leaders – CainEllsworth

Who Cares What They Think?

“Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious.” – Rumi The word “leader” suggests someone who is out in front, charging ahead towards who knows what, waving and yelling for others to follow. Maybe that imagery isn’t exactly perfect, but it’s not very far off. On a very basic level, … Read more

BREAK

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” – John Lubbock We’ll be taking a break in this space for the next … Read more

Impact

“You must make your mark on this earth, and, if you have never done so, it is simply because you neglected to use the powers you have, or you have neglected to develop them.” – John Henry Patterson The best leaders almost always feel empowered. They always feel like they can have an impact, or … Read more

No Failing = Not Leading

“There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.” – Brene Brown Virtually everyone would agree that being a leader is huge challenge. There are people to manage both internally and externally, there are customer issues, technology changes, and on and on. A list of things leaders deal with would take up an entire page. … Read more

IMPORTANT > FAST

“Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” – Peter Drucker Most leaders – most people – feel constantly pressed for time. There are so many things we want to do, things we feel like we need to do, and we never feel like we have time to do them all. It’s … Read more

Want Different, Be Different

“If you want what normal people have, then do what normal people do. If you want something different then you have to be a little different.” – Mark Uhlenberg For all the talk you hear from people about striving for greatness, or chasing excellence, or achieving full potential, the reality is a little less elevating. … Read more

Opportunity

“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.” – Oscar Wilde We live in a chaotic world. When you turn on the TV, or pull up your favorite news or current events-related website, or look on social media, you see one crazy thing after another. There seems to be no end … Read more

Ups And Downs

“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself – and you are the easiest person to fool.” – Richard Feynman There are a lot of balancing acts that leaders are expected to perform. Leaders need to consider what’s best for the business without losing sight of what’s best for customers or employees. Leaders … Read more

You Be You

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs We spend a lot of time in this space talking about leading organizations. Today, I’m thinking more about us as leaders, and what it means to lead ourselves. I know a lot of leaders who work really hard and put … Read more

Moving On

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” – Alvin Toffler There are a lot of leaders who like to talk about how hard they work, how many hours they’re putting in, all the sacrifices they make, etc. For those … Read more

GPS Blog

It's time to go "Beyond the Numbers".