What do you want and what are you willing to give up to get it?

It's an indelible image – 2008 drummers performing as one to open the Beijing Olympics.

Moments like that do not happen by chance.  They are the result of a vision executed with excellence. And that execution is born of direction, training, and disciplined practice.  Whomever was in charge of that opening ceremony knew what they wanted and what they were willing to give up to get it.

 

Do you?

Do you have a clear picture of success?  Are you prepared to make the sacrifices necessary to make it happen?

Hungry enough?

A young man from China is doing a six month temporary assignment with his firm in the USA.  A couple of months into his time I asked him what surprised him about the USA.  Without missing a beat, he replied "How little people work." 

People in his office in Boston generally work 9-5, five days per week.  People in his office in Shanghai generally work 9am-11pm, six days per week.  That's more than twice as much time! 

Are we still prepared to make the sacrifices required to get what we want in the future or do we think our past efforts are enough to entitle us to future rewards?

Read More Articles

How Mission Briefs Accelerate Progress by Clarifying Direction, Resources, Authority, and Follow-Through
How Mission Briefs Accelerate Progress by Clarifying Direction, Resources, Authority, and Follow-Through

Teams fail when direction is fuzzy, resources are ambiguous, or authority is blurred. Too often, leaders assign tasks without enough context for teams to make smart, independent decisions. The result?…

Read Article
How You Define Success as a Leader Defines You

By Mazher Ahmad, with George Bradt Every leader eventually faces a moment that forces them to ask a deceptively simple question: What does success really mean to me? In the…

Read Article
The Power And Danger Of Unintended Messages

This past Saturday morning, I stopped at a sandwich shop in Misquamicut, Rhode Island, looking forward to a simple breakfast to start the day right. But before I reached the…

Read Article
The Difference Between Cultural, Strategic, Operational, Tactical, And Crisis Leadership

Leadership is about inspiring, enabling and empowering others to do their absolute best together to realize a meaningful and rewarding shared purpose. Nesting within that, CEOs, senior leaders, middle managers,…

Read Article
How Strategies And Tactics Should Merge When Time Is Of The Essence

knocked a hole from the kitchen to a bedroom and turned the bedroom into a play room for our kids our first weekend in the house.

Read Article