Simon Says

Focus on long-term success, but be willing to make short-term adjustments to get there.

For a Cause to be Just, it must be durable, resilient and timeless.

Leadership is not a license to do less. Leadership is a responsibility to do more.

Pure pragmatism can’t imagine a bold future. Pure idealism can’t get anything done. It’s when the two cooperate that magic happens.

Communication is not about saying what we think. Communication is about ensuring others hear what we mean.

It is a luxury to put our interests first. It is an honor to put the interests of others before our own.

Work ethic is giving great effort to complete a task. Passion is giving great effort to advance a Cause.

That idea is so fantastic. Stop talking about it and do it.

A leader must be inspired by people before a leader can inspire people.

When the incentives offered prioritize growth over stability, we successfully build large, unstable organizations.

Stop looking for a course of action and instead become obsessed with understanding the cause of action.

When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.

When in doubt, be yourself.

Creativity is the art of finding a new route to a known destination.

Good leaders share the credit when things go well and take responsibility when things go badly.

To get the best advice, it’s better to talk to a few people personally than it is to talk to a lot of people digitally.

When we try to please everyone, we end up pleasing no one…least of all, ourselves.

Greatness happens when the person with the wild imagination collaborates with the person who knows how to get things done.

The goal is not to be perfect by the end. The goal is to be better today.

When we focus on the competition, we become reactive. When we focus on improving ourselves, we become innovative.

We are here to give.

Vision is the ability to talk about the future with such clarity, it is as if we are talking about the past.

Leaders take the risk to trust first.

A culture is strong when people work with each other, for each other. A culture is weak when people work against each other, for themselves.

To be innovative, we can’t look to what others have done. The whole idea of blazing a path is that there was no path there before.

It feels good to help people. So, get out there and feel good!

It’s better to endure the discomfort of the truth now than to suffer the discomfort of the lie later.

If there are people who care, there is always hope.

Mature companies fail because they forget why they were born.

The opportunity for creativity begins the moment we don’t know what we’re doing.

We take responsibility for our actions at the time we perform our actions, not at the time we get caught.

Loyalty is the desire to defend someone when they are not there to defend themselves.

A movement starts with a clear vision of a world different than the one we live in today.

Regardless of technology or the speed of innovation, people are still people. And all the rules of humanity still apply.

Our choices reveal our intentions.

The true value of networking doesn’t come from how many people we can meet, but rather how many people we can introduce to others.

Bad marketing values promotions. Good marketing promotes values.

Experts are the ones who think they know everything. Geniuses are the ones who know they don’t.

The more we focus on what our competition is doing, the less we’re focused on what we’re doing.

Creating something new is easy. Creating something that can last is the challenge.

Start with WHY.

Progress is fueled by the undying belief that the future is bright.

The best leaders are also the best followers. They follow a purpose, cause, or belief bigger than themselves.

The greatest contribution of a leader is to make others leaders.

Life is beautiful not because of the things we see or the things we do. Life is beautiful because of the people we meet.

Good marketing speaks to us. Bad marketing speaks at us.

It’s better to go slowly in the right direction, than to go speeding off in the wrong direction.

Offer your strengths to others and you will be amazed how many people offer their strengths to you.

The most accurate tool for measuring trust is human intuition.

Appreciate when things go awry. It makes for a better story to share later.

Selfish is easy. It’s sharing that takes courage.

The mind can be convinced, but the heart must be won.

A weak leader likes to tell us how many people work for them. A great leader is humbled to tell us how many people they work for.

The value of emotions comes from sharing them, not simply having them.

Strong leaders are long on vision. Weak leaders are short on sight.

Too many modern companies have replaced a person with a number and mistakenly called that number a customer.

Giving can be as simple as saying “thank you” to someone and meaning it. We should all give a little more.

Our passion lies deep in who we are, not what we do.

Strong relationships are based on trust and communication. But if there is no communication, there can be no trust.

To ask, “What’s best for me?” is finite thinking.
To ask, “What’s best for us?” is infinite thinking.

Admire those who admire others.

If we want people to speak to us honestly, we must be willing to honestly listen.

Most of us live our lives by accident—we live it as it happens. Fulfillment comes when we live our lives on purpose.

The joy of leadership comes from seeing others achieve more than they thought they were capable of.

So goes the leader, so goes the culture.
So goes the culture, so goes the company.

For an employee to take responsibility, they must first be given it.

A community is a group of people who agree to grow together.

The more people you inspire, the more people will inspire you.

A poor leader will tell you how many people work for them. A great leader will tell you how many people they work for.

We achieve more when we chase the dream instead of the competition.

Asking for help is an act of service. Don’t deny the people who love you the honor of being there to support you.

It is the weak leader that compensates by acting strong. It is the strong leader that allows people to see when they are weak.

We can contribute to a relationship. But we can’t control a relationship.

Leadership is not a license to do less. Leadership is a responsibility to do more.

The next time someone starts listing all the reasons an idea can’t work, ask them to give three reasons it can.

New ideas need audiences like flowers need bees. No matter how brilliant and colorful, they will die unless others work to spread them.

There is a cost to lead. True leaders are willing to pay the price: sacrifice self-interest and put their Cause ahead of themselves.

Don’t show up to prove. Show up to improve.

Effective communication starts with listening.

An excessive drive for order interrupts the beautiful chaos needed for creativity to thrive.

Being right doesn’t make us trustworthy. Being honest makes us trustworthy.

Be the leader you wish you had.

A great leader doesn’t only inspire us to have confidence in what THEY can do. A great leader inspires us to have confidence in what WE can do.

We can only truly be in charge when we are willing to let others take charge.

Success is a team sport.

Strong relationships are based on trust and communication. But if there is no communication, there can be no trust.

The goal is to feel a part of something, not just play a part in anything.

If there are people who care, there is always hope.

If we were good at everything, we would have no need for each other.

When we work on a Trusting Team, we feel safe to admit our mistakes, be honest about our shortcomings, and ask for help when we need it.

Building a strong culture is what builds a strong organization.

Don’t feel guilty accepting someone’s help.
You can achieve more with others than you can by yourself.

We know true collaboration happened when the idea can no longer be traced to one person.

Happiness comes from WHAT we do.
Fulfillment comes from WHY we do it.

Visionaries aren’t the only ones who have big ideas.
Visionaries are the ones who can clearly communicate their big ideas to others.

Those in pursuit of WHY are inspired to do what is right.

Our passions are ignited when we set out to advance a cause greater than ourselves.

Fulfillment comes when we do something to help someone else.

When we know WHY we do what we do, everything falls into place.
When we don’t, we have to push things into place.

There are only two ways to influence human behavior:
you can manipulate it or you can inspire it.

Strong leaders earn loyalty. Weak leaders demand it.

Good leaders have the ability to inspire us in their lifetime. Great leaders have the ability to inspire us beyond their lifetime.

Bad leaders care about who’s right.
Good leaders care about what’s right.

A leader without a title is better
than a title without the ability to lead.