Tag Archives: quote

“It is vain to do more what can be done with less.” – William of Ockham

Have you heard this leadership quote from the creator of “Occam’s Razor”, William of Ockham?

William of Ockham was an English friar, philosopher, and theologian. He is considered to be one of the major figures of medieval thought and is most commonly known for Occam’s razor, the principle that everything should be as simple as possible, but no simpler.

Quote-Occam-vain to do more-done with less

Taking Occam’s Razor a Step Further

This quote takes William of Ockham’s thoughts a step further. Not only has he said that everything should be as simple as possible, but he actually states that it is simply vain to do more what can be done with less.

In other words, if you are using a million dollars to build a product when it could be built for $1,000, he considers this vain. Others may not be so lenient – they may instead consider it just plain stupid.

Occam’s Razor and The Lean Startup

This is the also concept of the Minimum Viable Product or MVP from the Lean Startup. An MVP is the most minimal, usable feature that you can build and release to your customers so they can see, feel and touch it. Then, but seeing what they like or don’t like, and also seeing whether anyone actually cares enough to buy it, you are able to determine whether to build more, create more features, or to pivot into a new or different idea.

Simplicity Means Fewer Defect and Mistakes

By reducing things to their most simple form, we’re also reducing the opportunity for mistakes, breakages and defects. How many times have you bought something fancy and complicated, only for it to break and then cost you the earth or fix or replace? When a simple version of the same item may not have been as “cool”, but it lasts you for years and years and years.

Can you think of ways to simplify your work, your products or your life?

– David McLachlan

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Leadership Quote – Abraham Lincoln on Preparation

November 26, 2020Quotesabraham lincoln, cut down tree, leadership, quoteDavid McLachlan

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“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” – Abraham Lincoln

Have you heard this leadership Quote from Abraham Lincoln?

Abraham Lincoln was an American statesman and lawyer, and also the 16th president of the United States (1861 to 1865). Lincoln led the nation through the American Civil War, abolished slavery, and modernized the U.S. economy.

Quote-Abraham Lincoln-chop tree-sharpen axe

Don’t Cut a Tree With a Blunt Axe

A tree, in this case, could be a metaphor for any task in your life that will take time to complete. But a tree is a nice, visual way to describe it, and it makes sense that we don’t want to use a blunt axe to chop it down. We want our tool to be sharp. And if we spend that time to prepare our tools for the job, then the job itself takes less time to complete as well. We’re not spending the full six hours to chop down the tree, it’s now only taking the remaining two hours. The job itself will also be easier with a sharpened axe.

So it begs the question: What are the trees and axes in your life?

What tasks do you have to complete, whether they are new tasks or ongoing? Are you starting a business? Completing some study for an exam? Wanting to get married or find love? Wanting a promotion at work?

What will happen if you take an exam, but do no study? What will happen if start a business, but do no market research? What will happen if you want a promotion, but don’t understand out the area you want to work in?

Sharpening the axe is preparing for the job, and preparing for the job makes the job itself easier.

– David McLachlan

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Leadership Quote – Charlie Munger on Incentives and Outcomes

November 24, 2020Quotescharlie munger, incentive, leadership, quoteDavid McLachlan

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“Show me the incentive, and I will show you the outcome.” – Charlie Munger

Have you heard this leadership quote from Charlie Munger?

Charlie Munger was born on new year’s day in 1924, and is a former real estate attorney, architectural designer, is the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the huge company controlled by Warren Buffett. He has long been fascinated with the psychology behind human misjudgment.

Leadership Quote-Munger-Incentive-Outcome

Business Partner to the Richest Man in the World

Charlie Munger has been business partner to Warren Buffett, at one time the richest man in the world, and it is clear in his wisdom from quotes like these that there is a very good reason why.

Before the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, mortgage brokers were heavily incentivised through their commissions to sell as many mortgages as possible, whether their customer could pay it back or not. Traders and financial houses were also heavily incentivised through their own commissions to create and sell bundles of these low-quality mortgages to other traders around the world. And of course, people who couldn’t afford houses but really wanted one were able to do so. The result was a perfect storm that nearly broke the back of capitalism.

