7 Simple Ideas to Become a Better Leader
Successful leaders are hard to find. The culprit behind this enormous change is our increasingly selfish, self-centred, self-absorbed “Me” culture courtesy of our growing obsession with personal branding and social media.
While that’s unfortunate, there is an unforeseen silver lining. If you have a burning desire to accomplish great things and be a successful project leader, you’ve got less opposition than ever before. All you’ve got to do is break from the regular crowd and embrace the seven simply traits that I believe make great project leaders, well, great.
1. Successful Leaders are Highly Authentic
“I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I’ve become. If I had, I’d have done it a lot earlier.” Oprah Winfrey. It’s true; you can make it big with an enormous ego and an imposing personality. How else do you explain Donald Trump, with all due respect, of course? Customers, employees, and media all want to help authentic people to succeed. Leaders never try to be something they aren’t. I’d like to think of it as standing in your own truth. If you don’t know something, admit it. This is not just an endearing quality; it’s an extremely underrated and powerful leadership trait, as well. If you don’t agree with a statement someone else has made, don’t grin and bare it. Instead, honestly admit that you don’t see it the same way as the other person. Tomorrow’s leaders are transparent about who they are online, merging their personal and professional lives together. Warren Bennis had a knack for making stellar leadership seem both rare and attainable. “Becoming a leader,” he wrote, “is synonymous with becoming yourself. As a leader, you have no greater leverage than the truth.
2. Good Leaders Never Stop Learning
Are leaders born or made? The answer is both. Some amazing people enter the world with a natural ability to lead and attract followers, while other leaders are nurtured. However, I’ve never known a successful leader who lacked intelligence, critical-thinking skills, and an honest thirst for more knowledge. The key is to be curious. If you can master this you will be in good company. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” Curiosity makes you want to figure out why things happen and why people react in certain ways. It makes you want to read and write and talk to others about topics that interest you.
3. Successful Leaders are ultra-Likable
Most people have succumb to an incorrect belief that being likeable comes from natural, unteachable qualities that belong only to a lucky few—the good looking, socialites, and the astonishingly talented. However, I’d like to remind you that social skills, like any skills, are completely learn-able and will help you in your job and life. We often lose sight of the simple things – things that not only make us human, but can actually help us become more successful. Making a better impression on those around you and developing a stronger reputation can go a long way. The art of touch is equally important if you want to become more likeable. Touching eliminates the physical barrier of distance, and so it eliminates the emotional barrier that the distance represents.
4. Successful Leaders are Emotionally Secure
Insecurity runs through leadership in epic proportions. The trick is to discover and intercept the warning signs of insecurity within yourself. Successful leader’s don’t come from a place of insecurity. If you want to lead for the long haul, you need to be an emotionally secure person. You need to understood who you are, where you are from and where you are going and have an incredible clarity of mission and purpose. Start from a positive place and others will notice. Our insecurities kill our confidence. Learn how to recognize them within yourself, so you can eliminate them.
5. Successful Leaders are Fearless
I’m considered a very “safe” person. I tend to be very risk averse and only take a chance on something when I’ve analysed and calculated it to the extent that it is no longer a risk. Demonstrating leadership courage – whether it’s having an uncomfortable conversation, communicating when you don’t have all the answers, or making a decision to move ahead on a new project – can be scary.
However, I’ve never known a great project leader to back down from a challenge on an issue he or she felt strongly about. It’s time to ditch the rose-coloured glasses and face the facts. Real conversations may be awkward and uncomfortable, especially if conflict is involved. Expect people to perform and deliver on their commitments, and have courage to call them out when they don’t follow through. Remember that accountability begins with you so model the behaviours you expect of others.
6. Successful Leaders are Positive
“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change by merely changing his attitude.” – Oprah Winfrey
Positive leaders have a natural tendency to look at the cup as half full, not half empty and focus on what they can do, not what they can’t do. Positive people also have a high degree of self-respect, but refuse to take themselves too seriously! They realize that assertive, confident communication is the only way to connect with others in everyday life. They avoid judgmental, angry interchanges, and do not let someone else’s blow up give them a reason to react in kind. Positive people seek the help and support of others who are supportive and safe. Isn’t it enough that we have persistent negativity in news, on our homepages, and on social media. Be a light in a world. Being positive will make you a pleasure to talk to and more people will want be around you.
“Leaders are called to believe and see a beautiful, bright and expansive future for those who can’t see one for themselves.” Dean Jones
7. The Best Leaders Know How to Listen
“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” – Ernest Hemingway
Listening is a leadership responsibility that never appears in the job description. The workplace is fuelled with the stress and pressure of each day so when employees say they want their voices to be heard, they are really saying they want leaders who will not just hear them, but really listen to them. Great leaders listen to people and are open to new ideas. They know how to balance the head and the heart. If you are an old-school leader, don’t be afraid to express sentiment or feel that it will weaken your stature or authority as a leader. Ronald Reagan was a master of showing empathy towards others.
