Morning Briefings

We must have courage to face life’s inevitables: pain, suffering and sorrow. When trouble comes, the coward says, ‘Run away.’ The hero says, ‘Stay and master it.’ Courage is not an instinct. Fear is an instinct. Courage is something that you acquire.

– James Milton McKnight from
Strength for Service to God and Country

Business is a race to see who can be the first to bring a product to the customer, and inventions and ideas are often born simultaneously around the world by any number of unrelated individuals.

– Yvon Chouinard
Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman

Make a little progress every day: I used to believe in the big-bang theory of marketing–a fantastic launch that created such inertia that you flew to ‘infinity and beyond.’ Now my theory is you make a little progress every day–whether that’s making your product slightly better, increasing your skill in one small way, or closing one more customer.

– Guy Kawasaki
Five most important lessons I’ve learned as an entrepreneur

In business, we like to avoid commitment. Liability scares us, so we add endless phrases to qualify our views on a topic. As a study in contrast, consider wedding vows with the traditional ‘I do.’ Two short words, nowhere to hide.

– Brian Fugere, Chelsea Hardaway, and Jon Warshawsky
Why Business People Speak Like Idiots: A Bullfighter’s Guide

There are exactly twenty-four hours in each day. Managing your time isn’t the real issue. Your time is fixed. What you need is to manage the activities that are consuming your time.

– Norman V. Peale & Ken Blanchard
The Power of Ethical Management

All season long, I would look for signs of His imminence and concern in my daily affairs. I prayed hard and only gradually became aware that this fierce praying was a way of finding prologue and entrance into my own writing. This came as both astonishment and relief. When I thought God had abandoned me, I discovered that He had simply given me a different voice to praise the inexhaustible beauty of the made world.

– Pat Conroy
My Losing Season

There’s global competition, technology changes, more regulations than ever before. It’s just complicated. Things are harder today.

– Patrick Lencioni
The Five Temptations of a CEO

When you’re really good at something, you always feel that you can do better.

– Lindsey Buckingham
VH1 Classic Albums: Fleetwood Mac

When we commit our work to the Lord–when we acknowledge Him as the real boss to whom we ultimately report–our perspective on what we’re doing, and why we’re doing it changes dramatically, as does our potential for success.

– Michael A. Zigarelli
Management by Proverbs

Dacor’s Company Value: To honor God in all that we do by respecting others, by doing good work, by helping others, by forgiving others, by giving thanks and by celebrating our lives.

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Dacor website