The germ of an idea doesn't make the sculpture that stands up... so the next stage is hard work
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiRead
We have learned how to develop five-minute and even one-minute managers. But we would do better to ask ourselves what it takes to be an executive who helps build a better future.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of long-term vision in leadership over quick managerial techniques.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi encourages leaders to focus on fostering a sustainable and positive future rather than merely employing efficient short-term management strategies. By reflecting on what it means to be a forward-thinking executive, he suggests that true leadership goes beyond managing daily tasks and includes a commitment to meaningful progress and development.
Themes
LeadershipFutureManagementExecutiveVision
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a leadership seminar to inspire executives to think about their impact on the future.
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To live means to experience-through doing, feeling, thinking. Experience takes place in time, so time is the ultimate scarce resource we have. Over the years, the content of experience will determine the quality of life. Therefore one of the most essential decisions any of us can make is about how one's time is allocated or invested.
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It is as if evolution has built a safety device in our nervous system that allows us to experience full happiness only when we are living at 100%-when we are fully using the physical and mental equipment we have been given.
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Our jobs determine to a large extent what our lives are like. Is what you do for a living making you ill? Does it keep you from becoming a more fully realized person? Do you feel ashamed of what you have to do at work? All too often, the answer to such questions is yes. Yet it does not have to be like that. Work can be one of the most joyful, most fulfilling aspects of life. Whether it will be or not depends on the actions we collectively take.
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiRead
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