Excuses, excuses…

Have you ever used a soft economy as an excuse for poor results? Jewelers do it all the time. Although it accommodates the need to rationalize our problems, it does little to show our creative spirit or intelligent leadership.

Financial markets, weather catastrophes, global competition, and technological change are all out of your control. But your ability to lead and manage your business is not.

You don’t have to be the best supplier in New York, the best jeweler in the country, the best designer on the planet, or even the best employee in your business. But what you have to be is good at controlling what is in your power to control, letting go of excuses that are simply out of your control.

You need to be consistent but flexible and continuously motivated without unexplainable flip-flops in decision-making. You need to work on your job, your business, your competition, your improvement, everyday. If you do this well, you are more likely to attach meaningful, rational, thoughtful reasoning to address challenges we all ultimately face. And you’ll be less likely to use lame excuses as a rationale for poor performance.

How Do You React To A Crisis?

Often, the first thing to go in times of crisis is our leadership.

In The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, John Maxwell reminds us: “How a leader deals with the circumstances of life tells you many things about his character. Crisis doesn’t necessarily make our character, but it certainly does reveal it.”

Under heat and pressure, carbon can be transformed into a beautiful diamond crystal, or it can turn into common graphite. In the same way, our character can be shaped — one way or the other — by the heat and pressure we face when leading….. [click to read more]

Here are a few Business and Life tips to think about….

Business Tips:

• I grew up believing that leaders were born, not made. Leadership behavior is learned through the process of life and seeking to lead.
• If you are in a position of influence, you can teach what you know, but more importantly, you can reproduce who you are in others.
• Half-truths will destroy a reputation in business and in life. Being clear and taking great care in communicating is critical.

Life Tips:

• We are all dealt a set of biological, environmental, and social realities that shape our lives. But the choices we make determine our destiny.
• People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care, about them. Caring is the most vital thing you do.
• Wisdom isn’t gained in a day. It is gained daily. Live in such a way that you learn from people and life’s circumstances.

Tags: Business Development, Business Tips, Crisis Management, Leadership Excellence, Leadership Skills, Life Tips, Personal Development, Responsibility, Success, The Mind of a Leader