“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.” – J.R.R. Tolkien I had the good fortunate a few weeks ago to be chatting with a group of extremely high-performing leaders. A lot of interesting topics came up, but one that really stretched everyone’s minds was … Read more
“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” – Thomas Sowell I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to meet with a group of outstanding leaders on a regular basis. We get together and talk about a lot of different topics, mostly big picture stuff. It’s an opportunity for those leaders … Read more
“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” – Judy Garland Last week in this space the conversation was about understanding who you are and who you aren’t, and then getting help where you need it. Based on the feedback that came in, that topic struck a nerve. … Read more
“Astrophysicists assure us the universe has no center; therefore, you cannot be it.” – David McCullough, Jr. A lot is expected of leaders. Sometimes people in leadership roles feel like they’re supposed to know how to do everything, how to handle every situation, what to say to anyone at any time, etc. It can be, … Read more
“When bobbing for apples, an idealist endlessly reaches for the best apple, a pessimist settles for the first one within reach, while an optimist drains the barrel, fishes out all the apples and makes pie.” – Vera Nazarian Moderation doesn’t always seem to be in vogue. Maybe that’s always been true, but it seems especially … Read more
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Joe Sabah If you read what I posted last week in this space, this might sound like a repeat. And it mostly is, with maybe a slight twist. That’s primarily due to the fact that since the writing … Read more
“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 Early in my career, I thought the most important part of my job was going to be helping leaders figure out what they and … Read more
“Whatever you are, be a good one.” – Abraham Lincoln It’s pretty common to hear leaders talk about their desire for excellence. They’ll talk about delivering excellent products to their customers, or they’ll talk about their excellent customer service, or they’ll talk about their excellent people, and on and on. It would seem that the … Read more
“Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Here’s an obvious statement: there are a lot of things in our lives and careers that we have absolutely no control over. Weather, people, governments – the list goes on and on. And a lot of these uncontrollable … Read more
“It takes something more than intelligence to act intelligently.” – Fyodor Dostoevsky One of the things that leaders are most proud of is their work ethic. If you talk to most leaders long enough, at some point they’ll mention how hard they’re working. And for the most part, they are working hard. The question that … Read more
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