“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
“Destiny is a name often given in retrospect to choices that had dramatic consequences.” – J.K. Rowling I can’t remember the last time I was in a meeting or having a conversation with leaders and one of them used words like “fate”, or “destiny”. Those aren’t the kinds of words that typically get used in … Read more
“I’m no longer quite sure what the question is, but I do know that the answer is yes.” – Leonard Bernstein It’s easy to live in a world of “no”. The world seems chaotic and often scary, and when we’re surrounded by chaos and fear, as humans we have a natural tendency to seek safety. … Read more
“Take action. Success is not guaranteed, but inaction will guarantee failure.” – Ken Poirot I’m fortunate enough in my career to spend a lot of time with people who lead successful organizations. Those organizations provide a wide array of products and services, come in all shapes and sizes, and are structured in a variety of … Read more
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