Selected Quotes by Mike Myatt

Selected Quotes by Mike Myatt

The following quotes by Mike Myatt are freely available to cite or reference with proper attribution. Attribution should include Mike Myatt's name, title and a link back to the N2growth Blog. Twitter users should RT @mikemyatt.

Accountability:
"Accountability is the lowest cost, most practical, and most productive form of risk management and quality assurance that can be implemented across an enterprise." (2006)

"Regardless of where you are in the corporate hierarchy, accountability is a fundamental principle associated with success." (Mike Myatt, 2004)

"It is those individuals or organizations who don't believe they are accountable to anyone, for anything, or at anytime that are nothing more than a disaster waiting to happen." (Mike Myatt, 1998)



Authenticity, Character, Integrity, Respect & Trust:
"Trust freely extended without first being earned is trust likely to be broken." (Mike Myatt, 2007)

"The ultimate corporate incentive (not compensation) is found in the rewards of creating trust and loyalty across relationships." (Mike Myatt, 2007)

"Respect is earned by honoring commitments and doing the right thing regardless of opinion, sentiment, or influence." (Mike Myatt, 2005)

"Don't let the mercenary agenda of those who pretend to be your friends solely for their own gain keep you from doing the right thing, for the acceptance of others will never serve as a substitute for integrity." (Mike Myatt, 2004)

"A good reputation will precede you, but a bad reputation will simply prohibit your arrival to begin with." (Mike Myatt, 2003)

"The greatest advertisement is the personal & professional conduct that leads to public endorsements by those of influence." (Mike Myatt, 2001)

"A 'fake it until you make it' mentality insures only one thing...you won't make it." (Mike Myatt, 1998)

"A rush to justice in the absence of truth is the greatest injustice of all. Emotion, opinion & even reason are no substitute for truth." (Mike Myatt, 1985)

"Hearing the truth, regardless of how tough it might be, is always better than the regret of not knowing. Ignorant bliss is still ignorance." (Mike Myatt, 1985)

"Guarantees are only as good as the character of the person or entity standing behind them." (Mike Myatt, 1985)



Branding (Personal & Corporate):
"While brand and reputation are not technically synonymous, they are inexorably linked. While not all people/companies have a brand, all brands do in fact have a reputation. Furthermore, a brand built without reputation as a key focus area is a brand that will eventually fall into decline." (Mike Myatt, 2009)

"It is important to draw a distinction between personal or corporate branding and thought leadership. While thought leaders often become well recognized brands, there are many well crafted brands that have messaged thought leadership where none exists." (Mike Myatt, 2006)

"The business landscape is continuing to become more intimate and entrepreneurial as evidenced by an emerging trend which is placing greater emphasis on the creation of powerful personal brands which operate either in tandem with, or in place of corporate brands." (Mike Myatt, 1991)



Communications:
"Communication skills acquired and/or knowledge gained are only valuable to the extent that they can be practically applied when called for." (Mike Myatt, 2007)

"Learn to deliver your message with clarity. Simple and concise is better than complicated and confusing." (Mike Myatt, 2004)

"The more vague, general, or ambiguous an explanation is, the less command of the subject matter the person doing the explaining likely possesses." (Mike Myatt, 2000)

"Your title, education, influence, or charisma simply cannot overshadow the lack of sound communication skills." (Mike Myatt, 1996)

"If the strength, color, tenor, or character of an individuals message changes mid-stream, common sense would dictate that the underlying intent may be changing as well." (Mike Myatt, 1991)

"The genesis of most business mistakes can be traced to poor communication, or worse yet, no communication at all." (Mike Myatt, 1990)

"While content can create credibility, credibility can also enhance the view of content. Furthermore, the best content or spokesperson in the world when communicating to the wrong audience, with the wrong message, or through the wrong medium is likely to miss the mark." (Mike Myatt, 1989)

"Brevity matters. The importance of clear, lucid, and straight-forward communication is critical to your success." (Mike Myatt, 1988)



Crisis Management:
"The current always-on, real-time, and often invasive world of media coverage means that companies are only just ever a slight faux pas away from crisis mode." (Mike Myatt, 2007)

"When trouble hits don't waste time in panic mode. Gather wise counsel, create a plan, and execute. All storms come to an end." (Mike Myatt, 2000)

"Controversy can create conflict or opportunity. The choice is yours...choose wisely." (Mike Myatt, 1999)

"Anticipate and Insulate!" (Mike Myatt, 1992)

