The Pause Principle: Step Back to Lead Forward by Kevin Cashman reveals to readers the secret to dealing with their insatiable compulsion to do more and more within any given day. Kevin shows that instead of simply doing more, professionals must learn to stop, reflect, and move forward in a deliberately different manner in order to achieve more. He goes on to provide the insights and tools for pausing to accomplish more in several key areas including:
Personal leadership
Employee development
Innovative culture
Each section is concluded with a summary of the ‘Pause Practices’ needed to excel in that area as well as a ‘Pause Point’ containing provocative questions for visioning the future you are seeking to achieve.
Benefits of Reading and Using this Book
StrategyDriven Contributors agree that today’s fast paced world compels professionals to act with a speed that limits deliberate consideration. Such restrictions heighten the risk of error, poor decisions, and deteriorating health. With the never ending push to do more with less, this condition is not likely to change soon.
The Pause Principle fills a gap within today’s leadership training. Seldom are leaders taught the value of and methods to slow down. Kevin provides actionable methods for professionals to constructively pause; using this time for valuable contemplation, innovation, and planning so to truly achieve more with less rather than at the expense of ones personal life and health.
To some extent, all professionals are decision-makers and quality decisions require deliberate contemplation. The Pause Principle reminds us of the importance of pausing so to apply the knowledge and experiences necessary for good decision-making – decision-making that leads to innovation and growth.
For its sound, immediately implementable actions promoting excellence by slowing down, The Pause Principle is a StrategyDriven recommended read.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.png00StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2012-12-24 06:45:292012-12-09 17:50:04Recommended Resources – The Pause Principle
Impatient Optimist edited by Lisa Rogak reveals Bill Gates’ core beliefs about business in a way no other author has been able to achieve… because these insights come directly from Bill Gates himself. Lisa’s book systematically covers a wide range of topics from ‘Addiction to Technology’ to ‘Relinquishing Control’, from ‘Streamlining Business Processes’ to ‘His Work Habits’, and ‘Hiring Employees’ to ‘Managing Employees’.
Throughout Impatient Optimist, three predominate themes are revealed:
the need to identify and understand any proposition’s return on investment
the value of maintaining the ‘big picture,’ and
the importance of family and of achieving an appropriate work-life balance.
Benefits of Using this Reference
StrategyDriven Contributors like Impatient Optimist because it reveals the intimate thoughts and beliefs of the man who is arguably the most successful business leader of all time but who is also one of the world’s greatest philanthropists. Many of Bill Gates’ approaches align well with the principles and philosophies we recommend business leaders adopt to further their organization’s success. While we recognize some may disagree with Bill Gates’ approach to certain circumstances – and on occasion we do too – all agree he is one of the great business leaders who continues to shape our modern world.
StrategyDriven Contributors appreciated the layout of Impatient Optimist, the organization of quotes around meaningful topic areas, the dating of each quote, and Bill Gates’ life story timeline provided at the end of the book. We found that knowing the setting and circumstances of the Bill Gates’ quotes provided insightful context from which to interpret them. As such, we recommend first-time readers review the ‘Milestones’ timeline presented at the end of the book first and refer to it often when reading individual quotes.
For it’s intimate portrayal of an American entrepreneurial icon, Impatient Optimist is a StrategyDriven recommended read.
“The wheel that does the squeaking is the one that gets the grease.”
Josh Billings (1818 – 1885) American humorist
It’s a natural human tendency to seek the path of least resistance. For executives, managers, and supervisors, this practice translates into assigning the difficult and emergent work activities to top performers, diverting work away from under-performers, and avoiding employee confrontations. The latter action erodes accountability. Leaders who do not address the shortcomings of under-performers including the provision of overly positive (even if neutral) feedback and unearned rewards (relative to top performers) loudly proclaim the merits of non-performance. Continued high performance and retention of top talent reinforces these errant practices until one day the lack of accountability drives the company’s best employees to a competitor’s business.
Hi there! Gain access to this article with a StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription or buy access to the article itself.
Subscribe to the StrategyDriven Insights Library
Sign-up now for your StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription for as low as $15 / month (paid annually).
Additional information regarding artificial employment restraints and how individuals can overcome them is contained within the StrategyDriven Professional Development article, Artificial Employment Restraints.
Taken together, these collections focus on helping senior leaders create for themselves a life that fully supports health, stamina, reputation, skills, and relationships.
The Complete Executive closes with a 100-point self-assessment that enables readers to discover the areas of development requiring the most attention.
