Great Mantras for Entrepreneurs

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Comment by Daniel B. McMillan on July 20, 2008 at 11:20am

I've worked for several CEOs over the last twenty some years. From the perspective of support class - I've taken careful consideration to all of the things pertaining to leadership that I have witnessed, so that I may learn from some of the best (and worst) in order to do that which could not be done. Inspire others with the vision. Enable team ownership of each portion of the vision you cultivate with persistence - while also leveraging life experience and wisdom to cultivate 'best fit' people as managers. It should never be a gentlemen' club approach, because 'clicks' are like wedges that split wood. Two mantras I carry in my heart are Ecc. 9:11, and Proverbs 16:3.

Comment by Martin Schwab on July 19, 2008 at 11:57pm

Just wanted to mention here the first three lesson titles in Richard Stengel, “Mandela: His 8 Lessons of Leadership,” Time, July 21, 2008 (current issue): 1) Courage is not the absence of fear – it’s inspiring others to move beyond it, 2) Lead from the front – but don’t leave your base behind and 3) Lead from the back – and let others believe they are in front.

Comment by Guillermo Söhnlein on July 19, 2008 at 8:19pm

Since he's too modest to do it himself, I'll take the prerogative of this blog's original poster to put in a shameless plug for Tom's book, "Optimizing Luck," which you can purchase through our IASE store on Amazon.com. Enjoy!

Comment by Thomas Meylan, PhD on July 19, 2008 at 6:41pm

Our research in group dynamics supports Esther's assertion, and provides an explanation. To keep things short, we distinguish two type of people who (usually) occupy top positions in organizations: Alpha Climbers and True Leaders. Casting Alphas as power-grabbing, bad CEOs, our research finds that Alphas intentionally consume the value created by the groups they lead (you know, they "eat the profits"). Casting True Leaders as the power-shedding, good CEOs, our research finds that they facilitate the ability of their groups to MULTIPLY the value that they create out of what ever resources are available. This power-shedding, as well as the sharing of these multiplied resources, produces huge increases in group productivity.

It's not just a mantra: It's damn-near a law of nature!

Comment by Philip Rossomando on July 19, 2008 at 2:14pm

Never having been a CEO my comments may be biased. For one thing, a CEO should be a leader and not a manager. Leaders have dreams and are able to inspire others to share in those dreams. They know what they want and are not afraid to actively strive after it. On the other hand, they are not totally self absorbed and are willing to allow others help them in achieving. A good CEO cares about those that work for him and he/she realizes that no one person can do it alone. It takes a team and as such he/she motivates others to do the impossible. A good CEO is honest and his/her subordinates respect his opinion. They are not afraid to seek it nor give it. While strong, he.she is not dogmatic and is willing to change direction when that is necessary for the good of the corporation. However, not be dogmatic does not mean he/she is not focused on the contrary he is able to find many paths to achieve his goal.

Unfortunately, I have never worked for such a CEO but have observed such men and women leading other companies. I would love to work for such an individual.

Comment by Guillermo Söhnlein on July 19, 2008 at 1:42pm

Here's another one that I think best reflects my belief that action and execution always beat talk and thought ...

Lon Levin once said that in the early days of XM Satellite Radio they used to encourage each other to try out new ideas with a mantra they adopted from Nike (and modified slightly): "Just Friggin' Do It"

Comment by Richard C. Mains on July 19, 2008 at 12:04pm

I've been the CEO of the company I founded for 25 years but am shedding that role to a new partner. However, in my new role as Chairman I am assuming our management team's goal to "unite a strong focused intention with appropriate action" - our daily challenge. Another mantra from a personal trainer that I find very useful is "Fake it 'til you make it" which is both encouraging and necessary when working on difficult personal changes.

Comment by Sara Worley Howard on July 19, 2008 at 10:50am

I have worked for almost 30 years mainly in technical fields. I think I have seen it all. The good CEOs I have worked for have considered their employees as "partners" and eagerly accepted good ideas. They discovered that happy employees increased their bottom line. We all have seen bad bosses and all they do is complain and criticize. These people have little self esteem and look upon everyone as the enemy.
My definition of a great CEO is one who has power but NEVER resorts to using it.