By Your Life

All companies should aspire to be trusted. All people should aspire to be trusted, because great teams are built on trust. But, in order to be trusted, you must be trustworthy.

Coaching is often considered a punishment or a penalty for having done something wrong. Coaching is reserved for troubled employees instead of a common practice that benefits everyone.

It is easy to be discouraged when we fail and unless we seek the lesson, we’ll never discover the opportunity that is hiding in the darkness.

Having a right to do something and doing the right thing, are not the same. Ethical behavior is knowing the difference and acting accordingly.

We’re all guilty of making bad decisions. How do you deal with good fortune—your own and that of others—is what separates the winners from the losers, and the envious from the grateful.

Listening is the most important element of effective communication. It is a skill that can be developed, but most of us don’t invest in practicing to improve. Learn to listen and you’ll transform your life.

In business, and in life, we face thousands of forks in the road. When your guiding principles are clear, honoring your core values is the easiest tough decision you’ll ever make.

Beware of pointing out others’ wrong behavior as a justification for your own. You’re pointing to the splinter in the other person’s eye when you’ve got a wooden beam in your own.

People define “integrity” as doing the right thing even when no one is looking. But, we can be complacent when defining the “right thing.” Challenge yourself to exceed the minimum form of “doing the right thing” to what is difficult.

It is easy to become distracted by what others think is important. When you put first things first and follow the right priorities, you’ll be blessed.

Companies that fail because their leaders fail make the headlines. Ethical leaders who run profitable companies are not newsworthy, but they exist. Their profits aren’t their measure of success, rather the means to achieve their mission.

We never seem to have enough time to do the right thing right, but we always find the time to deal with the problems caused by failing to do so. Being proactive takes time, but it is an investment with definite returns.

When we work hard, we can get so bogged down in the mire of our day-to-day lives that we fail to step back and look at what is really important. We can get stuck in the details and miss the big picture.

There is an important difference between power and authority. Authority comes with a position and is limited in scope. Power is the ability to influence people and can be unlimited. To develop your power, develop humility.

Although work/life balance is talked about a lot, it isn’t really what we seek. Instead, what we really want is more harmony in all areas of our lives.

Is your future a function of what you do now, or is what you do now a function of how you view your future? It is a little of both, so how do we affect change if we are dissatisfied?