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Ideas are like dreams; they will disappear unless we record them. Write a book, a blog, build a company, anything that makes the ideas real.
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Every company knows what they do Some know how they do it Very few know why
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Spending too much time focused on others' strengths leaves us feeling weak. Focusing on our own strengths is what, in fact, makes us strong.
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Any parent who tells their kids that they can't attend a school play or go to a soccer match because they have to work is kidding themselves. It's OK to miss a game or two or a performance here and there, but it's not all right to miss the majority of them.
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Those who lead inspire us Whether they are individuals or organizations, we follow those who lead not because we have to but because we want to.
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If you're interested in a book that will steadily grow and sell for a very long time, I promise you I will give you that.
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When we tell people to do their jobs, we get workers. When we trust people to get the job done, we get leaders.
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More often than not when we do not like our work, it's not necessarily because of the work itself. But more often because of the people we work with and more importantly because of the lack of leadership. It is amazing how inspired and motivated we can be when we like the people and when we feel like we show up to work because our leaders care about our wellbeing. It is kind of incredible actually.
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Would anybody be offended if we gave a $150 million bonus to Gandhi? How about a $250 million bonus to Mother Teresa? Do we have an issue with that? None at all. None at all. Great leaders would never sacrifice the people to save the numbers. They would sooner sacrifice the numbers to save the people.
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Pilots have their names painted just beneath the canopy of their aircraft. This gives the pilot a sense of ownership for his or her jet. What's more, like cars, each aircraft has its own personality, so it's important for a pilot to get to know and love his aircraft.
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A why has to be for others. It's something you give to the world. It's the reason your friends love you because this is the thing that you give them and it fulfills them. This is the reason your clients love you or your fans love you because you give them something. It's something to offer, that's what the why is.
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Curiosity is essential for progress. Only when we look to worlds beyond our own can we really know if there's room for improvement.
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If we were good at everything we would have no need for each other.
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The concept of why is already in the vernacular. It is now a noun. "That company doesn't know their why." "They need to learn their why." "That politician needs to understand his why." We talk about it as a noun. That never existed prior to 2009. That never existed prior to 2006 when I first started articulating it. This is the most amazing thing to me. It has now become a concept. It's part of the way we think about businesses and transactions and decisions.
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If everything goes right, we get a good experience. If everything goes wrong, we get a good story.
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I was never a writer.
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Risk deters those who see what they could lose. Those focused on the gain see it as a necessary part of their journey, even if the possibility of loss exists.
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A five minute call replaces the time it takes to read and reply to the original email and read and reply to their reply... or replies. And I no longer spend 20+ minutes crafting the perfect email - no need to.
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If you don't understand people, you don't understand business.
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It is like when a player has a slump, we do not trade them, we coach them. It is the same with our employees. The best leaders come to the aid of their people, whose performance is down. Not come down harder on them.
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A true friend is someone with whom protocol is no longer necessary.
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When I was a kid, I was a bit of a space geek. I loved the space program and all things NASA. I would read books about our solar system; I had pictures of the Space Shuttle on my bedroom wall. And yes, I even went to Space Camp.
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I know if I persist it will pay back in dividends and it always does. What starts to happen is like exercise, the pain goes away. It starts to get easier and the weight starts to get lighter and people start to notice a difference in you and you start to notice a difference in yourself. You find your ability to make decisions is easier; you find you are inspired more often. You find your success increases. You find that your random moments when you're in the flow are no longer random and you can control them. Other people notice the difference.
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Disney became hated. It became one of the evil corporations. It used to be loved. They couldn't hold onto talent; they couldn't attract talent. Some of their products did badly. The Californialand project was a $5 billion waste of money. They couldn't make it work. The magic had gone, no pun intended.