Quips & quotes

Be decisive

/ Susan Hendrich / 2 Comments

The Best Decision

How important is it for leaders to be decisive?  Consider these words from Theodore Roosevelt: 

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”

Sometimes shooting from the hip, good leaders can make decisions quickly — often with incomplete data. And, yes, hasty decisions can cause problems. But making no decision at all can worsen an already-bad situation. I’ve decided I’m going to try to be more decisive in my day-to-day business as a leader and a team player.

 

What will you decide?

 

Susan Hendrich 
 
 
 

 

Creative leadership: Scary for some?

/ Susan Hendrich / 1 Comment

Creative Strategist, Innovator & Leader, James (Not Jim) Patsalides, asks the following question:

Does “creative leadership” scare some people?

He says, “Those of us who are Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) alums would clearly value creative leadership, but are there companies/executives out there who might be nervous of the “creative” part? How can you tell these companies from those who might embrace creativity? Why would they be nervous?”  

Here’s what I think:

Creative leadership, scary or not, is the survival key for these uncertain times.

This question reminds me of the following wise words: “Human creativity is the ultimate economic resource.” — Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class

Creative leadership, therefore, is the management and guidance of our ultimate economic resource.

Here’s how I distinguish companies that embrace creative leadership from those that are run scared:

When I talk to company representatives, I listen to the language they use to describe company happenings. Do they speak in terms of “how we work,” or do they specify individual stories about specific people and teams that creatively solve problems? When I hear specific “breaking the mold” stories about people and ideas, I know that the company is valuing creative leadership.

“The key difference between checkers and chess is that in checkers the pieces all move the same way, whereas in chess all the pieces move differently. … Discover what is unique about each person and capitalize on it.” —Marcus Buckingham, The One Thing You Need to Know

I’d say more, but I don’t want to scare anyone…

Words matter

/ Susan Hendrich / 2 Comments

Here is a shining example of the difference words can make:

1. Tina writes the following on her Think Simple Now blog:

Do you find yourself saying the words I’m sorry or I don’t know often? Did you know that this over-sighted language pattern is actually limiting our potential to happiness and ultimately getting what we want?…

The language we use is incredibly powerful. It is a direct command into our unconscious mind. Whether we realize it or not, or it was spoken casually or not, our unconscious mind is listening. Your unconscious mind takes notes even when you’re not paying attention.  Read Tina’s post

2. Then, people make comments on Tina’s post, like this one from Kannan:

Hi Tina,

Great Article.
I think you did lot of work to write this one.
One may wonder how even these simple words can influence our life.
Just like a garden, if we eliminate all the weeds and feed only the plants, our life will be a beautiful garden with wonderful results. Thanks for sharing.

Best Wishes,
Kannan Viswagandhi
http://www.growing-self.blogspot.com

3. Other people read Tina’s blog post and Kannan’s response, and start to think…

Hey maybe I need to consider my words more carefully. Yeah, in fact, I will make a change today in some small way.  Wait…by thinking that, I just did made a change! Let me write about that change.

4. And the beautiful cycle continues…

Think well!

Susan (Hertzenberg) Hendrich

Safety to fail

/ Susan Hendrich / 9 Comments

To err is human; to forgive, divine. – Alexander Pope

Forgiveness is a gift that costs nothing.

There is tremendous power in forgiveness. We pardon mistakes or wrong choices of others as a means of growing, healing, learning and moving on. The power of forgiveness has long been documented. Think of the role it plays in self-esteem, interpersonal relations, philosophy, sports, child-rearing, education, and law.  Forgiveness brings closure and resolution. Forgiveness frees us to make better choices next time.

So, where does forgiveness fit into training and leadership?

There is no greater learning opportunity than the chance to make a decision that carries the risk of failing. When we provide a safe environment in which learners can try, fail, and try again, we open up a world of learning opportunities. 

How have you incorporated forgiveness into your training and leadership?

Susan Hendrich

Eudaimonia

/ Susan Hendrich / 3 Comments

happy1.jpg A key to happiness and design success

Oprah’s been hanging out with best-selling author and spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle, and their focus is happiness.  Tolle’s latest work, A New Earth, provides practical teachings for waking up to a new, enlightened mind-set.  So, what does this new-agey stuff have to do with learning, design, and leadership?  Enter eudaimonia. Research shows that genuinely happy people have something called “eudaimonia” in common:

Finding your (design’s) “most golden self.”

A combination of the Greek eu (“good”) and daimon (“spirit”), eudaimonia means striving toward excellence based on one’s unique talents and potential—Aristotle considered it to be the noblest goal in life.

In Aristotle’s time, the Greeks believed that each child was blessed at birth with a personal daimon embodying the highest possible expression of his or her nature. One way they envisioned the daimon was as a golden figurine that would be revealed by cracking away an outer layer of cheap pottery (the person’s base exterior). The effort to know and realize one’s most golden self—”personal growth,” in today’s lingo—is now the central concept of eudaimonia, which has also come to include continually taking on new challenges and fulfilling one’s sense of purpose in life.

I submit that, like life design, training design should pursue eudamonia. Let’s crack away the outer layer of extra words and elements that mask the true message we are trying to deliver. Whether that means using more white space in our layout or trimming content to only the most salient points, the search for eudaimonia is a mantra I’m willing to repeat. 

Tell us how you have experienced eudaimonia…