Leaders' Thoughts

“Understand that powerful people think of others as their helpers first and foremost. Let them know that this is what you are there to do. However, don’t let…

This week's Dirk Schlimm quote - “Remember that powerful people identify greatly with their work and their enterprise. They expect the same from you. Show…

Here's another quote, taken from Dirk Schlimm's book - “The terms balance and restraint rarely come up as descriptors of powerful people or are cited as…

This week’s Dirk Schlimm quote: “The fact is that many powerful people successfully overcome conventional wisdom and have the resources to keep their…

Here's another quote from Dirk Schlimm: “The genius, who sees opportunity with outside-the-box ideas, gets easily frustrated if he or she feels surrounded by…

Some people possess a natural ability called Command. It is one of those natural-talent gifts. It provides a natural ability to magnetize, influence, and…

Now isn't that a fine piece of ‘ mob thinking ’...debatable, yet mostly true, and too often rather disappointing. Optimists stand out. Their curiosity leads…

I’m telling you that you must cut down on telling people what to do and start asking more questions. Isn’t that oxymoronic ? Isn’t that the pot calling the…

"Whenever we focus on what others need to do we give away our power and let ourselves off the hook." John Izzo ' Stepping Up ', (2012) While this quote is…

When it comes to personal values , there are a handful of common Hot Buttons where differing views about personal values cause problems. Examples include…

Few will argue against the concept leaders must think. Let me restate that: few will verbally argue against the concept leaders must think. On the other…

When you aim to give people more than they expect… You must be ready, willing and able to go the extra mile. You must embrace Napoleon Hill’s ‘QQS’…

Small business is fascinating territory...small businesses capture the full range of people, personalities and business thinking. When it comes to leadership…

William MacDonald described Benjamin Franklin as a man who could control the common littleness of human nature 1 . It is clear MacDonald had tremendous…

During the last 15 years [perhaps, triggered by Stephen R. Covey?] much advice from the leadership experts/gurus is in the zone of altruism, often described…

Sometimes the business-leadership gurus go too far. Love Your Clients When you stop to think about it, isn't the word "love" just a bit too strong for…

1. Over all other traits of leadership character, Courage reigns supreme. [ Link to over 130 thoughts about Courage ] 2. In the absence of Courage, bad…

I’m thinking quite a bit about advice that helps leaders...i.e., When we want to provide advice to leaders, how do we hit the mark? How do we provide…

Managers outnumber leaders in business, by orders of magnitude. Managers outnumber leaders in families, my orders of magnitude. So, of course, managers…

Every human being wishes, to a degree, to control his or her environment, including the actions of other people. For some people, this need to control the…

To explore this topic, I did some on-line research and found an interesting article that has fed into my thinking process. Below are some excerpts from that…

When our brains/minds register things that are important, our bodies experience stress responses. The more important the topic/outcome is to us, the higher…

Five years ago, I wrote a Thought Post with that title, Do Family Businesses Have Better Values? During the last 5 years I have been involved in many…

Talents are innate. They are the substances that define us and make us unique. They are our traits and characteristics; they guide/dictate what we do and…

That concept holds true if you want to be a successful business leader. It isn't a question of patience. It's a question of competence. It's about what it…

It seems to me self-reliance weakens or slips away from time to time. You may not know it has slipped away because some successful people develop the ability…

I've never met a leader, including the bad ones, who did not exhibit superior skills in the area of attention to detail. [That comment was first published…

Link to Part 1 Recently, my friend asked me, " How do you really hold someone accountable? " While I have written about Accountability on a number of…

Have you noticed technology is a double-edged sword? Technology makes our lives easier by automating tasks, which reduces our manual processes and workload…

In his first inaugural address, in 1933, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, " The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. " Starting with this…