"Average leaders deal with trouble when it occurs, good leaders steer around it, & great leaders turn trouble into opportunity." (Mike Myatt, 1989)



Decisioning:
"The ability to think contextually is what creates success across constituencies regardless of emotions or positions." (Mike Myatt, 2006)

"Allowing the urgent to impersonate the important is a sure-fire recipe for bad decisioning that is the outcome of enabled chaos." (Mike Myatt, 2002)

"Indecision is the arch nemeses of all who would desire to accomplish great things." (Mike Myatt, 2000)

Static thinking in a vacuum that does not take into account situational and contextual nuances will leave even the most experienced executives or entrepreneurs wondering what went wrong." (Mike Myatt, 1999)

"There are no shortcuts; only things that appear easier and faster at first blush. In the end, the only thing you get with a shortcut is a cut that bleeds." (Mike Myatt, 1988)

"The outcome of a leaders decisions are not only their stock in trade, but ultimately serve as their legacy as well." (Mike Myatt, 1985)



Economics and Capital:
"Growth in the public sector doesn't create jobs, it steals jobs from the private sector. Government expansion takes jobs from skilled labor, and gives them to unskilled labor. This creates a regressionary movement from an efficient, innovative and performance driven market, to a stagnant, apathetic, and tenure based bureaucracy ." (Mike Myatt, 2009)

"Put simply, the real problem with economics is that most economists don't have a clue..." (Mike Myatt, 2000)

"In the M&A world making the deal is the easy part...it is the post acquisition integration of culture and personality that causes most deals to fall short of the pre-transaction projections." (Mike Myatt, 1989)

"The influence a capital partner brings to the table is significantly more valuable than their funding in the grand scheme of things." (Mike Myatt, 1988)



Failure:
"Only fools go it alone. No matter what the circumstance, others have experienced something similar & will gladly help if you ask." (Mike Myatt, 2007)

"When you learn to view your mistakes as gimmes that will be exploited by your competitors you'll make fewer mistakes." (Mike Myatt, 2007)

"Anyone who says they haven't failed is lying, delusional, or has just never tried. Failure is normal, don't fear it; learn from it." (Mike Myatt, 2006)

"The only way to be chained to past failures is not to recognize your mistakes for what they are, and to not make the necessary changes for continued growth and development." (Mike Myatt, 2000)



Focus:
"Don't allow distractions to dilute your determination or deter your desire." (Mike Myatt, 2009)

"Biting off more than you can chew is not only painful when you choke, but it leaves a very bad taste in your mouth when it comes back up." (Mike Myatt, 2008)

"Multitasking is tantamount to executive suicide as it leads to a lack of focus and initiative overload." (Mike Myatt, 1995)

"Part-time efforts yield part-time results." (Mike Myatt, 1986)



Innovation:
"Don't allow your enterprise to adopt an attitude of complacency, because the simple truth is that complacency kills companies." (Mike Myatt, 2009)

"The power of innovation to totally transform a mediocre business into a category dominant company is really only deniable by the ignorant or the prejudiced." (Mike Myatt, 2008)

"A lack of innovative thinking is the precursor to a brand in decline." (Mike Myatt, 2006)

"Speed is a good thing as long as you're not too quick on the trigger. Ready-Fire-Aim normally results in missing the target. Speed only kills when you hit the bullseye." (Mike Myatt, 2005)

"Beware the change agents for the sake of change, but embrace change by design (radical or otherwise) for the good of the enterprise." (Mike Myatt, 2005)

"Things are what they are until you choose to change them. While apathy protects the status quo, action shatters it." (Mike Myatt, 2003)

""Don't succumb to a herd mentality and follow the masses toward mediocrity, or worse yet failure...Collaborate, Innovate and Dominate!" (Mike Myatt, 2001)

"Apathy is mediocrity's weapon of choice." (Mike Myatt, 2000)

"Rarely will you come across a static opportunity in the sense that it will stand idle and wait for you to act...significant opportunities are not only scarce, but they typically operate on the principal of diminishing returns. The longer you wait to seize the opportunity the smaller the return typically is. In fact, more likely is the case that the opportunity will completely evaporate if you wait too long to seize it." (Mike Myatt, 1998)

"One of my contentions about why change is difficult to implement is that too many executives want perfection to proceed action, and the truth is that the pursuit of perfection is one of great adversaries of speed." (Mike Myatt,1991)

