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Your Knowledge Resources

As a leader your are never done learning – knowledge is everything.  You are only ever as good as what you know and the target of understanding is always moving.  You need to sat “green and growing.” Never approach your role from a place of knowing.  Instead let curiosity be your default approach to problem solving and decision making.

The Power and Importance of Leadership Curiosity

Integrate being curious into your daily routines. Challenge yourself and your team to think differently, question assumptions, and relentlessly pursue new knowledge and understanding. The future of your organization could depend on how

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Leaders Should Be Reading

As you advance in your career, your role shifts from executing tasks to engaging in critical thinking and strategic planning. You can hire people to handle the day-to-day tasks, but who is responsible

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Martin Luther King As A Leader

Donald T. Phillips, in his book Martin Luther King on Leadership, does an impressive job of providing significant details as to why Martin Luther King (MLK) was a great leader. He was more

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97 Reasons Why Business Growth Stalls

Growth is hard work.  For the past 27 years, I’ve worked as an executive coach, Vistage Chair, trainer or management consultant with hundreds of organizations. They have varied in size from just under

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    Recommended Reading

  • The Rules of Thinking

    Discover practical strategies to enhance your cognitive abilities with The Rules of Thinking: A Personal Code to Think Yourself Smarter, Wiser and Happier by Richard Templar. This guide offers insights into making wiser decisions, boosting creativity, and fostering a healthier mindset. Whether you're aiming to improve problem-solving skills or cultivate positive thought patterns, this book provides actionable advice to elevate your thinking processes.

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  • The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

    Read Ed's ExcerptsView the Book

    Please click on this link for The Happiness Project Book Summary   “The Happiness Project” is more than just a book; it is a blueprint for living a happier and more fulfilling life. Rubin’s personal journey, combined with her thorough research and practical advice, makes it an essential read for anyone looking to improve their […]

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  • The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton

    Despite working hard and meeting our goals, sometimes it’s not clear why we aren’t getting ahead at work. In the absence of strong feedback, we may begin to feel underappreciated or undervalued. While leaders and managers can help boost employee morale by bridging communication gaps around performance, it can be frustrating to wait for that […]

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    Reading Excerpts

  • Reflections On Life and Leading Book Excerpts – Part 2

    Very few of us have a life curve that is only upward-sloping. The difference is that “lucky” people just do not let their periods of adversity define them in unhelpful ways. They just keep plugging away, learning from their mistakes, continuing to believe in themselves, and taking calculated risks anyway. Their worldview is usually a positive, optimistic one. Where others see obstacles to success, they see windows of opportunity.

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  • Reflections on Life and Leading Book Excerpts – Part 1

    You do not have to settle for a life of quiet desperation and hope that one day things will change. The future is now, and the sooner you start living the life you want (and need) and stop boxing yourself in and conforming to a system that isn’t really working for you, the happier you will be.

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  • On Leadership and Business Book Excerpts Sections 3-5 by Ed Robinson

    I believe that business and nonprofit leaders need to think differently about what constitutes success. Besides the quality of their people, what differentiates most high-performing companies is their vision, focus, and discipline. Culturally, there is a palpable sense that everyone is striving to be on the same page in terms of priorities and what is ultimately important. These organizations understand it is also the synergy of their activities that separates them from the pack, not just the activities themselves. Instead of simply working harder than their competition, they work smarter than them, too.

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    Reading Summaries

  • Every Time I Find the Meaning of Life, They Change It

    By appreciating the present, living authentically, finding happiness in simple pleasures, embracing mortality, navigating life's absurdities with humor, practicing detachment, embracing forgiveness, cultivating patience and determination, enhancing self-esteem, and adjusting perspective, individuals can lead more fulfilling lives.

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  • On Leadership and Business: Parts 1 and 2

    Leadership is not a passive role; it demands action, decisiveness, and the ability to embrace challenges head-on. The best leaders thrive under pressure and find the most demanding aspects of their roles to be the most rewarding. As Shakespeare noted, “Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.”