Benefits of Reading and Using this Book
StrategyDriven Contributors like The Complete Executive because of its immediately actionable recommendations to building ‘the whole executive.’ Whereas most books focus on just one aspect of leadership or restrict themselves to ‘the office,’ Karen goes beyond the confines of corporate life to address the wellbeing of the whole person. She recognizes that success does not begin or end within the office but is rather a result of the whole of a person’s life.
We found The Complete Executive to be an easy read; each insight accompanied by real world observations that highlighted the importance of the practice without being overly prescriptive or drawn out. As such, we believe Karen’s book would make a great compliment to any leadership development program, particularly one in which a key leadership principle is focused on each week.
The Complete Executive echoes many of the principles espoused by StrategyDriven and the StrategyDriven Professional websites; making it a StrategyDriven recommended read.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.png00StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2012-12-17 06:39:192012-12-09 17:41:44Recommended Resources – The Complete Executive
Spend well this Christmas/Holiday Season and be merry. But ‘tis the season for budgeting for the New Year as well. Unless otherwise averted, your Christmas/Holiday or otherwise discretionary budget will fade next year to infinity and beyond. The trend is that American holiday spending has diminished over the past 10 years from $1,037.00 in 2002 to $854.00 in 2012.).1 This latest statistic compares to pre-recession spending. Throw a travel budget into the mix (average of $1,200)2 and double your expenses for gas, and there you’ve got it, your discretionary budget is going, then gone to pay your new tax obligations.
The Grinch could no more create this story; it is reality.
Reality be damned, according to the bi-partisan Tax Policy Center, the average American family is expected to pay $3,500 more in taxes annually.3 This is the average for families, not millionaires or the nouveau riche defined $250,000 earners. This will affect us all, in a ho ho sized way, and I don’t mean Hostess. Take this seriously; your wallets will be lighter.
What is a family to do? Perhaps hunker down and bake gingerbread men, call your congressional representative. Now we are talking about real impact. Let us not forget, this will not only affect the ‘rich’ Americans. This is planned to hit us all in the pocketbook.
We also need to plan for Obamacare. Many of us think that this tax, as defined by the Supreme Court, won’t affect our spending and expenses; Think again. Families will need to maintain their insurance at their employer, buy insurance or pay the tax penalty, estimated at $2,085 for a family in 2016 (average consistent with income level scales).4
If employers, no, WHEN employers stop their insurance benefits, this will become more real. We have been told if you like your doctor, you would be able to keep your doctor; if you like your plan, no one will take it away. President Obama indicates that 98 percent of Americans will be unaffected by the tax penalty and suggested that those who will be, should face up to their civic responsibilities. But a more recent estimate is that more than 6 million uninsured people will pay the tax penalty, largely middle class workers including approximately 10 percent at or below the poverty level.5 Someone has to pay the piper. (With the exception of Indian tribes, Amish, wage earners of under $9,500 annually, or qualified hardships) But remember, there is no governmental control on businesses to maintain your level of benefits, period.
More than 80 percent of employers provide health care insurance to employees but this will drop considerably, if not by 50 percent. According to Price Waterhouse, at least 84 percent of employers are considering changes to health care plans to offset costs of taxes and regulations.6 Further, 50 percent are considering the elimination of health care plans presumably paying the expected penalty of $2,000 per employee to the IRS. Realizing the cost implications, this penalty is less costly than health care contributions.
Many employees, who have counted on total compensation packages including health care, will see an end to their options for benefits. But, if you have unlimited, pre-tax flexible spending accounts for medical expenses, anything over $2,500 will be taxed starting in 2013. There will be a 2.3% excise tax on medical devices and equipment that will be passed on to the patients. And starting in 2018, for employers that retain ‘Cadillac’ premium health plans, you will be taxed 40 percent for the privilege. It cuts both ways.
Call it fate, call it karma. More people to be covered, more expenses to recoup, more businesses to tax. So gather ye sugarplums while ye may. You are about to experience a change to your budget that will affect your lifestyle. This will not only affect the top one, two, or five percent. The average American family will see dramatic increases that will limit your spending ability. Perhaps there will be an eleventh hour rescue to avoid your portion of the fiscal cliff. Asking for a Congressional miracle, you may have to tug on Santa’s beard to see if it’s real.
Final Request…
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Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective podcast!
