“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.” – J.R.R. Tolkien I had the good fortunate a few weeks ago to be chatting with a group of extremely high-performing leaders. A lot of interesting topics came up, but one that really stretched everyone’s minds was … Read more
“Strategic planning is worthless – unless there is first a strategic vision.” – John Naisbitt Last week in this space the conversation was around the idea that at some point everybody has to stop “hunkering down” and start thinking about the future. That means vision, strategy, all that good stuff. Based on some responses I … Read more
“Drive thy business or it will drive thee.” – Benjamin Franklin A few weeks ago, someone forwarded to me a survey that had been taken of business leaders around the globe. These leaders were asked a lot of different questions about their concerns, priorities, initiatives, etc. One of the interesting things that came out of … Read more
“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought into a focus.” – Alexander Graham Bell Today’s topic isn’t new, but it never gets old either. Leaders everywhere feel like they don’t have enough time. They show up for work, work hard all day long, and at … Read more
“If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.” – Thomas Watson One thing I hear almost every organization talk about is their commitment to providing their customers with a quality product or service. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve … Read more
“It doesn’t matter when we start. It doesn’t matter where we start. All that matters is that we start.” – Simon Sinek It’s always important for leaders to have a clear picture in their heads of where their business is going. It’s even more important when those leaders are trying to navigate chaotic environments like … Read more
“The truth is, hardly any of us have ethical energy for more than one really inflexible point of honor.” – George Bernard Shaw Lately in this space we’ve talked about purposefully being uncomfortable, about constantly questioning, about the need to adapt, and so on. All good things. That said, as some of our loyal readers … Read more
“Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.” – Ernest Hemingway Thinking about and planning for the future sounds like something we should do as leaders. There are millions of books/articles/videos on the topic. So we all talk about doing it, … Read more
“Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.” – Bertrand Russell It’s a huge understatement to say that one of the biggest challenges we face as leaders is attempting to make change in our organizations. We all know change is hard. I would guess that half or … Read more
“Indiscriminate action is a form of laziness.” – Tim Ferris We’re taught early on in our careers to try & make people happy. When customers approach us and ask if we can help, we almost instinctively say “yes”. We’re paranoid about customers going somewhere else, so we agree to do whatever they want or need. … Read more
Get to know our proven, forward-thinking accounting, planning and business consulting experts.
1008 Third Avenue Sheldon, Iowa 51201 • (712) 324-4614 & 5130 E. 57th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57108 • (605) 610-4611
© 2025 Cain Ellsworth & Company, LLP
Sheldon:
1008 Third Avenue Sheldon, Iowa 51201 • (712) 324-4614
Sioux Falls:
5130 E. 57th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57108 • (605) 610-4611
© 2017 Cain Ellsworth & Company, LLP
