vision – CainEllsworth

No Limits

“Everything you can imagine is real.” – Pablo Picasso Many hours have been spent over the years trying to define what characteristics and behaviors define great leaders. Some things show up over and over again – work ethic, intelligence, integrity, etc. Those kinds of things will always matter. The world is always changing, though, and … Read more

Add Your Mind To the Mix

“As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think.” – Toni Morrison Everybody loves data. People talk about making decisions based on data, measuring performance based on data, etc. Data can be an incredibly valuable tool. Data can sometimes keep us from doing stupid things. Sometimes data can portray a … Read more

What YOU Want

“Don’t dance for the audience; dance for yourself.” – Bob Fosse Some leaders allow things to happen, and some leaders make things happen (see last week’s conversation). Obviously, as leaders, we want to be the ones making things happen. That seems pretty simple. What’s much less simple is this: what exactly do we want to … Read more

impact

“If your vision is for a year, plant wheat. If your vision is for ten years, plant trees. If your vision is for a lifetime, plant people.” – Old Chinese Proverb One of the things I appreciate about most of the leaders I get to work with is that, for the most part, they’re in … Read more

You’re the leader – now lead

“I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure. It is: Try to please everybody.” – Herbert Bayard Swope The world is always changing, and as it changes, leaders are continually faced with new opportunities and challenges. Sometimes the opportunities and challenges are two sides of the … Read more

Adjust On The Fly

“Never be so focused on what you’re looking for that you overlook the thing you actually find.” – Ann Patchett Last week in this space, the topic was vision. Creating a clear, compelling vision isn’t easy, and most organizations never really get it done. Even organizations that succeed in terms of vision are faced with … Read more

The First Thing

“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt I was fortunate enough recently to have the opportunity to assist the leaders of a 120+ year-old business that was … Read more

Once Isn’t Enough

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” – Zig Ziglar I had a conversation with a leader a few weeks ago that went something like this. Leader: “I’m frustrated with our people.” Me: “Why?” Leader: ”They don’t understand our vision.” Me: “Why might that … Read more

A Tough Job

“By trying to not get anyone mad, and by treating everyone equally ‘nicely’ regardless of their contributions, you’ll simply ensure that the only people you’ll wind up angering are the most creative and productive people in the organization.” – Colin Powell Today’s quote is a long one, but the whole thing is worth reading repeatedly. … Read more

Energy vs No Energy

“Most people see what they want to, or at least what they expect to.” – Martha Grimes Being a leader is hard work. There’s no “easy” button or magic bullet. Every time you think you everything figured out as a leader, something new comes along and you feel like a beginner all over again. All … Read more

GPS Blog

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