September 11, 2012

Are You Your Greatest Admirer?



"He who is in love with himself has at least this advantage, he won't encounter many rivals."



Georg C. Lichtenberg
18th century German scientist

In business, as in life in general, there is a very fine line between confidence and self-aggrandizement.

Too little of the former, too much of the latter, either way . . . you lose.

Be careful not to cross over.

2 comments :

  1. Do you think this applies to companies as well or only individuals? By that I mean can companies become too confident in what they're doing, to the point of ceasing to keep up with their competitors?

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  2. Well to state the obvious, companies are the collective sum of their employees, without which there is no company. But I believe I get your point.

    Companies (collections of individuals) do sometimes become complacent, usually but not always unknowingly (some purposely attempt to maintain what they see as the preferable status quo. See Coca Cola in light of their "New Coke" debacle.)

    I believe it is good policy to continually be looking for better ways to do things, and not just in theory but in practice. But to insure this is done, management must institutionalize the process; they cannot leave it to chance.

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