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The Difference Between "winners" And "losers" Is Not Whether They Face Obstacles And Setbacks - We All Do, And It Is Inevitable That Plans Do Not Unfold Exactly As Imagined Or That Unexpected Events Surprise Us Or That A Few Mistakes Happen. The Real Difference Is That "winners" Bounce Back From A Fumble Or A Loss By Refusing To Panic, Analyzing The Situation And Looking For Positive Actions They Can Take To Correct The Problem, And Then Go On To Resume Winning.

-Rosabeth Moss Kanter

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The Difference Between "winners"

Rosabeth Moss Kanter

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The Difference Between "winners" And "losers" Is Not Whether They Face Obstacles And Setbacks - We All Do, And It Is Inevitable That Plans Do Not Unfold Exactly As Imagined Or That Unexpected Events Surprise Us Or That A Few Mistakes Happen. The Real Difference Is That "winners" Bounce Back From A Fumble Or A Loss By Refusing To Panic, Analyzing The Situation And Looking For Positive Actions They Can Take To Correct The Problem, And Then Go On To Resume Winning.

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Confidence Is Not Just In People's Heads; It Comes From The Culture Of The Organization. It's Easier To Expect Success When Working In An Organization That Has A Culture Of Accountability, Collaboration, And Initiative. Without This, It's Easier - And More Self-protective - To Assume Failure So The Person Is Not Disappointed And Instead Pleasantly Surprised.

It Is Easier To Talk About Money -- And Much Easier To Talk About Sex -- Than It Is To Talk About Power. People Who Have It Deny It; People Who Want It Do Not Want To Appear To Hunger For It; And People Who Engage In Its Machinations Do So Secretly.

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Sometimes You Lose - Perhaps Because You Play Against The Very Best, Or Because Surprises Happen - But If There Is Organizational Confidence, You Bounce Back From Losses And Convert Them To Successes.

I Was Determined To Achieve The Total Freedom That Our History Lessons Taught Us We Were Entitled To, No Matter What The Sacrifice.

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It Takes Courage To Speak Up Against Complacency And Injustice While Others Remain Silent. But That's What Leadership Is.

I've Been Looking At Companies That Are On A Positive Path Vs. A Negative Path And I've Come To Use The Language Of Sports, Winning Streaks And Losing Streaks.

Leadership Is One Of The Most Enduring, Universal Human Responsibilities.

In The Most Innovative Companies There Is A Significantly Higher Volume Of Thank Yous Than In Companies Of Low Innovation.

After Years Of Telling Corporate Citizens To 'trust The System,' Many Companies Must Relearn Instead To Trust Their People - And Encourage Their People To Use Neglected Creative Capacities In Order To Tap The Most Potent Economic Stimulus Of All: Idea Power.

Creativity Is A Lot Like Looking At The World Through A Kaleidoscope. You Look At A Set Of Elements, The Same Ones Everyone Else Sees, But Then Reassemble Those Floating Bits And Pieces Into An Enticing New Possibility.

Innovative Organizations Provide The Freedom To Act Which Arouses The Desire To Act.

You've No Future Unless You Add Value, Create Projects.

Those Enjoying Winning Streaks Thus Win Twofold. They Win Not Only The Game But Also The Right To Greater Self-determination. They Become Masters Of Their Own Fate. That Feeling Of Efficacy, Of Being In Charge Of Circumstances, Is The Essence Of Confidence. Winning Once Or Twice Is Encouraging, But Winning Continuously Is Empowering.

Companies Used To Be Able To Function With Autocratic Bosses. We Don't Live In That World Anymore.

Winning Becomes Easier Over Time As The Cornerstones Of Confidence Become Habits.

Embrace Change As An Opportunity To Learn, To Improve, To Make A Difference In Others' Lives As Well As In Your Own. Have The Courage To Challenge The Status Quo. Remember That Preparation And Ambition In Combination With Opportunity Equals Success. And Have Fun!

... People Are Capable Of More Than Their Organizational Positions Ever Give Them The Tools Or The Time Or The Opportunity To Demonstrate.

The Very Lack Of Opportunity The Group Faces Creates A Self-defeating Cycle And Puts Pressure On Members To Limit Their Aspirations.

America Can Restore Its Strengths As The World-respected Land Of Opportunity By Returning To Open-society Principles. An Open Society Invests In People And New Ideas, Rewards Talent And Hard Work, Values Dialogue And Learns From Dissent, Operates To High Standards With Transparent Information, Looks For Common Ground, Sees Problems As Opportunities For Creative Change, And Encourages Those Who Are Fortunate To Help Others Get The Same Chance, Because Service Is The Highest Ideal. With Such Standards In Mind, America The Beautiful Can Return To Its Admired Role As America The Principled.

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Making A Difference

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Friendly People Are Caring People, Eager To Provide Encouragement And Support When Needed Most.

