“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
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” – Zig Ziglar I had a conversation with a leader a few weeks ago that went something like this. Leader: “I’m frustrated with our people.” Me: “Why?” Leader: ”They don’t understand our vision.” Me: “Why might that … Read more
“Things may come to those who wait, but only things left by those who hustle.” – Abraham Lincoln When people think about leaders, one of the first things that most of them think about is decision making. People envision leaders sitting on a throne (or in their office) while everyone comes to them with questions … Read more
“A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player.” – John Wooden One of the things we say we value in our organizations is great team players. We talk a lot about how much we appreciate them, how things get done because they always pitch in, about how we’re grateful … Read more
“Our own dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.” – Sydney J. Harris One of the most common frustrations I hear from leaders has to do with the performance of their people. Not that all … Read more
“By trying to not get anyone mad, and by treating everyone equally ‘nicely’ regardless of their contributions, you’ll simply ensure that the only people you’ll wind up angering are the most creative and productive people in the organization.” – Colin Powell Today’s quote is a long one, but the whole thing is worth reading repeatedly. … Read more
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