“In the new world, it is not the big fish which eats the small fish, it’s the fast fish which eats the slow fish.” – Klaus Schwab The phrase “Bigger is Better” has been taken as gospel by most of the world for years. Bigger houses, bigger cars, bigger boats, bigger whatever you want to … Read more
“This is the first time in history that you can be great at what you’re doing today and be out of business tomorrow.” – Ken Blanchard Quotes like Blanchard’s above can be found everywhere these days. Everyone talks about the pace of change and how quickly we have to change and how if we don’t … Read more
“Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out.” – John Wooden Despite all the things we say about positive attitudes and self-talk and the like, the reality is that as long as you’re a resident of this planet, things are going to happen that don’t mesh with … Read more
“Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.” – George S. Patton One of the more frustrating (and common) things I hear from business owners thinking about their future is “I’m not sure”. It’s usually said in the context of “We better not do anything differently than we’re doing it now because I’m … Read more
“In all affairs, it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.” – Bertrand Russell Sometimes as leaders in our organizations we spend so much time executing and implementing that we don’t spend enough time asking whether we’re executing & implementing the right … Read more
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” – Peter Drucker As someone who gets paid to help organizations develop & implement strategy (among other things), I get lots of questions about the best way to go about developing strategic initiatives, how to make sure they get done, etc. Usually people expect to hear terms like “SWOT analysis” or … Read more
“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” – Theodore M. Hesburgh I’ve had four nearly identical conversations in the past two weeks with people at four different businesses. All four conversations went something like this. An organization had recently undergone some significant change. The … Read more
“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.” – J.R.R. Tolkien We spend a lot of time as organizations (hopefully) talking about the future. And, to most people’s credit, it’s usually a positive conversation. Most leaders are excited about the future for their business. Most … Read more
“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk.” – Doug Larson I Googled “leadership” this morning and got 451 million hits. If you read any business publications or blogs or watch any TED talks you know people everywhere are talking about leadership. We spend endless hours … Read more
“There are two kinds of companies – those that change and those that disappear.” – Anonymous Most of the businesses and leaders I have the opportunity to work with agree on the importance of change. When I talk about chaos and volatility and the rapidly changing environment in which we live and work they all … Read more
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