Poking through 11+ years of posts I find information that’s as useful now as when it was written.

Golden Oldies is a collection of the most relevant and timeless posts during that time.

Last week I shared an article I wrote years ago for The Conference Board magazine. Due to a mix-up I didn’t get the actual magazine for several months, which provided me with an objectivity I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Read other Golden Oldies here.

A few months ago I received an email from the editor of The Conference Board Review inviting me to submit an article for the next issue.

The Conference Board Review is the quarterly magazine of The Conference Board, the world’s preeminent business membership and research organization. Founded in 1976, TCB Review is a magazine of ideas and opinion that raises tough questions about leading-edge issues at the intersection of business and society.

And not just for the online version, but to appear in the actual magazine.

I read the TCB article online (no longer available) and that was cool, but the thrill of seeing something I wrote in a slick magazine like TCB Review really affected me.

I often go back and read stuff I wrote days, months, even years ago and it never ceases to surprise me.

When I reread it in the actual magazine I was blown away.

As are many of us when we revisit something we did a week or a month or longer in the past.

It happens because we see it from the outside—and we are blown away.

We look at it and marvel; the quality and execution impresses; the inherent value surprises; and we revel in the fact that it is our creation.

It doesn’t matter what it is, big or small; whether it was produced at work or elsewhere; it doesn’t even matter if anyone else will ever see it.

We look and we are amazed.

Now it’s your turn; review some of the things you’ve done in the past and I’ll bet several of them will blow you away, too.

Image credit: The Conference Board

A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here

Why would anyone build an app when there are existing legal conditions that essentially block using the service it offers?

A company called Uber built an app that helps drivers and would-be passengers find one another.

It seems the perfect service for a place like New York City that lives by taxi.

The difficulty is that taxi apps for cab-hailing or payment aren’t legal because of existing contracts with payment processors.

“Those changes cannot legally take place until our existing exclusive contracts expire in February,” David S. Yassky, the chairman of the commission, said in a statement. “We are committed to making it as easy as possible to get a safe, legal ride in a New York City taxi and are excited to see how emerging technology can improve that process.”

Considering the contracts predate the app (if not smartphones themselves) wouldn’t you expect a problem?

Apparently not.

According to UBER CEO Travis Kalanick, the city put “obstacles and roadblocks” in their way.

So you tell me, exactly where does confidence end and arrogance begin?

Option Sanity™ is confident.
Come visit Option Sanity for an easy-to-understand, simple-to-implement stock allocation system.  It’s so easy a CEO can do it.

Warning.
Do not attempt to use Option Sanity™ without a strong commitment to business planning, financial controls, honesty, ethics, and “doing the right thing.”
Use only as directed.
Users of Option Sanity may experience sudden increases in team cohesion and worker satisfaction. In cases where team productivity, retention and company success is greater than typical, expect media interest and invitations as keynote speaker.

Flickr image credit: HikingArtist

Anna Freud, daughter of Sigmund, followed in her father’s footsteps only her focus was children. Her insights, however, apply to people of all ages.

She reminds us to look first to ourselves, instead of others, when the going gets tough, “I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence but it comes from within. It is there all the time.”

She warns that while dreaming is enticing, it lacks substance and will not sustain us, “In our dreams we can have our eggs cooked exactly how we want them, but we can’t eat them.”

She teaches no matter how well we plan, we shouldn’t ignore the things outside it, “Sometimes the most beautiful thing is precisely the one that comes unexpectedly and unearned.”

She chides us for our outlandish expectations, “If some longing goes unmet, don’t be astonished. We call that Life.”

And, finally, she provides hope, “Creative minds have always been known to survive any kind of bad training.”

Flickr image credit: Carla216

A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here.

Entrepreneurs are a confident bunch; it goes with the territory and it’s a good thing.

They need to be confident to withstand the waves that would otherwise engulf them.

They need to be confident even as others question their vision.

They need to be confident when discussing the wisdom of pivoting with their team and investors.

At the very least, they need to appear confident.

Arrogance is not a good thing.

While the line between confidence and arrogance is nano fine, the results of crossing it are obvious to all.

The confident entrepreneur listens where the arrogant entrepreneur dismisses.

The confident entrepreneur is transparent where the arrogant entrepreneur is opaque.

The confident entrepreneur is authentic where the arrogant entrepreneur is phony.

The confident entrepreneur is honest where the arrogant entrepreneur is deceitful.

The confident entrepreneur is leads where the arrogant entrepreneur bullies.

Talent flocks to the former and runs from the latter.

Which side of the line are you on?

Option Sanity™ fosters confidence.

Come visit Option Sanity for an easy-to-understand, simple-to-implement stock process. It’s so easy a CEO can do it.

Warning.

Do not attempt to use Option Sanity™ without a strong commitment to business planning, financial controls, honesty, ethics, and “doing the right thing.” Use only as directed.

Users of Option Sanity may experience sudden increases in team cohesion and worker satisfaction. In cases where team productivity, retention and company success is greater than typical, expect media interest and invitations as keynote speaker.

Image credit: Bun in a Can Productions

A new study at Harvard talks about “power posing.”

New research shows that it’s possible to control those feelings a bit more, to be able to summon an extra surge of power and sense of well-being when it’s needed: for example, during a job interview or for a key presentation to a group of skeptical customers.

It ties in with a post I did a few years ago that’s worth sharing again.

Defined by action—or thought?

As studies on corporate culture and the psychology of managers and workers proliferate, people spend more time and energy tracking themselves in an effort to “know their place” than ever before.

You are what you eat; you are what you wear, and now, you are where you sit. Far be it for me to pooh-pooh any of these findings, I’ve been around long enough to see them in action.

However, I have a passionate belief that you are what you think and an equally passionate belief that you can change what you think if you so choose.

My attitude towards, and development of, MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy)™ throughout my working years has it’s underpinnings in the writings (sans the religious parts) of Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, to which I was introduced in my late teens.

His writings predate, and are supported by, much of the current research, so if you want a synopsis of great thoughts on which to build your MAP and guide your organization, here are ten of Hill’s greatest (and best known) quotes.

• “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
• “What you think, so you will become.”
• “If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.”
• “Your big opportunity may be right where you are now.”
• “Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.”
• “A goal is a dream with a deadline.”
• “Thoughts mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a burning desire are powerful things.”
• “Perseverance: The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those that fail.”
• “Every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.”
• “Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk in life.”

Print them out; share them with your people; discuss them; embrace them; practice them; and watch the benefits roll in for your company your people and you.

Hill and Harvard agree—it really is all in your mind.

Flickr image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/torley/3674050796/

In a comment Monday Denis asked, “What do the people you hire tell about your leadership style?”

The short answer has been around a long time in one form or another.

Good leaders (managers) hire people smarter than themselves and don’t feel threatened by people who are better at given tasks.

The people you hire tell more about who you are than just your leadership style; they are a reflection of  your MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) and your confidence.

No matter what the reality, the more insecure a leader/manager feels the weaker the people he hires.

At lower levels, you find that those less willing to delegate rarely hire people with skills similar to their own.

Just as your friends reflect your thoughts, attitudes, beliefs and prejudices, so do those you hire. If you want to know who someone is, just look at who they hang with and who they hire, but not who they date and marry.

All bets are off when love/lust enters the picture.

Your comments—priceless

Don’t miss a post, subscribe via RSS or EMAIL

Image credit: sxc.hu