If you foster the above qualities, you’ll join the ranks of those who spend their holidays with friends, their sunsets at dinner parties, and their workdays surrounded by people that love and respect them for who they are, not what title or position they hold.
“As a leader, you have no greater leverage than the truth.” – John Whittier
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9 Inspirational Sayings from Dr. Benjamin Carson
Find out the mindset that transformed Ben Carson’s life, from a poor performing student to one of the greatest neurosurgeon in the world. Allow these quotes to inspire you to think bigger.
Read and be blessed.
- Sometimes you are unsatisfied with your life, while many people in this world are dreaming of living your life.
- A child on a farm sees a plane fly overhead and dreams of flying. But, a pilot on the plane sees the farmhouse and dreams of returning home. That’s life, enjoy yours.
- If wealth is the secret to happiness, then the rich should be dancing on the streets. But only poor kids do that.
- If power ensures security, then officials should walk unguarded. But those who live simply, sleep soundly.
- If beauty and fame bring ideal relationships, then celebrities should have the best marriages. But those who live simply, walk humbly and love genuinely!
- All good will come back to you!
- Man asks, “Where was God when Myles Munroe, wife and his associates were killed in a crash? He answers, “The same place I sat when John the Baptist my servant was beheaded. When Stephen my servant was stoned to death. When Paul my servant was murdered in Rome. The same place I sat when my only Son was brutally crucified, wounded, bruised and killed. I have not moved from my position.”
- I am the same. It is not the means of exit from earth that matters but the destination. Live simply. It’s all about God!
- If someone asks about your educational background, proclaim boldly that: Church is my college. Heaven is my university. Father God is my counselor. Jesus is my principal. The Holy Spirit is my teacher. Angels are my classmates. The Bible is my textbook. Temptations are my exams and overcoming Satan is my hobby. Winning souls for God is my assignment. Receiving eternity is my degree. Praise and Worship are my slogan.
Benjamin Solomon Carson Sr. (born September 18, 1951) is an American neurosurgeon, author, and politician who is the 17th and current United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, under the Trump Administration. Prior to his cabinet position, he was a candidate for President of the United States in the Republican primaries in 2016. Born in Detroit, Michigan, and a graduate of Yale University and the University of Michigan Medical School, Carson has authored numerous books on his medical career and political stances. He was the subject of a television drama film in 2009. He was the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland from 1984 until his retirement in 2013. As a pioneer in neurosurgery, Carson’s achievements include performing the only successful separation of conjoined twins joined at the back of the head, pioneering the first successful neurosurgical procedure on a fetus inside the womb, performing the first completely successful separation of type-2 vertical craniopagus twins, developing new methods to treat brain-stem tumors, and reviving hemispherectomy techniques for controlling seizures. He became the youngest chief of pediatric neurosurgery in the country at age 33. He has received more than 60 honorary doctorate degrees, dozens of national merit citations, and written over 100 neurosurgical publications. In 2008, he was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.
If You Want to Make Enemies, Try to Change Something: 17 Inspiring Change Quotes to Live By
If you want to make enemies, try to change something. Change, no matter what scale it is on, can be a source of stress and anxiety for many. However, it’s common for change management practitioners to view resistance to change as an irrational barrier to progress. Another school of thought is that resistance to change is a social process that can strengthen changes and help to eliminate undesirable change.
The fact remains that change is necessary in all organizations. But, it is the way change is initiated which can so greatly vary. It can be forced upon companies by outside forces or just come from a realization that the company may be falling behind the times. In this way, change management might be quite beneficial to an organization. Organizations that have learned how to transform themselves through effective leadership and strategic control are more likely to survive and prosper. The dilemma is that most people hate change and love it at the same time and what they really want is for things to remain the same but get better.
The good news is that God has a plan for your life to prosper. If we trust in God and allow the change to grow us to become more like Jesus Christ in how we respond and act, then we are promised that all things will work together for good for those who love Him and keep His commandments!
The following thought-provoking quotes relate to change management including resistance to change, acceptance and change strategy.
- “One of the reasons so many celebrities keep going in and out of rehab is that they leave out the critical element to lasting change: God.” – Unknown
- “There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.” — Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Change has its enemies.” — Robert Kennedy
- “He who rejects change is the architect of decay.” — Harold Wilson
- “Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better.” — Samuel Johnson
- “The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.” — Charles Kettering
- “God supplies everything you need for successful change, and when you make changes with his help, it says changed.” – Unknown
- “It is always easier to talk about change than to make it.” — Alvin Toffler
- “It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things.” — Machiavelli
- “The path of least resistance is the path of the loser.” — H. G. Wells
- “When you feel weak in the face of change, God is omnipotent, or all-powerful. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” the Bible says. (Romans 8:31, NIV) Knowing the invincible God is on your side gives you tremendous confidence.” – Unknown
- “Paralyze resistance with persistence.” — Woody Hayes
- “Culture does not change because we desire to change it. Culture changes when the organization is transformed – the culture reflects the realities of people working together every day.” — Frances Hesselbein
- “The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence – it is to act with yesterday’s logic – Peter Drucker
- “The rate of change is not going to slow down anytime soon. If anything, competition in most industries will probably speed up even more in the next few decades.” — John P. Kotter
- “Your success in life isn’t based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers, and business.” — Mark Sanborn
- “If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” — Woodrow Wilson
Don’t make change harder than it has to be. Do it the right way. Ask God for help.
