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September 2013 Resources

Leadership Thought #451 – Beware Of Being Put On A Pedestal

Beware of putting yourself or anyone up on a pedestal. There are right ways and wrong ways to feed someone else’s or your own ego. Just because an individual has experienced significant success in one aspect of life, doesn’t mean they are equally competent in all other things human. It doesn’t do that person or you any good to blanket the praise. It is one thing to appreciate and respect individual accomplishment. It is another to think that similar success could be achieved in whatever else that person attempted. In fact, it can be dangerous as we heed advice or jump to conclusions about different situations based on who we choose as our role models. For example, Bruce Springsteen is a very talented songwriter and musician, but there is most likely a difference between his songwriting and his own reality. He is not a deity, he is a man. Thinking he has life all figured out isn’t fair to him or you. No one of that stature can ever live up to the hype.

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Leadership Thought #450 – Spend Your Time Wisely

I have always liked the idea as viewing your time similar to currency. You get to decide how you spend it and what types if investments you make. Sadly, just like with our money, many of us make bad or misinformed decisions. Time is finite. There will be a time when it grows short and then disappears. Our children will only live with us a relatively brief time before they grow up and move away to begin their own lives. People we care about will run out of time and all that will remain will be the memories we made with them while they were still here. Our career will follow a natural arc and eventually our lives will be less about what we do for a living (despite our past accomplishments) and we will need to redefine ourselves. Knowing this, what can and should we do differently. I believe it all starts with priorities.

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Leadership Thought #449 – Are You Moving Forward Or Being Held Back?

There is a famous saying that, “if you aren’t moving forward, then you are heading backwards.” I completely agree. There is no such thing as standing still in life, Time moves forwards regardless. Too many of us spend too much energy getting stuck in our present circumstances or being held back by our past. There is nothing we can do about what has already happened. All we can do is learn from it and strive to become a better person in the process. In terms of the here and now, your attitude and efforts should always be geared towards positive ends. Leave the negativity to others. My mom often used to say, “Make the best of it, whatever “it” is.” As usual, her wisdom is a beacon of light that shines through my life.

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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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