Leadership

Hard-earned lessons from decades of building and running businesses.

Below are 292 leadership posts from Tim. Use the filters to find what you are looking for within this category.

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Makers and Takers
BookLeadershipBuilder

Makers and Takers

By Rana Foroohar

October 30, 2016

Editor’s note: Tell me if you’ve heard this before: “the financial system is ruining our democracy”. Right, me too. But Foroohar is not the Thomas Picketty or Tragic Idealist take,...
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QuoteLeadershipTim's StoryBuilder

Inspirational Quotes

October 30, 2016

“You gotta get the hay out of the loft, down to where the horses can eat it”. -Terry McCarthy, teaching me many years ago how stories help prospects understand what...
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“IQ, EQ and… LQ?” by Tim McCarthy
PostLeadershipTim's StoryBuilder

“IQ, EQ and… LQ?” by Tim McCarthy

By Tim McCarthy

October 2, 2016

I’ve never knowingly had my IQ tested but I’m pretty sure they did it in grade school because my teachers constantly told me that my grades were far below what...
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PostLeadershipBuilder

Article of Interest – Toward a theory of business by Thomas Donaldson & James P. Walsh

By Tim McCarthy

October 2, 2016

Abstract What is the purpose of business? While most agree that business minimally involves the creation of value, a blurred double image of value haunts our discussion of purpose. The...
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PostLeadershipBuilder

Article of Interest – “The Power Paradox” By Dacher Keltner

By Tim McCarthy

August 29, 2016

Editor's Note: The excerpt below is pulled from a lesson at www.dailygood.org , a terrific non-profit sharing site.  It’s from a book titled “The Power Paradox” by Dacher Keltner.  Keltner...
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PostLeadershipTim's StoryBuilder

Newsletter – “Inputs and Outcomes” by Tim McCarthy

By Tim McCarthy

June 26, 2016

One of the guys I respect most, David Camiener, has taught me a lot since we met in a peer group (Vistage) in 1995. I’m still learning one of the...
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PostLeadershipBuilder

Article of Interest – “Internet Trends Report” by Mary Meeker

By Tim McCarthy

June 26, 2016

Editor’s note: Some pretty surprising stuff in here, especially for us oldsters who are hurrying to keep up with the ever-changing nature of communication. Thanks to Brad Roller for passing...
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PostLeadershipTim's StoryBuilder

Newsletter – “The Power of the Written Plan” by Tim McCarthy

By Tim McCarthy

April 27, 2016

We all have plans. But until a plan is written, it’s not real. I learn what I think by writing about it. Then, over time I can also see if...
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Article of Interest – “Beware of the CEO who doesn’t need coaching” by Michael Cooper
PostLeadershipBuilder

Article of Interest – “Beware of the CEO who doesn’t need coaching” by Michael Cooper

By Tim McCarthy

January 3, 2016

Editor’s note: While this article appears to be an advertisement for hiring a business coach, its point is too good to pass up. The five reasons CEOs avoid coaching are...
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Thinking Fast and Slow
BookLeadershipBuilder

Thinking Fast and Slow

By Daniel Kahneman

June 27, 2015

Editor’s Note: Reading this book requires great patience, both in reading (it’s deep) and in seeing mistakes in my thinking that I’d rather deny. Nobel prize- winning psychologist and author...
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Article of Interest – “The Only Thing That Matters is Commitment” by Harrison Barnes
PostLeadershipBuilder

Article of Interest – “The Only Thing That Matters is Commitment” by Harrison Barnes

By Tim McCarthy

April 28, 2015

Editor's note: This article blew me away for two reasons: I always wished I was a gifted student. Now, I'm glad I wasn't. By having to focus and fail and...
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Finish Big
BookLeadershipWhat's NextSeeker

Finish Big

By Bo Burlingham

April 28, 2015

Editor’s Note: If you own all or part of a business, this is a must-read. One way or another you will exit your business, as Burlingham says, even if on...
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Article of Interest – “Most Company Wellness Programs Are a Bust” by Douglas R. Stover and Jade Wood
PostLeadershipBuilder

Article of Interest – “Most Company Wellness Programs Are a Bust” by Douglas R. Stover and Jade Wood

By Tim McCarthy

March 1, 2015

Editors Note: This great article from Gallup talked about something I agree with wholeheartedly. It is not enough for a great wellness program to focus solely on one part of...
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Article of Interest – “12 Thoughts About Investing and the Economy” by Morgan Housel
PostLeadershipBuilder

Article of Interest – “12 Thoughts About Investing and the Economy” by Morgan Housel

By Tim McCarthy

February 1, 2015

Editor’s comment: Supposedly an article about investing and the economy, this turns out to be a great commentary on sociology. I will now subscribe to Morgan Housel or Motley Fool,...
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PostLeadershipBuilder

Article of Interest – “Meanwhile In the Annals of Citizenship” by David Warsh

By Tim McCarthy

September 30, 2014

Editor’s comment: It seems appropriate that since my book of the month is one that departs from traditional economic theory, this article of the month should be of similar ilk....
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Contagious
BookLeadershipBuilder

Contagious

By Jonah Berger

July 6, 2014

Editor’s note:  In this thoughtful book, we’re reminded that like any new “phenomenon” much is done to little effect in the social media business.  Dr. Jonah Berger starts with a...
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Article of Interest “The Difference Between Successful and Very Successful People” by Greg McKeown
PostLeadershipBuilder

Article of Interest “The Difference Between Successful and Very Successful People” by Greg McKeown

By Tim McCarthy

June 1, 2014

Editor’s Note: This article served as an amazing reminder for me as I slowly become CFO of our investment company. I’ve long admired our former CFO (now Chairman of our...
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Broke, USA
BookGivingLeadershipBuilder

Broke, USA

By Gary Rivlin

March 31, 2014

Editor’s note: Like “Fast Food Nation,” I found this work to be like any other that looks for a sole source of a complex problem. That is, blaming sub-prime lending...
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PostLeadershipBuilder

Article of the Month – “Conscious Capitalism and Leveraging Polarities” by Barry Johnson

By Tim McCarthy

February 1, 2014

Editor’s note:  Thanks to Vistage Chair Artie Isaac for pointing me toward the concept of “polarities.” I’ve spent a life stumped trying to “solve” them and research proves I’m on...
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The Dip”
BookLeadershipBuilder

The Dip”

By Seth Godin

February 1, 2014

Editor’s Note:   I’ve been a Godin fan since “Permission Marketing” which was published many years ago as I was ramping a permission marketing business. Another favorite is “Purple Cow”...
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QuoteLeadershipBuilderMentorSeeker

Quote of the Month

February 1, 2014

“All empty souls tend to extreme opinion. It is only in those who have built up a rich world of memories and habits of thought that extreme opinions affront the...
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