“You may not control all of the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” – Maya Angelou Most years, we start off the month of January with big ideas about growth, or increased profitability, or some new product or location, or any number of “business” things that … Read more
“If you can do what you do best and be happy, you’re further along in life than most people.” – Leonardo DiCaprio Sometimes when I talk to leaders, I get the impression that things like “happiness” and “purpose” and “unique abilities” are not part of their vocabulary. It’s as though doing your job as leader … Read more
“Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.” – Winston Churchill There has not been a shortage of things to worry or stress about in the past ten months. We’ve experienced any number of things that would normally be enough to put us on edge – and then we’ve experienced a global pandemic just … Read more
“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” – Bill Vaughan Much to the relief of a lot of people, 2020 is gone. However, as one leader put it to me a few days ago, so far 2021 hasn’t been … Read more
“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.” – Lao Tzu One of the things that we’ve been reminded of over the past nine months is that, when subjected to stress and uncertainty for long periods of time, people wear down. Last week in this space we talked about energy, and … Read more
“Failure is more frequently from want of energy than want of capital.” – Daniel Webster Energy, or lack thereof, has been an issue for leaders for as long as leaders have existed. I’m sure that, thousands of years ago, the head cave man was tired and run down and felt overwhelmed with all the responsibilities … Read more
“Not being able to do everything is no excuse for not doing everything you can.” – Ashleigh Brilliant No one in a leadership role ever says, “I really hope we can work hard to make this organization mediocre.” No one. We’re taught from an early age that we should want to be great, that we … Read more
“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” – Zora Neale Hurston In normal times, those leaders who are able to maintain focus in spite of all the noise nearly always outperform those who don’t. Being able to put aside things that don’t matter, or things they can’t control is one of the … Read more
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart One thing most leaders pride themselves on is their work ethic. Leaders – most people, really – want to believe that our success is the result of our work ethic, our intelligence, our decision making skills, etc. Work … Read more
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” – Stephen R. Covey When people talk about the qualities of great leaders, they might often talk about intelligence, passion, charisma, or any number of things. One quality that isn’t mentioned very often is that of being a … Read more
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