Lifelong Learning
Previous Next Becoming a lifelong learner is a decision to put pressure on yourself. When you finish school, there are no more tests, there are no more homework assignments. No teacher is asking if you did your work. It is all on you now. That should be less pressure, right? I think if we are […]
Perfection
Previous Next Perfection seems like a ridiculous pursuit. It cannot be caught. But it makes for a wonderful target. Some people would see the pursuit of perfection as futile. I don’t I see it as futile but rather as the only thing we should ever strive for. We should try harder and harder to get […]
Confused
Previous Next In life it is easy to focus on the wrong thing. With school, we often focus on what we get for a grade not what we actually learned. With family, we might focus on what they do and not what they love. In work, we might think that being busy is important instead […]
People, Products, Profit
Previous Next I think the secret of life can be boiled down to priorities. When we do things in the proper order, they tend to work out. Of course, this is an engineer’s perspective so my artist friends may have a different opinion! But I think I could get them to agree that in business […]
Grace
Previous Next Pursuing success is actually pretty easy. Putting success in the proper place in your life and relationships is far more difficult. We often have a goal in mind or our eye on the prize and forget about the people around us. But when we begin with kindness and love true success can be […]
Impossible
Previous Next I love this quote from JP Morgan. He was a fascinating man and was crucial in staving off the Financial Panic of 1907. I doubt Morgan’s quote about someone attempting the impossible was about F. Augustus Heinze’s attempt to corner the copper market. The Montana tie here is that Heinze made his fortune […]
Mistakes
Previous Next We all hope to not make mistakes. But often the only way to success is through a pathway of mistakes. There are dozens of analogies here: a great baseball player only reaches base 30% of the time, Thomas Edison failed time and time again before developing a viable light bulb, or a child […]
Vices
Previous Next My Jewish friend, Marty, will often tell me “Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story”. There is a story of Abraham Lincoln overhearing that his Civil War General, U.S. Grant drank too much. Supposedly Lincoln responded by saying “find out what brand of whiskey Grant drinks and send […]
Trust
Previous Next Trust is such an interesting thing. It takes so long to build up and can vanish in a second. As a leader, building trust with your team is paramount. It is far more important than being loved by your team. Being honest and open with employees and co-workers is the basis for building […]
Accomplishments
Previous Next What we accomplish doesn’t happen by chance. It is the result of intentionally working on it. Just saying we want something significant to happen isn’t going to bring it about. No, only hard work and dedication will do this. Jerry Rice is often considered the greatest receiver in NFL history. He scored more […]