By Your Life

If you want to grow personally, if you want your company to grow, you must let go of the old to make way for the new. This is hard when it means confronting our egos and our strongly held beliefs.

All companies should aspire to be trusted. All people should aspire to be trusted, because great teams are built on trust. But, in order to be trusted, you must be trustworthy.

Coaching is often considered a punishment or a penalty for having done something wrong. Coaching is reserved for troubled employees instead of a common practice that benefits everyone.

It is easy to be discouraged when we fail and unless we seek the lesson, we'll never discover the opportunity that is hiding in the darkness.

Having a right to do something and doing the right thing, are not the same. Ethical behavior is knowing the difference and acting accordingly.

We're all guilty of making bad decisions. How do you deal with good fortune—your own and that of others—is what separates the winners from the losers, and the envious from the grateful.

A leader's #1 job is to develop the people he/she leads. But how do you know when you've crossed the line from helping them improve to enabling them to continue failing?

Listening is the most important element of effective communication. It is a skill that can be developed, but most of us don't invest in practicing to improve. Learn to listen and you'll transform your life.

In business, and in life, we face thousands of forks in the road. When your guiding principles are clear, honoring your core values is the easiest tough decision you'll ever make.

Beware of pointing out others' wrong behavior as a justification for your own. You're pointing to the splinter in the other person's eye when you've got a wooden beam in your own.

People define “integrity” as doing the right thing even when no one is looking. But, we can be complacent when defining the “right thing.” Challenge yourself to exceed the minimum form of “doing the right thing” to what is difficult.

It is easy to become distracted by what others think is important. When you put first things first and follow the right priorities, you'll be blessed.

Companies that fail because their leaders fail make the headlines. Ethical leaders who run profitable companies are not newsworthy, but they exist. Their profits aren't their measure of success, rather the means to achieve their mission.

We rarely associate love with leadership, yet all the qualities of great leaders—great communicator, visionary, knowledgeable, generous—are of no benefit if not exercised with love.

We all know that embracing diversity is good for business. Different talents, skills and perspectives are important for our organizations to thrive. But when not embraced, diversity can cause division.

We never seem to have enough time to do the right thing right, but we always find the time to deal with the problems caused by failing to do so. Being proactive takes time, but it is an investment with definite returns.

When we work hard, we can get so bogged down in the mire of our day-to-day lives that we fail to step back and look at what is really important. We can get stuck in the details and miss the big picture.

There is an important difference between power and authority. Authority comes with a position and is limited in scope. Power is the ability to influence people and can be unlimited. To develop your power, develop humility.

Although work/life balance is talked about a lot, it isn't really what we seek. Instead, what we really want is more harmony in all areas of our lives.

Is your future a function of what you do now, or is what you do now a function of how you view your future? It is a little of both, so how do we affect change if we are dissatisfied?

People are attracted to leaders who challenge them, follow leaders who see in them the better person they can become, and are loyal to leaders who are ethical and worthy of following.

Dealing with difficult people is so frustrating that our instinct is to give them some of their own medicine. It may give some satisfaction, but in the long run, it often makes things worse.

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but complacency killed the company. Beware that you and your company do not become complacent and let the competition catch you by surprise like a thief in the night.

Great leaders know that no one has all the information, can see a situation from all perspectives, nor has all the answers. Acknowledging this is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of strength.

Where there is no vision, there is no hope. But when you have a clear vision, and keep it before you, it provides motivation to keep moving forward, a guide for making decisions, and direction for when we get off course, in business and in life.

What leaders say and do is important to their people if their people believe they are important to the leader. There is no simpler way to say “you're important” than by remembering a person's name.

Honoring the Golden Rule in the marketplace and generating profits are not mutually exclusive propositions.

One of the most difficult things to do is to correct others in a positive way.

In our capitalistic society, it is great to witness companies that have found the way to true and lasting success by benefiting their people and the greater good of society.

By Your Life seeks to transform performance reviews from well-intended, often dreaded, and rarely effective meetings into a more positive and productive experience for all involved.

Honoring commitments is more than just doing what you say you will do. Honoring commitments means helping others keep their commitments to you too.

A manager has the authority to direct the work of those who directly report to him or her. A leader, on the other hand, is one who influences others to achieve great things. You don't have to be given authority to do this, you just need to take responsibility for it.

If what you are doing or how you are doing it doesn't contribute to the mission, you should question why and how you are doing it.

When things go wrong, we look for someone to blame. Instead we should expect things to go wrong because human intellect isn't capable of fully synthesizing the complexity of issues and what is efficient, isn't necessarily the right thing to do.

Feedback is as much of a gift when it is given as when it is received. Yet many organizations suffer from a lack of accountability because people aren't comfortable giving and receiving feedback. Effective feedback is truth wrapped in mercy.

Your vision, mission and values are the blueprint for the business you want to build. Are they gathering dust on a shelf or are they honored and lived by each person in your organization?

Pride gets in our way at work. It prevents us from accepting honest feedback, blocks us from accepting new information, leads us to make excuses, and affects our trustworthiness.

A great brand image communicates what it promises. A great company culture delivers on the promise the brand communicates. When this happens, both employees and customers engage with the brand.

In communication, efficiency and effectiveness are not the same things.

Our behaviors follow our beliefs, and our results follow behaviors. So, if you lack belief, it matters.

Edmund Burke wrote, “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.” Don't make that mistake.

Great leaders know they need to take care of their employees and don't sacrifice the welfare of their people for the benefit of their customers or shareholders.

The only place anyone can get anything done is in the present. It resides in between learning from the past and visioning the future.

It is not a question of either a market economy or a moral economy, but rather a market economy that is successful precisely because it is based on moral truths.

Fairness desires to right a wrong, but envy's desire is to wrong a right. Envy destroys teamwork because it destroys relationships, and it brings death to collaboration because it destroys trust.

Hurricane season has started, and experts recommend we be prepared. It is also best to prepare to weather the storms of life.

To become our best selves, we need to be courageous.

The act of physically sharing a table and eating with others at work creates a sense of community while building a collaborative environment. It's the sign of a healthy home and can be equally indicative of a healthy workplace.

Collaboration is essential for any group of people who share a vision or mission and want to work together to achieve their common goal.

Good leaders know that the best decisions are made when all possible alternatives have been debated. Good leaders are critical thinkers who are seeking the truth.

Networking is a common practice in business. If I know someone who I think might help you in some way, I’m happy to introduce you. It is the natural thing to do.