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As the saying goes, assuming often makes an ASS of U and ME. Assuming is often lethal in business, in sales, or in managing people. Assuming that history is a warrant for the future will likely prove wrong. Assuming that co-workers, partners, customers will tell you all the truth and nothing but the truth will likely prove wrong. Assuming that your staff will easily change their current modus operandi will likely prove wrong.
For me, the opposite of "to assume" is "to know". And knowing requires research, analysis, conversations, argumentations, points of view, experiences and validation. Clearly, no one can know [...]
Continue reading >> ASSuME NOT
We all know the power of the brain. No one would argue that humans can achieve the seemingly impossible when they apply their collective brain to a problem. Since the beginning of human kind, countless proofs of the power of the human "belief engine" can be found in everything that surrounds us, from harnessing the power of fire, to the invention of the wheel, to landing a spaceship on a moving planet traveling at 87,000 km/h, 36 millions miles away.
Beliefs shape how we act in our everyday life. Albert Einstein had beliefs, despite his Cartesian approach to science, [...]
Continue reading >> Believe it or not
When all you are allowed to see are the two beige pixels, it is hard for anyone to get a good perspective of the task at hand.
Are these two beige pixels part of a bigger picture, the sole of a shoe perhaps? Even knowing that this is the sole of a shoe is not all that enlightening. The second picture gives more details: the shoe belongs to a child sitting on the ground scribbling on a piece of cardboard. That still, you guest it, does not give the full picture – because you've seen there is a more [...]
Continue reading >> Nothing else Matters until the Big Picture is Clear!
This famous quote from Albert Einstein rings so true to me. If Einstein needed a picture to understand, be assured it is even truer for employees. I have met with 8 CEOs over the last week. They all had a few things in common:
They are all entrepreneurs They all have great ambitions and aspirations They are all brilliant people They all want to grown their company They all want to "shake" their companies from their torpor
But, as they explained how they were going to shake the torpor, I have to say that all of them were all [...]
Continue reading >> “If I can’t picture it, I can’t understand it”
I was having lunch with a great CEO and we talked about how much tolerance many CEOs have about driving without a clear understanding of their organization overall destination. It made me think about how analogous it is to driving to somewhere. Leading an organization is very much like driving your family somewhere!
CEOs know what road they are on. They know how fast they are going. They know how much fuel they have and how much they need to the next gas station.
They are aware of the traffic around, other drivers competing for space, position, speed, [...]
Continue reading >> Is leading a company like driving a car?
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