Leadership Quote: One Sees Great Things From The Valley…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

This month’s leadership quote:

“One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.”

-Gilbert K. Chesterton

Another way to say this, the higher we rise in an organization, the less we see. The challenge for leaders, therefore, is to spend time in the valley. Easy to say; harder to do. And, the great leaders I know spend most of their time in only three ways: strategic thinking/strategic conversations; visiting and listening to customers and potential customers; and siting down with and listening to employees.

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Elisa K. Spain

 

Leadership Quote: Discovery Is Seeing What Everybody Else Has Seen…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

This month’s leadership quote:

“Discovery is seeing what everybody else has seen, and thinking what nobody else has thought.”

— Albert Szent-Györgyi

Albert Szent-Györgyi lived from September 16, 1893 – October 22, 1986 and was a Hungarian physiologist. He won the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1937. He is credited with discovering vitamin C and the components and reactions of the citric acid cycle.

Like all inventors, Mr. Szent-Györgyi lived this quote. The questions this brings to mind are:

  • How do the rest of us follow his example?
  • How do we look, really look, at what is and see the opportunities?
  • When we do our SWOT analysis, do we focus externally on the O and the T?
  • Do we challenge ourselves to find the opportunities and threats, turning both into discoveries and innovation?

 

Elisa K. Spain

Leadership Quote: The Rate Of Change…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

This month’s leadership quote:

“If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near.”

-Jack Welch

When things are going well, it’s easy to become complacent, even arrogant. We become married to a point of view. After all, we built our business based on these beliefs and it has worked. Often it is our own people who tell us that the old way may not be appropriate today. Their message, as Jack reminds us, is the rate of change outside might dictate the need for more change inside.

The question is, “are we listening?”

 

Elisa K. Spain

Leadership Quote: What Is Important Is Seldom Urgent…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

This month’s leadership quote:

“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.”

-Dwight Eisenhower

 

Mother Theresa, Steve Jobs, Benjamin Franklin and other great leaders, past and present, all had the same 24 hours in a day that we do. And, yet we yearn for more time. “If only I had more time,” we say, “I could accomplish so much more. I could do the things I really want to do. I could have more balance.”

What if, instead, we simply paused each day and asked these two simple questions that Benjamin Franklin asked himself at the beginning, and at the end, of each day:

• What good can I do today?
• What good have I done today?

What if we then set out to prioritize our day, according to the Eisenhower quote above. Making immediate time for the urgent/important, saving time for the important/non-urgent, ignoring the non-urgent/non-important and then delegating the urgent/non-important?

How would you feel if you could answer Mr. Franklin’s important question, to your satisfaction, at the end of each day?

Elisa K. Spain

Leadership Quote: Success Is Getting What You Want…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

This month’s leadership quote:

“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.”

-Dale Carnegie

We can always count on Dale Carnegie to remind us, attitude is everything.  In his books and in this quote Dale reminds us…when we take the time to celebrate what is, in ourselves and others, happiness is the result.

Elisa K. Spain

Leadership Quote: If We Only Focus On Fixing What's Wrong…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

This month’s leadership quote:

“If we only focus on fixing what’s wrong, we forget to notice and build what is good and strong.”

-Rebecca Wilkinson

So often in our quest to be better, both as people and in our companies, we forget this advice. No question, sometimes fixing is what is required, technology becomes outdated, systems break down, etc.

And many times, the best approach is first to notice what is good and strong and then work to build upon it. Or as I am fond of saying, “discover both our’s and our company’s genius and then work to become excellent at what we are already good at.”

Next time, you make the list of what needs fixing, perhaps draw a line and then make a list of what is good and needs building.

Elisa K. Spain

Leadership Quote: Innovation Is Hard…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

This month’s leadership quote:

“Innovation is hard because ‘solving a problem people didn’t know they had’

and ‘building something no one needs’ look identical at first.”

-Aaron Levine

Steve Jobs is noted for “solving a problem people didn’t know they had” time after time, first with the Mac, then ITunes, the IPhone, the IPad, etc. etc. And most of us will acknowledge that Steve was a rare genius. So… what can the rest of us mere mortals learn from Steve about innovation? Here’s what I observed that Steve did:

  • He was focused – He started with the desktop and it wasn’t until he built that market that he designed products for other needs, with his first big breakthrough the IPhone 
  • He was observant – He carefully watched what his customer did, saw the gaps, watched what was frustrating for them
  • He was determined – I recall reading that when he first came up with the idea of ITunes there were many barriers to making it happen, one by one, he broke through them all

While coming up with the innovative idea may initially seem to be the hard part, my sense is innovation is like everything else in business, it’s executing on the right things at the right time.

Elisa K. Spain

 

Leadership Quote: Success Is All About Growing Others…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

December’s leadership quote:

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself.

When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”

-Jack Welch

While personal growth and development is lifelong, it is only through developing others that we achieve measurable results in our businesses. As a Vistage chair and leadership coach, I have the opportunity to observe every form of leadership. Here is what I see… it is those leaders that truly invest time and money in developing others that cross the dividing line from operator to leader.

No coincidence that nearly 20% of Vistage members produce annual revenue >$50mm; while less than 1.5% of US companies overall produce more than $25M in annual revenue and less than .27% produce more than $100M.

Elisa K. Spain

Leadership Quote: Knowing Our Impact On Others

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

This month’s leadership quote:

“Of the many, many things about which we are unclear, or of which we are unaware,

our impact upon others is at or near the top.”

-Larry Cassidy, Vistage Master Chair

Today’s blogpost is offered by guest blogger Larry Cassidy, fellow Vistage Master Chair and author of this month’s quote. Larry has been a Vistage chair in California for 27 years and his words of wisdom inspire all of us.

Are you aware of your impact upon others, for better or for worse? We all too often live in our own personal bubble, unaware of how what we say and what we do land upon others. So come with me on a short walk, to the wood fence behind our house…..

If each time we did something thoughtless or rude or unkind, we had to pound a nail into our fence post, over time the post would resemble a metal porcupine. And if we could pull a nail out of the fence post each time we did something thoughtful, kind or caring, our battered fence post might someday be devoid of nails.

That last nail pulled should be cause for celebration; however, before we hoot n’ holler, let’s first take a hard look at our fence post. After all the pounding and pulling, what is left? Nail holes! We have slowly exchanged our hard words and abuse for decency and respect, but the wounds from our nails linger on. The holes remain. The fence post never forgets. Nor do the people in whom we have punched holes.

Sorry, but there is no escape. This is our responsibility. We are leaders, and someone is always watching. And as leaders, our job is to grasp our impact upon others, to better shape what we say and what we do, and to ensure those in our lives are better for being in our lives. If we are not willing to “do the work,” our offerings too often kidnap self-esteem, and can even become abuse.

My suggestion: don’t think about this. Rather, feel those who have changed your life. Who are they? How did they make you better? Why do you remember them so many years later? I am clear about those who have their fingerprints on who I am today, and I am deeply indebted to each. I also have another list, those who took advantage, who were unkind, who toyed with key values, and they are no longer part of my life.

You know which is which. You can feel the difference. And so can the people in your life. Your children, the team you coach, your employees, everyone. They can feel you. Yours is the opportunity to show them a better way to be. To be the one they remember for supporting their work to be the best they can be. So remember: they are watching, always watching, and every exchange is one more precious opportunity to not drive a nail, to not leave yet another nail hole. Each is a teaching moment. Seize it.

 

Elisa K. Spain