Sir Ken Robinson is an expert on education. learning, and creativity. He tells a story about once having served on a panel of speakers that included the Dalai Lama. During a Q&A session, the Dalai Lama was asked a question that he didn’t answer right away. After a long silence, the Dalai Lama finally responded,
“It’s important to have a sound idea, but the really important thing is the implementation.”
Picture this. You’re in a meeting to discuss a particular operating problem you need to solve. The group discusses several possible solutions, and finally settles on the one that seems most likely to succeed. Then the leader of the group says, “Good work gang! I think we’re on the right track here,” and adjourns the
“Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.”
The Loyola Ramblers were the “Cinderella” team of this year’s NCAA basketball tournament. True, they didn’t win the championship, but for a team that many thought couldn’t win their Missouri Valley Conference, making it all the way to the Final Four was an incredible feat. On the surface, it may seem that there aren’t any
14 Great Questions Every Entrepreneur Should Ask
A while ago, I stumbled across an article in Inc. magazine entitled “100 great questions every entrepreneur should ask.” The questions were submitted by a variety of business leaders and business writers, and while all were pretty good, predictably, some were better than others. So I picked out a few that I thought were particularly
The first rule of management is delegation. Don’t try and do everything yourself because you can’t.
Entrepreneurs often have a tough time delegating effectively. After all, the company is their baby. They gave it life and steered it through its formative years. They know how to press all the important buttons and pull all the essential levers better than anyone else. But if they continue to refuse access to those buttons
A boss has the position and authority to command compliance, but only a leader can inspire commitment.
It’s true. Some people are born leaders. They are born with the right aptitudes and behaviors that pave the way for leadership. They may have to work at it, but at least they have the right tools to develop their leadership style and abilities. Others (probably most of us) have to work harder to develop
“The majority of meetings should be discussions that lead to decisions.”
“People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.” ~ Thomas Sowell “Has anyone ever said, ‘I wish I could go to more meetings today?’” ~ Matt Mullenweg “Meetings are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything.” ~ John Kenneth Galbraith I was going to say that meetings get a bad rap,
“Prioritizing causes us to do things that are, at the least, uncomfortable and sometimes downright painful.”
Setting priorities. That’s something many entrepreneurs struggle with. In fact, entrepreneurs are sometimes likened to crows who get distracted by every new shiny thing that comes along. Unfortunately, this creates confusion as employees try to keep up with ever-shifting priorities. In other cases, instead of setting priorities vertically with the most important at the top
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” ~ Peter Drucker
We have used this space to talk about leadership many times in the past, and no doubt, will continue to talk about it in the future. It is, after all, a critically important topic. If you go to the business section of a bookstore or a library, you’ll find the shelves are packed with books
“I found success becomes a catalyst for failure because it leads to what Jim Collins called the ‘undisciplined pursuit of more.’ “
Greg McKeown is a leadership and business consultant, public speaker, and author. His most recent book is, “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.” In that book, he puts forward his very unusual belief that success in business can be its own worst enemy. In his view, success doesn’t necessarily beget more success. In fact, an initial success
