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Are You Moving Fast Enough?

Don't Just Sit There

The great social commentator of the 1920s and 30s, Will Rogers was a man of great insights. Some of his thoughts on the human condition are on one level very humorous. And on another level they are incredibly deep for a guy who dropped out of school in the 10th grade.

But, he is credited with a quote that I am finding to be very descriptive of some of the things that I see around me these days. Will Rogers said:

Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.

I see so many folks in leadership that are truly on the right track. They are not fundamentally heading in the wrong direction. Actually, many time they are not heading in much of a direction. They seem to feel quite confident and assured that just being on the right track is sufficient. It is not.

Let’s assume for a moment that you have stumbled upon the “right track.” How you got there may be a mystery. But your instincts tell you that you are indeed on the right track.

What’s next? Where do you go from here?

Just sitting there is not a long term solution. Will Rogers tells us that if we just sit there, someone will run over us. But, who is going to run over us? Consider the following potential candidates to run over us: Continue reading “Are You Moving Fast Enough?”

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Three Characteristics of Visible Leaders

Three Characteristics of

If you are my leader, please don’t just tell me — show up and show me!

I am a passionate person and I am drawn to leaders who can express themselves with great passion. But expressing passion alone will not be sufficient for our team to be successful. We need your demonstrated leadership in the areas that you are espousing such passion.

Consider with me briefly today, three aspects of passionate leaders who are more than just verbal, they are visible:

Visible Leaders are Honestly Committed – These leaders honestly and genuinely believe in what they espouse. Their passion comes from a deep desire for others to know the joy or benefits of what they know or what they have experienced. Continue reading “Three Characteristics of Visible Leaders”

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Expecting, Inspecting, and Respecting

Expect-Inspect-Respect

Here is my twist on an oft quoted business or management adage. “It is not expecting, but inspecting while respecting.” I first heard it from Dr. Elmer Towns nearly 25 years ago in a seminar on Sunday School Growth. And it has been the substance of my 6 week sabbatical from LeadershipVoices.com.

“You can expect what you inspect” has been credited by Wikipedia to author W. Edwards Deming, but there’s no evidence that he first coined or popularized the saying. Likewise, Lawrence Appley, president of the American Management Association from 1948 to 1968, was credited with the saying as far back as 1967.

Other variations include, “People do what you inspect not what you expect” and it has been cited in print since 1959. Also, “you get what you inspect, not what you expect” shows up since 1962. The adage is sometimes said to have a military origin, but documented citations are not conclusive.  And, “Don’t expect what you don’t inspect” was written by W. Clement Stone in his book, The Success System That Never Fails and published in 1962.

So, enough of the history lesson. What is my point? Continue reading “Expecting, Inspecting, and Respecting”