“To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can.” – Sydney Smith I think it’s fear of the unknown that stops us. We’d rather have the unpleasant reality that we’re familiar with … Read more
“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.” – Lao Tzu We as leaders spend a lot of time thinking & worrying about things that are external to ourselves. Customers, competitors, the people who work with and for us, the government, etc. And rightly so. All of those things require us … Read more
“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
“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
“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
“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
“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.” – Gen. Eric Shinseki If you can get past the disaster that his career became over the past few years, Shinseki’s quote is one of my all-time favorites. So many of us don’t like change – and that in itself isn’t some kind … Read more
“Creativity comes from looking for the unexpected and stepping outside your own experience.” – Masaru Ibuka I was fortunate enough last week to attend a conference where one of the speakers was Erik Wahl. Three things struck me as I listened to Erik speak. First, he’s a phenomenal speaker/artist. Second, I was reminded how critical … Read more
“A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.” – Muhammad Ali We spend a lot of time in this space talking about change. How much & how fast the world changes, how technology changes, how markets change, etc. But what about … Read more
Get to know our proven, forward-thinking accounting, planning and business consulting experts.
1008 Third Avenue Sheldon, Iowa 51201 • (712) 324-4614 & 5130 E. 57th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57108 • (605) 610-4611
© 2025 Cain Ellsworth & Company, LLP
Sheldon:
1008 Third Avenue Sheldon, Iowa 51201 • (712) 324-4614
Sioux Falls:
5130 E. 57th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57108 • (605) 610-4611
© 2017 Cain Ellsworth & Company, LLP
