In a brief audio clip featured by Success Video, John Maxwell shares two practices leaders should enact in order to make themselves more effective and productive: Stop making excuses. Understand the secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda. Maxwell is passionate about the importance of eliminating excuses. While he acknowledges that in

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Virtually all people fear failure. A bitter irony is that for some, the fear of failure is so crippling that they fail to even try. If you lack the courage to even attempt something for fear you might fail, you’ve already failed.   Others try, but after experiencing one or two failures, they do not

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You’ve likely heard it said, “Leadership is all about influence.” I have always agreed with this statement, and have said it myself countless times! I have also said, “Everybody is a leader.” I truly believe that. Think about it – everybody, no matter who they are, influences other people. Whether it’s a CEO with a

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We all know that our bodies need basic things on a daily basis in order to function. Without the critical necessities of oxygen, food, water, and rest, our bodies’ basic functions will quickly deteriorate or completely stop. Most of us are also aware that our bodies need more of some things and less of others

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Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States, was infamous for his taciturn ways, earning him the nickname “Silent Cal.” But Coolidge wasn’t quiet because he was extremely introverted or inarticulate – on the contrary, he was a highly visible President who entertained countless guests at the white house and proved to be a capable

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Many virtues mark the life of a great leader. Integrity, ambition, vision, and empathy are just a few. But perhaps most important of all virtues is courage, because without the courage to hold fast, the demonstration of these other virtues is sporadic at best. Author, poet and performer Maya Angelou expressed this conviction when she

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Co-authors Linda Hill and Kent Lineback shared some valuable leadership advice from their book, Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader, during a recent HBR Video IdeaCast. In addition to discussing the importance of cultivating strong networks, Hill addressed the question, “What happens if you’re a competent jerk?” She explained that when you

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In his recent blog post titled, “12 Ways to Know if You Are a Leader,” Michael Hyatt asserts that while he believes everybody has the potential to be a leader, not everyone is a leader.   Based on nearly 40 years of personal experience, I believe many healthcare ‘leaders,’ particularly those at the director, senior director and VP level, may

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Famous theologian, philosopher and physician Albert Schweitzer once said,“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.” What a poetic way to express such a universal truth! Few would argue with the idea that kindness can accomplish what little else can. Genuine acts of kindness and

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Dictionary.com defines the word static as: 1) “Pertaining to or characterized by a fixed or stationary condition.” 2) “Showing little or no change.” 3) “Lacking movement, development, or vitality.” The word stagnant has a similar meaning: “characterized by lack of development, advancement, or progressive movement.” Do you know someone with a leadership style that could be characterized by one

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I frequently read and enjoy blog posts from Michael Hyatt, who is the former chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers and a talented and insightful writer. In addition to his own posts, Hyatt routinely allows carefully selected guest authors to publish on his blog. He recently shared a guest post by Ryan J. Ferrier, a

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In a brief audio clip featured by Success Video, world-renowned speaker and author John Maxwell shares his insights from creating a healthy growth environment early in his career.   Maxwell explains that as a young leader he was not in an environment conducive to growth, and he realized that he needed to create his own growth

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In an article posted on his blog titled “Five Characteristics of Weak Leaders,” Michael Hyatt, who is the former Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers, said, “Sometimes you learn from positive role models. Often you learn from negative ones. This is one of the reasons I love to read history — you inevitably get both.” In our

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In the HBR Channel Management Tip video “Conduct an Informal 360°,” released April 13th, 2012, Scott Edinger, the founder of Edinger Consulting Group, gives some advice regarding leadership. He states, “to be a more effective leader you must identify your strengths, then decide which ones to develop – but you have to start with a clear view

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I recently had the privilege of visiting the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Brach, Iowa, and I took the opportunity to learn some leadership lessons from our 31st president. Herbert Hoover was a man of action. When he saw a need, he took action to meet it; when he saw a wrong,

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I recently visited, studied and photographed the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch, Iowa. While there, I took the opportunity to learn some valuable lessons from the life and leadership of Herbert Hoover. Those who serve in healthcare know that it is an industry that requires a certain kind of character. The

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Last week we examined trust and how easy it is to unintentionally fall into the trap of untrustworthiness, or not being trusted.  This week we want to share four great tips from Michael Hyatt on how to build or rebuild trust. In a recent blog post, Michael shared his personal experience of working with an

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Guest author: Emily Sirkel, COO of the Dan Nielsen Company. Check out her personal blog, “Thrive,” at emilysirkel.com Trust and trustworthiness; these two words are thrown around a lot when talking about leadership, teamwork and positive character traits. What comes to mind when you hear the word trust? Stop for a moment and seriously consider

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I recently had the privilege of interviewing Maynard Oliverius, President and CEO of Stormont-Vail HealthCare in Topeka, Kansas. Oliverius, who is set to retire in June 2012, has been with Stormont-Vail for 43 years! He has been President and CEO for 16 years. This highly respected healthcare leader’s success and passion is reflected by his

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The late Jim Rohn, a very successful author, speaker, and publisher, wrote a short article titled The Ant Philosophy.  Every leader, in my opinion, should learn and remember “The Ant Philosophy.”   Rohn wrote, “I think everybody should study ants.  They have an amazing four-part philosophy.   Here is the first part: ants never quit.  That’s

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