I defy
It irritates me to be told how things have always been done. I defy the tyranny of precedent.” – Clara Barton, American teacher, nurse and humanitarian
Quote of the Week
Do Not Assume
Don’t assume a door is closed; push on it. Do not assume if it was closed yesterday that it was closed today.” – Marian Wright Edelman, American activist
Coping with Complexity
“Management is about coping with complexity.” – John Kotter Coping is a great word to use. It’s neither triumphant nor defeatist. It’s neutral plus a slight tweak toward good. Fight the complexity and you’ll collapse. Ignore the complexity and you’ll die. Cope with the complexity and you have a fighting chance at creating something amazing
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An office without books means…
A home without books is like a room without windows.” – H. G. Rickover Maybe it’s because I’ve just finished Senge’s The Fifth Discipline, but I’ve begun to notice–more than I ever did before–who does and doesn’t have books featured prominently in their offices. I know I have a book obsession, so the shelves upon
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More Highly Valued
Those who work to solve problems are more highly valued that those who merely label them.” – Robert Mager and Peter Pipe in Analyzing Performance Problems This week, so long as I get my voice back, I’ll have the privilege to provide three days of training to a highly motivated group of problem solvers. I
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Purposeful Action
One of our weaknesses, though, is that we are not in the habit of purposeful action. All too often, we don’t consider what we’re trying to accomplish with our actions. We typically don’t put much time into considering why we think a specific action will lead to a specific result. We don’t ask ourselves often
A profession
To practice a profession one must have acquired mastery of an academic discipline as well as a technique for applying this special knowledge to the problems of everyday life. A profession is therefore intellectual in content, practical in application.” – H. G. Rickover There isn’t one accepted profession that seems to appropriately “fit” what it
Be not afraid
Via non trita zaginiis traditionis suffocata est; non timere secare (The untrodden path is choked by the weeds of tradition. Be not afraid to cut through.)” I love these words and I love the story behind them too. The words, “be not afraid,” remind me of a favorite Theodore Roosevelt quote which says, “There were
Significant
We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers.” – Carl Sagan
Promise Me
Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A. A. Milne
