Sal Levatino - SL Business Solutions

08/12/2026

This is an important insight for all business owners. Are you simply solving problems or do you have the vision and leadership skills to see down the road and help your business get to the next level.

Hitting targets is how you earned strong performance reviews. Finding new targets is how you change the organization.

You were the star performer.
You were the talent.
When a problem arose, you fixed it.
When a goal was set, you achieved it.

That skill matters. It always will.

Yet leadership asks for something different.

Leadership is not only about hitting the mark. It is about seeing what others cannot yet see. The individual contributor asks, “How do I hit the target?” The leader asks, “Are we even aiming at the right one?”

Great leaders stop solving yesterday’s problems better than anyone else. They start questioning whether those problems are still the right ones to solve.

Your team does not need you to score the points for them. They need you to help them understand the game, the direction, and the purpose behind the effort.

Talent delivers results.
Leadership creates meaning.

Life is good.
Marshall

07/17/2026

One of the most difficult things for a small business owner is to overcome the need to be "right". As you grow and mature in your business your role will begin to change. From the person doing the business to manager to hopefully leader. It depends on what you want in your business but growth almost always leads to this role change. The real question is how do you prepare for those changes.

It can be very difficult for smart, technically trained leaders to “let it go.”

As we grow in our careers, our value shifts. Early on, we are rewarded for having answers. Later, we are rewarded for helping others find them. This transition is not easy, especially for people who built their success on expertise.

You have a choice. You can continue to be the expert, or you can become a leader. Both paths are honorable. Both can be deeply fulfilling. But trying to do both at the same time often leads to frustration - for you and for your team.

Great leaders create space for others to grow. They ask more than they tell. They focus less on being right and more on making a difference.

There is no universally “correct” answer. The right choice is the one that aligns with who you want to be.

Life is good.
Marshall

Thank you for reading my reflections on leadership, coaching, and life. If you would like to continue the conversation, please visit MarshallGoldsmith.ai.

04/28/2026

Sadly, true. The people that want coaching are usually okay with being vulnerable and uncomfortable and not having to be right all the time. The people who usually need coaching the most are those who very much need to be right, in order to protect themselves. Difficult patterns to break.

Coaching only works with clients who care. This is very hard for wonderful coaches to accept.

Most coaches enter the profession because they truly want to help people. That desire is admirable, but it can also lead to frustration.

Coaching is a partnership. It only works when the person being coached is willing to participate in their own growth.

My good friend Sursock and I were discussing this challenge. Over the years we have both learned the same lesson. The people who need coaching the most are often the ones who want it the least. And the people who want coaching the most are often those who need it the least.

Great coaches can guide, support, challenge, and encourage. What we cannot do is force someone to care.

Keep helping your dedicated clients. You are making our world a better place!

Life is good.
Marshall

04/26/2026

What is your "Why"?

04/26/2026

Always seek out people who are willing to tell you what you may need to hear. Be brave enough to have at least one of those people with you on your business journey.

We all want to be loved and respected. Sometimes we have to make a choice.

In many cases, it’s fine to tell people what they want to hear.

Telling an older person, “You look great!” is perfectly OK. I am soon going to be celebrating my 77th birthday, I hear this all the time, and I don’t object!

But in other cases, we need to tell people what they need to hear — even when it isn’t pleasant.

As a CEO coach, I’ve told many leaders, “It’s time for you to go.”

- Sometimes they were at the top with nowhere to go but down if they stayed. I suggested that they 'leave at the top'!
- Sometimes they had done a good job, but it was time to let someone else lead.
- Sometimes I wanted them to leave on their own terms - not wait until the Board fired them.

They all thanked me for my honestly.

The ones that left tured out to be grateful. In a couple of cases, the ones that stayed regretted it later.

They all knew that I was doing this for their own benefit.

Before you speak, breathe.

Think.

Consider your relationship with this other human being.

Then make your choice.

Life is good.
Marshall

04/27/2023

Exactly right!

04/03/2023

12/03/2022

Still true

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