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To Stay Ahead, You Must Have Your Next Idea Waiting In The Wings.

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The Degree To Which The Opportunity To Use Power Effectively Is Granted To Or Withheld From Individuals Is One Operative Difference Between Those Companies Which Stagnate And Those Which Innovate.

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Perpetuating Success Or Sliding Into Decline Is The Result Of Many Intersecting Forces That Reinforce One Another Directly And Indirectly. They Are Both Cause And Effect Of Winning Or Losing. Winning Generates Positive Forces, Losing Generates Negative Forces.

Lack Of Opportunity Breeds Dreams Of Escape. But Professionals And Managers Who Have Invested In Their Careers Do Not Leave The Work Force As Frequently As Discouraged Workers In Lower Status Occupations. Instead, They Keep Working, But They Escape Emotionally By Defining Achievement In Professional, Not Company, Terms. ... Thus, The Potential For Being Stuck As Career Uncertainty Grows Takes Its Toll In Weakening Attachment To Any Particular Employer.

Confidence Is Not Lodged In People's Brains, It Comes From The Support System That Surrounds Them. Let's Not Confuse Confidence Overall With Just Self-confidence. Self-confidence Is Only One Part Of Confidence. People Also Need Confidence In Others - Their Colleagues And Leaders - That They Can Count On Them To Do The Right Thing And Not To Let Them Down.

The Positive Outlook That Optimists Project Does Not Come From Ignoring Or Denying Problems. Optimists Simply Assume That Problems Are Temporary And Can Be Solved, So Optimists Naturally Want More Information About Problems Because Then They Can Get To Work And Do Something. Pessimists Are More Likely To Believe That There Is Nothing They Can Do Anyway, So What's The Point Of Even Thinking About It?

Change Is Like Putting Lipstick On A Bulldog. The Bulldog's Appearance Hasn't Improved, But Now It's Really Angry.

The Goal Of Winning Is Not Losing Two Times In A Row.

No" Is Always An Easier Stand Than "yes.

One Of The Symptoms Of A Losing Streak Is A Turnover Of Top Executives. It's A Revolving Door.

The Boomers' Biggest Impact Will Be On Eliminating The Term 'retirement' And Inventing A New Stage Of Life... The New Career Arc.

Time Is A Function Of Impact. The Longer A Book Of Mine Has Been In Print, The Greater Its Impact Seems To Be As People Absorb And Digest My Ideas. I Am Especially Proud Of The Change Master: Innovation And Entrepreneurship In The American Corporation, First Published In 1983, Because It Raised Questions And Addressed Issues At A Time When So Many Great Changes Were Occurring In Our Society, Indeed Throughout The World.

Leaders Are More Powerful Role Models When They Learn Than When They Teach.

Thinkers, Makers And Traders Are The Dna Of The World Class Company

"leadership" Is A Big Topic Today. We Know That The World - Nations And Communities In Addition To Companies - Needs More And Better Leaders. So I Wanted To Explore How Leaders Make A Difference, How They Can Shift A Negative Cycle, Turn Around A Losing Organization, Propel A Team To Victory When Conditions Aren't Perfect. I Saw That What Leaders Do Is Build Confidence In Advance Of Victory. Then The Confidence They Produce Makes The Hope Of Success Turn Into The Reality Of Success, Because People Behave Differently When They Are Surrounded By A Culture Of Confidence.

Money Should Never Be Separated From Values. Detached From Values It May Indeed Be The Root Of All Evil. Linked Effectively To Social Purpose It Can Be The Root Of Opportunity.

Even The New Feminist Research On Sex-role Socialization And Sex Differences Has Sometimes Had The Unfortunate Consequence Of Creating A New Set Of Stereotypes About What Women Feel And How Women Behave. Despite The Large Amount Of Overlap Between The Sexes In Most Research, The Tendency To Label And Polarize And Thus To Exaggerate Differences Remains In Much Reporting Of Data, Which May, For Example, Report The Mean Scores Of Male And Female Populations But Not The Degree Of Overlap.

Everything Looks Like A Failure In The Middle. In Neary Every Change Project, Doubt Is Cast On The Original Vision Because Problems Are Mounting And The End Is Nowhere In Sight.

Power Is America's Last Dirty Word. It Is Easier To Talk About Money - And Much Easier To Talk About Sex - Than It Is To Talk About Power.

The Most Radical Thing We Can Do Is Connect People To One Another. That Starts Conversations Toward A Vision For Change.

Leaders Must Wake People Out Of Inertia. They Must Get People Excited About Something They've Never Seen Before, Something That Does Not Yet Exist.

I've Found That Small Wins, Small Projects, Small Differences Often Make Huge Differences.

The Importance Of Discretion Increases With Closeness To The Top Of A Hierarchical Organization.

Confidence Isn't Optimism Or Pessimism, And It's Not A Character Attribute. It's The Expectation Of A Positive Outcome.

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