"Hesitation and caution are the traits that your competitors most appreciate about you." (Mike Myatt, 1987)



Leadership:
"Leadership is not what you know or who you know, but how to transfer what you know into the hearts and minds of who you know." (Mike Myatt, 2009)

"The strongest argument for great leadership is what happens in its absence...very little." (Mike Myatt, 2009)

"A leader's remarks should not patronize, belittle, or condescend. They should challenge, inspire & engender confidence." (Mike Myatt, 2009)

"Rationalization and justification are poor substitutes for doing the right thing." (Mike Myatt, 2009)

"As a leader you will live or die by the quality of the decisions you make. When you're the leader good decisioning is expected, poor decisioning won't be tolerated, and great decisioning will set you apart from the masses." (Mike Myatt, 2009)

"Those who seek shelter in the wisdom of sound counsel must also be willing to take refuge there. Those unwilling to do the latter really don't value the former." (Mike Myatt, 2009)

"One size fits all leadership styles restrict the effectiveness of professionals, alienate staff and peers, and limit the ability of a company to thrive in ever changing markets." (Mike Myatt, 2009)

"Workforce reduction is not an operating strategy. Managing revenue risk through workforce reduction is simply a sign of poor executive leadership. If an employee is a valued asset one day, and somehow expendable the next day, then I question how valuable they were to begin with." (Mike Myatt, 2008)

"Decoupling vision from leadership will cause organizational implosion." (Mike Myatt, 2008)

"Leaders replete with rhetoric, but lacking in substance will fall much harder and faster than they arose." (Mike Myatt, 2008)

"Leadership begins and ends with the trust engendered by the character of your decisions, actions and associations." (Mike Myatt, 2007)

"Any leader void of philanthropic interest has a critical gap that needs to be filled. Compassion and leadership are not mutually exclusive." (Mike Myatt, 2007)

"Leadership's not hard: serve, keep your commitments, listen more than you speak, when you do speak, mean what you say & say what you mean." (Mike Myatt, 2006)

"Great leaders have few rights and many obligations. Real leaders understand that service is an obligation of privilege." (Mike Myatt, 2006)

"Real leaders spend the preponderance of their time on items of significance and not of success." (Mike Myatt, 2006)

"Leadership without understanding is an exercise in frivolity. You cannot solve problems or exploit opportunities that you don't understand." (Mike Myatt, 2006)

"Leadership sells hope when needed, and the willingness to accept a lack thereof when necessary." (Mike Myatt, 2005)

"After character, the ability to create, evangelize, and execute on your vision is what will make or break you as a leader." (Mike Myatt, 2005)

"Leadership is nothing but for the worthiness of the cause, and the value created from its undertaking." (Mike Myatt, 2005)

"Leadership without action and execution is just more tired rhetoric." (Mike Myatt, 2005)

"Landmines are everywhere in business, but the great leaders know where they can walk confidently, where they must tread softly, and where they must never go at all." (Mike Myatt, 2004)

"Leaders must not only absorb the right information, but they must transform it into actionable knowledge." (Mike Myatt, 2004)

"Mastery is a concept of arrogance. Leaders who believe they've mastered something have only reached the point of certain risk of disappointment." (Mike Myatt, 2004)

"There exists a season for all things, but decisive, prudent and principled leadership never goes out of season." (Mike Myatt, 2003)

"While intrigue & mystery make for great novels, I don't count them among positive leadership traits. Reclusive leaders lack effectiveness." (Mike Myatt, 2003)

"Real leaders won't accept credit for success, but always claim responsibility for failure." (Mike Myatt, 2003)

"While it takes years of solid decision making to reach the boardroom it often times only takes one bad decision to fall from the ivory tower." (Mike Myatt, 2003)

"Leaders understand there are no victories to be won by participating in the blame game. Blame doesn't inspire, it breeds malcontent." (Mike Myatt, 2002)

"Key employees are not assets but rather large contingent liabilities. The problem with key employees begins the very second you publicly identify someone as such." (Mike Myatt, 2002)

"Experience creates the ability to see & hear what others cannot. If you don't possess the needed experience surround yourself with it."(Mike Myatt, 2002)

"We have all witnessed companies that have been over managed in the absence of leadership. When leadership has been abdicated to management in a corporate setting, you will always find that growth slows, morale declines, creativity wanes, and the competitive edge is weakened." (Mike Myatt, 2001)

"Everyone experiences anger, but only the foolhardy let it out as rage. Effective leaders calmly express displeasure w/out anger." (Mike Myatt, 2001)

