Where victory comes from
February 5, 2011 by admin
“Those who are victorious, plan effectively and change decisively. They are like a great river that maintains its course but adjusts its flow… they have form but are formless. They are skilled in both planning and adapting and need not fear the result of a thousand battles; for they win in advance, defeating those that have already lost,”
- Sun Tzu Chinese Warrior, Philosopher 100 B.C 4 years ago
Base of Knowledge
January 20, 2011 by admin
If you think about our thoughts, our knowledge base, our wisdom and how it relates to the choices and decisions we make in our lives and businesses every day, we start to realize how important that base of knowledge is to the choice and the results we achieve.
Have you ever found an old book, that in its time was considered leading edge or radical. As you look at that book today, you see how crude and outdated the content seems? If we, as leaders in our business and our lives, do nothing to update the content of our thoughts and knowledge, we will continue to fall below our potential, under perform to our expectations, and in worst case scenarios, fail to reach our dreams, goals, and necessities.
How are you keeping your brain’s hard drive current to meet today’s needs of living?
Your Domain of Knowledge
January 8, 2011 by admin
I love reading books for new knowledge and thoughts. Here is a take away from Talent is Overrated, by Geoff Colvin.
Imagine the difference if you made domain knowledge a direct objective rather than a by-product of work. If you set a goal of becoming an expert on your business, you would immediately start doing all kinds of things you don’t do now.
As you add to your knowledge of your domain, keep in mind that your objective is not just to amass information. You are building a mental model – a picture of how your domain functions as a system. This is one of the defining traits of great performers: They all possess large, highly developed, intricate mental models of their domains.
o Events that just happened will create the events that are about to happen
o Always expanding and revising the model
Memorable Quote
January 5, 2011 by admin
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Young People and Strategic Life Planning
September 25, 2010 by admin
The youngest group of participants that I have facilitated life planning with was a group of middle school students. Some might think that someone in middle school is too young to even understand what Strategic Life Planning is all about.
I was fortunate to know the principal of a middle school whose wife and daughter had planned their life in one of my workshops. From their experience he knew I had a dream of facilitating youth to validate my belief that young people could understand life planning and would benefit from the process. A group of 10 students were chosen to experience this planning.
Over a period of a few weeks, the participants were taken through the process. I still remember their faces and the dreams that each had, and still consider the group one of the most successful. It seemed the timing was perfect. I remember one young lady who when first joining the process wanted to be a rock star. Her dream was not founded on any substantial ah ha or conviction. After completing the session, she discovered she really wanted to sing and that many roads in life could lead her to that opportunity. Had she been left with her original thought, she was sure to feel a failure or disappointment about life if she had failed to become a rock star.
She may be a rock star today….but even if she isn’t, I am sure her life dream has come true and she is singing someplace.