The Nature of Good ‘Project Chemistry’
33 of the Most Inspirational Leadership Quotes for You to Live By
We’ve all seen quotes designed to motivate or inspire us. Well, according to a new study, people who post these ‘inspirational’ quotes also have lower levels of intelligence. However, Godinterest disagrees, and see’s some quotes as universal nuggets of wisdom. You know the ones – those quotes that give you “Aha!” moments of inspiration or meaningful insights into your personal and professional lives. These are the ones you want to print out and place on your fridge so you’ll see them every day.
This collection of inspirational quotes features some of the all-time classics you may know, as well as some lesser-known ones you’ll love too. If you have any quotes you would have added, feel free to share in the comments section!
- “The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable.” – Denis Watley
- “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” – Stephen A. Brennan
- “Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” – Fitzhugh Dodson
- “Goals are dreams with deadlines.” – Diana Scharf Hunt
- “You must have long-term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-term failures.” – Charles C. Noble
- “Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination, and disregard for obstacles and other people’s criticisms, carry out your plan.” – Paul Meyer
- “The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.” – Benjamin Mays
- “Progress has little to do with speed, but much to do with direction.” – Unknown
- “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Goals help focus you on areas in both your personal and professional life that are important and meaningful, rather than being guided by what other people want you to be, do, or accomplish.” – Catherine Pulsifer
- “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” – Zig Ziglar
- “It doesn’t matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going.” – Brian Tracy
- “The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience but how he stands at times of controversy and challenges.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
- “It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” – Horne, Lena
- “Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.” – William E. Channing
- “Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.” – Henry Ford
- “It’s not whether you get knocked down. It’s whether you get up again.” – Vince Lombardi
- “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” E- Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Ryun
- “Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purposes.” – Kenneth Hildebrand
- “People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.” – Andrew Carnegie
- “Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” – Wayne Dyer
- “The surest way not to fail is to be determined to succeed.” – Richard B. Sheridan
- “A determined person will do more with a pen and paper than a lazy person will accomplish with a personal computer.” – Catherine Pulsifer
- “There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.” – Ella Wheeler Wilcox
- “It was courage, faith, endurance and a dogged determination to surmount all obstacles that built this bridge.” – John J. Watson
- “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” – Og Mandino
- “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” – George Lorimer
- “We will either find a way or make one!” – Hannibal
- “That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.” – Unknown
- “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
- “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” – William Feather
- “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier
35 Powerful Quotes That Will Inspire You to Be Successful
Being a both a Christian and a leader can be an emotional ride, with ups, downs, joy, and disappointment. Words have power and these inspiring and motivating quotes are guaranteed to challenge the way you think and perhaps even change the way you live.
We hope they resonate with you as much as they have with us. Sometimes a little piece of advice or wisdom from a brilliant mind can help you motor through even the most difficult of times.
- I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. ’- Maya Angelou
- It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it. ’- Lou Holtz
- What happened, happened, and it wouldn’t have happened any other way. Lewis Carroll
- Choose a job that you like, and you will never have to work a day in your life. ’- Confucius
- Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end. ’- Proverbs 29:11
- Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. —Vince Lombardi
- Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve. ’- Napoleon Hill
- Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. ’- Mark Twain
- The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. ’- Ralph Nader
- As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. ’- Proverbs 27:17
- If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way. ’- Napoleon Hill
- What is not started will never get finished. ’- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- When you cease to dream, you cease to live. ’- Malcolm Forbes
- Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs. ’- Farrah Gray
- Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. ’- Unknown
- Winners never quit, and quitters never win. ’- Vince Lombardi
- Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. ’- Unknown
- Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. —Charles Swindoll
- The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand. ’- Vince Lombardi
- Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes. ’- Maggie Kuhn
- It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently. ’- Warren Buffett
- Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. —Eleanor Roosevelt
- When someone tells me “no,” it doesn’t mean I can’t do it, it simply means I can’t do it with them. ’- Karen E. Quinones Miller
- If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else. —Booker T. Washington
- You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do. ’- Henry Ford
- A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. ’- Unknown
- I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. —Stephen Covey
- Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. ’- Unknown
- Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. ’- Unknown
- I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. —Jimmy Dean
- If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on. —Sheryl Sandberg. — Proverbs 15:1
- A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger
- Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear. —George Addair
- The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. —Amelia Earhart
- A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. — Proverbs 22:1
Bookmark this page and come back to it when you need some inspiration and motivation.
