Lawrence Fine

Frequently we look at the existing power (emperor, defending champion, large company) and see what they used to be and possibly not what they are now. We “see” incredible power, great wealth, and no weaknesses.

If we take a closer look at these powers, we might see the reality. They might not be as strong as they used to be. They might have many more weaknesses than we ever would have guessed. They might not be what they used to be.

When you look at a power (or any opponent), make sure you are looking at what is really there and not what used to be there.

This also is true when others look at you. Are they seeing what you really are or what you used to be. Sometimes there are advantages to people seeing what you used to be. As an example, in college football, the name Notre Dame has been an intimidating opponent for many decades. The reality though is they haven’t been a top team for many years. A few years ago, Notre Dame beat some teams they probably shouldn’t have. They beat them not with talent, not with hard work but rather because they were NOTRE DAME. Then a couple of teams they normally would have beaten beat them. All of a sudden the mystique was gone and teams were beating them Teams started to realize this Notre Dame wasn’t the Notre Dame of old.

One problem powers of old sometimes face is they look at themselves and see what they used to be and not what they are now. They don’t see the chinks in their armor.

Make sure you are looking at your opposition and yourself with an open mind, otherwise you might not notice the emperors clothes are in shreds

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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These two questions were mentioned on the Signals vs Noise blog and I thought they were worth posting here

1. What do you want to get better at?
2. What do you want to learn/

If you ask yourself these questions and give some serious thought to your answers it will help you go in the right direction

Just something to think about

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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Some people are born leaders.

Some people prefer to go it alone.

Many others are looking to be led.

If you, or someone doesn’t provide positive leadership to these people, they will find leaders elsewhere. Maybe the leaders they find will be positive leaders but too often they are negative leaders.

People forget there are negative leaders out there. Think about the class clown who is trying to get others to slack off. Think about the gang leader who will provide the support and leadership some of these followers are searching for. Think about Nazi Germany, people were looking for a leader and Hitler stepped into the role. Think about Jim Jones in British Guyana.

Be a positive leader because if you don’t, someone might step into that role and lead in a negative way

Just something to think about

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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Things are going well.

Business is up.

Profits are up.

You have done a great job of cutting costs and increasing revenues.

This is NOT the time to let up. It’s easy to relax and let things slide but when you have good momentum, keep it up. Don’t lower the bar because things are going well. If anything, raise it even higher!

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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Schools have rivalries

Gangs have enemies

Organizations have competitors

Countries have bitter enemies

The question is, are you fighting battles you don’t understand? Do you know why you are supposed to hate the other people? Have they actually done anything to you or are you just behaving a certain way because you are expected to?

How many lost opportunities have their been, how many lost lives have their been, how many unfortunate opportunities have developed because of battles you shouldn’t be involved with?

Before you decide not to be involved with a certain group, ask yourself if there really is a good reason not to be involved with them or are you just perpetuating things you really don’t understand and shouldn’t be involved with.

Just something to think about

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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There are a lot of people with the belief we should buy locally to support our local economies. I definitely fall within this group although I do tend to purchase certain things online (used books for example).

The one thing that is easy to forget (or easy to misunderstand) is that just because a company has a big name doesn’t mean it’s not local.

For example, there are many people who are boycotting BP gas stations. The thing they don’t realize (or maybe they don’t care about) is most BP stations are owned by individual owners. Many are locally owned and operated and they employ local people. BP might get a very small percentage but boycotting this type of business primarily hurts local people.

McDonalds is a large multi national conglomerate but most of the restaurants are owned by small business owners. They employ local people and help the local economy.

Even large stores such as WalMart, while they aren’t locally owned, they frequently are one of the largest employers in a community. These are your friends, your neighbors etc who are working there and benefiting from these jobs.

I’m not a big fan of chains but it’s important to understand just because a business is a chain, doesn’t mean it’s not locally owned and it almost always means local jobs.

Buy locally when you can and be open minded to what that really means.

Just something to think about

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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“I got laid off because my boss was an idiot”

“I lost my house because the damn banks screwed me over”

“My life is a mess because the government is ruining my life”

How many excuses are people coming up with these days? At what point do people say “I need to take responsibility for my life”?

Stop blaming others, look within, see how you can find the many opportunities that are out there and take responsibility for your life

Have a GREAT day!

Lawrence

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Some people enter a race with the intention of winning. Others enter a race with the intention of simply finishing.

Is one right and the other wrong? No!

However, when you are hiring someone (or when someone is hiring you) it’s important to know whether they simply are wanting to finish or wanting to win. It’s a BIG difference

Are you trying to win or simply content finishing?

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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It’s easy to fire an employee who steals from you or does something dramatically wrong. However, it’s much more difficult to fire someone who simply isn’t doing a good job.

The reason this is difficult is because we want to give people a second (and third and fourth and fifth) chance. Also, we want to give the people the benefit of the doubt. We start wondering if we didn’t provide them with the right training or the right support.

Eventually, we throw more money, more resources and more time at the problem and eventually realize our initial thought was correct, they simply aren’t doing a good job.

How much time, money, resources, and opportunities are lost because of these second, third and fourth chances?

The reality is most people who are doing a bad job aren’t happy with what they are doing so extending their “sentence” really doesn’t help anyone.

I’m not recommending getting rid of people the first chance you get but once you make the decision, go with your gut and don’t extend everyone’s agony.

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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Experienced people “know” what can’t be done.

Inexperienced people haven’t learned what can’t be done yet.

Without the naivety of not knowing what can’t be done (or what others think can’t be done) it opens up great opportunities for growth.

Experience is great…so is inexperience!

Have a great day!

Lawrence

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