LET ME BE CLEAR ABOUT THIS

"Where the law is uncertain there is no law."

Proverb

This applies equally well to rules, requests, orders, instructions, and all other forms of communication managers use with employees.

If it's not specific it doesn't exist, and when that happens, it's the manager's, not the employee's, fault. 

HERE'S AN ORIGINAL THOUGHT

"It is difficult, if not impossible, for most people to think otherwise than in the fashion of their own period."

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish writer.

By "period" Mr. Shaw means thinking, doing, and saying what everyone you know is thinking, doing, and saying, only because that is what they are thinking, doing, and saying.

If you find yourself doing that you're little more than just one of many sheep in the flock, mindlessly following many other sheep.

It's ok, to a point, to follow, just make sure you do so thoughtfully, because you've decided that is what you should do.

YOU'LL LEARN; ONE WAY OR THE OTHER YOU WILL LEARN

"The wise are instructed by reason, average minds by experience, the stupid by necessity and the brute by instinct."

Marcus Tulius Cicero (106-43 BC) Writer, politician and great roman orator.

And some of the wise occasionally learn by necessity because they stupidly failed to learn using their wisdom.

We all learn, the question is, how?

NO MAN'S PLAN

"Action without a name, a ''who'' attached to it, is meaningless."

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-born American political philosopher.

A central tenet of planning is who will do the plan.

Without that there is no plan.

WHAT YOU PURSUE, NOT WHAT YOU WAIT FOR TO PURSUE YOU

"Life leaps like a geyser for those who drill through the rock of inertia."

Alexis Carrel (1873-1944) French surgeon/biologist.

Sooner or later you have to break through your own, personal "rock of inertia".

Nothing much good will come looking for you, you must find it.

CURIOUS GEORGE DOES IT, SO SHOULD YOU

"Whatever you have spend less."

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) British author.

Be it personal or business, probably the best financial advice you'll ever receive, made even better by adding "and save what you don't spend."

TODAY, 2 TO 1 OVER TOMORROW

"One today is worth two tomorrows."

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman/scientist/philosopher.

One to-do off today's list you might not otherwise get ta-done tomorrow.

That's worth a whole lot more than just two tomorrows.

IT'S UP TO YOU

"Affliction comes to us, not to make us sad but sober; not to make us sorry but wise."

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American politician.

I don't believe affliction comes to us to do any of that but I do think that is or often can be the result.

It's all about how we choose to deal with adversity. 

GOOD NEWS IF YOU THINK YOURSELF WISE!

"Time ripens all things; no man is born wise."

Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) 

Spanish novelist/dramatist/poet.

This means there are no limits to how wise you can become.

The first step is to recognize you are not as wise as you think.

The second step is to be open to all new ideas and things.

There are, of course, many more steps but do this much and you'll be wise enough to discover them yourself.

CHECK YOURSELF

"If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed."

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman/scientist/philosopher.

Mr. Franklin advises us to do and say what need be done and said, knowing there will be those who disagree with us.

Agreed.

But we have an equal obligation to be as certain as we can that what we say and do should be said and done.

Not all of it should be.

PRETTY PROUD OF THAT HARVARD DEGREE ARE WE?

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."

Mark Twain (1835-1910) U.S. humorist, writer, and lecturer.

Formal education is an important cornerstone of your future.

However, remember, there are four corners on every foundation.

What you learned in school is only the beginning of what you will ultimately need to know.

DUE AND PAYABLE (SOONER THAN YOU THINK)

"The excess of our youth are checks written against our age and they are payable with interest thirty years later."

Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832) British clergyman/sportsman/author.

And this isn't just about physical health; it applies to business debt as well.

Those debts also come due sooner than you think.

WHY YOU MUST KEEP TRYING

"Ones best success comes after their greatest disappointments."

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American politician.

You wouldn't know what success was if you'd never failed.

But don't think failure alone is the road to success, it's not.

When you identify what doesn't work, create a plan you hope will work.

If it doesn't, make a new plan.

If you fall, pick yourself up and try again; never stop trying.

(MUCH) MORE THAN JUST THE THOUGHT

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become."

Buddha (563 BC-483 BC) Founder of Buddhism.

With respect for and apologies to Buddha . . . "What we think, we become"? 

Briefly thinking you will be wealthy will not make you so.

Briefly thinking you will be happy will not make you so.

The thought of whatever it is you'd like to become is only the beginning, to be followed by much planning and hard work to make it happen.

WE ALL HAVE BOSSES

"Liberation is not deliverance."

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French poet, dramatist and novelist.

So, now that you no longer work for someone else, have started your start-up and reviewed your list of "truths", make certain believing you are free is not on the list.

You've simply traded one master for many, many others.

SUNSHINE OR NOT

"False friends are like our shadow, keeping close to us while we walk in the sunshine, but leaving us the instant we cross into the shade."

Christian Nevell Bovee (1820-1904) American author/lawyer.

Notice he said "false friends".

Your real friends will be there for you, sunshine or not.

