LOZANO’S 25 NUGGETS OF WISDOM

On being a leader

1. “Leadership is a higher calling” [few are called to lead]2. “Conflict is the failure to set or understand expectations” [be clear in your communications]3. “Be bold and audacious in everything you do” [timidity breeds indecisiveness]4. “Have a sense of urgency in everything you do” 5. “Give your people a sense of purpose and belonging” [value everyone]6. “Decisiveness is born of intestinal fortitude and moral courage” [follow your instinct]7. “The mark of a true leader is one who has made himself totally dispensable.” [be a servant leader]8. “Every problem has a solution” [failure is not an option]9. “If it ain’t broke, break it” [challenge convention]10. “Most people worry about how not to fail, rather than how to succeed” [see #3]11. “Hard work never killed anyone, but working stupid has” [use judgment]12. “We don’t learn from what we do right” [be introspective]13. “Be candid, demand candor” 14. “Action passed is not action taken” [follow through!]15. “If you’re on time you’re late” [be respectful of everyone’s time]16. “Time is an unrecoverable commodity” [be a good time manager]17. “Always tell the boss what he/she needs to hear, not what they want to hear” [see #13]18. “Bad news never gets better with time” [tell the boss before he hears it from someone else]19. “Make a recommendation and stand by it” [be confident in your judgment]20. “Communicate face-to-face first, telephone second, email last”21. “Your goal is not to have the boss take your advice, but to value it”22. “You will always operate in the absence of complete information” [see #6]23. “Planning is continuous”24. “Action anywhere is action everywhere”25. “When all else fails use more explosives” [sheer force will often overcome a bad situation]