“We cannot become what we need to be without changing who we are.” – Max DePree Oftentimes as leaders we fail to see the need for change in our organizations. Sometimes, though, we look at change as obvious. We’re not happy with the results we’re getting or the way we’re getting them and we see … Read more
“There was no such thing as luck. Luck was a word idiots used to explain the consequences of their own rashness, and selfishness, and stupidity. More often than not bad luck meant bad plans.” – Joe Abercrombie Today’s quote is a little harsh, which I suppose is to be expected when you take a quote … Read more
“Strategic planning is worthless – unless there is first a strategic vision.” – John Naisbitt In last week’s post I talked about how important it is to plan, and a few key things that make up part of a successful planning process. As a few of you reminded me, there are many other things that … Read more
“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” – Dwight Eisenhower I wouldn’t necessarily agree that plans are useless, but I think what Eisenhower meant was right on. Once the shooting starts (or for those of us fortunate enough not to get shot at on a regular … Read more
“A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves obscure men whose timidity prevented them from making a first effort.” – Sydney Smith In last week’s post we talked about the fine line we walk between perseverance just being stubborn (even if … Read more
“Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough.” – Josh Billings One of the more interesting exercises we use when talking about growth is to help our clients create a business statement. I can hear your eyes rolling as you read that … Read more
“Be yourself – not your idea of what you think somebody else’s idea of yourself should be.” – Henry David Thoreau I like that quote. I wish I had a way of measuring how much time we spend in our businesses and our lives trying to do things only because we think other people think … Read more
“You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.” – Ken Kesey Last week I spent part of a day visiting with a leadership group whose organizational focus is entirely on growth. They’ve been talking about growth for years, and have … Read more
“All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.” – Ellen Glasgow During 2014 we’ve spent a lot of time working with people around the idea of growth. After several years without much growth to speak of, people want to grow. Growth is fun to talk about & it energizes people. Unfortunately, a … Read more
“Death is a challenge. It tells us not to waste time.” – Leo Buscaglia One of our keys to success in 2014 is the idea of being a challenger (read this if you have no idea what I’m talking about). We’ve been talking with people about challenging their people, their customers, and their entire organization. … Read more
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