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Archives for February 2013

Inspirational Quotations #464

February 24, 2013 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

The death of someone we know always reminds us that we are still alive – perhaps for some purpose which we ought to re-examine.
—Mignon McLaughlin (American Journalist)

Reason is not the sole basis of moral virtue in man. His social impulses are more deeply rooted than his rational life.
—Reinhold Niebuhr (American Protestant Theologian)

In moments of progress the noble succeed, because things are going their way: in moments of decadence the base succeed for the same reason: hence the world is never without the exhilaration of contemporary success.
—George Bernard Shaw (Irish Playwright)

One’s objective should be to get it right, get it quick, get it out, and get it over… your problem won’t improve with age.
—Warren Buffett (American Investor)

Scratch the surface of any thinking ideologue and you’ll find doubts. Ask, “Ever wondered whether the other side might be right?”
—Marty Nemko (American Career Coach, Author)

There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.
—Warren Buffett (American Investor)

A single grateful thought toward heaven is the most perfect prayer.
—Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (German Writer)

The sense of impossibility is the beginning of all possibilities.
—Sri Aurobindo (Indian Yogi, Nationalist)

A radical is one of whom people say ‘He goes too far.’ A conservative, on the other hand, is one ‘who doesn’t go far enough.’ Then there is the reactionary, ‘one who doesn’t go at all.’ All these terms are more or less objectionable, wherefore we have coined the term progressive.
—Woodrow Wilson (American Head of State)

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
—Steve Jobs (American Entrepreneur)

It is proof of high culture to say the greatest matters in the simplest way.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Philosopher)

Filed Under: Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotations #463

February 17, 2013 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

We do not know what to do with this short life, but we want another that will be eternal.
—Anatole France (French Novelist)

He who cannot command himself should obey. And many can command themselves, but much is still lacking before they can obey themselves.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (German Philosopher, Scholar)

Every stage of life has its troubles, and no man is content with his own age.
—Ausonius (Latin Poet)

We shall never be able to effect physical disarmament until we have succeeded in effecting moral disarmament.
—Ramsay MacDonald (British Head of State)

Outside show is a poor substitute for inner worth.
—Aesop (Greek Fabulist)

The love that lasts the longest is the love that is never returned.
—W. Somerset Maugham (French Playwright)

Even if misfortune is only good for bringing a fool to his senses, it would still be just to deem it good for something.
—Jean de La Fontaine (French Poet)

His vocation was orderliness, which is the basis of creation. Accordingly, when a letter came, he would turn it over in his hands for a long time, gazing at it meditatively; then he would put it away in a file without opening it, because everything had its own time.
—Salvatore Satta

The influence of each human being on others in this life is a kind of immortality.
—John Quincy Adams (American Head of State)

A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do, nothing else.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (Indian Hindu Political leader)

First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (Indian Hindu Political leader)

Silence is the mother of truth.
—Benjamin Disraeli (British Head of State)

Filed Under: Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotations #462

February 10, 2013 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

The time for action is now. It’s never too late to do something.
—Carl Sandburg (American Children’s Books Writer)

What boundary ever set limits to the service of mankind?
—Claudian (Roman Poet)

Be content with what you are, and wish not change; nor dread your last day, nor long for it.
—Martial (Ancient Roman Latin Poet)

Forgive many things in others; nothing in yourself.
—Ausonius (Latin Poet)

It is always the false that makes you suffer, the false desires and fears, the false values and ideas, the false relationships between people. Abandon the false and you are free of pain; truth makes happy, truth liberates.
—Nisargadatta Maharaj (Indian Hindu Religious Leader)

You are forgiven for your happiness and your successes only if you generously consent to share them.
—Albert Camus (Algerian-born French Philosopher)

A fool without fear is sometimes wiser than an angel with fear.
—Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor (American-born British Politician)

Truth is the most valuable thing we have, so I try to conserve it.
—Mark Twain (American Humorist)

Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.
—Voltaire (French Philosopher)

Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.
—Mark Twain (American Humorist)

Filed Under: Inspirational Quotations

The Duplicity of Corporate Diversity Initiatives

February 5, 2013 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Corporate Diversity Initiatives Even after years of diversity initiatives in corporate America, “inclusion” is more about meeting the numbers on gender, race, and other obvious differences, and less about pursuing intellectual, ideological, pedagogical, and stylistic diversity within teams and organizations.

