Incompetence and Arrogance There are few things more dangerous than a mixture of power, arrogance and incompetence. – Bob Herbert, American journalist Throughout our business and personal lives, we come across many different people. Some are terrific. They are friendly, smart, accomplished and reliable. They are usually humble about themselves and what they do personally …
Failing projects? “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” – Henry Ford. Much has been written about both success and failure. It is mostly regarding life itself, but it also applies to business. Having been in consulting for over 40 years, I have known both success and failure with clients …
Being Wrong “To live a creative life we must first lose the fear of being wrong.” ― Joseph Chilton Pearce Mistakes, we all make them. My old boss, Bill Clymer, once said, “We all make mistakes. That is why they put erasers on the ends of pencils”. We all remember what pencils are, right? Unfortunately there …
Fear of Death “I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.” – Mark Twain I remember being at my grandparent’s apartment and suddenly bursting into tears. It suddenly hit me how old they were and at some point, …
Unhappiness “For just one second, look at your life and see how perfect it is. Stop looking for the next secret door that is going to lead you to your real life. Stop waiting. This is it: there’s nothing else. It’s here, and you’d better decide to enjoy it or you’re going to be …
Firing Someone “It’s not the people you fire who make your life miserable. It’s the people you don’t.” ― Dick Grote, Discipline Without Punishment: The Proven Strategy That Turns Problem Employees into Superior Performers As I teach in my Project Management Class, a manager should try his or her best to bring around a difficult employee. The same …
Growing Old “Just ’cause there’s snow on the roof doesn’t mean there’s not a fire inside.”― Bonnie Hunt Suddenly, you find that you cannot go to sleep at night. You are wide awake, staring at the ceiling or anything else that you can see in the dark. It has hit you that you are aging. Actually, …
Change “Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.” — Confucius Change. Is that what Keeps You Awake at Night? We’re often afraid of change because we’re afraid of the unknown. Even though we know that something needs to be changed, we cling to what is familiar. We would rather dance with the devil …
Fear of Failure “Failure is another emotion I cannot stand to feel, because in adult life I have conditioned myself not to fail at anything. Failure takes me straight back to the feelings of worthlessness I grew up with as a stammering, reclusive little boy.” Jake Wood , Among You: The Extraordinary True Story of a …
Shrinking Business? “Do not judge me by my success. Judge me by how many times I fell down and got backup again.” Nelson Mandela It hasn’t happened all at once. In fact it has been gradually slipping over time. You can’t pinpoint when it started and it didn’t seem like a big deal at …