12 Tenets to Consider

There are times when a simple comment or observation from someone else can spark impactful thoughts and actions. Here is a small sample of quotations that inspired me to reflect on my own beliefs and experiences. Consider how these “12 Tenets” apply to your own value system and approach to leadership.

“You need to learn how to climb.” – Brett Martin

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Great ideas and business models rarely materialize overnight.

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Learning how to build a business takes time, focus, determination, courage, patience, and a fundamental willingness to learn and experiment.

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You must put in the work to realize your ambitions.

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever has.” – Suzy Kassam

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Believing in yourself, believing in your team, and most important, believing in your dream is extremely powerful.

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As Thomas Edison famously stated: “I have not failed, I just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” He never doubted his vision…

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Have confidence, conviction, and composure to pursue your business plan and your dreams.

“Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do” – Oprah Winfrey

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Bottom line – you need skills, and you need experience. There is no magic pill or definitive book or relationship out there that is going to give you everything you need to put yourself in a position where you can truly do what you want to do.

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It is a collection of activities, actions, and experiences that will get you there.

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Do not be concerned if you do not know what you want to do. I took me 20 years to figure that out. But on the journey, I never stopped learning, experiencing, or growing.

“Never mistake activity for achievement” – John Wooden

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A critical learning – activity without measurable goals and outcome is wasted energy, time, and expense.

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It is far too easy to spend the day responding to emails, going to meetings, taking phones calls, etc. How much time in your day have you given to truly thinking about your business? How much time have you spent planning and building milestones that you can inspect and evaluate?

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Are you clear on your short-term goals? Do you know what needs to get done in the medium and long term?

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Without a plan, how do you intend to get there. Without a plan, how do you know when you actually got there?

“If someone tells me they skied all day and never fell down, I tell them to find another mountain.” – Michael Bloomberg

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What a simple reminder that you should always be pushing yourself, and your business, that extra one percent every day. If it is too easy something is probably wrong, and you run the risk of becoming complacent.

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Have the professional humility to recognize that you will make mistakes, you will fall down… You do not know everything, and it is highly unlikely that you will ever know everything. And that is ok. Making mistakes is part of the journey.

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That is why you are on a team. Understand your position and play it to the highest level you can.

“Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.” – Andy Rooney

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Enjoy the climb! It truly is the fun part.

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That is where all the action and adventure exists. Getting to the top is simply your reward.

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Your core gratification comes from building, learning, failing, and succeeding in incremental steps.

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We all want to achieve our dreams but recognize the journey in pursuing your dreams is really where your joy begins.

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Celebrate a major milestone on a Friday, but what are you going to do on Monday to climb higher?

“You need a great guide”

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When you are starting out you need the wisdom and experience of others to help you form and create your own ideas and your own processes. But don’t think that ever stops. You will need to embrace that attitude throughout your career.

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Be open to working with a mentor, possibly multiple mentors. Surround yourself with people smarter and more experienced than you. And recognize that they come in all shapes and sizes…

“Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.” – David McCullough Jr.

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Typically, the biggest cause of failure, beyond poor execution, poor management, and basic incompetence is EGO and ARROGANCE.

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Leave your ego in the parking lot. It can be your worst enemy.

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Believe in yourself and be humble. There is much to learn, much to experience, and much to enjoy.

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It goes without question that you need to look out for yourself, but making a difference for others, and doing that alongside colleagues is a tremendous source of happiness and inspiration.

“It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out; it is the grain of sand in your shoe” – Robert W. Service

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Take care of those distractions, deal with them in a timely, decisive manner. Small issues fester and become bigger problems. Those problems will become harder to solve and will consume more of your energy, of which you may only have a limited supply.

“True leaders don’t create followers. They create more leaders.” – Tom Peters

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Everyone can lead at different levels. While it may feel great to be recognized as the leader of a company or team, you must recognize and accept that leadership is a huge responsibility.

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Great leaders make more great leaders. Initially those leaders show people the way but then they make room for those individuals to grow and flourish in their own right.

“The key to being a good mentor is to help people become more of who they already are; not make them more like you.” – Suze Orman

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It is easy to tell people what to do, and depending on your personality or skill of persuasion, many people will concede to your point of view. Be careful not to fall into that trap.

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You need to guide them to create their own opinions and develop their own thoughts. You can help them to get there but recognize the impact when someone can feel his or her own growth.

“The only source of knowledge is experience.” – Albert Einstein

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If you embrace that concept, you will never stop growing. Experience is gained in many ways. Rare is it that only one way will be sufficient.

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Be a sponge. Soak up all that is in front on you,

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Listen, read more, be curious, and reflect on what you have been exposed to.

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Never ever stop learning. It’s your secret weapon