Tag Archives: Oliver Wendell Holmes

Productivity: Sole-Searching for Optimum Success

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

James Michener authored more than 40 books. “Which one of your books was your favorite?” Michener was often asked. His answer was always the same: “The next one.”

Likewise the most effective leaders I’ve known are more apt to look forward than celebrate or bemoan the past. They are much like Santiago, the old man in Ernest Hemingway’s classic : The Old Man and the Sea.” It didn’t matter than he had not caught a fish in 84 days. On the 85th day he not only went out fishing but ventured father out into sea than ever before.

For leaders like Santiago, it’s always the next problem to solve, the next project to plan and execute, the next hill to climb. It’s more about the pursuit than the capture, more about mining than the minting of the proverbial gold. Continue reading