Leadership Quote: What We Do Today…

Leadership Quote: What We Do Today…

 

2013 01-27 iStock_000008934759 Jan QuoteThis month’s leadership quote: What we do today, right now, will have an accumulated effect on all our tomorrows. — Alexandra Stoddard

What if we each turned this into an “I” statement? What I do today, right now, will have an accumulated effect on all of my tomorrows…

Here are my questions to consider:

  • What can I intentionally do today that will have an accumulated effect on my tomorrows?
  • What about those actions that leave an unintentional wake? What can I do to notice these and prevent their accumulated effect?

Elisa K.Spain 

 

It’s A Dream Until You Write It Down

It’s A Dream Until You Write It Down


2013-01-20 iStock_000016539976XSmal stair moving uplToday’s blog post is offered by guest blogger Rick Landuyt, Vistage member and 
CEO of RFIDeasOne of the Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America.

 

It’s a dream until you write it down, then it becomes a goal.

Stretch goals were explicitly designed to push people to think differently about the tasks at hand. Suppose your revenue in 2012 was 20 million. You want to grow it 10% to 22 million, you tweak your marketing ideas, try to get another big account etc… What if you decided to stretch your goal to 30 million – a 50% increase? How would you do it? As you begin to think about this, you will start to realize the benefits of “stretch goals”. It’s not the new revenue number, it’s the thought process.

An interesting side note, my wife and I had the pleasure of spending 10 days at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. There we were able to meet and talk with several ex-Gold medal winners. The one thing they all had in common was they had written goals that they carried with them every day.

Rick Landuydt, RFIDeas

Vistage Confidence Index: CEO Optimism Cools In Q4 2012

Vistage Confidence Index: CEO Optimism Cools In Q4 2012

chartThe quarterly Vistage Confidence Index is now available.

More than 1600 Vistage members surveyed in the Q4 Vistage CEO Confidence Index reported a continued slowdown in the pace of economic growth and anticipated overall economic conditions would remain subdued in the first half of 2013.

On the other hand, optimism among small business owners who took the WSJ/Vistage Small Business CEO Survey reversed last month’s decline as renewed economic growth offset concerns about political and economic uncertainty.

Below are some key highlights from the Q4 2012 Vistage CEO Confidence Index (all members surveyed):

  • 63% of CEOs anticipated revenue growth during the year ahead in the fourth quarter survey, down from 73% last year.
  • 49% of CEOs expected increased profits, down from 52% last quarter and 55% last year.
  • 35% of CEOs at year end reported improving economic conditions, down from 60% at the start of 2012.
  • Combined 86% of CEOs said higher sales, new orders, and an improving economy were the most important influences on increasing the likelihood of hiring new employees.
  • Planned hiring fell to 45% in the fourth quarter of 2012, down from 55% in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Elisa K. Spain 

Do The Ends Justify The Means?

Do The Ends Justify The Means?


An age old question…

I saw Lincoln, Steve Spielberg’s latest movie, and came away from it with some questions, from a leadership perspective. Abraham Lincoln is renowned as one of the greatest presidents and leaders in United States history. In this movie, Spielberg tells the story of Lincoln’s last days, the time in which he worked to pass the 13th Amendment and end the Civil War. Both Lincoln and Thaddeus Stevens took questionable actions to advance their end goal of abolishing slavery. Lincoln sought to change the vote of house members and delay a meeting with the southern leaders, while Stevens modified his oratory to be more inclusive; shocking and disappointing his constituents.

And.. they won. The 13th Amendment was passed, banishing slavery for all time.

So, the leadership questions are:

  • When the goal is pure and the cost of not achieving it is high, do the ends justify the means? and
  • How do we as leaders make that decision that “this particular outcome” is one that qualifies?

Elisa K. Spain