"The pursuit of knowledge and wisdom should be a life long endeavor, and should not end with the receipt of a degree. Great leaders never stop learning." (Mike Myatt, 1999)

"Leadership requires a willingness to endure the heartburn and brain-damage associated with the journey of helping others succeed." (Mike Myatt, 1998)

"People-pleasers have great trouble in positions of leadership. They inevitably compromise values in favor of popularity. Big mistake." (Mike Myatt, 1997)

"Leaders understand that passion creates purpose, purpose in turn creates focus, and focus leads to results." (Mike Myatt, 1997)

"Great leaders are accomplished at knowing when action needs to be tempered with patience and discretion." (Mike Myatt, 1996)

"Great leaders create powerful independent thinkers not weak dependent relationships." (Mike Myatt, 1994)

"Leadership is only as sustainable as the leaders ability to positively impact those whom they influence and serve." (Mike Myatt, 1993)

"The only real guarantees that come with a position of leadership are those of hard work and criticism. Everything else is gravy." (Mike Myatt, 1992)

"If not expeditiously extinguished, gossip and innuendo can kill even the best initiatives. Leaders trade in truth and reality." (Mike Myatt, 1992)

"Great leaders see themselves as organizational physicians aggressively seeking to eradicate all maladies and afflictions." (Mike Myatt, 1991)

"Don't be a doer without being a thinker, yet don't be a thinker without being a doer. Great leaders are both thinkers & doers." (Mike Myatt, 1990)

"Knowledge and the willingness to apply it for the benefit of others is the basis for sound leadership." (Mike Myatt, 1988)

"The best way to inspire others is to challenge yourself to become a better leader and succeed." (Mike Myatt, 1988)

"Vision without action while often entertaining, is ultimately a useless endeavor. However action without vision while likewise an exercise in frivolity, is rarely entertaining and quite often results in tremendous cost and pain." (Mike Myatt, 1987)

"Too many leaders fail to focus on the main thing...serving those they lead. Make those around you successful, and you become significant." (Mike Myatt, 1987)

"Great leaders understand that patience is only a virtue when not confused with complacency or apathy." (1986)

"The success of a leader is best measured by the performance, growth & development, and loyalty of their followers." (Mike Myatt, 1986)

"Real leaders don't allow their emotions to override their focus, or their sense of right thinking and right acting." (Mike Myatt, 1985)

"Few can comprehend the heavy burden of leadership until it rests squarely upon their own shoulders." (Mike Myatt, 1985)



Miscellaneous:
"Remember that opinion doesn't miraculously become fact simply by adding emphasis." (Mike Myatt, 2008)

"Purveyors of nonsense make a mockery of common sense with their incessant attacks on the interruption of reason." (Mike Myatt, 2002)

"Creativity is a luxury, but the ability to deliver a certainty of execution is a necessity." (Mike Myatt, 1996)

"While the art of closing a deal requires great skill, it takes almost no effort whatsoever to blow-up a transaction. One of the fastest ways to watch a deal vaporize right before your eyes is to let your ego write checks that your skill can't cash." (Mike Myatt, 1996)

"Positive feedback while flattering, doesn't provide the opportunity for growth and development that constructive criticism offers." (Mike Myatt, 1995)

"Speed is a great asset so long as you don't move so fast that attention to detail is sacrificed." (Mike Myatt, 1995)

"Don't let your ego write checks your ability can't cash." (Mike Myatt, 1994)

"Cost containment is not a business strategy." (Mike Myatt, 1993)

"Loyalty should be present in all healthy relationships. Loyalty earned is loyalty deserved. Loyalty abused should be loyalty lost." (Mike Myatt, 1993)

"Ease of attainment is just one reference point, and it is often the wrong benchmark to focus on." (Mike Myatt, 1993)

"You will fail to get a hit 100% of the time you don't swing the bat." (Mike Myatt, 1991)

"Quality is not a characteristic well served by fractionalized application." (Mike Myatt, 1991)

"Arrogance does not qualify as a substitute for confidence." (Mike Myatt, 1989))

"Possible vs impossible, plausible vs not plausible, probable vs improbable, or fantasy vs reality...experience, discernment and effort will determine the outcome." (Mike Myatt, 1986)

"Nothing is more valuable than lost time because you can't quantify the magnitude of the lost opportunity cost. Make the most of your time." (Mike Myatt, 1986)

