8 Great Quotes to Send to Your Oldest Friends

Dancing With Old Friends Keeps You Young at Heart

 

 

 

 

 

 

The enduring bonds of long friendships often start out as simple connections. Whether they’re forged in childhood, at school, at work, or through mutual connections or hobbies, those connections evolve into something deeper over time, fortified by shared memories, laughter, tears, and countless conversations.

These long-lasting friendships can feel like priceless treasures, but they also require effort. Maintaining contact, making time for one another, and celebrating milestones together are essential — as is allowing space when other aspects of our lives inevitably demand our attention.

I've gathered 8 great quotes to send to your oldest friends.

"Old friends are the great blessing of one's latter years — half a word conveys one's meaning."
~Horace Walpole

"When we’re together the years fall away. Isn’t that what matters? To have someone who can remember with you? To have someone who remembers how far you’ve come?"
~Judy Blume 

"A good friend is a connection to life — a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world."
~Lois Wyse

"We have been sad together, / We have wept, with bitter tears / O’er the grass-grown graves, where slumber’d / The hopes of early years. / … / We have been sad together — / Oh! what shall part us now?"
~Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton 

"We could fight and wrangle and name-call, but it didn’t change anything underneath. She was still my oldest friend. Is."
~Margaret Atwood 

"The best kind of laughter is laughter born of a shared memory."
~Mindy Kaling

"Are not all lifelong friendships born at the moment when at last you meet another human being who has some inkling … of that something which you were born desiring, and which, beneath the flux of other desires and in all the momentary silences between the louder passions … from childhood to old age, you are looking for, watching for, listening for?"
~C.S. Lewis 

“We’ll be friends forever, won’t we, Pooh?” asked Piglet. “Even longer,” Pooh answered."
~A.A. Milne

Although life’s challenges can test the strength of these bonds, true friends weather the storms together. In the end, long friendships endure because they give us roots, keep us grounded, and, of course, infuse our lives with joy, support, and a sense of belonging. They remind us that human connections are invaluable, and with care, they can last a lifetime.

 I am deeply grateful for all my enduring friendships.

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile: 323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, energy storage and third-party maintenance providers, real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

It’s Time to Take the 'Feedback Sandwich' Off the Management Menu

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’ve given feedback lately, chances are you served up a praise sandwich: a slab of criticism tucked inside two slices of compliments. And while this form of feedback remains popular among managers, it’s hardly ever satisfying. 

It important to remember that a common management practice doesn’t mean it’s a best practice. The Gallup Management Journal reveals that only 1 in 10 are good managers. This means that many managers are still using common practices like the Praise Sandwich that don’t engage employees to consistently meet performance expectations.

Reasons A Praise Sandwich Will Give Everyone Indigestion

• Praise sandwiches come across as insincere and make feedback less reliable.

• It unsettles employees, who immediately brace for bad news once they detect an over-sweetened opening.

• It's a crutch for the feedback giver who fears upsetting the receiver.

• It’s confusing for the receiver to be praised, criticized, and praised. Think pat on the back, slap in the face, pat on the back. “What just happened?” is the reaction.

•  If there's something important enough to engage in a conversation on changing or eliminating a behavior, why do you want to water it down?

• If someone reacts negatively to well-developed behavioral input, you’ve got a bigger problem that a praise sandwich won’t fix.

• People tend to remember the first things and last things they hear. Therefore, most important part of the feedback – the message in the middle –ends up getting diluted or ignored entirely.

And then there’s this one: “I want to let people know they are appreciated and doing a good job."

 

”That’s great! Just don’t feel compelled to give the praise in the same conversation you're discussing changing a particular behavior.

If a leader isn’t comfortable and competent at designing and conducting a well-developed behavioral feedback discussion, they need to focus on their personal development and give up their life as a caterer of praise sandwiches. And if individuals on your team aren’t comfortable receiving both positive and constructive feedback, you need to work on strengthening your feedback culture.

Positive Feedback is Essential—Don't Water It Down!

I’m a big fan of positive feedback if it is Behavioral, tied to Impact or performance, and specific enough so that the individual understands what they did that was positive and can do more of it.

Why do you need to include positive praise when offering input on behavior(s) that need to change to improve performance and results?

You don’t.

Give ample positive feedback when it is earned.

