so your vision is never lost.
LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
A few weeks ago I was in Arizona for a week. I did not receive any phone messages while out there. From 7am to 6pm it was all business, but with no phone calls between meetings and quiet evenings, I had an opportunity to feel and think about what we do as a business. I got a break from all of the “busyness”. While I have worked for years to not let busyness control me, it is still amazing how […]
Life is like interval training: we all need time to reflect and then time to act. Time to reflect. Time to act… It is exceptionally disappointing to see how so many people over think and do not act. Thinking is not necessarily reflecting. Reflecting without acting is day dreaming. It is also exceptionally disappointing to see people act before they reflect. Acting without reflection can do much damage. Acting without reflecting is chaos. Quote from William Blake: “He who desires […]
At Applied Vision Works, we work with many types of organizations (public, non-profit, government, educational institutions, manufacturing, etc.) We are finding that we are working more and more with “family” businesses. Below are some interesting things about family business according to a report published by the University of Vermont: There are 5.5 million family businesses in the US. Contribute 57% of the U.S. GDP (that’s $8.3 trillion) Employ 63% of the workforce Create 78% of all new jobs 35% of […]
In this week’s video blog our expert guide, Don Hadley, talks about what happens when the leader or business owner gets “off track”, or inadvertently sends the wrong message. This can happen for several reasons. Sometimes is that the owners’ perceptions are that they are being direct and honest and sharing with the team. However, the team interprets this as the leader or owner not having confidence in the work they are doing, success of the organization, etc. So what […]
One of the deepest parts of our work is tying why a business owner owns a business to their personal purpose in life. In our 2nd book, “The Challenge of Meaning”, we show how that impacts the business day-to-day. A client for 25 years started his business because his previous boss threw the phone through a wall while chasing an employee down a hallway when he lost his temper. This client quit and went off to start his very successful […]
In this week’s video blog our expert guide, Nick Gonzales, discusses the difference between empathy and sympathy. When we empathize with someone – you truly care about that person, understand that individual’s situation and feel with him or her. However, when we sympathize with someone, not only do we do all the above, but we are also going down that same road with them and enabling or supporting any bad habit or situation along the way. In the business world […]
In the movie, “Facing The Giants”, one of the potential leaders of the football team is very negative. The coach challenges him to carry one of the team members on his back. They “negotiate” he can carry him 30 yards. The coach says, “Ok, but I want you to do it blindfolded…” Without being able to see his progress, the player with the coach encouraging him, actually ends up carrying his teammate the full length of the field, more than […]
“It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” Ralph Waldo Emerson This is a great definition of what having peace in your life is! Would that more people aspire, train and work towards this… How do you find peace amidst the storm? How do you […]
Top leaders need to be especially good at what they do. The power they have allows them to do greater good; however, it also allows them to do even worse harm. The extra “power” they have available to them accentuates their strengths and weaknesses. Download March’s Compass Check