“only secure leaders exhibit servanthood.”

“People cannot perform in a way inconsistent with the way they see themselves.”

“As people gain more authority, they often develop a lack of patience in listening to those under them. A deaf ear is the first indication of a closed mind.”

“When you give of yourself, it benefits you, the organization, and the receiver.”

“Understanding changes minds. Action changes lives.”

“Since we tend to see ourselves primarily in light of our intentions, which are invisible to others,” said philosopher J. G. Bennett, “while we see others mainly in the light of their actions, which are all that’s visible to us, we have a situation in which misunderstanding and injustice are the order of the day.”

“What can I say to get others involved around the table? How can I draw them in?”

“listener’s lean.”

“Connecting always requires energy.”

“The reason most major goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first.”

“The best way to become a person that others are drawn to is to develop qualities that we are attracted to in others.”

“Several years ago Dr. Maxwell Maltz’s book, Psycho-Cybernetics, was one of the most popular books on the market. Dr. Maltz was a plastic surgeon who often took disfigured faces and made them more attractive. He observed that in every case, the patient’s self-image rose with his and her physical improvement. In addition to being a successful surgeon, Dr. Maltz was a great psychologist who understood human nature. A wealthy woman was greatly concerned about her son, and she came to Dr. Maltz for advice. She had hoped that the son would assume the family business following her husband’s death, but when the son came of age, he refused to assume that responsibility and chose to enter an entirely different field. She thought Dr. Maltz could help convince the boy that he was making a grave error. The doctor agreed to see him, and he probed into the reasons for the young man’s decision. The son explained, “I would have loved to take over the family business, but you don’t understand the relationship I had with my father. He was a driven man who came up the hard way. His objective was to teach me self-reliance, but he made a drastic mistake. He tried to teach me that principle in a negative way. He thought the best way to teach me self-reliance was to never encourage or praise me. He wanted me to be tough and independent. Every day we played catch in the yard. The object was for me to catch the ball ten straight times. I would catch that ball eight or nine times, but always on that tenth throw he would do everything possible to make me miss it. He would throw it on the ground or over my head but always so I had no chance of catching it.” The young man paused for a moment and then said, “He never let me catch the tenth ball—never! And I guess that’s why I have to get away from his business; I want to catch that tenth ball!”

“THE LAW OF THE PRICE TAG The Team Fails to Reach Its Potential When It Fails to Pay the Price”

“Thinking is hard work; that’s why so few do it.”

“Tend to the people, and they will tend to the business.”