I encourage managers to strive for a 3:1 or greater positive to constructive feedback ratio. That’s hard to do. (Keep a daily log of your positive: constructive feedback ratio. You might be surprised that you need to work to get this heading in the right direction.)

If you’re giving positive feedback and everyone is on the same page about the importance of feedback in the working environment, don’t feel compelled to blend praise and constructive input in the same discussion.

The Bottom-Line

The Praise Sandwich is a crutch for poor feedback practices. If you are working hard to deliver timely, behavioral, specific, impact-focused feedback, and if your team members know that feedback is part of a healthy working environment, you don’t need to blur praise and constructive criticism. 

I encourage you to take the Praise Sandwich off your management menu. 

Click here to read a related post. Catch People Doing Something Right. (The Power of Praise) 5 min read.

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement ? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees or a SMART Development consultant please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, energy storage and facilities management, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.

 

 

 

The Four Essential Capacities for Leading Effectively in a 'VUCA' World.

 

 

 

 

 

VUCA (which stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) was coined as an acronym first described by Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus in their 1985 book, Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge (link to the 2007 second edition). It gained fame through its use by the US Army War College in the 1990’s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. VUCA made sense then, and today it is a VUCA World more than ever.

The four descriptors of VUCA sound like an apt description of our world today, don’t they?

•      Volatility. The speed of change.
•      Uncertainty. The unpredictability of the future.
•      Complexity. The interconnectedness of nearly everything.
•      Ambiguity. The lack of clear-cut answers.

I’m guessing you feel like that is the world you live, work and lead in. Understanding and acknowledging that is great. But what do we do about it

Because VUCA can be scary, people often try to avoid or deny the VUCA components, or they use procrastination as their tool. While understanding coping mechanisms, none of these are viable approaches to dealing with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. 

Your FICO Score? 

When dealing with the factors of a VUCA world, there are four different capacities, that make up the acronym FICO (no, not your credit score!) that form a basis for the actions you can take for leading more effectively in a VUCA world. 

Here are those capacities, and how to use them in a VUCA world. 

Flexibility. When we are stressed, as we often are when experiencing VUCA, we typically respond with our natural or learned responses. While our experience and habits may be helpful, they are based on a world with more known factors, and situations that might be quite different. Existing or past approaches might not apply now.

That means that you will likely need to flex or adapt your approaches when things are volatile, uncertain, and complex.

Intentionality. We can’t be flexible until we decide we will consider something beyond our auto-responses. Intentionality is the necessary starting point for action in a VUCA world. Choose to be more intentional about your responses.

Contextualization. VUCA is best considered as a context for our situation. The more of each of the VUCA factors we see or are experiencing, the more we need to consider that context in our responses, choices and actions as a leader. Look at the context of the situation and try to understand it as best you can (even though you can’t know everything). When you do, you have a better chance of responding and leading more effectively.

Opportunism. Ambiguity and complexity provide opportunities if we look for them. Opportunities to try new things, to look at things in new ways, to advance while others retreat. The most effective leaders look at a VUCA world and look for opportunities.

While VUCA presents challenges, it also offers unprecedented opportunities. Businesses and teams that adapt will not only survive but thrive. The key lies in embracing the chaos, finding clarity amid confusion and viewing uncertainty as a catalyst for innovation.​

So, as you sip your coffee and ponder the unpredictable day ahead, remember, in the VUCA world, resilience isn't just a trait; it's a strategy. In fact, I believe that those who master it will lead the charge into a future where the only certainty is uncertainty.

It's easy to be swept away by the high-speed crises of the day (Can you spell tariff?). The news cycle alone can trigger reactive states that lead you into a sense of hopelessness. But leadership is none of this. It is the acknowledgement of reality, the instilling of hope and by extension the creation of a better future. Be a leader in the VUCA world. We need you.

Check out three related blog posts:

A Key to Leveraging Change is to Frame Transitions As Doorways (2 min read)

6 Steps for Adapting to Change  (3 min read)

 15 Quotes About Bouncing Back From Setbacks  (2 min read)

To your greater resilience and well-being,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step...
Interested in learning how to develop your organization's leadership capability, culture, and employee engagement ? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees or a SMART Development consultant please 

contact: Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, energy storage and facilities management, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, wealth management services, real estate services, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth.