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If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

POTENTIAL
It shows itself in stages,
Born in risk and blessed by chance,
Tends to lurk in shadows,
Though it likes to be romanced.

The potential of a human
To Contribute is unbound,
When it grows by being matched
To new callings more profound.

ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP

A well-led organization
Will collectively adapt,
Reflect on its performance
And pursue a conscious tact.

Study its environment-
Patterns, changes, trends,
Change its paradigm
Well before it ends.

Map competitive forces,
Shape tactics on the ground,
Stay abreast of changing needs
And fill them fast when found.

Build a flexible strategy,
Loose enough to accommodate,
Listen to the work force,
Let innovation percolate.

Base tomorrow's success
On needed competencies,
Build collective strength,
Weed vulnerabilties.

Project tomorrow's vision
Backed up by solid goals,
Empower all its players
With clout equal to roles.

Determine where to lever success
Not fearing to experiment,
Shape new opportunities
With intuition and judgment.

Let structure serve its strategy
And culture reinforce,
Identify performance gaps
And educate the force.

Execute its strategy
Staying alert to change.
Rebound with the feedback
And prepare to rearrange!


Find more poems like this in the author's book.