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April 2012 Resources

Leadership Thought #344 – Every Day is A Gift

So much about life comes down to your attitude about it. I know privileged people who are regularly misanthropic and others with less economic advantages that seem to be mostly happy even though their lot in life seems comparatively difficult. Every day we wake up we get to make a choice about how we approach our life. We can see our existence as an amazing gift full of unlimited possibilities or a burden full of work, obligations and limitations. We can appreciate what we have or yearn for what’s beyond our reach. We can make a positive difference in the lives other people or focus exclusively on ourselves. We can build bridges to solidify positive relationships or forget to tend to the basic maintenance of effective human interaction.

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Leadership Thought #343 – Lying Almost Always Has Consequences

It may take awhile but most liars eventually get caught. There is a great saying that “if you don’t want to forget what you did, then always tells the truth.” I also like the common refrain these days that “…the cover-up is often worse than the crime.” Honesty matters! If people feel like that they should regularly question what you are telling them, then they won’t trust you. This is a problem that many our current (and past) political leaders have to deal with and it is of their own making. All you have to do is turn on the TV or read a newspaper or magazine and there is ample evidence of individuals dealing with the consequences of being caught in a lie.

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Leadership Thought #342 – Don’t Lose Your Personal Censor Button

As you grow as a leader and start to have some success it’s important that you not get too full of yourself and remain somewhat humble. This is especially true as you begin to do more public speaking. While you certainly can, it’s not advisable to just say whatever is on your mind and believe you have all the answers. I’m often amazed how many people forget this fact. Otherwise smart people who have a lot to share with an audience kill their credibility with unwise or unnecessarily controversial statements. You have to know when to use your personal censor button.

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    Recommended Reading

  • Your Next Five Moves

    Patrick Bet-David

    Book Video Summary InsightsView the Book

    Both successful entrepreneurs and chess grandmasters have the vision to look at the pieces in front of them and anticipate their next five moves. In this book, Patrick Bet-David translates this skill into a valuable methodology that applies to high performers at all levels of business. Whether you feel like you’ve hit a wall, lost […]

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  • The Truth About Leadership

    James Kouzes & Barry Posner

    Book ReviewView the Book

    A fresh look at what it means to lead from two of the biggest names in leadership In these turbulent times, when the very foundations of organizations and societies are shaken, leaders need to move beyond pessimistic predictions, trendy fads, and simplistic solutions. They need to turn to what’s real and what’s proven. In their […]

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  • High Performance: Lessons from the Best on Becoming Your Best

    Jake Humphrey and Damien Hughes

    Read Ed's Book ExcerptsView the Book

    This book uncovers the eight essential habits of the world’s leading sportspeople, coaches and entrepreneurs. From taking responsibility for your situation to finding your ‘Trademark Behaviors’, it reveals how the world’s highest-achieving people unlocked their potential – and how you can too. Anyone can learn the secrets of high performance. ‘Full of valuable principles with […]

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    Favorite Articles

  • Developing dual awareness

    Leaders faced with volatility and uncertainty will benefit from building a keen awareness of both themselves and the operating environment around them. In their new book, Deliberate Calm: How to Learn and Lead in a Volatile World (HarperCollins Publishers, November 2022), authors Jacqueline Brassey, Aaron De Smet, and Michiel Kruyt investigate a concept they call “dual awareness,” […]

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  • What Employees Need from Leaders in Uncertain Times

    It’s one thing to lead through a normal range of uncertainty with its ups and downs. But how do you lead when the inflections, disruptions, dislocations, and other threat conditions pile up, as they have in the last few years? While the leader has little to no control over the external competitive environment, they have […]

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  • CEO excellence: How do leaders assess their own performance?

    Early results from McKinsey’s proprietary CEO Excellence Assessment Tool offer insights into the key issues facing more than 100 CEOs, mostly from Asia, and where they feel most confident—and most vulnerable. The CEO role is one of the most challenging and demanding positions in any organization, particularly in the current economic climate. It is also […]

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    Helpful Websites

  • Therapist Aid

    Therapist Aid provides expertly designed, research-informed tools and education for mental health professionals and their clients.

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  • Wordtune

    Wordtune was built by AI21 Labs, founded in 2018 by AI luminaries. Our goal is to revolutionize the way we read and write. We design advanced AI tools and language models that understand the context and semantics of written text. These models are what set Wordtune apart as the first AI-based writing companion, moving far beyond […]

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  • Business Valuation Multiples by Industry

    Resource provided by BizBuySell with regularly updated valuation multiples.

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    Video Favourites

  • Five Tips for Better One-on-One Meetings

    One-on-one meetings are among the best opportunities for relationship-building that we’re afforded at work. But when run badly, they can feel like an unproductive use of people’s time. Mistake No. 1: viewing these check-ins as another task list item to check off. With planning and forethought, you can take your one-on-one meetings to the next […]

  • The Four Disciplines of Execution

    Great summary of the book: The Four Disciplines of Execution. 4DX® is not theory. It is a proven set of practices that represents a new way of thinking essential to thriving in today’s competitive climate, making this 2nd Edition a book that no business leader can afford to miss. The 2nd Edition provides more than 30 percent […]

  • The Real You – Jim Carrey

    Video clips of Jim Carrey sharing his thoughts on life and success

    Reading Excerpts

  • The Truth About Leadership by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner

    The Truth About Leadership – Book Excerpts   The Truth About Leadership By James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner Book Excerpts   Introduction – The Ten Truths The first truth is that you make a difference. It is the most fundamental truth of all. Before you can lead, you have to believe that you […]

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  • High Performance: Lessons From The Best on Becoming Your Best

    Please click on link to download a copy of this summary   SECTION 1 – HIGH-PERFORMANCE MINDSET  Lesson 1: Take Responsibility He (Albert Badura) speculated that when people don’t believe they have what it takes to complete a task successfully, they would see little point in making an initial effort. When these people did attempt […]

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  • The Effective Manager

    The Effective Manager By: Mark Horstman Book Summary and Excerpts   CHAPTER 1 – Who Is an Effective Manager? Everyone has experienced both good and bad managers. What makes them that way? Is it what they do? How they think? Their personality? What they feel? Where they went to school? Think about this for a […]

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