"Notes" of An Elder

Nothing in life is of any value unless it is shared with others.

"Notes" of An Elder is a depository of pertinent information, knowledge and wisdom. Available weekly will be an elder's "thinking menu" for your use. Enjoy this bounty.

• One of life's most important questions: What am I doing for others?

• Meet your future at the intersection of innovation and need.

• Management is a learned skill, not a talent. You are not born with it.

• Goal: Become an expert at managing change.

• When you have not grown up with love, you need to learn it.

• Perfection does not exist, and the belief it can be obtained will result in failure.

• One of the kindest things you can do for yourself is to help others.

• Everyone has an opinion. When you ask someone for their advice, you are getting advice grounded in the other person's values.

• It is said that extraordinary people live their lives backward. They create a future, then they live it.

• Never punish well-intentioned failure.

Prepare Yourself

• What do you want to do?

• Why do you want to do it?

• How do you want to do it?

• Who will it affect?

• For talent optimization, everyone who manages, even if it's only one or two people, has to be a coach.

• Go somewhere else if you feel underappreciated.

• Feedback is a meaningful way to promote positive change.

• Behavioral change matters only if you sustain it.

• Planning isn't so much about predicting the future as it is about trying to shape it.

• Fear, the most prominent opponent of success, can paralyze anyone.

• It's not enough to have the right ideas. We have to cultivate the art of knowing how best to present them.

• In business, you don't get what you deserve. You get what you negotiate.

Magic Question

What legacy do I wish to leave behind?