Better Insights, Better Results
“All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire.” -- Aristotle
Now there’s a fine question to start you day with, isn’t it? Take heart, this post just might let your inner-kid out to play and make your day more meaningful, in whatever you do.
“There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction." -- Winston Churchill
To predict explosive change before it occurs, you need to be able to distinguish a "spider" from a "starfish." A starfish can replicate and spread a fluid set of ideas, beliefs, values, and norms. This is the hidden power behind things like Wikipedia, craigslist, Skype, and even the early days of Alcoholics Anonymous.
“Peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you're capable.” – John Wooden
John Wooden was a living legend. He was also one of the most successful basketball coaches of all time and he lived a simple life focusing on personal excellence, personal integrity, love, and balance.
“Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.” - Oscar Wilde
A few years back I went on a tour around Microsoft, asking various executives a brief set of questions. I wanted to know what what their day is like, what drives them, and what holds them back. I wanted to know what do they know now that they wish they knew back then, when they first started. Mostly I wanted the benefit of their hind-sight and school of hard-knocks.
"The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose." -- John Mason Brown
Holding people accountable is a skill you can learn. In a world where you get results through teams and teamwork, enforcing accountability plays a key role to success. Even if you’re just holding yourself accountable to some results you want in your life, it helps to know the ways to enforce accountability and why there can be a lack of accountability. A lot of it comes down to clarifying the outcome, setting expectations, and then addressing motivation, skills, and feedback.
