Friday Filosophy #2015-31

In Friday Filosophy #2015-31 we are taking a look at leadership.

The world has changed rapidly over the past three decades and continues to change rapidly. If anything it is changing even more rapidly than it appears to be. However, there are some constants. From the Chairman at VW to the leader of the House of Representatives, we are seeing in front of us the challenges and difficulties in the position of leadership. Without making too much of these two examples you can see the challenges of CEOs in a number of different areas and Industries. Here are some quotes to consider from business and political leaders over the past half century.

I hope you enjoy them.

 

The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority.

Ken Blanchard

 

Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.

Jack Welsh

 

Are YOU growing yourself? Do you continue to learn? Do you read business books?

 

Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.

Tom Peters

 

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

Winston Churchill

 

Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.

John C. Maxwell

 

Don’t follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you.

Margaret Thatcher

 

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.

Lao Tzu

 

Isn’t that rather different than “You didn’t build that?”

 

I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.

Estee Lauder

 

We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat; they do not exist.

Queen Victoria

 

My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to takes these great people we have and to push them and make them even better.

Steve Jobs

 

There are two kinds of stones, as everyone knows. One of which rolls.

Amelia Earhart

 

I was never the smartest guy in the room. From the first person I hired, I was never the smartest guy in the room. And that’s a big deal. And if you’re going to be a leader – if you’re the leader and the smartest guy in the world – in the room, you’ve got real problems.

Jack Welsh

 

It is delusional to consider yourself the answer to all things.

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.

John F Kennedy

 

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.

Peter Drucker

 

A leader is a dealer in hope.

Napoleon Bonaparte

 

Too many companies believe people are interchangeable. Truly gifted people never are. They have unique talents. Such people cannot be forced into roles they are not suited for, nor should they be. Effective leaders allow great people to do the work they were born to do.

Warren Bennis

 

Contrary to popular opinion, leadership is not a reserved position for a reserved group of people who were elected or appointed, ordained or enthroned. Leadership is self-made, self-retained, self-inculcated and then exposed through a faithful, sincere, and exemplary life.

Israelmore Avivor

 

Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work.

Seth Godin

 

Let me close with some quotes from Charles Handy. Influential to the business world like Peter Drucker was in the US, but from his perch in Great Britain.

 

  1. The moment will arrive when you are comfortable with who you are, and what you are – bald or old or fat or poor, successful or struggling – when you don’t feel the need to apologize for anything or to deny anything. To be comfortable in your own skin is the beginning of strength.
  2. We cannot wait for great visions from great people, for they are in short supply. It is up to us to light our own small fires in the darkness.
  3. Change is only another word for growth, another synonym for learning.
  4. Instead of a national curriculum for education, what is really needed is an individual curriculum for every child.
  5. Creativity needs a bit of untidiness. Make everything too neat and there is no room for experiment.

 

The time is now.

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Service Management – How webinars can increase profits!

Magic words: increase profits.  Service Management is a very simple term to cover the many variables it contains: planning, organization, customer retention, job descriptions, praise, criticism, time management, personnel management.  I could go on with this list, as the Service Management includes so much within the Dealership.

With so many moving parts, how can you train your staff to provide service and satisfaction to your most important asset – the customer?

Our Service Management webinars offer 1 hour programs on the varied topics and skills necessary to run a successful business, without the demands on time or travel that are required in traditional, face-to-face training.

We are back in full swing with our webinar learning series, and we would love to see you this week.

For more information on Service Management webinars from Learning Without Scars, please visit our website on the Service Management – Webinars tab to read short write-ups, and sign up for training.

The time is now.

Friday Filosophy #2015-30

With Friday Filosophy #2015-30 we are working here to get back into the routine of our technology updates.

With the fast pace of change in technological development I wanted to focus on some diverse views on technology. One day we will realize that we need to have the same amount of change and development in the sociological world as well.

Enjoy!

 

The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.

Bill Gates

 

One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.

Elbert Hubbard
The Internet is so big, so powerful and pointless that for some people it is a complete substitute for life.

Andrew Brown
Technology is a gift of God. After the gift of life it is perhaps the greatest of God’s gifts. It is the mother of civilizations, of arts and of sciences.

Freeman Dyson
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Arthur C. Clarke

 

Men have become the tools of their tools.

Henry David Thoreau
The time is now.

Friday Filosophy #2015-29

With our webinar series beginning next week for the fall session, Friday Filosophy #2015-29 is about something we strive for, always: excellence.

Satisfaction in life is knowing that you got the best out of your attributes. Don’t settle for less than you are capable of in your life. There is much more satisfaction in overcoming challenges and problems than sailing through life without being challenged. Many famous people have said something like this in different ways with the same meaning. Never lie to your reflection in the mirror even though it is the easiest person in the world to lie to. You will never achieve what you were meant to achieve.

Today I would like to explore some differing views of excellence.

 

Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence.

Author Unknown

 

The secret of joy in work is contained in one word – excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.

Pearl S. Buck

 

Excellence is never an accident: it is the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, skillful execution and the vision to see obstacles as opportunities.

Anonymous

 

Mediocre men work at their best; men seeking excellence strive to do better.

Edwin Louis Cole

 

Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.

Ralph Marston

 

Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.

John W Gardner

 

If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.

Thomas J. Watson

 

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.

Aristotle

 

ABILITY is what you are capable of doing.

MOTIVATION determines what you do.

ATTTITUDE determines how well you do it.

Lou Holtz

 

Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.

Vince Lombardi

 

No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.

Martin Luther King

 

Once you have experienced excellence you will never again be content with mediocrity.

Thomas S. Watson

 

The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.

Vince Lombardi

 

If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.

Colin Powell

 

Excellence in any department can be attained only by the labor of a lifetime; it is not to be purchased at a lesser price.

Samuel Johnson

 

Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.

Steve Jobs

 

Life’s like a play: it’s not the length but the excellence of the acting that matters.

Seneca

 

How you view your work or your life is your own. How others view you is not.

 

The time is now.

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Parts Management: The Return of the Webinars

It’s that time of year again.  Our Parts Management Webinars return next week, beginning on Tuesday, September 15.

What is Parts Management?  What are the key management areas in which we can increase our profitability?  How can we implement systems and training to make more money?

Be sure to join us for a refresher, or few new training, to get this unique, interactive, conference style training geared at profitability, productivity, and systems within the Parts Department at your Dealership.

For a complete description of each webinar, and to register, please visit our Parts Management Webinars page on our website.

Fall brings with it the return of our training offerings, and the opportunity to continue to develop in your pursuit of excellence.

The time is now.

Friday Filosophy #2015-28

Friday Filosophy is back with #2015-28.  I hope you have all had a wonderful summer break.

 

The children are all back at school and the beginning of the second working half of the calendar begins.

 

Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.

Bill Bradley

 

People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.

Dale Carnegie

 

Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.

Henry David Thoreau

 

Obstacles cannot crush me, every obstacle yields to stern resolve.

Leonardo da Vinci

 

Let’s all get back to work.

The time is now.