Posted on May 29, 2009 by Michael Ray Hopkin
Great leaders are tested and tried in many ways. They persevere through trials and develop the ability to weather tough storms. Calvin Coolidge, 30th US President, summed it up nicely: Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; [...]
Filed under: Leadership, Purpose | Tagged: determination, persistence, principles, success | Leave a Comment »
Posted on May 26, 2009 by Michael Ray Hopkin
Working as a product manager has at least one interesting side effect: you become keenly aware of customer service in nearly every aspect of your day-to-day activities. At the end of the day, happy customers spread the word about your products and services and you get more happy customers. So when you go into a [...]
Filed under: Leadership, Product Management / Marketing, Trust | Tagged: Communication, customer service, Delta, Hilton, honesty, Marriott, social media, Universal Studios | Leave a Comment »
Posted on May 23, 2009 by Michael Ray Hopkin
“The biggest mistake most of us make in the first half [of our lives] is not taking enough time for the things that are really important.” In his book HALFTIME: Moving from Success to Significance, author Bob Buford explores three stages of life: The first half: On average, the first 40 years of your life. [...]
Filed under: Leadership, Purpose | Tagged: beliefs, Bob Buford, career, Halftime, significance, success | Leave a Comment »
Posted on May 18, 2009 by Michael Ray Hopkin
I picked up the book The Sticking Point Solution: 9 Ways to Move Your Business From Stagnation to Stunning Growth In Tough Economic Times by Jay Abraham to give me something to read on a flight today. Given the book’s title I wasn’t sure what to expect (‘sticking point’ and ‘stagnation’ are not words I [...]
Filed under: Leadership, Trust | Tagged: brand equity, humility, Jay Abraham, market, position, relationships, research, service, trusted advisor | Leave a Comment »
Posted on May 16, 2009 by Michael Ray Hopkin
Here’s a great quote on the importance of taking initiative: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Wayne Gretzky, Canadian hockey player known as “The Great One.” Take inventory of the opportunities you have, decide which ones make sense, and take the shot. Be habitual about taking initiative.
Filed under: Leadership, Purpose | Tagged: initiative, opportunities, Wayne Gretzky | 1 Comment »
Posted on May 14, 2009 by Michael Ray Hopkin
If you want to succeed, create value for other people. This principle has been taught by many leadership gurus and success coaches for decades. My friend Dr. Paul discusses the concept of creating value for others in a recent podcast episode. If you get really clear about what you love and what you do well, [...]
Filed under: Leadership, Trust | Tagged: Chris Brogan, David Meerman Scott, Dr. Paul, leadership principles, success, value | 2 Comments »
Posted on May 12, 2009 by Michael Ray Hopkin
Every product and service we have today was once an idea. Even the most basic items did not exist before someone (or ones) came up with an impression of a product or service that would be useful in some way. When you stop and think about it, the number of incredible products and services available [...]
Filed under: Innovation, Knowledge, Leadership, Market-driven, Product Management / Marketing | Tagged: Carol Bartz, customer focus, products, services, strategy, Yahoo! | 3 Comments »
Posted on May 9, 2009 by Michael Ray Hopkin
Does your list of great leaders include your mother? We’re all here because of our mothers and we all (hopefully) love our mothers. We know what they did to help us get to where we are today. What we too often forget is that mothers truly are leaders. This lesson is summed up nicely in [...]
Filed under: Leadership | Tagged: Dan McCarthy, mothers | Leave a Comment »
Posted on May 5, 2009 by Michael Ray Hopkin
Today’s post comes from Jim Holland. Jim’s passion is product management and product marketing. With over 20 years of technology industry experience, he has a fresh and current perspective in leading product management teams and has a gift for taking conceptual ideas and turning them into strategic reality using methods based on market sensing best [...]
Filed under: Leadership, Market-driven, Product Management / Marketing, Team Building | Tagged: balance, committment, Communication, courage, credibility, Flying Monkeys, interactions, Jim Holland, success, unsolicited requests, Yin-Yang | Leave a Comment »
Posted on May 4, 2009 by Michael Ray Hopkin
One of the most well known, yet least practiced principles of success is the need to prepare. Regardless of the pursuit, if you want to succeed and feel the thrill that comes from winning (however you define ‘winning’), you need to prepare ahead of time. As the marathon runner Juma Ikanga said after winning the [...]
Filed under: Leadership | Tagged: greatness, hard work, Juma Ikanga, planning, preparation, success, Vince Lombardi, winning | Leave a Comment »