The secret to living a strong life is right in front of you, calling to you every day. It can be found in your emotional reaction to specific moments in your life.

In fact, over the last twenty years, authors have offered up over nine thousand different systems, languages, principles, and paradigms to help explain the mysteries of management and leadership.

People leave managers, not companies

Simply put, this is one insight we heard echoed by tens of thousands of great managers: People don’t change that much.Don’t waste time trying to put in what was left out.Try to draw out what...

There has to be a way to redirect employee’s driving ambition and to channel it more productively. There is. Create heroes in every role. Make every role, performed at excellence, a respected profession.

In the minds of great managers, consistent poor performance is not primarily a matter of weakness, stupidity, disobedience, or disrespect. It is a matter of miscasting.

Talent is the multiplier. The more energy and attention you invest in it, the greater the yield. The time you spend with your best is, quite simply, your most productive time.

Remember the Golden Rule? “Treat people as you would like to be treated.” The best managers break the Golden Rule every day. They would say don’t treat people as you would like to be treated....

…every time you make a rule you take away a choice and choice, with all of its illuminating repercussions, is the fuel for learning.

The Four Keys of Great Managers:1. “When selecting someone, they select for talent … not simply experience, intelligence or determination.”2. “When setting expectations, they define the right outcomes … not the right steps.”3. “When motivating...

Define excellence vividly, quantitatively. Paint a picture for your most talented employees of what excellence looks like. Keep everyone pushing and pushing toward the right-hand edge of the bell curve.

Forcing your employees to follow required steps only prevents customer dissatisfaction. If your goal is truly to satisfy, to create advocates, then the step-by-step approach alone cannot get you there. Instead, you must select employees...

Managers are encouraged to focus on complex initiatives like reengineering or learning organizations, without spending time on the basics.