YOU SHOULD BE LAUGHING AT YOU

"This morning, when I put on my underwear, I could hear the fruit-of-the-loom guys laughing at me."

Rodney Dangerfield, 20th century American comedian

The ability to see and laugh at our own shortcomings is critical to success.

How funny are you?

ISN'T THAT GREAT?

"No truly great person ever thought themselves so."

William Hazlitt (1778-1830) British essayist

Taken literally, few, if any, could ever be great.

It's human nature for our egos to occasionally to frequently stop to admire what a great person it thinks we are.

But once more the problem is not with the basic idea but rather the all inclusiveness of it.

You can recognize your greatness, just not to the point that you expect/assume others will as well.

The Empty Suit

"Our greatest pretenses are built up not to hide the evil and the ugly in us, but our emptiness.  The hardest thing to hide is something that is not there."

Eric Hoffer

20th century American author/philosopher

Quality, capability, talent.

You know it when it is not there.

I Agree But You Certainly Don't Mean Me!

 "No one man is superior to the game."

A. Bartlett Giamatti

Past president of Yale University/Commissioner of Professional Baseball

I assume Mr. Giamatti was referring to baseball but I think this also applies to business.

I also believe there are a lot of business people who think they are the exception that proves the rule.

Decision Making: Truth or Consequences

"Fullness of knowledge always and necessarily means some understanding of the depths of our ignorance, and that is always conducive to both humility and reverence."

Robert A. Millikan
1923 Nobel Prize in Physics

To this I want to add my own suggestion; know the difference between what you know and what you think.

Mr. Millikan is telling us to to accept that we do not know everything, which is sage advice.

I suggest we further separate what we know to be true from that we believe to be true, two very different things all too often not considered.

If more managers were to begin their statements with:

"I don't know for sure but . . ."

there would far fewer arguments and much more effective decision making.