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- Author: Dan Nielsen
Franklin D. Roosevelt had plenty of excuses that he could have used to justify taking the easy route and avoiding risk. But he needed no excuses, because he did not take the easy route, and he embraced risk as the welcome companion to opportunity. When struck with a debilitating disease at the age …
Today’s article is the eighth in a series learning from the book by Paul Smith, Lead With A Story: A Guide to Crafting Business Narratives that Captivate, Convince, and Inspire. In chapter 14, the author tells an impactful story about a talented and highly successful CFO named Sara who, along with her team, completed a company-wide, …
Abraham Lincoln is one of the most highly respected and admired leaders in history. His example of strong but gentle leadership has been studied and applauded for generations.
When I reached the chapter about Lincoln in my writing of the book Presidential Leadership: Learning from United States Presidential Libraries & Museums (available October 1st!), I didn’t know where to start. There was so much to say. Which leadership strengths should I focus on? What angle should I take? How do I pick?!
As I considered the possibilities and dug into my research, I happened across…
...Here is a mission, a goal, an intentional strategy worth pursuing with all the energy, wisdom and talent you have. Become the embodiment of profound generosity and love. Achieve this mission and you will profoundly change and improve your own life, as well as the lives of the people you impact and serve.
...Today’s article is the seventh in a series learning from the book by Paul Smith, Lead With A Story: A Guide to Crafting Business Narratives that Captivate, Convince, and Inspire. Have you ever felt distant, or aggressively competitive, or even had a downright dislike for someone, only to find out later that you have things in …
Regardless of political party and certainly many personal, professional, and organizational weaknesses, each and every former President of the United States achieved the most powerful, prestigious and influential leadership position in the world!
They overcame many weaknesses, mistakes, and perceived limitations. They focused on…
...Today’s article is the sixth in a series learning from the book by Paul Smith, Lead With A Story: A Guide to Crafting Business Narratives that Captivate, Convince, and Inspire. In chapter 9, Smith does an excellent job of making the case that company values, explained and frequently reinforced by memorable stories, are far more effective …
I love this Russian proverb I discovered while studying a recently published book, The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. Even before the first chapter, this excellent proverb sets the stage for the importance of the contents of this book. A great reminder that divided attention and diffused focus brings mediocre results. Instead, focus on the ONE thing!
...It is amazing, the number of people whose actions clearly state, “if you don’t start, you can’t fail.”
Remember, actions speak far louder than words. Via their daily actions, a huge portion of the world’s population consistently act out their belief that, “If you don’t start, you can’t fail.”
They are wrong—dead wrong! Best selling author Seth Godin recently wrote this in his blog…
...“If you see things the right way, losses are opportunities to change and improve.” – John Maxwell
No one likes to lose. But I think leaders especially don’t like to lose.
Try as we might to keep our egos out of our leadership, it hurts our pride when we experience failure. As leaders, we’re “supposed to” be successful. We’re “supposed to” have it all together. We’re not supposed to lose.
But we all lose sometime….
...Today’s article is the fifth in a series learning from the book by Paul Smith, Lead With A Story: A Guide to Crafting Business Narratives that Captivate, Convince, and Inspire. The book is available wherever bestselling books are sold. In chapter six, titled “Define Customer Service Success and Failure,” Paul Smith does an excellent job of …
We’ve all had skeptics in our lives. Whether it was a sibling, parent, classmate, coworker, boss, spouse, or a complete stranger—you’ve probably had someone say to you, “You can’t…” or “That will never work…” or “It won’t last…” or some other variation of doubt and skepticism.
Some people are crushed by these kinds of naysayers and let these words of doubt extinguish their dreams. But other people—and I’d consider myself one of these—take skepticism as a challenge…
...As a leader, how easily do you admit weakness or inadequacy? How often do you ask for help? Are you tempted to shelter your ego and muscle through difficulty on your own?
In a blog post this week, speaker, author and leader Michele Cushatt wrote about a recent experience she had that forced her to confront her own weakness and admit that even though she is a leader, she too has moments of need.
In her post Michele shares this piece of wisdom for every leader…
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