Posts by The John Maxwell Company
Choosing to Cheat
Rubber bands are made to stretch. They’re flexible to a point, but expand them too far and SNAP! They break. There’s a limit to their elasticity. Many times our lives feel like rubber bands. We’re pulled in different directions by two primary commitments: work and family. As we stretch ourselves to meet expectations on each…
Read MoreFrom Gold Medal Winner to Biggest Loser
In 2000, Rulon Gardner experienced the thrill of his life when he stepped onto an Olympic podium to receive his gold medal. These days, the most thrilling moments for Gardner happen when he steps onto a scale to weigh himself. As a contestant on Biggest Loser, the former wrestler is grappling with the toughest foe…
Read MoreThe Four Letter Word that Makes You and Your Work Irresistible
LOVE is a four-letter word in the business world. It makes us uncomfortable. It seems inappropriate or even taboo. It can also make you and your work irresistible. Let me explain: Some years ago I wrote a book about an extraordinary individual who loves his work. My editor at the time deleted the word love…
Read MoreA Case Study in Influence : Hyundai
Everyone wants to be the best. If you aren’t the best, then chances are you’re looking to see who is and trying to emulate them. Put simply, influencers attract imitators.Lately, Hyundai has proved to be a leader in the auto industry. While sales of competitors have slowed to a crawl, Hyundai has been cruising in…
Read MoreOperating with 20/20 Vision in Areas that Matter Most
An excerpt from The Six Disciplines of Personal Sustainability by Dr. Stephen R. Graves, co-founder of GiANT Leaders Executive Coaching A father and son were traveling home from a college football game late one night in the 1970s when the dad pulled the car onto the shoulder of the rural, desolate highway and asked his…
Read MoreHow a Blind Boy’s Vision Changed the World
At the age of three, Louis Braille suffered a tragic accident in his father’s saddle making workshop. The young boy had taken hold of a stitching awl, which slipped from his grasp and pierced his eye. Within days he could not see out of the eye. Sadly, Louis was completely blinded shortly thereafter when an…
Read MorePersonal Accountability
Personal Accountability: Putting the Brakes on Moral Breakdown On April 10th Bobby Petrino, still red-faced from road rash and embarrassment, was fired as head football coach at the University of Arkansas. Ten days earlier Petrino had wrecked both his motorcycle and his career while on a drive with his mistress and co-worker, Jessica Dorrell. Petrino,…
Read MoreThe Influence Question: Will You Grow or Plateau?
Seldom does someone consciously choose to stop growing. Yet we all know people whose influence has leveled off or gone into decline. Why do hard-working, well-intentioned leaders plateau? How can people ascend the levels of influence throughout their careers, but then suddenly stop climbing? About five years ago I facilitated an all-day roundtable with 15…
Read MoreRestoring Trust is a Must as BP Deals with Oil spill
Oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico from a deepwater well now dwarfs the amount spilled when the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in 1989. An estimated 2.52 million gallons of oil daily have spewed out of the gaping hole in the Earth’s crust left by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig. Attempts to…
Read MorePerspective
Distraught over massive financial losses incurred during the past year, Adolf Merckle scrawled a suicide note to his family and wandered out the door into a dark, wintry night. He made his way for the railway where he stood by the tracks and waited in the cold. Spotting the headlight of an oncoming railcar, he…
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