If you have to prove it . . .

In discussing the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis, author William Cohan wrote about an interview that Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz had on March 12.  During the interview, Schwartz said "We put out a statement that our liquidity and balance sheet are strong, and maybe I should expand on that a little."

Cohan reflected on this statement with a reference to Walter Bagehot's comment in 1873:  "Every banker knows that if he has to prove that he is worthy of credit, however good may be his arguements, in fact his credit it gone."

Many people rely on statements of quality in lieu of demonstrated, consistent performance.  

Reference:  William D. Cohan, House of Cards:  A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street (New York, Doubleday, 2009), p. 35.

Reviewing Goal Setting; Kinder and Kinder

It is good for leaders to review the basics on Goal Setting.  One of the best discussions I know about goals setting is Kinder and Kinder.  They list four simple principles.

• Goals Must Be Achievable 
• Goals Must Be Believable 
• Goals Must Be Measurable 
• Goals Must Have Deadline

We constantly set goals, however, sometime we violate these basic principles.  Review these principles from time to time and confirm that goals meet these criteria.


Reference:  Jack Kinder, Garry Kinder, and Val Ivanov, Building the Master Agency (Cincinnati, National Underwriting Company, 2002), Chapter One: Planning, pp. 1-21.

Grit for Success: Duckworth at TED

Great TED Talk recently posted on their website.

 “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint.”

 

Link to TED page:  http://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit.html