“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Almost everyone likes to brag about their work ethic, or at least likes to feel pretty good about it. I can’t remember the last time I heard a leader say “Boy, I sure don’t work very … Read more
“Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.” – Elbert Hubbard Normally in this space we’re talking about leadership, or change, or some kind of challenge we face in our organizations. Today is a little different. It’s still about a challenge, but that challenge is of a completely different … Read more
“Once we choose hope, anything is possible.” – Christopher Reeve I try not to write blog posts about the same topic over and over, but as I write this today I’m still thinking about last week’s topic. Our attitudes and beliefs don’t just influence our happiness, or how we feel on a given day. They … Read more
“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.” – Alan Alda I’ve been reminded a number of times over the past several weeks of the impact that our beliefs and attitudes have on our lives. That maybe sounds like a pretty … Read more
“The easier it is to do something, the harder it is to change the way you do it.” – Steve Wozniak Complacency is one of those things we always attribute to other people. On some level, we equate it with laziness, and no one ever admits to being lazy. We point to people who we … Read more
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw So many leaders I talk to express frustration about the situations they find themselves in. The organizations they lead aren’t performing the way they’d like, something’s wrong with their people or products or services, or maybe they … Read more
“I am in competition with no one. I have no desire to play the game of being better than anyone. I am simply trying to be better than the person I was yesterday.” – Unknown I’ve had several eerily similar conversations with leaders over the past two weeks that really forced me to stop and … Read more
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” – Steven R. Covey I know we talked about this same topic not that long ago, but it keeps coming up over and over again. It’s the idea of listening, and how most leaders aren’t very good at … Read more
“Don’t mistake activity with achievement.” – John Wooden Early in my career, I worked for an individual who measured the value of those who worked for him by the number of hours those people worked. Anybody who got there early and stayed late was, in his mind, a rock star. Never mind what you were … Read more
“People learn something every day, and a lot of times it’s that what they learned the day before was wrong.” – Bill Vaughan In general, most people like stability. We want to wake up in the morning and know we can count on certain things to be the same way they were yesterday. People will … Read more
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