“Don’t try to be fearless…Just try to prevent fear from making your decisions for you.” – Chris Guillebeau From the time we’re very small, we’re told that fear is something we should avoid. Parents tell their children “Don’t be afraid” in the middle of a loud thunderstorm. Medical professionals tell people “There’s nothing to be … Read more
“We can’t be everything to everyone, but we can be something to someone.” – Simon Sinek Why do you exist? That’s a pretty heavy question for a Monday morning (or any morning, really). Why are you here? What exactly are you supposed to be doing with the time you have on this planet? Those may … Read more
“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.” – John F. Kennedy People like things to be easy. Not necessarily because they’re lazy, but because we’ve been wired for ten thousand years to seek safety, and easy feels safe. So, most people spend … Read more
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
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