About the Author
Wendy Powell is the author of Management Experience Acquired. With more than twenty-five years of human resource and management consulting experience, Wendy has spent most of her career at the University of Michigan. She is currently on the business faculty at both Palm Beach State College and the University of Phoenix. A member of the Society of Human Resource Management, she received a leadership award in 2002 from the Midwest College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. She is routinely featured on The Huffington Post and has appeared on Fox Business’s The Strategy Room. Wendy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business management and a Master of Arts degree in organizational management.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/Base3000x3000-SDEPP.jpg30003000StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2012-12-13 06:20:372016-06-11 16:22:34StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective – Gather Ye Sugar Plums While Ye May; Your Personal Discretionary Budget will be Impacted by Washington
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Business Programs
Recommended Resources – The Pause Principle
/in Practices for Professionals, Recommended Resources/by StrategyDrivenby Kevin Cashman
About this Book
The Pause Principle: Step Back to Lead Forward
by Kevin Cashman reveals to readers the secret to dealing with their insatiable compulsion to do more and more within any given day. Kevin shows that instead of simply doing more, professionals must learn to stop, reflect, and move forward in a deliberately different manner in order to achieve more. He goes on to provide the insights and tools for pausing to accomplish more in several key areas including:
Each section is concluded with a summary of the ‘Pause Practices’ needed to excel in that area as well as a ‘Pause Point’ containing provocative questions for visioning the future you are seeking to achieve.
Benefits of Reading and Using this Book
StrategyDriven Contributors agree that today’s fast paced world compels professionals to act with a speed that limits deliberate consideration. Such restrictions heighten the risk of error, poor decisions, and deteriorating health. With the never ending push to do more with less, this condition is not likely to change soon.
The Pause Principle fills a gap within today’s leadership training. Seldom are leaders taught the value of and methods to slow down. Kevin provides actionable methods for professionals to constructively pause; using this time for valuable contemplation, innovation, and planning so to truly achieve more with less rather than at the expense of ones personal life and health.
To some extent, all professionals are decision-makers and quality decisions require deliberate contemplation. The Pause Principle reminds us of the importance of pausing so to apply the knowledge and experiences necessary for good decision-making – decision-making that leads to innovation and growth.
For its sound, immediately implementable actions promoting excellence by slowing down, The Pause Principle is a StrategyDriven recommended read.
Recommended Resources – Impatient Optimist
/in Management & Leadership, Recommended Resources/by StrategyDrivenedited by Lisa Rogak
About the Reference
Impatient Optimist
edited by Lisa Rogak reveals Bill Gates’ core beliefs about business in a way no other author has been able to achieve… because these insights come directly from Bill Gates himself. Lisa’s book systematically covers a wide range of topics from ‘Addiction to Technology’ to ‘Relinquishing Control’, from ‘Streamlining Business Processes’ to ‘His Work Habits’, and ‘Hiring Employees’ to ‘Managing Employees’.
Throughout Impatient Optimist, three predominate themes are revealed:
Benefits of Using this Reference
StrategyDriven Contributors like Impatient Optimist because it reveals the intimate thoughts and beliefs of the man who is arguably the most successful business leader of all time but who is also one of the world’s greatest philanthropists. Many of Bill Gates’ approaches align well with the principles and philosophies we recommend business leaders adopt to further their organization’s success. While we recognize some may disagree with Bill Gates’ approach to certain circumstances – and on occasion we do too – all agree he is one of the great business leaders who continues to shape our modern world.
StrategyDriven Contributors appreciated the layout of Impatient Optimist, the organization of quotes around meaningful topic areas, the dating of each quote, and Bill Gates’ life story timeline provided at the end of the book. We found that knowing the setting and circumstances of the Bill Gates’ quotes provided insightful context from which to interpret them. As such, we recommend first-time readers review the ‘Milestones’ timeline presented at the end of the book first and refer to it often when reading individual quotes.
For it’s intimate portrayal of an American entrepreneurial icon, Impatient Optimist is a StrategyDriven recommended read.
Organizational Accountability Warning Flag 3 – Artificial Retainer Driven Complacency
/in Organizational Accountability, Premium, Talent Management/by StrategyDrivenJosh Billings (1818 – 1885)
American humorist
It’s a natural human tendency to seek the path of least resistance. For executives, managers, and supervisors, this practice translates into assigning the difficult and emergent work activities to top performers, diverting work away from under-performers, and avoiding employee confrontations. The latter action erodes accountability. Leaders who do not address the shortcomings of under-performers including the provision of overly positive (even if neutral) feedback and unearned rewards (relative to top performers) loudly proclaim the merits of non-performance. Continued high performance and retention of top talent reinforces these errant practices until one day the lack of accountability drives the company’s best employees to a competitor’s business.
Hi there! Gain access to this article with a StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription or buy access to the article itself.
Sign-up now for your StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription for as low as $15 / month (paid annually).
Not sure? Click here to learn more.
Don’t need a subscription? Buy access to Organizational Accountability Warning Flag 3 – Artificial Retainer Driven Complacency for just $2!
