MentorWords

If someone else is responsible for us – our pain, or our joy, doesn’t matter – that means we are not responsible for ourselves. And if we are not responsible for ourselves, then we have no control over our future. If we have no control over our future, the future is hopeless, because every adult human being ultimately craves the responsibility, the joy, and even the hardships of carving our own experience out of the stuff of life.

The failures that interfere with establishing successful relationships for individuals are quite similar to the mistakes that cost us customers and brand equity.

Fight or flight syndrome leaves out an important – and destructive – third reaction. Freeze. Are you doing the business equivalent of the suicidal bunny routine?

The advice “do what you love and the money will come” is accurate – as long as what you love to do and what you are very very good at are the same thing. This article explores the value of placing your compensation bets on your most marketable talents.

Entrepreneurs sell something produced from the depths of their self identity. They sell their ideas, artistic expression, and innovation in the form of products. They struggle to remain motivated and confident as their products are buffeted by impersonal market forces. Critical reasoning skills can mean the difference between forging on to success or flaming out and returning to the life of the paystub.

People respect responsibility and authority when they are appropriately demonstrated. When a business leader spends all his or her time saying, “well, what do you think?” “Maybe we should let an ad hoc address this,” or “I think the answer will present it self if we have the right discussion with the right parties present,” those are not the messages the people hear. What they hear is, “I don’t know,” and “I’m hoping an ad hoc will bail my ass out,” and “I’m hoping that if we get more people together you won’t find out that I don’t know.” Even if that leader means to be collaborative and show respect for the opinions of others, the result is that they’re being indecisive and wasting time.