“Today is life – the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto.” – Dale Carnegie Last week in this space we talked about working hard, and the reality that … Read more
“You may not be interested in strategy, but strategy is interested in you.” – Leon Trotsky It goes without saying that we live in a world of rapid, major, sometimes overwhelming change. Very few things seem to stay the same from one year to the next, and some things seem to change almost daily. Along … Read more
“Everything you can imagine is real.” – Pablo Picasso The dictionary definition of realism is “the attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is and being prepared to deal with it accordingly.” Certainly we need to understand and be honest with ourselves about whatever situation we’re in. That’s not a bad thing. The … Read more
“The unforgivable crime is soft hitting. Do not hit at all if it can be avoided; but never hit softly.” – Theodore Roosevelt When I visit with leaders, rarely do I find them to be lacking in ideas. They usually have a bunch of theories about how to grow, how to attract & keep the … Read more
“When we are no longer able to change a situation…we are challenged to change ourselves.” – Viktor Frankl We talk with our clients a lot about the importance of being agile as an organization. As markets change, as customers change, as people change, as technology changes, our businesses have to be able to adapt. The … Read more
“Courage is the capacity to confront what can be imagined.” – Leo Rosten I spend most of my time with business leaders talking about the future. While every business or industry has some unique characteristics, in general they’re all very similar. They all have customers or clients, they all have a product or service, there … Read more
“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” – Erich Fromm One of the more common reasons I hear from leaders for why their organizations haven’t made a particular change or engaged in some particular strategy is that “We’re just not sure.” As humans I think we’re wired to want some level of certainty. … Read more
“When dealing with complex transportation issues, the best thing to do is pull up with a cold beer and let somebody else figure it out.” – Anthony Bourdain There’s an interesting contradiction that I hear from leaders on a regular basis. When I ask leaders about the strengths of their organization, almost invariably they say … Read more
“Slaying sacred cows makes great steaks.” – Dick Nicolose I was reminded recently of a problem that many leaders face on a daily basis. I was visiting with the leader of a business that’s been around a long time and, by virtually any measure, has been very successful. Over the past few years, however, things … Read more
“A good plan implemented today is better than a perfect plan implemented tomorrow.” – George S. Patton One of the struggles of leading in today’s world is the feeling that you don’t always have all the information. There are so many moving parts and so many things change so rapidly that we end up with … Read more
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