"Hubris can be a needed trait to call upon at times, but to rely solely upon it as the foundation of your leadership style just won�t work." (Mike Myatt, 1984)



Organization:
"How do you tell if chaos is taking over? check your desktop, inbox, voicemail, task list, and the health of your relationships." (Mike Myatt, 2001)

"Great leaders see themselves as organizational physicians aggressively seeking to eradicate all maladies and afflictions." (Mike Myatt, 1999)

"Chaos must eventually give way to order so that any success initially achieved will not to be squandered." (Mike Myatt, 1993)

"Great success is not sustainable without even greater organizational ability." (Mike Myatt, 1991)

"A private world out of balance will eventually lead to professional discord. Don't allow a frenzied pace to overcome your ability to execute." (Mike Myatt, 1988)



Passion:
"There is a difference between passion and irrational exuberance...passion creates purpose, and irrational exuberance creates chaos." (Mike Myatt, 2008)

"Passion can certainly provide a clarity of purpose allowing the accomplishment of great things as long as it's balanced by reason and not allowed to impede your true calling." (Mike Myatt, 2005)

"Never allow your passion to be subordinated to trivial matters. A focus on your passion will always provide clarity of purpose." (Mike Myatt, 1991)



Process & Best Practices:
"When a practice evolves to the level of becoming a �best practice� its time has already past." (Mike Myatt, 2007)

"The key to great process is surrender, not control." (Mike Myatt, 2007)

"Analysis Paralysis only applies to flawed analysis. Good analysis has a conclusion and validates taking action." (Mike Myatt, 1994)

"Best Practices creates a herd mentality that stifles innovation and leads to accelerated obsolescence." (Mike Myatt, 1994)

"There are many who would say process stifles creativity and slows production...While I would concur that this statement is usually the case with bad process, nothing could be further from the truth as it relates to good process. Good process serves as a catalyst for innovation, which in turn optimizes and accelerates workflow and enhances the productivity of business initiatives." (Mike Myatt, 1990)

"Values should underpin Vision, which dictates Mission, which determines Strategy, which surfaces Goals, that frame Objectives, which in turn drives the Tactics that tell an organization what Resources, Infrastructure and Processes are needed to support a certainty of execution." (Mike Myatt, 1988)



Productivity:
"Who are the least productive members of your team? Why? Coach them to productivity or replace them. There is no third option." (Mike Myatt, 2008)

"Getting things done doesn't necessarily make you productive. The issue isn't getting things done, but rather it's getting the right things done, at the right time, and for the right reasons." (Mike Myatt, 2002)



Success:
"Success is in the eye of the beholder, whereas significance is a view of you that is held by others." (Mike Myatt, 2008)

"Aspiration alone will not guarantee achievement. Personal effort must be multiplied by & through others to truly succeed." (Mike Myatt, 2008)

"It's a fallacy to believe that money can buy success. It just accelerates or delays the inevitable outcome." (Mike Myatt, 2008)

"Strip away the excuses, rationalizations and justifications and the only thing standing between you and whatever your objective may be is what you see staring back at you when you look in the mirror each morning." (Mike Myatt, 2007)

"Failure to recognize the contributions of others in your success is a sign that your success is shallow and will be short-lived." (Mike Myatt, 2002)

"Manage promises like projects. Build a culture that breaks down all commitments made into deliverables, benchmarks, and deadlines." (Mike Myatt, 2001)

"Resolve that strength of character & genuine interest in others will be your best traits & you will surely succeed." (Mike Myatt, 2000)

"True confidence comes when your public face is aligned with who you are inside and the facades are removed." (Mike Myatt, 1999)

"Nothing in life is as rewarding as watching your children make great decisions without your input." (Mike Myatt, 1998)

"While great rewards come to those who are well prepared when opportunities present themselves, greater rewards come to those who create the opportunities to begin with..." (Mike Myatt, 1994)



Talent Management:
"The principle of tenure stifles innovation and suppresses talent...Organizations built upon tenure reward the wrong behaviors and as a result have mediocre employees, sub-par products and solutions, atrocious customer service, a negative corporate culture, and will eventually watch their brand fall into decline." (Mike Myatt, 2008)

"Key employees are not assets but rather large contingent liabilities. The problem with key employees begins the very second you publicly identify someone as such." (Mike Myatt, 2002)

"Don't allow your company to be talent poor and key employee dependent, but become talent rich by becoming key employee independent." (Mike Myatt, 2000)