Overall, the workforce diversity initiatives have succeeded in deterring explicit discriminatory behavior and preventing employee lawsuits. However, to make the representation numbers look good, corporate diversity initiatives have largely resulted in exclusionary practices for the preferential hiring and promoting of underrepresented demographic groups, much to the chagrin of those who are more competent, yet arbitrarily overlooked because the latter belong to groups that are numerically “overrepresented”—reverse discrimination, indeed. For fear of reprisal, the shortchanged majority is reluctant to speak out against this veiled unfairness or to call attention to the dichotomy between the ideals and the practice of affirmative action in the workplace.

Even if nearly all corporate mission statements extol the virtues of “valuing differences,” managers stifle individuality down in the trenches. They are less willing to be receptive of distinctive viewpoints and seek to mold their employees to conform to the existing culture of the workplace and to comply with the existing ways of doing things. Compliant, acquiescent employees who look the part are promoted in preference to exceptional, questioning employees who bring truly different perspectives to the table. The nail that sticks its head up indeed gets hammered down.

Wondering what to read next?

  1. The Unlikely Barrier to True Diversity
  2. Why You May Be Overlooking Your Best Talent
  3. The Double-Edged Sword of a Strong Organizational Culture
  4. Tokenism Isn’t Inclusion
  5. Don’t Manage with Fear

Filed Under: Leadership, Leading Teams Tagged With: Diversity, Group Dynamics, Hiring & Firing, Introspection, Persuasion, Questioning, Relationships, Workplace

Inspirational Quotations #461

February 3, 2013 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Those who know how to think need no teachers.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (Indian Hindu Political leader)

Every stage of life has its troubles, and no man is content with his own age.
—Ausonius (Latin Poet)

There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse! As I have often found in traveling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one’s position, and be bruised in a new place.
—Washington Irving (American Author)

If fame is only to come after death, I am in no hurry for it.
—Martial (Ancient Roman Latin Poet)

A first rate soup is better than a second rate painting.
—Abraham Maslow (American Psychologist)

We reproach people for talking about themselves, but it is the subject they treat best.
—Anatole France (French Novelist)

Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what’s right.
—Isaac Asimov (Russian-born American Children’s Books Writer)

How easy it is for one benevolent being to diffuse pleasure around him; and how truly is a kind heart a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity to freshen into smiles!
—Washington Irving (American Author)

Whoever makes great presents expects great presents in return.
—Martial (Ancient Roman Latin Poet)

Universal peace will be realized, not because man will become better, but because a new order of things, a new science, new economic necessities, will impose peace.
—Anatole France (French Novelist)

How easy it is for one benevolent being to diffuse pleasure around him; and how truly is a kind heart a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity to freshen into smiles!
—Washington Irving (American Author)

Filed Under: Inspirational Quotations

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About: Nagesh Belludi [hire] is a St. Petersburg, Florida-based freethinker, investor, and leadership coach. He specializes in helping executives and companies ensure that the overall quality of their decision-making benefits isn’t compromised by a lack of a big-picture understanding.

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Meditations: Marcus Aurelius

Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius's diaries remain the sterling paradigm of the stoic mindset: civility, moderation in all things, and taking in triumph and tragedy with equanimity.

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Unless otherwise stated in the individual document, the works above are © Nagesh Belludi under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license. You may quote, copy and share them freely, as long as you link back to RightAttitudes.com, don't make money with them, and don't modify the content. Enjoy!