UNDOING CAN BE MUCH MORE DIFFICULT THAN DOING

"It is easier to stay out than get out."

Mark Twain 19th century U.S. humorist/writer/lecturer.

What will you do today you'll wish you hadn't done tomorrow?

HOW HIGH WILL YOU THINK?

"Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think."

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

But there are no limits on how high you can think, just what you think.

Fail for reasons other than you never had the thought, or never acted on the thought you did have.

ON SECOND THOUGHT . . .

"Thinking is only a process of talking to yourself."

Unknown

A process we don't do often or well enough.

I think possibly the biggest "thinking" mistake we make is thinking we've clearly thought through all our thoughts.

What do you think?

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

"To reflect is to disturb one's thoughts."

Jean Rostand (1894-1977) French biologist and philosopher.

Which you might see as a problem if you feel your thoughts are always valid.

They're not, particularly the ones you have without the benefit of personal reflection and validation from others that what you think is right.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS?

"Each thought that is welcomed and recorded is a nest egg by the side of which more will be laid."

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American naturalist/poet/philosopher.

"Recorded" meaning remembered.

That we don't at least file somewhere in the back of our minds will often, unfortunately, be lost forever.

You can't and need not remember everything; only that you should.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

"Thought is free."

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) British poet/playwright

And yet it sometimes seems there's too little of it or that which is thought was not thought carefully with full consideration for what would follow.

DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION

"The greatest conqueror is he who overcomes the enemy without a blow."

Chinese proverb

There are numerous examples of this in business.

Apple's iTunes and various iDevices disrupting music playback equipment manufacturers and the music industry in general.

Vonage and similar companies offering Wi-Fi telephone services, disrupting traditional landline telephone service.

And maybe even Space X disrupting government space exploration.

What enemy will your company overcome without a blow?

I FORGET WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

"Man... cannot learn to forget, but hangs on the past: however far or fast he runs, that chain runs with him."

Friedrich Nietzsche 

19th century German-Swiss philosopher/writer

It is strange that we easily forget things we shouldn't while struggling to remember things we should.

OUR INNER 2ND OPINION

"Thinking is the talking of the soul with itself."

Plato

4th century BC Greek philosopher

And we don't always think before we act.

I wonder what our souls think about that.

ORIGINALLY I DIDN'T THINK SO

"The more intelligent one is, the more men of originality one finds. Ordinary people find no difference between men."

Blaise Pascal

17th century French mathematician, physicist and philosopher

A bit judgmental but point taken.

Original thinking does not come easy (and no I'm not the first to conclude that.)

Because You Should, Not Because You Have

"A tradition without intelligence is not worth having."

T. S. Elliott

20th century English American poet

I think we can safely substitute "thought" for "intelligence", leading us to the primary message.

If you do things mostly or completely because that's the way you've always done them, why?

We Won't Be Like You

"The new organization is edgeless, permeable, amorphous . . . constantly reforming according to need."

Unknown

This sounds like something a new generation person would say to demonstrate how they are different from all generations gone before them.

And there's a slight implied bias suggesting that the new way will be the better way.

If so, great, we can all benefit from new and better ways.

However before concluding that is so I'd like to hear how this "constantly reforming" organization intends to manage itself.

Stagnant Thinking

"The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind."

William Blake

18th century British poet/painter

Notice there is no qualification regarding which opinion.

All opinion.

If you don't believe that to be true, it's time to alter your opinion.

New Thinking, Every Day

"Most people grow old within a small circle of ideas, which they have not discovered for themselves."

Marquis de Vauvenargues

18th century French moralist, writer

I have no problem only adapting the ideas of others, but the number should always be increasing.

Let's Try Something Different!

"One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea."

Walter Bagehot

19th century British economist

Strange too because "new and improved" is standard, very successful marketing text.

How receptive are you to change?

Let Me Think About That

"There is music in words, and it can be heard you know, by thinking."

E. L. Doctorow

20th century American author

In business the "music" may be wisdom but call it what you will it is only there for you to see and hear if you first think.

Well Thought Out?

"Thought is the parent of the deed."

Thomas Carlyle

19th century British historian

But do we think enough?

How many of your company's decisions are based on sufficient thought?  

Planning?

How about yours?

Free To Think, Required To Plan

"Surely there is grandeur in the realm of thought, knowing at least you are without a chain."

Robert Green Ingersoll

19th century American politician

So be free to think and envision whatever you wish.  

Great advice because without unfettered imagination, how will we ever progress to what could be from what is?

But once you know where that is (what could be), it's time to create the plan that is absolutely essential to get you there, and unlike the picture in this post, there are no road signs telling you where to go.

The Hardest And Most Important Thing We (Should) Do

"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason so few engage in it."

Henry Ford

20th century American industrialist

I would stop to think about what this means, but I'm just too tired.

If You Can Think It, You Can Do It!

"Our life is the creation of our mind."

Buddha

"Our life is what our thoughts make it."

Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius

And they're not the only ones to express this view.

If you don't like the way your career or business is headed, first think about what you want it to be and then make that happen.

Yes it is as simple as that.