We’re bringing back one of our favorite posts on its 10th anniversary—a timeless reminder that leadership often looks like hard work no one else understands. Inspired by a man chopping firewood in the Alabama heat, this story challenges us to embrace “fanatic discipline”—a principle from Great by Choice by Jim Collins. If you’re striving to lead with intention, even when results feel far off, this one’s for you. Read on for four practical ways to build consistency, focus on effort, and set yourself up for long-term success.
10. “Recruitment IS marketing. If you’re a recruiter nowadays and you don’t see yourself as a marketer, you’re in the wrong profession.” – Matthew Jeffrey, Global head of sourcing and employment brand at SAP 9. “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, wait until you hire an amateur.” – Red Adair 8. “Great vision without great people is irrelevant.” –Jim Collins, Good to Great 7. “Hire character. Train skill.” –Peter Schutz 6. “If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. But if each of us hires people
“….In other words, only 10 percent of organizations have be goals (what Andy Stanley means by a set of values that guide our decisions) effectively integrated in their daily practices. Mind you, many organizations write about their mission, vision and values in their annual report, but that’s only lip service unless those be goals are integrated into their recruiting, training, evaluating and promoting. How can an organization claim that its be goals are important when none of its leaders’ performance evaluations or pay is based on adhering to those values.” I was recently in a meeting talking about performance management
There’s some great methods out there for setting goals: Are Your Goals Comfortable, Delusional or Somewhere in Between? A Holistic Goal Setting Method A Simple Goal Setting Method And based on how a method’s strengths and weaknesses relate to your own personality and preferences, you can find a method out there that is right for you. But don’t do it if you don’t: Have a plan to act Plan to act Goal attainment doesn’t happen through osmosis. It happens through a process I like to look at this way: MISSION/PURPOSE -> GOALS -> ACTION PLANS -> TASKS -> BEHAVIORS Breaking
“Victory awaits him who has everything in order—luck people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck.” Roald Amundsen -The first person to lead an expedition to reach the South Pole We live in a VUCA – Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous- world. Innovation, in part, creates this dynamic. However, creating an environment where innovation can be cultivated and thrive relies on people and businesses having the opposite of this- a house in order. As Jim Collins stated in Great By Choice, leaders who have navigated