Thoughts on people, teams, organizations, communities, effectiveness and success
Albert Einstein noted “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
So what’s up with the craving for the sweet smell of success people that people are determined to avoid the taint of failure?
Biotech CEO Robert Johnson told me that when he did business development at Lilly he was paid to bring deals forward for the firm to consider.… Read the rest
Trust, it’s been suggested, is comprised of three underlying elements: motive, reliability, and competence. Have all three and you have trust; miss on one and you likely have skepticism and distrust.
This post helps you to better understand the motive part of the equation, and how you can improve the ability of people to trust you.
Just as with working as a candidate with recruiters – see Can You Trust the Recruiter?… Read the rest
You work hard, try to do the right thing, and frequently put the interests of others ahead of your own. You’re a good guy. But does that mean you’ll be a success?
“Nice guys finish last” is an adage we all know, and it suggests that not only do nice people do poorly in the competitive world of things sports and corporations, but apparently can even finish badly in the dating game.… Read the rest
Given the choice between career success and career failure I’ll likely take success. Heck I’m like anyone else; who do you know who hates succeding?
The trouble with success – one of many – is that most of your learning comes from the bumps of failure, not the sweetness of accomplishment. The biggest derailer in my experience as an executive coach is a lack of smaller mistakes and failure early in someone’s career.… Read the rest
My 96-year old mother died last week after a 12-month bout with dementia, and a much briefer tussle with pneumonia.
While I had been fortunate to spend good time with her in Portland earlier this year while she mostly remembered who I was, I missed her passing by an hour Thursday. The flight that I had scrambled to move up a day from Friday due to a steep decline in her health the previous afternoon was landing at the PDX airport when she passed away peacefully in the presence of my sister and my younger niece.… Read the rest
The headline for the story in the Wall Street Journal by Jonathan Rockoff said it all: Pfizer to Pay Academics to Find Uses for Molecules.
Rather than have their own researchers take a crack at it, Pfizer is spending $22.5M to have researchers at the medical school at Washington University in St. Louis review approximately 500 Pfizer molecules to see if they can be used for other purposes than those for which were either approved, or are in current research for a different use, or failed in clinical trials.… Read the rest