ue bot icon

February 2014 Resources

Leadership Thought #464 – Embrace What Makes You Special

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to be what you are not. There are a lot of books out there that tell you that you can be anything you want to be, but this simply is not true. No matter how hard I try, there are certain things I just can’t do or won’t be able to do well. It has saddened me to watch so many people regularly set themselves up for failure with unrealistic expectations about what is possible for them and others. Instead of trying to force yourself into a role/career/opportunity that isn’t right for you, why not embrace who you are and what makes you special and tap into that?

Read More

Leadership Thought #463 – You Need To Have Thick Skin To Lead Others

Leadership is not for the faint of heart. It certainly has its ups and downs and can test anyone’s emotional fortitude. However, this is the very reason so few people can do it well. If you take every small slight and failure personally, the job will eat you alive. Whenever you assume a position of responsibility, you automatically also assume a roster of critics and malcontents who aren’t always aligned with your leadership vision. Since you can’t realistically fire everyone who disagrees with you (nor is this advisable), then you need to figure out other ways to handle the pressures and scrutiny.

Read More

Thomas Edison Quotes To Celebrate His Birthday

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”  “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they

Read More

    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 […]

    Read more
  • 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 […]

    Read more
  • 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 […]

    Read more

    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,” […]

    Read more
  • 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 […]

    Read more
  • 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 […]

    Read more

    Helpful Websites

  • Therapist Aid

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

    View more
  • 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 […]

    View more
  • Business Valuation Multiples by Industry

    Resource provided by BizBuySell with regularly updated valuation multiples.

    View more

    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 […]

    Read more
  • 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 […]

    Read more
  • 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 […]

    Read more

Interested in learning more about leadership?

Ed’s books on Leadership, Life and Business will elevate your knowledge and give you the confidence to apply it to your personal and professional life.