“Great stories happen to those who can tell them.” – Ira Glass There are literally dozens of things that impact the success or failure of an organization. Some of them get a lot of press: do you have a great product or service, are you great at sales & marketing, etc. Those are the kind … Read more
“Every great work, every big accomplishment, has been brought into manifestation through holding to the vision, and often just before the big achievement comes apparent failure and discouragement.” – Florence Scovel Shinn We ascribe many qualities to great leaders – intelligence, work ethic, strategic thinker, etc. All of those things are important, and all of … Read more
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle I don’t think I’ve ever been in a meeting where I heard somebody say, “You know, what I’d really like for this organization is to be consistently mediocre. Run of the mill, average, maybe even a little bit … Read more
“Today is life – the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto.” – Dale Carnegie Last week in this space we talked about working hard, and the reality that … Read more
“You may not be interested in strategy, but strategy is interested in you.” – Leon Trotsky It goes without saying that we live in a world of rapid, major, sometimes overwhelming change. Very few things seem to stay the same from one year to the next, and some things seem to change almost daily. Along … Read more
“Everything you can imagine is real.” – Pablo Picasso The dictionary definition of realism is “the attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is and being prepared to deal with it accordingly.” Certainly we need to understand and be honest with ourselves about whatever situation we’re in. That’s not a bad thing. The … Read more
“The unforgivable crime is soft hitting. Do not hit at all if it can be avoided; but never hit softly.” – Theodore Roosevelt When I visit with leaders, rarely do I find them to be lacking in ideas. They usually have a bunch of theories about how to grow, how to attract & keep the … Read more
“When we are no longer able to change a situation…we are challenged to change ourselves.” – Viktor Frankl We talk with our clients a lot about the importance of being agile as an organization. As markets change, as customers change, as people change, as technology changes, our businesses have to be able to adapt. The … Read more
“Courage is the capacity to confront what can be imagined.” – Leo Rosten I spend most of my time with business leaders talking about the future. While every business or industry has some unique characteristics, in general they’re all very similar. They all have customers or clients, they all have a product or service, there … Read more
“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” – Erich Fromm One of the more common reasons I hear from leaders for why their organizations haven’t made a particular change or engaged in some particular strategy is that “We’re just not sure.” As humans I think we’re wired to want some level of certainty. … Read more
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