How Leaders Learn

Chapter 21

The Foundation That Can’t Be Swept Away

Learn by doing the hard things

Here’s a favorite quote of mine that I have framed in my office:

The easy way is efficacious and speedy, the hard way arduous and long. But, as the clock ticks, the easy way becomes harder, and the hard way becomes easier. And as the calendar records the years, it becomes increasingly evident that the easy way rests hazardously upon shifting sands, whereas the hard way builds solidly a foundation of confidence that cannot be swept away.

Who said this? Colonel Sanders.

When I became president of KFC, his legacy loomed large. He made the business a success on a shoestring budget while maintaining the highest standards. After a newly built interstate bypass ruined ...