Additional Information
Additional information regarding artificial employment restraints and how individuals can overcome them is contained within the StrategyDriven Professional Development article, Artificial Employment Restraints.
Recommended Resources – The Complete Executive
/in Management & Leadership, Practices for Professionals, Recommended Resources/by StrategyDrivenby Karen Wright
About the Book
The Complete Executive: The 10-Step System for Great Leadership Performance
by Karen Wright provides actionable insights to developing the habits and practices necessary to succeed in high-level leadership positions. Karen organized her insights into ten topical collections covering:
Taken together, these collections focus on helping senior leaders create for themselves a life that fully supports health, stamina, reputation, skills, and relationships.
The Complete Executive closes with a 100-point self-assessment that enables readers to discover the areas of development requiring the most attention.
Benefits of Reading and Using this Book
StrategyDriven Contributors like The Complete Executive because of its immediately actionable recommendations to building ‘the whole executive.’ Whereas most books focus on just one aspect of leadership or restrict themselves to ‘the office,’ Karen goes beyond the confines of corporate life to address the wellbeing of the whole person. She recognizes that success does not begin or end within the office but is rather a result of the whole of a person’s life.
We found The Complete Executive to be an easy read; each insight accompanied by real world observations that highlighted the importance of the practice without being overly prescriptive or drawn out. As such, we believe Karen’s book would make a great compliment to any leadership development program, particularly one in which a key leadership principle is focused on each week.
The Complete Executive echoes many of the principles espoused by StrategyDriven and the StrategyDriven Professional websites; making it a StrategyDriven recommended read.
StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective – Gather Ye Sugar Plums While Ye May; Your Personal Discretionary Budget will be Impacted by Washington
/in StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective/by Wendy PowellThe Grinch could no more create this story; it is reality.
Reality be damned, according to the bi-partisan Tax Policy Center, the average American family is expected to pay $3,500 more in taxes annually.3 This is the average for families, not millionaires or the nouveau riche defined $250,000 earners. This will affect us all, in a ho ho sized way, and I don’t mean Hostess. Take this seriously; your wallets will be lighter.
What is a family to do? Perhaps hunker down and bake gingerbread men, call your congressional representative. Now we are talking about real impact. Let us not forget, this will not only affect the ‘rich’ Americans. This is planned to hit us all in the pocketbook.
We also need to plan for Obamacare. Many of us think that this tax, as defined by the Supreme Court, won’t affect our spending and expenses; Think again. Families will need to maintain their insurance at their employer, buy insurance or pay the tax penalty, estimated at $2,085 for a family in 2016 (average consistent with income level scales).4
If employers, no, WHEN employers stop their insurance benefits, this will become more real. We have been told if you like your doctor, you would be able to keep your doctor; if you like your plan, no one will take it away. President Obama indicates that 98 percent of Americans will be unaffected by the tax penalty and suggested that those who will be, should face up to their civic responsibilities. But a more recent estimate is that more than 6 million uninsured people will pay the tax penalty, largely middle class workers including approximately 10 percent at or below the poverty level.5 Someone has to pay the piper. (With the exception of Indian tribes, Amish, wage earners of under $9,500 annually, or qualified hardships) But remember, there is no governmental control on businesses to maintain your level of benefits, period.
More than 80 percent of employers provide health care insurance to employees but this will drop considerably, if not by 50 percent. According to Price Waterhouse, at least 84 percent of employers are considering changes to health care plans to offset costs of taxes and regulations.6 Further, 50 percent are considering the elimination of health care plans presumably paying the expected penalty of $2,000 per employee to the IRS. Realizing the cost implications, this penalty is less costly than health care contributions.
Many employees, who have counted on total compensation packages including health care, will see an end to their options for benefits. But, if you have unlimited, pre-tax flexible spending accounts for medical expenses, anything over $2,500 will be taxed starting in 2013. There will be a 2.3% excise tax on medical devices and equipment that will be passed on to the patients. And starting in 2018, for employers that retain ‘Cadillac’ premium health plans, you will be taxed 40 percent for the privilege. It cuts both ways.
Call it fate, call it karma. More people to be covered, more expenses to recoup, more businesses to tax. So gather ye sugarplums while ye may. You are about to experience a change to your budget that will affect your lifestyle. This will not only affect the top one, two, or five percent. The average American family will see dramatic increases that will limit your spending ability. Perhaps there will be an eleventh hour rescue to avoid your portion of the fiscal cliff. Asking for a Congressional miracle, you may have to tug on Santa’s beard to see if it’s real.
Final Request…
Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective podcast!
About the Author
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