Posts by Mark Cole
Mark Cole: A Leader’s Most Damaging Expression
Last week on the John Maxwell Leadership Podcast, I asked John how he stays fresh and remains excited while doing things he’s already done. This is a question I consider a lot when it comes to John and his career. Think about it: after 106 books and 31 million copies sold, after traveling the world…
Read MoreMark Cole: Pride Goes Before a Fall
Growing up, my mom tirelessly reminded me of a popular verse from the book of Proverbs: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” The longer I live, the more I understand why she made sure I learned this lesson. Pride is a big problem for any leader. Here’s why: Pride Leads…
Read MoreMark Cole: Time To Move On?
When is the right time for a successful leader to move on to a new position? Leaders often get restless. The more ambitious and entrepreneurial the leader, the shorter their attention span tends to be. But restlessness is not necessarily a problem. The key to knowing whether it’s time to transition is recognizing there are…
Read MoreMark Cole: Choose Significance
This week on the John Maxwell Leadership Podcast, John shared a thought on significance that I found very helpful. “Significance and selfishness are two incompatible words,” John said. “You never see anybody who lives for themselves that ever really becomes significant with other people.” No one wants to be a selfish person. I don’t know…
Read MoreMark Cole: The Multitasking Myth
We’d all like to think we can disconnect from work after a task-filled day and fully engage with our family at home despite our Apple Watch buzzing every 5 seconds with notifications. Let’s be honest—we know concentrating on multiple tasks at once is not possible. The concept of multitasking forces your brain to switch back…
Read MoreMark Cole: Leadership Seasons
“How do I find balance in my life?” seems to be a very popular question for this generation of leaders. While much has been written and taught on this subject, I think we all desire a sense of balance at home and at work. But the idea of balance is difficult for me to teach…
Read MoreMark Cole: A Leader’s Most Dangerous Thought
In my role as the leader of a leadership organization, I spend a lot of time studying other leaders around the world—both past and present. In my studies, I typically look for two different kinds of patterns: patterns that lead to success and patterns that lead to failure. Today, I want to share a pattern…
Read MoreMark Cole: The 30-Second Rule
One of the first lessons that John Maxwell taught me, many years ago, was the “30-Second Rule”. One night around a dinner table with several other colleagues, John leaned over to me and said, “Mark, if you really want to win with people, say something encouraging within the first thirty seconds of every conversation.” I’ve…
Read MoreMark Cole: Let The Best Idea Win
I was reminded of a valuable lesson in a team meeting recently. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss an event our team will host this year. After setting aside an entire afternoon to prepare ideas, I felt very confident about what I was bringing to the meeting. But soon after the meeting began,…
Read MoreMark Cole: Perseverance is Absolutely Necessary
No matter how talented people are, there is no success without perseverance. Perseverance is not an issue of talent. It’s not an issue of time. It’s about finishing. Talent provides hope for accomplishment, but perseverance guarantees it. Today, I want to give you four statements about perseverance that I’ve found to be true and ask…
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