Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

“On the path to success, we trip and lose our footing from time to time. But stumbling and even falling is the best way to learn from mistakes and is critical to achieving goals,” says Bill Wooditch, author of the book,  Fail More:Embrace, Learn, And, Adapt to Failure As A Way To Success . “We all fail. It’s a part of business, and it’s a part of life,” explains Wooditch. “It’s how you deal with setbacks is what makes the difference.” The book will teach you how to: Conquer the negative emotions that naturally arise after making mistakes. Clearly articulate lessons learned. Put these lessons to use immediately.  Plus, you’ll learn how to: Navigate all forms of rejection and failure in pragmatic ways. Rationally examine your personal fears and gain mastery over them. Shed the discomfort of uncertainty, which is the only way to open your mind to all possibilities.  This week, Wooditch answered these questions for me about failing, succeeding and his book: Question :  W...

Inspirational leadership wisdom came awhile back from Bahram Akradi, the CEO of Life Time Fitness. From that health club's monthly fitness magazine,  Experience Life , Akradi says: Once we get comfortable in our habitual patterns, we may fail to notice when they have outworn their useful purpose, or when new alternatives might serve us better. Once you've encountered a second way of seeing things, you're more likely to entertain the possibility of a third and fourth way, too. Do something that makes you just a little bit uncomfortable--and that renders you a little more awake. Thanks Akradi for encouraging us to break out from predictability.

I found this advice from Ken Goldstein (from his new book, Endless Encores ) particularly helpful. He says: "You have to be innovating all the time. The only sure path to a limited repertoire is not to push yourself beyond the familiar. Your range is only gated by your courage to pursue the unknown, despite the doubters who relish the false safety of narrowing your path. You risk, you stretch, you can't know what's going to stick. No matter how much you know the familiar will carry you, you navigate the balance of old and new, constantly committing to reinvention. Repeat success is getting comfortable with the uncomfortable, knowing that luck will shine again, but never knowing when or how."

"The unexpected edge for entrepreneurial success starts with  identifying a worthy risk, then having the courage to take it ," explains Tom Panaggio in his new book,  The Risk Advantage :  Embracing the Entrepreneur's Unexpected Edge . As an entrepreneur and race car driver, Panaggio has learned that you cannot avoid risk if you want to be a winner. In  The Risk Advantage , Panaggio tells the story of how he and his business partners built two thriving companies:  Direct Mail Express  (which now employs over 400 people and is a leading direct marketing company), and  Response Mail Express  (which was eventually sold to an equity fund, Huron Capital Partners). With  The Risk Advantage  he aims to help entrepreneurs face the many situations, predicaments, and crises they'll encounter during their life, and to help formulate their leadership style  and business strategy. When the right opportunities presented themselves, w...

"The unexpected edge for entrepreneurial success starts with  identifying a worthy risk, then having the courage to take it ," explains Tom Panaggio in his new book,  The Risk Advantage :  Embracing the Entrepreneur's Unexpected Edge . As an entrepreneur and race car driver, Panaggio has learned that you cannot avoid risk if you want to be a winner. In  The Risk Advantage , Panaggio tells the story of how he and his business partners built two thriving companies:  Direct Mail Express  (which now employs over 400 people and is a leading direct marketing company), and  Response Mail Express  (which was eventually sold to an equity fund, Huron Capital Partners). With  The Risk Advantage  he aims to help entrepreneurs face the many situations, predicaments, and crises they'll encounter during their life, and to help formulate their l eadership style  and business strategy. When the right opportunities presented themselves, ...