Month: December 2011

"Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. You don't fail overnight. Instead, failure is a few errors in judgment, repeated every day." —Jim Rohn

Uncommon Leadership Has Common Traits by Harvey Mackay

A lot of people think leaders are born and not made. I disagree. I think you can become a better leader. I'm not a cook, but I've held many leadership positions. I thought this recipe for a leader sounded pretty good:

Have all ingredients at body temperature. Sift intelligence, ambition, and understanding together. Mix cooperation, initiative, and open-mindedness until dissolved. Add gradually ability, tactfulness and responsibility. Stir in positive attitude and judgment. Beat in patience until smooth. Blend all ingredients well. Sprinkle liberally with cheerfulness and bake in oven of determination. When absorbed thoroughly, cool and spread with kindness and common sense.

If that seems like a long list of ingredients, well, it is. But good leadership won't happen if any of those items are missing.

I love to study leaders and the different ways they lead. If there ever was a need for great leadership in a company, that time is now. Taking an organization through a good economy is tough enough; when the going gets rough, the real leaders shine. Consider the challenges that faced these leaders.

The military presents many opportunities to observe leaders in action. For example, President and General Dwight Eisenhower used a simple device to illustrate the art of leadership. Laying an ordinary piece of string on a table, he'd illustrate how you could easily pull it in any direction. "However, try and push it," he cautioned, "and it won't go anywhere. It's just that way when it comes to leading people."

The Duke of Wellington, the British military leader who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, was a great commander but a difficult man to serve under. He was a perfectionist and very demanding, who complimented his subordinates only on rare occasions. In retirement, Wellington was asked by a visitor what he would do differently if he had his life to live over again. The old Duke thought for a moment and then said, "I'd give people I worked with more praise."

The famous general and Macedonian king Alexander the Great led by example. As he led an army across the desert, a soldier came up to him, knelt down, and offered him a helmet filled with precious water. "Is there enough there for 10,000 men?" asked Alexander. When the soldier shook his head, Alexander poured the water out on the desert sands, refusing to take even a sip.

My friend Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Chairman of Carlson, wrote in her book How We Lead Matters, "The fact is that being a leader in any field requires discipline, effort, and yes, sacrifice. It can be all-consuming. And during that time, life may not have much balance. It's been said, 'If you can't ride two horses at the same time, you should get out of the circus.' A circus is not at all a bad analogy for the swirl of demands placed on leaders at the top."

Leaders are not always popular. Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell wrote in his book, My American Journey, "I learned... you cannot let the mission suffer, or make the majority pay to spare the feelings of an individual. I kept a saying under the glass of my desk at the Pentagon that made the point succinctly if inelegantly: 'Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.' "

Ken Blanchard once told me, "The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority."

"A business leader has to keep their organization focused on the mission," says Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay. "That sounds easy, but it can be tremendously challenging in today's competitive and ever-changing business environment. A leader also has to motivate potential partners to join."

Leadership guru Warren Bennis spent several years researching leaders for his book Why Leaders Can't Lead. He traveled around the country spending time with 90 of the most effective and successful leaders in the nation—60 from corporations and 30 from the public sector. His goal was to find these leaders' common traits. At first, he had trouble pinpointing any common traits, for the leaders were more diverse than he had expected.

But he later wrote: "I was finally able to come to conclusions, of which perhaps the most important is the distinction between leaders and managers. Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right. Both roles are crucial, but they differ profoundly. I often observe people in top positions doing the wrong thing well."

Mackay's Moral: Good leaders inspire others with confidence in them. Great leaders inspire them with confidence in themselves.

From Ron White’s Newsletter what a powerful article.

Learn how to be successful

The Winner's Edge Coaching Tips

Thoughts on Successful People by Chris Widener

I was hired to do some training for a sales team from one of the largest companies in America. There were 16 people on this team. This year their sales (for the 16 of them) will be 250 million—that's right, a quarter of a billion—dollars! Needless to say, it was an excellent and fascinating time. I decided to learn a little bit myself so I watched them closely to see what kind of people they were and to see what common denominators they shared. Below is what I found. I think you will find the elements applicable to your own life.

The first thing I noticed about this successful sales team was that they had a sense of humor! They simply weren't a terribly serious bunch of people. Instead, they saw that life was to be enjoyed and that means they were able to laugh a little bit. Sure, there were varying levels in this but they all had a sense of humor. They were able to laugh at circumstances, and they were able to laugh at themselves. It was quite refreshing and a core element of their success, I'm sure.

The second thing I found out about this group was that they did not achieve their success through pedigree, but through hard work. They didn't come from families that gave them a free pass into the upper echelon of the corporate world and they didn't get a head start from upper-crust universities. What got them to where they are now? Hard work! That's right, another example that if you put your mind to it, work hard and get in the right situation, you can achieve great things! These folks work long hours and are disciplined in the work they do. And it is paying off.

The third thing I noticed about this team is that they are learners. They were always engaged in the learning process. During my sessions they were engaged and listening. You could see their minds processing the information. They were asking questions and applying the material to their work and their lives. They wanted to improve in any way that they could. It was also interesting to watch them in their team meetings led by their sales manager. They were very interactive and were learning from one another. None of them was above learning from a peer.

What did I see in these successful people? The same things that can make you a success as you apply the principles to your own life: A sense of humor, hard work, and a desire to learn at every turn.

Now is the time to share successful thoughts! For a limited time, you can choose a special package developed especially for you to share the extraordinary teachings of Denis Waitley. Click here for information or to order.

From Denis Waitley’s newsletter, wow what a powerful article. It shows the power of learning.

Learn how to be successful

"I would rather make mistakes in kindness and compassion than work miracles in unkindness and hardness."
Mother Teresa
1910-1997
From Insight of the Day emails

"Success is not so much what we have as it is what we are." —Jim Rohn