The Thoughtful Leaders Blog
Posted by Lisa Kohn on February 16, 2012
 I grew up singing this lyric, as nearly everyone from New York or New Jersey did…and yet only very recently has it stuck in my mind as a useful concept for leadership – in life and in business.
There are so many things we face, so many challenges that come our way, and so many times we feel overwhelmed and beaten down. We are surrounded by change, and get stuck in the midst of everything that is happening around us. We can’t see the forest through the trees; can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel; can’t see the way out of the craziness that surrounds and envelops us. Things change, and change, and change again, and we’re expected to flow with it and still excel. And as a leader, we’re also expected to help others through the change and the challenges.
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Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on February 13, 2012
“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” John Quincy Adams
Ever notice that sometimes when you are about to give up – when you’ve tried too hard or too long and the obstacles seem too great, when you just don’t have it in you to keep going – as if by magic, you have a breakthrough. I see this in my own life, when the prospects with whom I have been following up with for years finally bring us in for a project. I witness it in the lives of my clients, when the proposal they’ve put before their boss, which has seemingly disappeared, is brought back as a topic of discussion…and then funded. I notice it in the life of my son, who has literally cried his way through homework because handwriting is so difficult for him, and then one day he found himself easily putting pencil to paper and capturing his thoughts without struggling. In each one of these instances, frustration has been high and we’ve all been at the “breaking point,” but when we’ve been patient, when we’ve persevered, it has been magical.
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Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on February 6, 2012
“Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.” Ancient Chinese proverb
Truth be told, my perfectionist days are not all over…
There are still many times when I slip and realize that I have been, once again, beating myself up for not getting, doing, or knowing something fast enough, well enough, or good enough. When I’m wondering why I’m not at the pinnacle of the mountain “yet” – why I’m still climbing and moving so slowly you’d think I was walking backwards…
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Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on January 30, 2012
“Doing more of what doesn’t work won’t make it work any better.” Charles J. Givens
This quote made me laugh. It’s so true. Yet somehow we seem to forget and we continue to operate on the belief that if we just try harder, even if it’s not working, we’ll somehow figure it out and push things through.
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Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on January 23, 2012
“A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her.” David Brinkley
I was speaking with a colleague recently who told her tale of woe about a large project she was heading up at work. She shared a litany of roadblocks and obstacles. “Every time I turn around,” she said, “It’s like someone else has come up with yet another ridiculous hoop I have to jump through and a reason why my project will fail…or shouldn’t even be started. At times I just want to quit.”
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Posted by Lisa Kohn on January 19, 2012
 Someone forwarded me another TED video – they always make me think, and I always want to share them.
Barry Schwartz speaks about our loss of wisdom. He argues that our society, businesses, and lives are becoming increasingly stuck on rules and incentives, and that what we need in order to thrive is instead practical, everyday wisdom that will guide us to do the “right” thing.
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Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on January 16, 2012
“Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.” Helen Keller
I’ve noticed a pattern in my life, and sometimes in the lives of others. Something will go “wrong” for me, or something will happen that I don’t like or don’t want, and I’m driven to push against it. Without realizing it, I find myself complaining, or strategizing how to fight the issue, or the person, I’m up against. At times I even plunge into frustration and darkness, overwhelmed with how “wrong” everything is and how hopeless I feel to change things. And the more I push against, the more the issue or situation seems to overcome me.
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Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on January 9, 2012
“You don’t have to suffer continual chaos in order to grow.” John C. Lilly
We have been taught since we were young, “No pain, no gain.” I no longer adhere to that approach.
The world is filled with organisms that grow without pain and chaos. People grow, cities grow, businesses grow, flowers grow – all, at times, without chaos and pain. The world shows us that it is entirely possible, and yet when I share this concept with my clients, they find it enlightening.
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Posted by Lisa Kohn on January 5, 2012
 It’s that time of year. The weather is (finally) cold, at least here in the mid-Atlantic states. The holiday season is officially over. The gym is more crowded than usual at 5:30 in the morning. A new year is here.
Everyone is friendlier during the change of years. People I don’t usually talk with are wishing me a “Happy New Year.” People I talk with but don’t know that well are offering me hugs. And everyone is asking me what my New Year’s resolutions are.
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Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on January 2, 2012
“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” Mark Twain
Sometimes I think that nothing gets in our way as much as our certainty. We argue with others incessantly, steadfastly insisting how right we are on a specific topic, even when they have proof as to another answer. We maintain that our view of a situation or a person is the Truth, and simply refuse to consider that others may view things differently. Somehow we’re simply sure, and nothing can convince us otherwise.
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View Robyn McLeod's profile
Lisa, your “Critical Success Factors to Managing Change” is so relevant to what’s happening in my company right now. Altho a bit late, it’s going on my bosses desk today. Thanks! – Brian
Glad it is relevant and hope it helps! Thanks for the comment.