusiasm for learning is one of the surest predictors that you have a chance to be a successful leader. But it can’t just be you. … Read more
“Not being able to do everything is no excuse for not doing everything you can.” – Ashleigh Brilliant We live in a world where people seem to avoid taking responsibility for as many things as possible (maybe the world has always been that way). No matter what goes wrong in somebody’s life, they’ll come up … Read more
“It’s a bad plan that admits of no modification.” – Publilius Syrus One of the parts of my career I enjoy the most is helping organizations plan for their future. One of the parts that’s less enjoyable is listening to people complain about planning for their future. Leaders ask if we can help them with … Read more
“In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” – Eric Hoffer Understandably, we all tend to be impressed by people who are successful. When it comes to leaders, we tend to look at those who’ve done really well and … Read more
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” – C.G. Jung If I asked you to list capabilities that are critical for leaders to have here in the 21st century, what would you come up with? You might have something about technology, or continuous learning, or … Read more
“Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things.” – Peter Drucker One of the critical things leaders need to be thinking about in our current world is focus. We are constantly bombarded by change in our businesses, technology, people, customers, etc. Some days it’s hard to know where to look. There are … Read more
“Action expresses priorities.” – Mahatma Gandhi An all too common refrain from business owners when I ask them why they haven’t done or aren’t doing something that seems worth doing is “I’m just too busy”. Sometimes it’s “I just don’t have time” or “I haven’t had time to get to that” or something like that, … Read more
“I’m facing Niagara Falls – the wind and the mist and the dark and the peregrine falcons – and I’m going to stay focused on the other side.” – Nik Wallenda One of my areas of improvement for 2018 is focus. There are so many possibilities and so many ideas and so many challenges that … Read more
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln There’s a great movie from the early 90’s called Groundhog Day. In that movie the main character keeps reliving the same day over and over again. No matter what happens, he wakes up the … Read more
Get to know our proven, forward-thinking accounting, planning and business consulting experts.
1008 Third Avenue Sheldon, Iowa 51201 • (712) 324-4614 & 5130 E. 57th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57108 • (605) 610-4611
© 2025 Cain Ellsworth & Company, LLP
Sheldon:
1008 Third Avenue Sheldon, Iowa 51201 • (712) 324-4614
Sioux Falls:
5130 E. 57th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57108 • (605) 610-4611
© 2017 Cain Ellsworth & Company, LLP
