Performance Management Quotes: An obstacle is what you see when you lose sight of the goal

“Some people achieve the top of the ladder and only then realize it was standing against the wrong wall.”
Stephen Covey, 1932-, Author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

“For progressive people the present is the beginning of the future. For conservative people the present is the end of the past.”
Karl Mannheim, 1893-1947, One of the founding fathers of classical sociology

“Seek not to know all the answers but to understand the questions.”
Kwai Chang Caine, 1972-1975, fictional television character played by David Carradine

“Distance is not a problem. It’s taking the first step that is difficult.”
Marquise du Deffand, 1697-1780, French hostess and patron of the arts

“You never know where your actions will lead to. But if you don’t do anything they will lead you nowhere.”
Mohandas Gandhi, 1869-1948, Spiritual leader of India during independence movement

“Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.”
Peter F. Drucker 1909-, American management guru

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
Sun Tzŭ c. 490 BC, Chinese military strategist 

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.
Peter F. Drucker, American Management Guru

The essence of competitiveness is liberated when we make people believe that what they think and do is important – and then get out of their way while they do it.
Jack Welch, former CEO of GE

It is much more difficult to measure non performance than performance.
Harold S. Geneen, former CEO of ITT

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.
Michelangelo, Italian sculptor, painter, architect & poet

It is an immutable law in business that words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises—but only performance is reality.
Harold S. Geneen, 1910-1997, communications executive

The man who starts out going nowhere, generally gets there.
Dale Carnegie, 1888-1955, author and pioneer in self-improvement and interpersonal skills

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.
Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German philosopher

There’s nothing so useless than executing a task efficiently when it actually never should have been executed at all.
Peter Drucker, 1909-, American management guru

Treat people the way they are and they will stay that way. Treat people the way they can become and they will become that way.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832, German writer and author of Faust

The value of achievement lies in the achieving.
Albert Einstein 1879-1955, German-born American theoretical physicist

An economist is someone who knows all the answers to last years’ questions.
Robert Orben, 1927-, American magician and professional comedy writer

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.
Stephen Covey, 1932-, Author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

What’s your favorite performance management quote?

THE REAL TEST: TRUTHFULNESS, GOODNESS AND USEFULNESS: A Didactic Story

THE REAL TEST

One day a known person approached Chankya and enthusiastically started saying, “Do you know, just a while ago, I heard few things from you friend about you?”

Chankya was famous for his wisdom, knowledge and good behavior. He said to his known person, “Before I listen to what you have to say, I would like to test it through my three step testing.”

“What is this three step test?”, the person asked.

Chankya made him understand, “ Before you tell me about what my friend has said, let us test it. I call this testing – a three step test. The first test is of truth-ness. Is it sure that whatever you are going to say is a truth?”
“No”, the person dais, “ I have heard it from somewhere.”

“Okay”, Chankaya analyzed. “If you don’t know whether this is truth or not, we will do another test. The second test is for goodness. Are you going to tell me some good thing about my friend?”

“No, it’s opposite to it…..”

“Then”, Chankya asked further. “Whatever you are going to say, is not the truth, is not positive about my friend then lets do the third test. The third test is of usefulness. Whatever you are going to tell me, is that useful to me?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

Chankya then said the last thing.

“Whatever you are suppose to tell me, it is not true, its not positive and its not useful also, then why you want to tell me?”

The Lesson: ANY INFORMATION MUST BE CHECKED ON THESE THREE PARAMETERS OF – TRUTHFULNESS, GOODNESS AND USEFULNESS.

The Moment of Truth: A Didactic Story

Moment of Truth

There was a young student-archer who reached such proficiency in his art that he could shoot an arrow into a tree and then cleave that arrow into two with the next shot.

He began to boast that he was a greater archer than his guru.

One day his guru, a venerable old man in his 70's, asked the youth to accompany him on a trip across the hills. The journey was uneventful until they came to a deep chasm.

A single log spanned the chasm. The guru walked down to the centre of the log, unshouldered his bow and taking an arrow shot it into a tree on the other side. His next shot cleaved the first arrow into two.

"Now it's your turn," he said, walking back to where his student was standing.

The youth stepped gingerly on the log and very slowly and carefully made his way to the middle. But his heart was in his mouth. He knew that if he lost his footing, he would plunge to his death. His hands trembled as he strung an arrow into his bow. Preoccupied with the danger he was in, he found it hard to focus on the target. Consequently when he let go of the arrow, it missed the tree altogether. Whimpering, he turned around.

"Help me!" he shouted to his guru. "I'll fall"

The old man walked up to him, took his hand and stepping backwards led him to safety. Neither of them said a word on the return journey but the boy had much to think about.  

The Lesson: He had realized that to be a master of his art it was not enough to know how to control the bow, he had to learn how to control his mind too.