"Go with your gut"- we've all heard this advice before, but do we regularly apply it, or do you talk yourself into sorting through all of the facts so you can follow your head?  We all know the battle between determining when to use our head or to let our gut lead the way.  You are stuck between two choices, need to make a decision, or are at cross roads, and you desperately wish you had a crystal ball or psychic intuition to tell you what to do.  Following our instincts so we can make better, smarter decisions, which lets your experience and expertise guide you, can help you to excel the success of your career and business.  Did you know that about 50% of big decisions in businesses end with the gut?

Managing anything can certainly have its ups and downs and much depends upon the success of the manager.  Think about the best managers you have ever had (or have). What qualities made you think of them first?  Chances are it had a lot to do with how they made you feel.  Managers (including teachers, parents, spouses, even friends) have the ability to impact each and every interaction either positively or negatively. The result of that influence is powerful and can certainly affect relationships, productivity, and even health. 

At some point in your life I bet you have taken some form of a time management class.  Mine was the original Franklin Covey time management seminar, where you purchased the Covey planner of your choice and then learned how to effectively use it with the Covey system.  Over the course of several years, I think I owned and attempted to use each planner size they made in hopes of finding the perfect solution for my needs.  Obviously, something wasn't working, and I was searching for a workable answer. 

The definition of leadership is so much more than the words used in the dictionary.  There are so many facets to the meaning of the word.  Leaders are usually self-made and successful through hard work and making tough decisions.  The good news is leadership is not about a person's title on a business card.  Instead, it's about taking action and achieving goals, not about position.  So if we believe that leadership begins and ends with action, then all of us have certainly taken some positive form of action in our lives; therefore, we are all leaders.  I feel all to often people misinterpret their own ability to lead. To be a leader you don't necessarily have to have followers.  You just have to individually take action on achieving your own personal goals. Are you making a real difference in your world by your leadership, and what can you do to challenge yourself? 

Every internal review of a company's marketing should ask four questions that have not been typical of marketing reviews until now:  

• In our industry, are we second to none technologically?  
• Among service industries, and compared with firms of our approximate size, are we second to none technologically?  
• Are we doing all we need today to be second to none two years from now?  
• Have we carefully considered innovative ways that new technology can be used to improve our service and grow our business?

- Harry Beckwith, Selling the Invisible

However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.

- Sir Winston Churchill