“If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.” – Fred DeVito I’ve found myself thinking about ancient history lately. In particular, I’ve been thinking about my ancestors living in caves. It’s kind of hard to imagine. The only thing that makes sense is that if you had managed to find enough to eat, and … Read more
“If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” – Frank A. Clark Last week in this space the topic was self-sabotage. I could probably write something about that topic every week for a year (don’t worry, I won’t). There are just so many ways that we are consistently our own … Read more
“Once you stop learning, you start dying.” – Albert Einstein One of the things that has been mentioned in this space a number of times in the past is the idea that as leaders, we have a tendency to learn and grow and develop until we reach a certain point, and then our learning curve … Read more
“One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” – Andre Gide It’s the understatement of the decade to say that we live in somewhat chaotic times. I won’t list all the reasons, other than to say there are many. It feels like we are bombarded … Read more
“Growth demands the temporary surrender of security.” – Gail Sheehy I remember as a kid overhearing a conversation that had to do with someone who was approaching retirement. The gist of the conversation was that the individual in question had worked hard, had a great career, and was now set up to do whatever they … Read more
“Comfort makes you weaker. We need some variability, some stressors. Not too much, but just enough.” – Nassim Nicholas Taleb One of the comments I’ve heard from a few leaders lately is that they wish they could just go back to February, when things were “easy”. I would guess most people have had that thought … Read more
“We are either progressing or retrograding all the while; there is no such thing as remaining stationary in this life.” – James Freeman Clarke Every year about this time we see published one list after another of predictions about the coming year. People will predict technological advances, weather, sports – anything you can imagine. It’s … Read more
“Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them.” – Rabindranath Tagore More and more it seems to me that a vast number of people have a common goal in life. I don’t know that it’s a new thing, but I’ve not really been conscious of it until … Read more
“Don’t tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.” – George S. Patton I attended a conference for family businesses recently, and one of the recurring themes was business-related family conflict. The conversations went in many directions, but one underlying theme was the conflict … Read more
“You will either step forward into growth or you will step back into safety.” – Abraham Maslow A recent survey of international business leaders concluded that the #1 focus for those leaders was ‘profitable growth’. Lots of people hear ‘growth’ and they immediately think of new products or new markets or really successful salespeople. But … Read more
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