By looking on the bright side, we’ll activate enthusiasm and turn on the go system.
Originality brings more bumps in the road, yet it leaves us with more happiness and a greater sense of meaning.
Practice makes perfect, but it doesn’t make new. The gifted learn to play magnificent Mozart melodies and beautiful Beethoven symphonies, but never compose their own original scores.
Having a sense of security in one realm gives us the freedom to be original in another. By covering our bases financially, we escape the pressure to publish half-baked books, sell shoddy art, or launch untested businesses. When
Convictions in our ideas is dangerous not only because it leaves us vulnerable to false positives, but also because it stops us from generating the requisite variety to reach our creative potential.
An employee made a mistake that cost the company $10 million, he walked into the office of Tom Watson, the C.E.O., expecting to get fired. “Fire you?” Mr. Watson asked. “I just spent $10 million educating you.
Rather than looking outward in an attempt to predict the outcome, you turn inward to your identity. You base the decision on who you are–or who you want to be.
Bragging about yourself violates norms of modesty and politeness – and if you were really competent, your work would speak for itself.
From a motivation perspective, helping others enriches the meaning and purpose of our own lives, showing us that our contributions matter and energizing us to work harder, longer, and smarter.
When people are depending on us, we end up finding strength we didn’t know we had.
The culture of a workplace – an organization’s values, norms and practices – has a huge impact on our happiness and success.
Some of the greatest moments in human history were fueled by emotional intelligence.
Instead of assuming that emotional intelligence is always useful, we need to think more carefully about where and when it matters.
As more women ‘lean in’ and we collectively continue to fight sexism, there’s another barrier to progress that hasn’t been addressed: Many men who would like to see more women leaders are afraid to speak up about it.
It’s ironic that when you go through a tragedy, you appreciate more. You realize how fragile life is and that there are so many things to still be thankful for.
The mark of higher education isn’t the knowledge you accumulate in your head. It’s the skills you gain about how to learn.
In the conversation about women in leadership, male voices are noticeably absent.
For women to achieve equal representation in leadership roles, it’s important that they have the backing of men as well as women.
When medical students focus on helping others, they’re able to weather the slings and arrows of long hours and devastating health outcomes: they know their colleagues and patients are depending on them.
Takers believe in a zero-sum world, and they end up creating one where bosses, colleagues and clients don’t trust them. Givers build deeper and broader relationships – people are rooting for them instead of gunning for them.
When a salesperson truly cares about you, trust forms, and you’re more likely to buy, come back for repeat business, and refer new customers.
I have two rules for a great book: make me think and make me smile.
From a relationship perspective, givers build deeper and broader connections.