Just be certain as to who they are and are not.

WHAT YOU SHOULD, NOT ONLY WHAT YOU MUST

"It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world, and moral courage so rare."

Mark Twain (1835-1910) U.S. humorist, writer, and lecturer.

Moral courage is the strength to do what you know you should when you know no one will know you didn't.

PICTURE YOU

"Every man's work, whether it be literature, or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself."

Samuel Butler (1612-1680) British poet and satirist.

That being so, how do you want others to picture you?

UNTIL DEATH DO YOU PART (MAYBE SOONER THAN YOU THINK)

"The difficulty with marriage is that we fall in love with a personality, but must live with a character."

Peter de Vries (1910-1993) American editor and novelist.

While originally describing the marriage of two people it applies equally well to the merger of two companies.

What you think you will get very often doesn't happen.

Carefully evaluate the potential "personality" you hope to get so as not to end up with the "character" you don't want.

HAPPINESS IN THE MOMENT

"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy."

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) French poet/writer/art critic.

Not as soppy as it may first appear to be.

We're all occasionally guilty of chasing something we believe we must have to be happy, only to put it aside when we get it to so we can set off in pursuit of something else we're really certain will make us happy.

There's plenty to be happy about now; enjoy this moment.

WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?

"Own more than thou showest, speak less than thou knowest."

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) British poet and playwright.

The less you say about what you believe you know, the more you say about what you do know.

TO TELL THE TRUTH . . .

"Honesty prospers in every condition of life."

Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) German dramatist/poet/historian.

I don't know about every condition, always, but I do know it's simply easier to be honest than dishonest.

IDENTIFY THOSE WHO WILL ASSIST BEFORE ASSISTANCE IS NEEDED

"Necessity unites."

German proverb

We are all much more open to assistance from others we'd not previously considered important, when the need for their help becomes apparent.

Wouldn't it be better to identify our allies prior to it becoming critical that we do so?

START-UPERS; ARE YOU LISTENING?

"Nothing can withstand the power of the human will if it is willing to stake its very existence to the extent of its purpose."

Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) British politician and author.

Start-up entrepreneurs, do not make the mistake of only believing the first 9 words without also believing the last 12.

Both are equally true for those attempting a start-up.

Your will can conquer as long as it, and you, are willing to accept the cost as being absolutely everything you hold dear, right down to the garage you start-up'd in.

YOU'RE DOING A REALLY GREAT JOB!

"Instruction does much, encouragement everything."

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet/novelist/dramatist.

Actually the two together get the job done.

Not just how to do but props while doing as well.

WHAT NEXT? NOT WHAT NOW?

"The present is the only reality, the only certainty."

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) German philosopher.

And we live in the present for just a brief moment before moving on to our uncertain future.

You'll never make the future certain but you can work to make it less uncertain; shouldn't that be your focus?

THE CERTAINTY OF YOUTH AND OLD AGE

"What Youth deemed crystal, Age finds out was dew."

Robert Browning (1812 -1889) British poet.

You are young if you are certain this is untrue, or true, regardless of your chronological age.

Only those uncertain are somewhere in between youth and old age.

WHO'D YOU MAKE THE BOSS OF YOU?

"Nothing external to you has any power over you."

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) U.S. poet, essayist and lecturer.

We all know this is not so; all sorts of people have power over others, you and me included. 

How did Mr. Emerson get this so wrong?

What he said is true, it's what he didn't say that completes the story.

No one or thing has any power over us other than what we give them.

Try to be a little more selective regarding when and to whom you give power over you.

ARISE (ONLY) WHEN (REAL) NEED ARISES

"An invincible determination can accomplish almost anything and in this lies the great distinction between great men and little men."

Thomas Fuller (1608-1661) British clergyman and author.

Absolutely, however make certain what you are invincibly determined about is worth the effort.

By definition invincible determination should be reserved for extraordinary things, not something we claim or attempt to be for the ordinary.

Rise to the occasion when the occasion warrants and spend the rest of your time determining when and what that will be.

THE (NOT SO) GRAND DECEPTION

"To know how to disguise is the knowledge of kings."

Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642) French clergyman, noble and statesman.

When it comes to truth, sure; however just believing you have doesn't make it so. 

Often the only one deceived will be you.

TIME TO RETRAIN?

"The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people."

Karl Marx (1818-1883) German philosopher/political economist.

This will come as no surprise if you know anything about the economic views of Mr. Marx.

But if true does an increase in "useless people" have to be the inevitable byproduct of innovation?

It doesn't.

History is full of examples of innovation leading to retraining workers to do jobs, which previously did not exist.

If you are a worker whose talents no longer fit the job market, focus on retraining.

Better jobs await you. 

"LANGUAGE INFLATION": GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

"The fire which enlightens is the same fire which consumes."

Henri Frédéric Amiel (1821-1881) Swiss writer.

Bad news because, by definition, that you are truly passionate about can ultimately consume you.

Knowingly or not you may devote more of yourself to your passion than you have to give.