20 Inspiring Leadership Quotes
The right words can engage the brain and bring an idea to life. History’s best leaders understood the importance of providing motivation and direction to achieve larger goals. The character, actions and thoughts of a leader, good or bad, permeate an organisation or country. Your goal should be to demonstrate the best qualities of a leader. These 20 quotes about leadership will help you think about and guide your actions.
- It is impossible to imagine anything which better becomes a ruler than mercy – Seneca
- Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves – Philippians 2:3
- Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again more intelligently – Henry Ford
- Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless – Mother Teresa
- Treat others the same way you want them to treat you – Luke 6:31
- Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree and I’ll spend the first 4 sharpening the axe – Abraham Lincoln
- While a good leader sustains momentum, a great leader increases it – John C. Maxwell
- The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires – William Arthur Ward
- The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things – President Ronald Reagan
- Always do what’s right. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest – Mark Twain
- A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit – Arnold Glasow
- Be willing to make decisions. That’s the most important quality in a good leader – George S. Patton
- Earn your leadership every day – Michael Jordan
- Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity – George S. Patton
- Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower – Steve Job
- Where there is no vision, the people perish – Proverbs 29:18
- Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power – President Abraham Lincoln
- A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way – John C. Maxwell
- Don’t just delegate tasks to the next generation. If you delegate tasks, you create followers. Instead, delegate authority to create leaders – Craig Groeschel
- You don’t have to hold a position in order to be a leader – Henry Ford
19 Inspirational Quotes to Create a Wise Leader
Some of the most inspirational quotes ever uttered to stir you and get you moving through the day. Whether you feel stuck or just need a good dose of inspiration from great minds. Be sure to feed your brain inspiring quotes and phrases daily.
- For the wise person, there are only two types of experiences on life’s road: winning and learning – Greg Henry Quinn
- Successful people are EXTREMELY self-disciplined. When they set their mind to something, they do it. No questions asked –
Jacob Reimer - To those who retain their zest, old age has much to offer. From them the world has much to gain – Lord Beaverbrook
- You must be the change you wish to see in the world – Gandhi
- Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm – Winston Churchill
- Dream big and dare to fail – Norman Vaughan
- Make each day your masterpiece – John Wooden
- Once you choose hope, anything’s possible – Christopher Reeve
- Every moment is a fresh beginning – T.S. Eliot
- Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear – George Addair
- A year from now you may wish you had started today – Karen Lamb
- It is never too late to be what you might have been – George Eliot
- There are no traffic jams along the extra mile – Roger Staubach
- If there is no struggle, there is no progress – Frederick Douglass
- If you can’t outplay them, outwork them – Ben Hogan
- The best way to predict the future is to invent it – Alan Kay
- Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you – Arnold Palmer
- If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all? – Joe Namath
- Choosing a goal and sticking to it changes everything – Scott Reed
42 Masterful Quotes to Inspire Healthier Relationships
Conflict is part of our working life and is often used as a way to work out our differences and reach a conclusion. It’s usually the approach you take that tends to exacerbate the issues and cause undue stress. How you deal with conflict reveals your character.
- The wise man doesn’t give the right answers, he poses the right questions — Claude Lvi-Strauss
- A crisis is a turning point — Anne Lindthorst
- Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional — Max Lucade
- Don’t be afraid of opposition. Remember, a kite rises against, not with, the wind — Hamilton Mabie
- There is no way to peace. Peace is the way — AJ Muste
- The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment — Dorothy Nevill
- The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them — Ralph Nichols
- The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war — Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
- To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong — Joseph Chilton Pearce
- A man convinced against his will”¦is not convinced — Laurence J. Peter
- My problem is I say what I’m thinking before I think what I’m saying — Laurence J. Peter
- Discussion is an exchange of knowledge; argument an exchange of emotion – Robert Quillen
- You can’t influence somebody when you’re judging them — Tony Robbins
- Quarrels would not last long if the fault were only on one side — Duke François de La Rochefoucauld
- It is astonishing how elements which seem insoluble become soluble when someone listens. How confusions which seem irremediable turn into relatively clear flowing streams when one is heard — Carl Rogers
- If it’s mentionable, it’s manageable— Mr. Rogers
- Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today — Will Rogers
- The best way to persuade people is with your ears, by listening to them — Dean Rusk
- The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution — Bertrand Russell
- It is with the heart that one sees rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye — Antoine de Saint-Exupry
- Human beings love to be right. When a person is willing to give up being right, a whole world of possibilities opens up — Pete Salmansohn
- The test of a successful person is not an ability to eliminate all problems before they arise, but to meet and work out difficulties when they do arise — David J. Schwartz
- Why not go out on a limb? Isn’t that where the fruit is? — Frank Scully
- Before you speak, ask yourself: Is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it improve the silence? — Shirdi Sai Baba
- When things are not working for us, instead of fighting and struggling, we need to say, “What’s happening here? How am I not being true to who I am? What is pulling me away from my purpose?” — June Singer
- The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you — John E. Southard
