Dr. Joseph Bartosch’s Post

When Spanish triathlete Diego Méntriga noticed that British triathlete James Teagle went the wrong way before finish line of Santander Triathlon,Mentriga waited for him so he could take what he says is his deserved 3rd place.“He was in front of me the whole time.He deserved it.” The truth is blowing out someone else’s candle will never make yours shine brighter. Stay hungry , stay humble and lift each other up. Have a great Sunday. Hows this for sportsmanship ? #fair #sport #mentality #fairness #business

A friendship has lasted 37 years because of a rock: Yesterday, I was talking to one of my clients, the CEO of a nationwide communications company. He reminded me of a story from 37 years ago when I was his camp counselor in the hills of western North Carolina. He was in my cabin that week. Our cabin started a silly little thing at camp where we created a mascot. The campers had simply taken a rock, painted a face on him, and given him a name. He became the mascot for our team that week. We called him, "Ed the rock." This CEO began to tell me that he and one of his cabin mates that week had "adopted" this rock. As a result, these guys became great friends. And for many years, they actually passed this rock back and forth. That became the source of a great friendship. One lives in North Carolina, and one lives in Michigan, but for the last 37 years, their families have actually vacationed together! These men have become super successful. They are involved in politics and business together. All because we had an opportunity to unify around the common goal of winning with our team, and we found a way to creatively use something so mundane as a rock to create this unity and team spirit. Thanks, Ed!

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." No greater lie has ever been told. Words can cheer us, encourage us, and heal us. And they can absolutely feel like a sword has stabbed us. Sometimes those words can wound you for life. Maybe you are reading this right now, and you can immediately think of angry words, unkind words, and vicious words that have been said to you. I hope that many of you can also remember the words of encouragement that have been said to you in your life. Let's determine to be encouragers. Let's heal with our tongues. This week, be an encourager to your coworkers, your friends, and your family. Don't be rash and hurtful with your words. As a leader, realize the power of your words. Use them to encourage. #InsightsFromProverbs #encourage

The other day my wife and I were on a bike ride. We were on a little bit of a climb, and I noticed someone pass me. He wasn't pedaling any more frequently than I was, but he was making a lot more progress than I was. I have a bike that has 21 speeds, and I just had it right in the middle of those gears. It occurred to me that I've been working pretty hard and pedaling pretty hard, and I should use those different gears. I shifted, and it was amazing to me how much further I could go with just a slightly more forceful push. And it got me thinking about running our businesses. Are you working really hard, but not getting the kind of results that you should? Are you working and trying so hard, but actually, the real issue is that you aren't gearing properly? What would that look like? I think some people are unwilling to delegate. I think some leaders struggle with prioritization. Sometimes we pedal hard, and we don't stop to think about whether or not what we're working on is the most important. Other "gears" could be budgeting or saying no. There are a lot of business owners that are working very hard; they're pedaling very fast. But they're not going very far because they're not using these "gears" to help them move along much more efficiently.

One of my buddies was a very successful salesman. He put together a sales conference one year, and the title of this conference was "Less Than Four." No other explanation was given to any of the attendees. This title was in reference to Roger Bannister, who, in 1954, broke the 4-minute mile. The experts of the day had indicated that it was scientifically impossible for a human to run the mile in less than four minutes. After all, that barrier had stood for all of time! And yet, in 1954, once Roger broke that barrier, once it was proven that you could run a mile in less than four minutes, within two months, two more people broke that barrier. Since that time, over 1400 male athletes have broken the 4-minute mile. We set barriers for ourselves, and we believe it's impossible to do what has not been done before. My friend's challenge to his entire team was to remember Roger Bannister. Maybe there's a sales barrier that our team can break, a sales record that we have believed to this point to be impossible. You can do more than you can imagine. Your greatest deterrent is in your mind. What's the 4-minute mile in your organization? What's the 4-minute mile in your life? It can be broken. It can be done. Now go do it. #motivation

Last week, we lost a big business deal. A group of us had the opportunity to buy another company. They wound up selling their business to another private equity firm. We took the opportunity to contact the leadership and congratulate them on their deal. We wanted to let them know that we're genuinely interested in their well being. We lost a deal, but we didn't lose a friend. When dealing with clients or potential clients, it's important to genuinely care about them. If you genuinely care about someone, you want what is best for them. And if they get a good deal, you are happy for them, even if things didn't go your way. Business is about people. It's about relationships. Don't let missed opportunities get in the way of that. #relationships #business

We sometimes have this view that leaders should be determined and authoritative. Those leaders are often wrong, but never in doubt. There are certainly benefits to being decisive. And I hope that we recognize that good leadership often means being decisive, persistent, focused, and determined. All of these things are necessary at a certain point in our leadership. But have you ever thought about how important it is to be kind as a leader? Be an empathetic leader. Be understanding as a leader. Be kind. It's not a weakness. It's a strength. This is the kind of leadership that inspires and causes people to want to follow. #leadership #kindness

"We have two ears and one mouth for a reason." Listening is not waiting on your turn to talk. It is not forming your response in your mind as the other person is speaking. Listening is genuinely hearing with understanding and empathy so that you can gather their perspective on the situation. Someone recently recounted to me how a challenging situation was resolved because they simply asked a question and then listened. This story reminded me once again of the importance of listening. This is especially the case when you're in a tense conversation. There is so much power in listening. Next time you are faced with a difficult conversation, let listening do the heavy lifting.