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"In the old, constrained world, somebody had to select, print, and distribute what was worthy of royalty, shelf space, and killing trees. That somebody was an employee of a traditional publisher; he served as a filter, finisher, and arbiter of taste. Several thousand traditional publishers added this kind of value for hundreds of years.
Shelf space for ebooks, however, is infinite, and anyone who can use a word processor can write and publish a book. These changes don't mean that books are better—no more than a democratic political system guarantees better leaders—but at least the system is more accessible."
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"The demanding pace for global leaders has never been more challenging. Digitally connected every moment, we are increasingly tied to a 24-hour global clock. This is the 'new normal.'
We are expected to perform continually in the face of global crises and multifaceted pressures, including downsizing, mergers and the accompanying stresses and expectations. The list of demands, personal and professional, never ends. Could it be that going faster and driving harder are not the answers? Could there be another way to sustain high performance? Could it be that the source of our real value as leaders might come from different thinking and different choices rather than from perpetuation of the incessant pace we strain to maintain?"
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"After thirty years in the consumer electronics industry, I have seen my fair share of successes and failures. Applying our idea to the successes, we decided they exhibited characteristics of the feudal Japanese stealth warrior known as the ninja. They are all ninja innovators because they achieve their mission through a set of similar tactics; they all adhere to a code of business ethics; and they are all single-mindedly focused on winning as the only option. They are true business warriors, and here are some of their secrets ... "
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"If we don't understand our own preferences or the true motivations behind our own behaviors, marketers are wasting billions of dollars each year by asking questions in quantitative surveys and qualitative focus groups people simply can't know the answer to. And marketers are using that information as the guiding forces to bring innovation and improvement to the marketplace. Not surprisingly, the success rate is abysmal, as only two of every ten new products launched in the U.S. succeeds. 'Houston, we have a problem.'"
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"The typical corporate environment may not be quite as fraught with danger as the realm of spies, but that doesn't negate the value of understanding the impact of emotions on decisions and performance. So, for a moment, let's loosen the ban we tend to enforce on expressing emotions in the workplace. Drop the barricade between the numbers and the feelings. Stop denying those aspects of human behavior that we, as leaders, feel we MUST deny. You can't lead if you're 'soft', right?
But you also can't influence what you pretend doesn't exist. Embrace vulnerability, if only to understand why your clients are vulnerable to wooing from your competitor. To see just how vulnerable your boss is to the pressure to give the other guy the promotion, instead of you. To know how vulnerable your best employees are to job offers from other companies."
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