Recent Articles From EvanCarmichael.com http://www.evancarmichael.com/ http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/An-Accountant-or-a-Leader--but-rarely-both.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/An-Accountant-or-a-Leader--but-rarely-both.html Sometimes I think that the world is divided between the people who make things happen and those that account for it. I know it is an over simplification but all the personality assessments, type indicators and their like break us into four types: The Pragmatic, the Analytical, the Amiable and the Extrovert. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/Having-a-Purpose.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/Having-a-Purpose.html As children we are always asking the question ‘why?’ This often results in the majority of adults becoming frustrated with our incessant questioning. Through this we learn to tone down our questions as we get older. This, however, does not mean that we are not curious and do not want to know. In our workplace, or anywhere we are asked to make a commitment and strive to achieve something, the question looming in our mind is why? Why are we doing this? What is the point? What will we achieve as a result of doing this? http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/The-Day-our-Icons-let-us-down.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/The-Day-our-Icons-let-us-down.html In the seventies Marks and Spencer plc, in UK was the icon of the retail industry. Everyone used M&S as a benchmark by which they measured their performance and aspired to achieve. National Westminster Bank was the biggest bank in UK and the bank that handled the Bank of England. British Airways was the major airline in the world and a company that other airlines looked up to. There were similar organizations in North America as well and other parts of the world. Then the world changed. In the 80’s the world shifted gear. The icons were found to be set in their traditional ways. In fact all three of these companies were challenged to the level that they nearly disappeared. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/Pushing-Boundaries.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/Pushing-Boundaries.html Have you ever noticed how children are constantly pushing boundaries and checking how far they can push things? It is a natural thing to do as the child endeavors to discover what works and why. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/Being-Connected.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/Being-Connected.html There is an interesting situation in the work place these days caused by the social networking sites. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/Another-Conference.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/Another-Conference.html Who would put a team together that did not share the common goals and seek to work in harmony to complete the outcome? http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/Remaining-Focused.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/Remaining-Focused.html Christopher Columbus set sail heading West to look for new lands. It was a daring move at a time of growing national imperialism and economic competition between states. It was risky and many thought that he would disappear off the edge of the world. However, Columbus remained focused even though he did not know exactly what he would find. In fact, he totally underestimated the circumference of the world and when he landed in the Bahamas he thought he had landed on the East Asian mainland. As with all these voyages in history, Columbus prepared as best he could for the months ahead. In part he was preparing for the unknown, but there was a lot he knew he could plan for and he recognized that his team would need to be able to adapt and change as challenges arose. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/Obama-on-Leadership.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/Obama-on-Leadership.html After eight years of the Bush Administration and the last year of electioneering, the whole world watched in January, as the first African-American took the oath of office and became the 44th President of United States of America. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/When-to-Fold-em.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/When-to-Fold-em.html One of the important aspects of leadership is to know when to stand firm and when to fold. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/Global-View.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Leadership/2029/Global-View.html Survive - but also get prepared to Thrive