- It takes two to quarrel, but only one to end it — Spanish Proverb
- The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn— Source unknown
- Confidence, like art, never comes from having all the answers; it comes from being open to all the questions — Earl Gray Stevens
- Life is ten percent what happens to me and ninety percent how I react to it — Charles Swindoll
- If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow — Carol Tavris
- Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict—alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence — Dorothy Thompson
- Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness — James Thurber
- A good manager doesn’t try to eliminate conflict; he tries to keep it from wasting the energies of his people. If you’re the boss and your people fight you openly when they think that you are wrong, that’s healthy — Robert Townsend
- Knowledge becomes wisdom only after it has been put to good use — Mark Twain
- People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes — Abigail VanBuren
- The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any — Alice Walker
- It isn’t a mistake to have strong views. The mistake is to have nothing else — Anthony Weston
- I’ve found that I can only change how I act if I stay aware of my beliefs and assumptions. Thoughts always reveal themselves in behavior — Margaret Wheatley
- I would not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum — Frances Willard
- When you’re at the edge of a cliff, sometimes progress is a step backward — Source unknown
35 Best Conflict Resolution Quotes
Conflict happens. However, avoidance of conflict, with no effort to resolve it, postpones a proper response and exacerbates the problem because conflicts that are allowed to fester unaddressed will always increase and have negative effects on relationships within the body.
These quotes seem to suggest that it is how you handle the situation, your attitude going into the conflict, and the conflict resolution that matters.
- “If you understood everything I said, you’d be me.” — Miles Davis
- “Don’t look where you fall, but where you slipped.” — African proverb
- “Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” — Paul Boese
- “If war is the violent resolution of conflict, then peace is not the absence of conflict, but rather, the ability to resolve conflict without violence.” — C.T. Lawrence Butler
- “One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations is that in political, military, moral, and spiritual confrontations, there should be an honest attempt at the reconciliation of differences before resorting to combat.” — Jimmy Carter
- “Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.” — Cherokee proverb
- “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” — Winston Churchill
- “A pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill
- “Every conflict we face in life is rich with positive and negative potential. It can be a source of inspiration, enlightenment, learning, transformation, and growth–or rage, fear, shame, entrapment, and resistance. The choice is not up to our opponents, but to us, and our willingness to face and work through them.” — Kenneth Cloke and Joan Goldsmith
- “The quality of our lives depends not on whether or not we have conflicts, but on how we respond to them.” — Tom Crum
- “I believe that the basic nature of human beings is gentle and compassionate. It is therefore in our own interest to encourage that nature, to make it live within us, to leave room for it to develop. If on the contrary, we use violence, it is as if we voluntarily obstruct the positive side of human nature and prevent its evolution.” — His Holiness the Dalai Lama
- “The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” – Ram Dass
- “The more incompetent one feels, the more eager he is to fight.” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- “Every person in this life has something to teach me—and as soon as I accept that, I open myself to truly listening.” — Catherine Doucette
- “The only difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is the way in which we use them.” — Adriana Doyle
- “When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change.” — Wayne Dyer
- “Whenever two good people argue over principles, they are both right.” — Marie Ebner von Eschenbach
- “Today . . . spend more time with people who bring out the best in you, not the stress in you.”—- Unknown Author
- “Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” — Unknown
- “Love is our most unifying and empowering common spiritual denominator. The more we ignore its potential to bring greater balance and deeper meaning to human existence, the more likely we are to continue to define history as one long inglorious record of man’s inhumanity to man.” — Unknown
- “You can never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.” — Buckminister Fuller
- “Our greatest power as nations and individuals is not the ability to employ assault weapons, suicide bombers, and drones to destroy each other. The greater more creative powers with which we may arm ourselves are grace and compassion sufficient enough to love and save each other.” — Seth Godin
- “The problem with holding a grudge is that your hands are then too full to hold onto anything else.” — Seth Godin
- “To truly listen is to risk being changed forever.” — Sakej Henderson
- “The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes
- “Whenever you’re in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.” — William James
- “Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping them up.” – Jesse Jackson
- “Always pass a plate of forgiveness before each verbal feast — Anabel Jensen
- “Never ruin an apology with an excuse.” — Kimberly Johnson
- “If you’re not listening, you’re not learning.” — L.B. Johnson
- “Conflict cannot survive without your participation.”— Wayne Dyer
- Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” — Carl Jung
- “When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.”— Anthony Robbins
- “Happiness depends on what you can give, not on what you can get.”— Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati
- “Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.” — Martin Luther King
Jesus did not advocate non-violence merely as a technique for outwitting the enemy, but as a just means of opposing the enemy in such a way as to hold open the possibility of the enemy’s becoming just as well. Both sides must win. We are summoned to pray for our enemies’ transformation, and to respond to ill-treatment with a love that not only is godly but also, I am convinced, can only be found in God.
