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A fresh focus to keep you aware and informed
A Sense of Urgency by John Kotter (quick video link to Kotter on urgency here)
This new book by the Harvard Professor of Leadership elaborates on his insistent theme that gut level urgency is a practical necessity for success in business today. In these times of commercial pressure and velocity of change, managers must work faster, smarter, incisively and with clear focus.
We simply do not have the luxury of complacency or the anxiety-driven frenetic activity that Kotter calls 'false urgency'. A true sense of urgency is a set of behaviours and attitudes that :
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reduce frustration
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raise energy
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focus on what is important
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get rid of 'junk'
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clarify thinking on what really makes a difference
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dramatically raise performance and results
"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States
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