But when we talk about incentives, it doesn’t have to be just about money. A person might be doing something to improve their status – gain a new title or a promotion, or even just impress someone they like. It also might be how someone is measured – if you measure a team in your company as a leader and you focus on the volume of something, you can bet that their behavior will change quite quickly to push more of that thing through their process, whether it is of good quality or not.

Think carefully about someone’s incentive, and you will know them well without ever having to meet. You will also be well prepared for any decisions that may take others by surprise.

– David McLachlan

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Leadership Quote – Amelia Barr on Simplicity

November 22, 2020Quotesamelia barr, leadership, quote, simplicityDavid McLachlan

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“It is always the simple that produces the marvelous.” – Amelia Barr

Have you heard this leadership quote from Amelia Barr?

Amelia Barr was a writer and teacher from Britain who lived in the late 1800s to early 1900s. When she was only nine years old she had to read for her father, and developed her reading and comprehension well beyond her years. As an adult she learned the Stowe teaching method, whose principles are based on morality and lifelong learning.

Leadership Quote-Amelia Barr-Simple-Marvelous

Simplicity is a Powerful Thing

People often get simplicity confused with ease. the two are not the same. For something to be simple, often we have to cut things out of it, and reduce things to their essential form or qualities, and this is actually quite hard for human beings to do.

But the power of simplicity is that fewer things can go wrong, and there are fewer things to overload our senses or confuse our target audience. When you are able to focus on just one thing, there is a much higher likelihood it will get done, as opposed to switching tasks and having to get up to speed on each task again.

The iPhone made things exceptionally simple for its users. It famously only had one button, and the rest was a simple touch of the screen. Before this it was computers with full keyboards and often complicated navigation.

Amazon also made things simple, when they were the first company to patent the “One Click Buy” button, which had all the relevant customer details saved so a customer only needed to focus on the thing that made Amazon money – the point where the customer bought it.

Ask yourself – “How can I make things more simple in my life, in my organisation, in my team and in my product?”

– David McLachlan

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Leadership Quote – Jim Rohn on the Challenge of Leadership

November 14, 2020Quotesjim rohn, leadership, quoteDavid McLachlan

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“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” – Jim Rohn

Have you heard this leadership quote from Jim Rohn?

Jim is a well known author, entrepreneur, and speaker. One of his best speeches is “How To Have Your Best Year Ever” and is a speech that can be listened to over and over again, teaching some of the most powerful fundamentals of life, success and business.

Jim Rohn Quote Leadership

The Paradox of Leadership

In his quote, Jim Rohn rightly points out the paradox of leadership – that a true leader is strong enough within themselves to be humble, strong enough to know the difference they made and give credit to their people to lift their spirits and build their self esteem, but also strong enough not to be bowled over or led astray.

From this perspective, “strength” doesn’t mean beating someone up, it doesn’t mean putting others down, and it doesn’t mean all talk and no action.

A lot of it comes back to self-discipline, which Jim talks about frequently in his speeches. When a leader has the discipline within themselves, they clearly know when to draw the line and when to cross it.

– David McLachlan

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Leadership Quote – Lao Tzu on Servant Leadership

November 12, 2019Quoteslao tzu, leadership, quote, servant leadershipDavid McLachlan

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“A leader is best when people barely know he exists…when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will all say: We did it ourselves.” – Lao-Tzu

This is an old, yet timeless leadership quote from the founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu, who lived in China around 600 years BC. And thankfully we can add “he or she“, and “his or her aim” today, as we’ve made strides towards equality over the last 1600 years that Lao Tzu wasn’t privy to, and we’re blessed with many wonderful women leaders, both high profile and local.

Do you know what this quote means? Lao Tzu is talking about “servant leadership”, 1600 years before it became a popular leadership method and framework, which is amazing in itself.

Leadership quote lao tsu We Did It Ourselves

Empowering Your People So They Can Do It Themselves

There are as many different leadership styles as there are personality styles, although you may know the most common ones: from the Autocratic, where the manager is primarily focused on getting the tasks done with little regard to a team’s feelings, to directing, democratic, laissez-faire or “hands-off”, charismatic and transactional.

But there is one leadership style which has grown in popularity, especially with the rise of Agile and Lean methodologies in and around software development, and that is the Servant Leader.

Continue reading Leadership Quote – Lao Tzu on Servant Leadership →