by Walt Rakowich Alfred West has been CEO of SEI Investments since 1968. Warren Buffett has run Berkshire Hathaway since 1970, longer if you count the years when it was in (and transitioning out of) the textile business. And Gerald Shreiber has been CEO of J&J Snack Foods since 1971 when he purchased an ailing pretzel company at a court auction. According to research by … [Read more...]
The Power of Incremental Improvement
Many years ago, when asked what the most powerful force in the universe was, Albert Einstein said, “compound interest.” What I am writing about today, might be, with all due respect to Albert, just as powerful. The reason is that in many ways, they are the same thing: compound interest allows your money to grow on itself and incremental improvement allows your skills and … [Read more...]
Infographic: 9 Daily Rituals to Boost Performance at Work
We have officially turned the page on 2020, and now is a great time to put into place best practices that enable you to maximize the hours you spend on the job. Check out this outstanding infographic for quick tips and daily rituals you can use to boost your overall productivity and happiness at work. And if you want a free source of weekly inspiration to help you become a … [Read more...]
Should You Already Be Grooming a Successor?
Imagine this interesting scenario: You just began your new supervisory role and your boss announces that it’s time for you to find your replacement. No, you haven’t done anything wrong and you’re not getting fired. Your boss believes in preparing for the future by succession planning, which means you train your replacement in conjunction with doing your job. Surprisingly, this … [Read more...]
Make Your Own Luck
"The harder I work, the luckier I get." I agree with that thought. I just don’t think it tells the whole story. For example, these actions can help you generate some luck at work, at home or in any part of your life. Say “Go for it” more, and “What if it doesn’t work?” less to yourself and those around you. Learn from and even celebrate mistakes. Read … [Read more...]
How to Build Your Brand as a Go-To Person
This is a guest post by Bruce Tulgan author of The Art of Being Indispensable at Work. You need to grow to make yourself even more indispensable, by steadily increasing, expanding and professionalizing your repertoire of specialties into areas beyond your job. The more specialties you have, the more of your time you’ll be able to devote to high-impact value adding — working … [Read more...]
Why Now Is the Right Time to Focus on YOUR Development
"Work from home" may be in place for much longer than originally anticipated for many organizations, and that could be by choice. Many leaders now see the value in allowing employees to telecommute. Others, who pivoted quickly and shored up their organization's IT capabilities and security so that they could operate virtually, may not be so quick to rush back to the office, … [Read more...]
Become a More Humble Leader
The late Zig Ziglar once said, "Humility will open more doors than arrogance ever will," and we couldn't agree more. When you stay humble, you are open to other's ideas, you are willing to accept and improve your weaknesses, and you realize that nothing is permanent, so you work hard to stay in your position. Being an exceptional leader requires that you continue growing … [Read more...]
6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team
This is a guest post by Scott Miller, EVP of Thought Leadership, FranklinCovey, and author of Everyone Deserves a Great Manager: The 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team. Have you ever worked for a bad manager? Nearly everyone knows what it’s like to work for a soul-crushing, morale-killing, please-don’t-make-me-go-to-work kind of manager. But if you’re fortunate, … [Read more...]
The Power of Thinking Good Thoughts
In his novel Shogun, James Clavell says: To think bad thoughts is really the easiest thing in the world. If you leave your mind to itself it will spiral down into ever increasing unhappiness. To think good thoughts, however, requires effort. This is one of the things that discipline – training – is about.” That is a powerful thought and one that is incredibly important for us … [Read more...]