The Envy Of Others

"Nothing sharpens sight like envy."

Thomas Fuller

17th century British clergy/author

Depending on Mr. Fuller's definition of "sight" . . . maybe.

Yes if the implication is that the envious are, as a result of being envious, more determined to achieve whatever it is they are envious of.

However more often I find that envy leads to too much focus on the accomplishment of others, rather than concentrating on achieving one's own goals.

What about you?

Books and Covers

"Examine what is said, not he who speaks."

Arabian proverb

Unfortunately it is more often the latter rather than the former, usually for all the wrong reasons.

What people think and say should be the basis for deciding who they are.

How they look is only the cover of their book.

Once When We Were Fab

"Mules are always boasting that their ancestors were horses."

German proverb

Many well known companies call attention to their stellar past reputations.

No problem doing that as along as their present matches or exceeds their past.

Does yours?

The Art of Misunderstanding

"They have the unique ability to listen to one story and understand another."

Pandora Poikilos

20th/21st century author

Even when we try to understand the views of others, we often don't.

Can you think of anything more important than comprehending what others have to say to you?

And note I said comprehending, which is not necessarily the same as agreeing with or accepting.

Till (Your) Death Do Us Part

"Marriage is one long conversation, checkered by disputes."

Robert Louis Stevenson

19th century Scottish essayist/novelist

And this is no less true in mergers.

Long after the deal is done there will be many on both sides questioning the wisdom of having done so.

As Much As Necessary

"I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying."

Michael Jordon

20th century American basketball player

Contributed by David Kaplan

Executive Director

www.digitaldeliverygroup.org/

This sentiment has been expressed by a number of sports celebrities in addition to Mr. Jordon.

Few people I know would disagree with it.

But when it comes to actually doing what this says, many of us fall short.

Do you always/mostly/never try, regardless of the odds?

In The Balance

"One's real life is so often the life that one does not lead."

Oscar Wilde

19th century Irish poet

When it comes to business we need to be real.

But we also need imagination.

How do you balance the two?

An Inconvient Truth, Is True Nevertheless

"Facts don't cease to exist because they are ignored."

Aldous Huxley

20th century British author

If you conduct your business hoping unpleasant realities will simply go away, they likely won't but you soon will.

What Do You Know?

"The learned fool writes his nonsense in better language than the unlearned, but it is still nonsense."

Benjamin Franklin

18th century American statesman

Another exhortation to not confuse education with intelligence, or certainly common sense.

How As Much As What

"It is tact that is golden, not silence."

Samuel Butler

17th century British poet/satirist

An unexpressed thought that needs to be shared, has no value.

An expressed thought shared in the wrong way has negative value.

How you express yourself is as important, and in some cases, more important than what you say.

You'd Better Listen!

"A riot is the language of the unheard."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

20th century American civil rights leader

We intuitively understand this when we see unrest such as that occurring in Syria and Greece, but what about in your business?

Your customers could complain but more likely their "riot" will simply be buying from someone else.

Are you listening?

You're Either With Me Or Against Me!

"So over violent, or over civil that every man with him was God or Devil."

John Dryden

17th century British poet/dramatist

We've all known people who manage this way.

No middle ground.

But such intolerance for divergent views is, to me, far worse than the alternative positions they oppose.

The Ideal Manager

"They are eloquent who can speak low things acutely, and of great things with dignity, and of moderate things with temper."

Marcus Tulius Cicero

1st century BC Roman writer/orator

An eloquent prescription for balanced management.

What's Your Management Philosophy?

"It is a great advantage for a philosophy to be substantially true."

 

George Santayana

Late 19th/early 20th century American philosopher

Do you hear the sarcasm in this quote?

Mr. Santayana is telling us that any philosophy not based in truth is destined to fail.

Least you think otherwise, this includes management philosophy as well.

So Much More!

"Cleverness is serviceable for everything, sufficient for nothing."

Henri Frederic Amiel

19th century Swiss writer

Clever, intelligent, charming, educated . . . whatever adjective you wish, is not enough alone to succeed in business.

Successful business people are often many of these things, and more, all at once.

Positive Reinforcement

"Criticism should be a casual conversation."

W. H. Auden

20th century English born poet

One of your responsibilities as a manager is to review the efforts of those who report to you.

Another is to do so in such a way that encourages rather than discourages the person whose work you are reviewing.

How Much?

"The best is the cheapest."

Benjamin Franklin

18th century American statesman/inventor/philosopher

The vast majority of us do not opt for the "best" automobiles, technology, clothes, food, airline seats, nor most anything else you can think of.

So who's wrong here, Mr. Franklin or most everyone else on the planet?

By the way, my take on this is slightly different.

You get what you don't pay for.

Einstein Was Right

"All motion is relative, maybe it is you who have moved away by standing still."

Unknown

Like standing on the platform as the train pulls away, you're either progressing or regressing, and doing nothing is the same as doing the latter.

Wisemen and Wiseguys

"A wise man's questions contain half the answers."

Solomon Ibn Gabirol

11th century Hebrew poet/Jewish philosopher

And you know those wise men when you meet them.

They have a way of getting you to answer the questions they ask, and in retrospect, you kind of know they weren't asking because they didn't know.

Those are the managers I want to work for.

Coyote Insight, LLC

You've Got What You Need

"We have more than we use."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

19th century US poet/essayist

Most every parent, mine included, has at one time or another said something similar to their children.

They were right.

What do you have in your business that you are not but should be using to its fullest?

Coyote Insight, LLC

From Small Minds, No Big Ideas Will Come

"Those who occupy their minds with small matters, generally become incapable of greatness."

Francois de la Rochefoucauld

17th century French writer

And who among us has not done this at one time or another?

However we can and should learn from these lapses in judgement, becoming the better person for having done so.

What do you think?

Coyote Insight, LLC