Too much patience breeds indecision, charisma can be manipulative, and control, while it can prevent waste, inhibits creativity. Managers--and their teams--need these factors in balance. Here's a primer on how.

Yesterday, I was talking to a pair of very smart and very ambitious friends. As I told them, I am all for high performing teams, excellence in performance, and I love the restlessness that drives creative people at places like Apple, Pixar, and Facebook.

There are many stunning moments in the documentary "Inside Job," which brilliantly demystifies the story behind the global financial crisis. For me, the most powerful was something the CEO of a large bank said to his fellow guests at a party held by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. "We can't control our greed," the CEO acknowledged. "You should regulate us more."

When is a leader most likely to be self-serving, rather than focused on what's best for the company? And how can each of us tell which type of leader we are, or might someday be?

In any career, a little effort goes a long way. And too little effort can leave a lasting, bad impression on your customers.

Yesterday I had the unfortunate task of visiting my father in the hospital. Memorial Hermann Southwest in Houston Texas to be specific, but something tells me what I found is more the norm than the exception.