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  • Transformational Learning

    This book serves as a valuable resource for managers and leaders who seek to understand the dynamics of knowledge management and organizational learning, providing practical insights and actionable steps to achieve these goals.

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    Free Downloads

  • My Favorite 110 Book Recommendations As Of February 2025

    Discover the Essential Reads for Leaders, Innovators, and High Performers In a world overflowing with information, finding books that truly shape thinking and drive action can be overwhelming. My Top 110 Book Recommendations is a carefully curated collection of the most impactful books on leadership, business strategy, productivity, psychology, decision-making, and personal growth. These aren’t […]

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  • Capacity Building Methodologies to Ensure Your Organization’s Success

    A Strategic Blueprint for Small Business Owners Committed to Sustainable Growth and Organizational Excellence Thriving in today’s business environment requires more than agility or ambition—it demands structure, clarity, and the discipline to build real capacity. That’s the focus of Capacity Building Methodologies to Ensure Your Organization’s Success, a deep, principle-based resource from Capacity Building Solutions […]

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  • Leadership Wheel Assessment Tool

    Leadership Wheel Assessment Tool A Holistic Leadership Framework for Those Who Lead With Both Strategy and Heart Great leadership isn’t built on one skill—it’s the balance of who you are, how you think, what you say, and how others experience you. The Leadership Wheel Assessment Tool from Capacity Building Solutions gives leaders a full-circle way […]

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    Helpful Websites

  • Evernote

    Evernote helps you stay organized by keeping all your notes, ideas, and resources in one place, ensuring that nothing is lost in the busyness of running a business. “Remember everything and tackle any project with your notes, tasks, and schedule all in one place.” “With Evernote, you have everything you need to keep life organized. […]

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  • Growth Institute

    Professional development resource/community for leaders looking to scale their business.

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  • Coaching Real Leaders Podcast

    Real-life coaching sessions with leaders working to overcome professional challenges produced by the Harvard Business Review

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    Video Favorites

  • Reinventing creative thinking

    Luc de Brabandere recounts an experience where he was asked to define “thinking out of the box.” He realized that he had focused too much on the “creative” aspect and not enough on the “thinking” aspect. He explains that thinking always involves a mental model, or “box,” and the key is whether that box is […]

  • Dr. Derek Cabrera: How Thinking Works – TEDxWilliamsport

    This video addresses a critical issue in education: the lack of emphasis on teaching thinking skills. Dr. Derek Cabrera argues that while students often excel at tasks with clear instructions, they struggle with unstructured problems and novel situations, a deficiency he observed even among Ivy League students. He contends that the current educational system focuses […]

  • Brian Johnson – My Life’s Work in 1 hour 11 minutes and 35 seconds (Seriously. This is it!! 🤓 )

    In this video, Brian Johnson introduces his “Mastery Series,” a 300-day program that forms the foundation of his Optimized Coach program, describing it as the culmination of his life’s work. His aim is to guide individuals in transitioning from theoretical self-improvement knowledge to practical application, ultimately helping them achieve mastery in personal growth, heroic service, […]

    Favorite Articles

  • Where Data-Driven Decision-Making Can Go Wrong

    When considering internal data or the results of a study, often business leaders either take the evidence presented as gospel or dismiss it altogether. Both approaches are misguided. What leaders need to do instead is conduct rigorous discussions that assess any findings and whether they apply to the situation in question. Such conversations should explore […]

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  • How to Ask for Help Without Making Yourself Look Bad

    In a work world that values ownership and personal initiative, many assume that asking for direction or seeking clarification will make them look incapable, or worse, will prove to others — and themselves — that they have no idea what they’re doing. Asking for help without appearing weak requires a delicate balance of convening vulnerability and strength. […]

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  • How to Read a Business Book

    More than 1,000 new business books are released each month in the United States alone. The good ones represent original contributions to theory and practice or provide meaningful extensions or applications of those theories and practices. The others tend to present recycled and superficial treatments of those original contributions. So how can you ensure not […]

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