Author name: wsl admin

Frequently, I speak and write about how important values are to strong organizations, and the impact that a values-driven culture has on worker engagement, customer devotion, and business achievement. Any leader interested in a strong ROI must make values and the building of a strong culture their priority.

If you ask me, striving for “success” above all else is not the most highly advisable goal for those in leadership. We’ve all heard the old saying, “Nothing breeds failure quite like success!” And it’s true. What are the reasons for this “success-breeds-failure” paradox?

The lion’s share of business opinion about the “soft side” of leadership – the people side, the values and integrity side, the character side – is that these softer issues are nice and certainly worth some attention, from time to time. However, the fact is that there’s a company to run, and hard quantitative data must drive the central focus of the leader.

Lawrence J. Peter, co-author of the 1969 book, The Peter Principle, famously stated that, “Employees tend to get promoted to their level of incompetence.” Reflecting on this over the years has led me to the conclusion that Dr. Peter was both right and wrong.