50 Quotes to Inspire Successful Leadership
Most people believe that the key to successful leadership is influence, not authority. Do you agree? The answer to that question, it seems, lies in whether the goal is to get others to work from a place of compliance or from a place of commitment which underlines the difference between influential leadership and authoritative leadership.
Working within an influential leadership model, committed employees will give up discretionary time to solve problems, serve customers, and think creatively. On the other hand, people working under command and control, as we more commonly know it will only work to achieve compliance, doing only what needs to be done to get by.
As a leader you must realise that every decision you make influences your next five decisions. Fortunately, great leaders are made, not born.
Maximise your effectiveness by emulating these words of wisdom that will motivate you in achieving your goals and overcoming your fears:
- Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs — Farrah Gray
- Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence — Unknown
- proverb is to speech what salt is to food — Arabic Proverb
- Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird, That cannot fly — Langston Hughes
- Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent — Eleanor Roosevelt
- We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light — Plato
- Every strike brings me closer to the next home run — Babe Ruth
- If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first four hours sharpening the axe — Abraham Lincoln
- If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough — Oprah Winfrey
- I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination — Jimmy Dean
- Believe you can and you’re halfway there — Theodore Roosevelt
- Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbour, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover — Mark Twain
- To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart — Eleanor Roosevelt
- Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears — Les Brown
- Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve — Unknown
- I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions — Stephen Covey
- When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it — Henry Ford
- The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any — Unknown
- It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light — Unknown
- Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant — Robert Louis Stevenson
- The only way to do great work is to love what you do — Steve Jobs
- Change your thoughts and you change your world — Unknown
- The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me — Ayn Rand
- Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck — Dalai Lama
- You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have — Maya Angelou
- I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear — Rosa Parks
- I would rather die of passion than of boredom — Vincent Van Gogh
- A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new — Unknown
- If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else — Booker T. Washington
- Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless — Unknown
- Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart — Ancient Indian Proverb
- How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world — Unknown
- The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be — Ralph Waldo Emerson
- We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone — Ronald Reagan
- Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear — George Addair
- Nothing will work unless you do — Maya Angelou
- I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples — Mother Teresa
- What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality — Plutarch
- Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway — John Wayne
- Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm — Winston Churchill
- It always seems impossible until it’s done — Nelson Mandela
- Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential — John Maxwell
- Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it — Ralph Waldo Emerson
- There are no traffic jams along the extra mile — Roger Staubach
- Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning — Gloria Steinem
- Stealing someone else’s words frequently spares the embarrassment of eating your own — Peter Anderson
- The Book of Proverbs are the cream of a nation’s thought — Unknown
- Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it — Charles Swindoll
- The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity — Amelia Earhart
- When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy”. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life — John Lennon
10 Motivational Quotes to Get You Through Your Procurement Woes
Is your procurement project stuck in a rut?
A well crafted quote, very much like good storytelling and can elucidate fuzzy concepts. For example, creativity” and “innovation” are not the first two words that come to mind when talking about procurement. However, According to Deloitte’s paper Charting the Course, this is where procurement’s destiny lies.
By transforming beyond today’s definition of “procurement as the sourcing of raw materials, and goods and services,” procurement can reach new heights.
Here are 10 quotes to help you find motivation and inspiration to make a positive change.
- All models are wrong but some of them are useful – George Box (Statistician)
- People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel – Maya Angelou (Writer)
- We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them – Albert Einstein
- Opportunity arises for the prepared mind – Louis Pasteur (chemist and microbiologist)
- A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step – Lao Tzu (Philosopher)
- What gets measured, gets managed – Peter Drucker
- Leonardo da Vinci’s Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication – Dale Dauten
- Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties today of its strength – Corrie ten Boom
- The best way to predict the future is to invent it – Alan Kay
- Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value – Albert Einstein
What are some of your favorite inspirational quotes? Share in the comments
29 Awesome Quotes on Risk Management
- If you treat risk management as a part-time job, you might soon find yourself looking for one ’- Deloitte white paper (Putting Risk in the Comfort Zone)
- I have learned that nothing is certain except for the need to have strong risk management, a lot of cash, the willingness to invest even when the future is unclear, and great people ’- Jeffrey R. Immelt
- Thoughtfully assessing and addressing enterprise risk and placing a high value on corporate transparency can protect the one thing we cannot afford to lose trust ’- Dale E. Jones, vice chairman and partner with Heidrick & Struggles
- We have no future because our present is to volatile. Will only have risk management ’- William Gibson
- Risk management is a culture, not a cult. It only works if everyone lives it, not if its practiced by a few high priests ’- Tom Wilson
- I think the rise of quantitative econometrics and a highly mathematical approach to risk management was the obverse of a decline in interest in financial history ’- Niall Ferguson
- There is no doubt that Formula 1 has the best risk management of any sport and any industry in the world ’- Jackie Stewart
- Stronger regulation and supervision aimed at problems with underwriting practices and lenders’ risk management would have been a more effective and surgical approach to constraining the housing bubble than a general increase in interest rates ’- Ben Bernanke
- If you don’t invest in risk management, it doesnt matter what business you’re in, it’s a risky business ’- Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn
- Adventure without risk is Disneyland ’- Douglas Coupland
- Risk and time are opposite sides of the same coin, for if there were no tomorrow there would be no risk. Time transforms risk, and the nature of risk is shaped by the time horizon: the future is the playing field ’- Peter Bernstein, Against the Gods
- As population susceptibilities are better understood, we will be in a better position than we are in today to make informed decisions about risk management ’- Samuel Wilson
- Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash ’- General George Patton
- All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger, but calculating risk and acting decisively ’- Niccolo Machiavelli
- Total enterprise risk management is critical, but implementing it is both expensive and easier said than done. Even the most sophisticated financial institutions are still basically silo risk managers ’- Danny Klinefelter, Professor and Extension Economist with Texas AgriLife Extension, Texas A&M University
- Playing it safe is the riskiest choice we can ever make ’- Sarah Ban
- The question of whether or to what extent human activities are causing global warming is not a matter of ideology, let alone of belief. The issue is simply one of risk management ’- Malcolm Turnbull
- Business people need to understand the psychology of risk more than the mathematics of risk ’- Paul Gibbons,
- Risk comes from not knowing what your doing ’-Warren Buffett
- You have to take risks. You will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen ’- Paulo Coelho
- Risk is a function of how poorly a strategy will perform if the ‘wrong’ scenario occurs ’- Michael Porter, Competitive Advantage
- Risk management should be an enterprisewide exercise and engrained in the business culture of the organisation ’- OSFI Superintendent Julie Dickson, June 1, 2011 (courtesy Ethidex)
- Risk is our business ’- Oswald Grübel, CEO at UBS
- When our leaders accept the status quo, we run the risk of disaster ’- Max Bazerman from “Predictable Surprises”
- The concept of ‘inherent risk’ is impossible to measure or even define. The idea of looking at risk absent all hard controls, soft controls, or mitigations, provides little or no useful information in most cases ’- Todd Perkins (from Journal of Applied Corporate Finance – volume 19 number 4)
- It’s important to take risks but it’s idiotic to take them blindly ’- Terry Levine
- Fail to identify the strategic risks and you fail as a business, no matter how well you manage your operational and project risks ’- Keith Baxter
- Business as usual is business at risk ’- Deloitte white paper
- Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritisation of risks ’- Wikipedia
4 Lies about Procurement You Probably Believe
The world of Procurement is seemingly full of impassioned people absolutely certain about what procurement is all about. Like other great lies, many of these half-truths and misleading ideas sound agreeable to the ears and come packaged as good advice from influential people.
How many of these popular lies have you fallen victim to?
1. Procurement should have a seat at the C-table
It’s not so much an outright lie as an irritating half-truth – but the damage comes with what Procurement people do with it. The thought behind this is well-intended: Procurement people should be able to speak the language of senior executives as easily as they can talk about FIDIC or demand forecasting. Terms such as EBITDA, ROIC, and economic profit should be part of their everyday parlance. Procurement issues are often the least understood by the board and the CEO and must be explained in their language.
What on earth could be wrong with that? Nothing – if the Procurement people have full cognisance of their own tools and language – and can be persuasive to senior people of the value of Procurement.
Now, that’s where we have, what is kindly referred to, as a skills gap.
In reality, for Procurement with no reputation (outside of that pesky metric of cost) and few business-aligned projects to call upon, it can be incredibly hard to try and catch senior people’s ear – never mind a C-seat (see what I did there?).
2. You must carry out a competitive tender to obtain value for money
I’m trying to distance myself from the public sector here (noting I did co-author the CIPS book on contracting in the public sector) but even in the private sector there’s a desperate need to get three quotes.
Why three quotes?
Not five, not 11? ‘Cos the rules say three; that’s why.
And the rules of Procurement policy and procedures, well, they can’t be broken because the CFO or the head of internal audit (all very commercial animals?) will be down on Procurement like a ton of bricks.
When the three quotes are received the following conversation occurs – the highest price is rejected – ‘they’re ripping us off’ followed by – and I love this one about the lowest price quotation – ‘the price is too low, they must have got the specification wrong’ – and the contract is awarded to the middle-priced one”¦.surely there’s a better way to deliver value for money?
Perhaps starting with actually defining it!
3. Procurement is the only source of governance for 3rd party spend
Being the only source would suggest a 100%, right?
I’d be amazed – and delighted – if Procurement governed half of all the 3rd party spend. Words such as ‘influencing’ are sometimes bandied about to shore up this lie. What a surprise that sales people are either trained, or very quickly learn ways, to actually bypass Procurement when selling.
And the reason?
Obviously marketing, IT, auditors fees, construction/property, recruitment (I could go on) is completely different, say the senior people in those departments – echoing the views of the oh so helpful sales people. And Procurement just never gets near, as they can’t articulate (deliver?) the value they can add.
I await the avalanche of people commenting on this telling me I’m wrong. Please be assured you are exceptional in Procurement.
4. Procurement welcome innovation and strategic relationships and anything other than lower price
Few businesses view Procurement as a strategic process. Most often, Procurement staff report to the CFO. This astonishing trend indicates that Procurement is still viewed as a financial / accounting activity and not an operational strategic activity that directly impacts the bottom line.
Suppliers; if you have an innovative product or service, recognise that Procurement’s ‘raison d’être’ is to deliver cost savings. That’s what they are measured on, that’s what the research with CPOs and the C-suite say is the #1 priority. There’s oodles of other priorities such as local sourcing, sustainability, innovation, partnering, risk management – I could go on and on and on. But that’s the one they get measured on. Think that through, next time you’re pitching.
The take-away
Perspectives on Procurement need to change, mature and grow up. Lies like these need to be re-evaluated and abandoned. Procurement needs to change the way they engage and manage suppliers and their internal stakeholders; ‘adding value’ (a dreadful phrase!) means so much more than asking for a discount.
Stephen Ashcroft BEng MSc MCIPS (speaking here, very much in a personal capacity!) is Associate Director, Procurement and Commercial Advisory at AECOM, a Fortune 500 company. He’s a procurement learner stuck in the body of a procurement veteran, and with over 20 years’ experience still sees the glass as half full. Working with leading organisations across diverse industry sectors, Steve helps clients reimagine procurement to drive improved performance. A recognised advisor, speaker, lecturer, and author; the ever-hopeful Kopite shares his bright-eyed/world-weary views on Twitter @ThinkProcure, LinkedIn and his blog.
34 Thought Provoking Change Management Quotes
Change is good. It’s also often hard. The status quo can be so much more comfortable. But to succeed in business, you must run toward change. Companies most likely to be successful in making change work to their advantage are the ones that no longer view change as a discrete event to be managed, but as a constant opportunity to evolve the business
Here are 34 thought provoking change management quotes:
- It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change — Charles Darwin
- One key to successful leadership is continuous personal change. Personal change is a reflection of our inner growth and empowerment — Robert E. Quinn
- Change before you have to — Jack Welch
- You must embrace change before change erases you.
— Rob Liano - Change before you have to — Jack Welch
- Too few leaders have the emotional fortitude to take responsibility for failure.
— Paul Gibbons, The Science of Successful Organisational Change: How Leaders Set Strategy, Change Behaviour, and Create an Agile Culture - People don’t resist change. They resist being changed! — Peter Senge
- If you want to make enemies, try to change something — Woodrow Wilson
- The key to change is to let go of fear — Rosanne Cash
- The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress — Charles Kettering
- There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things — Niccolo Machiavelli
- Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future — John F. Kennedy
- Even those who fancy themselves the most progressive will fight against other kinds of progress, for each of us is convinced that our way is the best way.
— Louis L’Amour - Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times — Niccolo Machiavelli
- Your success in life isn’t based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers and business — Mark Sanborn
- Change your thoughts and you change your world — Norman Vincent Peale
- If you don’t like change, you will like irrelevance even less — General Eric Shinseki (U.S. Army Chief of Staff, 1999-2003)
- We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn — Peter Drucker
- Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times
- — Niccolo Machiavelli
- All is connected, no one thing can change by itself
— Paul Hawken - Learn to adjust yourself to the conditions you have to endure, but make a point of trying to alter or correct conditions so that they are most favorable to you — William Frederick Book
- We would rather be ruined than change
- We would rather die in our dread than climb the cross of the moment and let our illusions die — W. H. Auden
- Every generation needs a new revolution — Thomas Jefferson
- Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has — Margaret Mead
- I’ll go anywhere as long as it’s forward — David Livingstone
- Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself — George Bernard Shaw
- Adaptability is about the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win— Max McKeown
- You can’t build an adaptable organization without adaptable people–and individuals change only when they have to, or when they want to — Gary Hamel
- People will try to tell you that all the great opportunities have been snapped up. In reality, the world changes every second, blowing new opportunities in all directions, including yours — Ken Hakuta
- A wise man adapts himself to circumstances, as water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it — Chinese Proverb
- The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change — Bill Clinton
- Each of us has the opportunity to change and grow until our very last breath. Happy creating — M.F. Ryan
Change or die? we choose life! How about you?
