play to your strengths Resources

Blog Posts

Leadership Thought #468 – The Biggest Mistake Leaders Make

April 1, 2014

The biggest mistake leaders make is to think it is all about them. They believe that success or failure is a direct result of their own personal behavior rather than a team effort. Show me a successful leader and I will show you a person surrounded by good people who each do their own jobs exceedingly well. While it is common practice in this country to celebrate the individual, no one builds a high performing organization by themselves. This doesn’t mean that the leader isn’t an essential ingredient; however, he/she needs other ingredients to complete the recipe.

Leadership Thought #345 – Focus on What You Do Well

May 1, 2012

Focus on what you do well and then delegate everything else you possibly can. Many leaders spend far too much time on things they aren’t good at. Leadership is about effectively growing, leveraging and deploying assets. If the top personnel resource in the company is being used inefficiently or ineffectively what does that say about the organization as a whole? Time is finite and once it is wasted it is gone.

Leading with Questions: How Leaders Discover Powerful Answers by Knowing How and What to Ask

Michael J. Marquardt and Bob Tiede
Book Review View the Book
In this newly revised third edition of Leading with Questions, renowned global leadership consultants Michael Marquardt and Bob Tiede describe how to ask powerful questions that generate short-term and long-term results and success. They show you how effective leaders use questions to encourage participation and teamwork, foster creative thinking, empower others, create relationships with customers, and […]
Read more
How To Be A Leader: An Ancient Guide To Wise Leadership

Plutarch (translated by Jeffrey Beneker)
Bryn Mawr Classical Review - Book Review View the Book
The ancient biographer and essayist Plutarch thought deeply about the leadership qualities of the eminent Greeks and Romans he profiled in his famous―and massive―Lives, including politicians and generals such as Pericles, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Mark Antony. Luckily for us, Plutarch distilled what he learned about wise leadership in a handful of essays, […]
Read more
Your Next Five Moves

Patrick Bet-David
Book Video Summary Insights View 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

Favorite Articles

How Burnout Became Normal — and How to Push Back Against It

Slowly but steadily, while we’ve been preoccupied with trying to meet demands that outstrip our resources, grappling with unfair treatment, or watching our working hours encroach upon our downtime, burnout has become the new baseline in many work environments. From the 40% of Gen Z workers who believe burnout is an inevitable part of success, […]
Read more
If you want to become a happier person as you grow older, say goodbye to these 9 habits

Growing old gracefully, isn’t just about maintaining physical health. It’s also about nurturing happiness. But, there are certain habits we cling onto that can seriously hinder our joy. The trick to aging happily is not just adopting positive habits, but also discarding the negative ones. The ones that hold us back from truly embracing each […]
Read more
Middle Managers Should Drive Your Business Transformation

Successful transformations harness the collective wisdom of middle managers and teams. To increase your company’s chances, you need to: 1) Enlist your very best middle managers. Transforming a business demands a blend of creativity and ingenuity. By setting this challenge you can also test and nurture the next generation of leaders. 2) Empower the middle to […]
Read more

Helpful Websites

ITR Fed Watch

Each week, ITR Economics CEO and Chief Economist Brian Beaulieu provides an update on the Federal Reserve Board’s latest actions. Our use of factual rather than emotional inputs is key to our data-driven approach to economic forecasting. Our vigilant watch for Federal Reserve decisions is part of this approach. Catch up on ITR Economics’ latest analysis of […]
View more
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

Video Favourites

Virtuous Leadership Part 2: The Four Basic Virtues – Alex Havard

Alex Havard explains the concept of “virtuous leadership.” In Part 2, he begins to describe the four basic virtues: prudence, courage, self-control, and justice.
The Importance of Character in Leadership | Jordan Peterson

Here is a brief excerpt from a Jordan Peterson lecture on the importance of personal character in becoming a good (noble) leader and the weakness in a society formed when there are not enough examples of admirable leadership qualities. He uses a few biblical examples.
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 […]

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.

play to your strengths Resources

Blog Posts

Leadership Thought #468 – The Biggest Mistake Leaders Make

Leadership Thought #345 – Focus on What You Do Well

Recommended Reading

Leading with Questions: How Leaders Discover Powerful Answers by Knowing How and What to Ask

How To Be A Leader: An Ancient Guide To Wise Leadership

Your Next Five Moves

Favorite Articles

How Burnout Became Normal — and How to Push Back Against It

If you want to become a happier person as you grow older, say goodbye to these 9 habits

Middle Managers Should Drive Your Business Transformation

Helpful Websites

ITR Fed Watch

Therapist Aid

Wordtune

Video Favourites

Virtuous Leadership Part 2: The Four Basic Virtues – Alex Havard

The Importance of Character in Leadership | Jordan Peterson

Five Tips for Better One-on-One Meetings

Reading Excerpts

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

High Performance: Lessons From The Best on Becoming Your Best

The Effective Manager

Interested in learning more about leadership?

Contact Details

Service Areas