The good news is you're not even close to being passionate about most and maybe all you say you are.

"Passion" is simply one more of many "language inflated" words ("awesome", "totally", "amazing", etc.), all of which are used much too often.

Save them all for those few times they really do represent who and what you are.

THE LIMITS OF PERSONAL CONFIDENCE

"It is a bad plan that admits of no modification."

Publilius Syrus (1st Century BC) Roman writer and poet.

Being sure of yourself is a good thing.

Just not as much as being willing to verify what you believe to be true, actually is.

Not all of it will be.

YOUR FUTURE IS AHEAD, NOT BEHIND OR WHERE YOU ARE NOW

"Sure I am of this; you have only to endure to conquer. You have only to persevere to save yourselves."

Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British politician.

You may not "conquer" as you planned or hoped but you will not perish.

Move on; your future awaits you.

I SEE YOU

"The eyes of others our prisons; their thoughts our cages."

Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) British novelist and essayist.

There is very little bad or good you can do that will not ultimately be known to others.

Choose carefully what that will be.

THIS I PROMISE YOU

"Those that are most slow in making a promise are the most faithful in the performance of it."

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) Swiss political philosopher and essayist.

Promise only what you intend to do, only that you have considered carefully before promising.

DO UNTO OTHERS AS THOUGH THEY WILL ONE DAY DO UNTO YOU

"Mighty things from small beginnings grow."

John Dryden (1631-1700) British poet, dramatist and critic.

Which teaches us, or should, not to ignore what first appears to be small, insignificant, of little consequence, particularly other people.

We could be working for them one day.

YOUR MIND, NOT EASILY MADE UP NOR CHANGED

"Reason is a very light rider, and easily shook off."

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) Irish-born English satirist.

Do not easily be dissuaded.

Believe what you believe for good reason, only, and always, allowing your mind to change for even better reason.

FEAR THE OPPORTUNISTIC SNAKE

"There is far more opportunity than there is ability."

Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) American inventor.

For you as well.

Seize the moment but only those you are ready and capable of handling.

The fact that you can also seize a boa constrictor doesn't mean you should.

DESTRUCTIVE MANAGEMENT

"When I want your opinion I'll give it to you."

Laurence J. Peter (1919-1990) Canadian teacher and writer.

I doubt Mr. Peter was this way however there are many who are, many of whom are bosses.

I can think of nothing more destructive.

CENTER YOURSELF

"We must learn our limits. We are all something but none of us are everything."

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) French mathematician, physicist and philosopher.

For some the problem is the opposite.

Those who believe they have little or no ability.

Both extremes are wrong.

Find your rational center between the two.

THE VICTORY YOU'VE JUST NOT YET ACHIEVED

"I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right."

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-Swiss-U.S. scientist.

Just because you haven't doesn't mean you'll never will, unless, of course, you stop trying.

Do that and you have assured perpetual failure.

YOU ARE BOTH

"The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't."

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American politician.

The person who perseveres will get to the end of this seemingly never ending road, the obstinate one, who refuses to begin, won't.

The optimist or the pessimist?

We are all both at different times, our success or failure determined by how much of each, how often.

DO IT FOR THEM

"He makes people pleased with him by making them first pleased with themselves.

Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) British statesman.

Not entirely as simple as that but close.

Think as much about the other person as you do yourself and you will be rewarded.

THE HARDEST YOU'LL EVER NOT WORK

"Nothing is the hardest thing in the world to do."

Unknown

Ever wish you'd wake up independently wealthy, never having to work again?

Or maybe you're nearing retirement and can't wait for the time when you have absolutely nothing to do.

Nothing.

Think about it.

MAKING OUR IMPERFECT WORLD

"The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men."

George Eliot (1819-1880) British writer.

Were this not true the world would be nowhere near as imperfectly perfect as it is today.

You have a contribution to make; do what you can without concern for how (im)perfect you may be.

THE SOCIAL GAME

"There are people who, in spite of their merit, disgust us, and others who please us in spite of their faults."

François de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French writer.

You rightfully go to school to learn what you will do, not to be confused with who you will be. 

One is no less important than the other.

JUST ASK AARON

"They also serve who only stand and wait."

John Milton (1608-1674) English poet.

Aaron Rodgers stood and waited behind Brett Farve three years for his chance to play.

Waiting for his moment.

You may be ready but your moment may not be.

Patience

REALLY THINK ABOUT THIS

"There is no coming to consciousness without pain."

Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) Swiss psychologist/psychiatrist.

Be aware of pain to come should you not live consciously.

Thoughtfully, consciously consider the implications of your decisions prior to making them.

CAN YOU NOT REALLY LIVE WITHOUT . . .

"It happens as one sees in cages: the birds who are outside despair of ever getting in, and those within are equally desirous of getting out."

Montaigne (1533-1592) French philosopher/essayist.

So many of our "must haves" are quickly cast aside in favor of new "must haves".

Are there ever fewer?

How's your list of "things I don't need"?