20 Little Tips For A Big Career And Life-- from Forbes

by Bruce Kasanoff Contributor

I structure my career and life around a simple sentence:

Be generous and expert, trustworthy and clear, open-minded and adaptable, persistent and present.

To keep this sentence in the front of my mind, I look for specific tips that support these qualities. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Day after day, be a little bit kinder and a tad wiser than you were the day before.

2. Both for your company and your family, be better at saving money than you are at spending it.

3. Contrary to how some misinterpret what Jim Collins says, it is a better strategy to be consistently good than occasionally great.

4. Read more. Nothing else will so quickly make you wiser.

5. The more interconnected our world becomes, the more important your reputation will be.

Always do the right thing, even when you think no one is watching.

6. Never forget that most people will do what you pay them to do, not what you tell them to do.

7. It is okay to be more generous than other people, just as it is okay to feel better about yourself than you used to feel.

8. Most of the answers you need already exist in someone else’s head; find those people.

9. The greatest challenge each day is to regulate your ego; too little of it, and you waste your potential, but too much of it and you waste everyone else’s potential.

10. Sometimes technology is going to hurt you, and other times it is going to help you. Be sure you are fully aware which is most likely at the present moment.

Read the full article online... 

21 Ways Rich People Think Differently

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/21-ways-rich-people-think-differently.html?page=1

By Mandi Woodruff | Business Insider – Tue, Sep 4, 2012 10:50 AM EDT


World's richest woman Gina Rinehart is enduring a media firestorm over an article in which she takes the "jealous" middle class to task for "drinking, or smoking and socializing" rather than working to earn their own fortune.

What if she has a point?

Steve Siebold, author of "How Rich People Think," spent nearly three decades interviewing millionaires around the world to find out what separates them from everyone else.

It had little to do with money itself, he told Business Insider. It was about their mentality.

"[The middle class] tells people to be happy with what they have," he said. "And on the whole, most people are steeped in fear when it comes to money."

Flickr / C. Pajunen1. Average people think MONEY is the root of all evil. Rich people believe POVERTY is the root of all evil.

"The average person has been brainwashed to believe rich people are lucky or dishonest," Siebold writes.

That's why there's a certain shame that comes along with "getting rich" in lower-income communities.

"The world class knows that while having money doesn't guarantee happiness, it does make your life easier and more enjoyable."

2. Average people think selfishness is a vice. Rich people think selfishness is a virtue.

"The rich go out there and try to make themselves happy. They don't try to pretend to save the world," Siebold told Business Insider.

The problem is that middle class people see that as a negative––and it's keeping them poor, he writes.

"If you're not taking care of you, you're not in a position to help anyone else. You can't give what you don't have."

Getty Images3. Average people have a lottery mentality. Rich people have an action mentality.

"While the masses are waiting to pick the right numbers and praying for prosperity, the great ones are solving problems," Siebold writes.

"The hero [middle class people] are waiting for may be God, government, their boss or their spouse. It's the average person's level of thinking that breeds this approach to life and living while the clock keeps ticking away."

4. Average people think the road to riches is paved with formal education. Rich people believe in acquiring specific knowledge.

"Many world-class performers have little formal education, and have amassed their wealth through the acquisition and subsequent sale of specific knowledge," he writes.

"Meanwhile, the masses are convinced that master's degrees and doctorates are the way to wealth, mostly because they are trapped in the linear line of thought that holds them back from higher levels of consciousness...The wealthy aren't interested in the means, only the end."

I Love Lucy screencap5. Average people long for the good old days. Rich people dream of the future.

"Self-made millionaires get rich because they're willing to bet on themselves and project their dreams, goals and ideas into an unknown future," Siebold writes.

"People who believe their best days are behind them rarely get rich, and often struggle with unhappiness and depression."

6. Average people see money through the eyes of emotion. Rich people think about money logically.

"An ordinarily smart, well-educated and otherwise successful person can be instantly transformed into a fear-based, scarcity driven thinker whose greatest financial aspiration is to retire comfortably," he writes.

"The world class sees money for what it is and what it's not, through the eyes of logic. The great ones know money is a critical tool that presents options and opportunities."

7. Average people earn money doing things they don't love. Rich people follow their passion.

"To the average person, it looks like the rich are working all the time," Siebold says. "But one of the smartest strategies of the world class is doing what they love and finding a way to get paid for it."

On the other hand, middle class take jobs they don't enjoy "because they need the money and they've been trained in school and conditioned by society to live in a linear thinking world that equates earning money with physical or mental effort."

8. Average people set low expectations so they're never disappointed. Rich people are up for the challenge.

"Psychologists and other mental health experts often advise people to set low expectations for their life to ensure they are not disappointed," Siebold writes.

"No one would ever strike it rich and live their dreams without huge expectations."

BarackObamadotcom via YouTube9. Average people believe you have to DO something to get rich. Rich people believe you have to BE something to get rich.

"That's why people like Donald Trump go from millionaire to nine billion dollars in debt and come back richer than ever," he writes.

"While the masses are fixated on the doing and the immediate results of their actions, the great ones are learning and growing from every experience, whether it's a success or a failure, knowing their true reward is becoming a human success machine that eventually produces outstanding results."

10. Average people believe you need money to make money. Rich people use other people's money.

Linear thought might tell people to make money in order to earn more, but Siebold says the rich aren't afraid to fund their future from other people's pockets.

"Rich people know not being solvent enough to personally afford something is not relevant. The real question is, 'Is this worth buying, investing in, or pursuing?'" he writes.

11. Average people believe the markets are driven by logic and strategy. Rich people know they're driven by emotion and greed.

Investing successfully in the stock market isn't just about a fancy math formula.

"The rich know that the primary emotions that drive financial markets are fear and greed, and they factor this into all trades and trends they observe," Siebold writes.

"This knowledge of human nature and its overlapping impact on trading give them strategic advantage in building greater wealth through leverage."

12. Average people live beyond their means. Rich people live below theirs.

"Here's how to live below your means and tap into the secret wealthy people have used for centuries: Get rich so you can afford to," he writes.

"The rich live below their means, not because they're so savvy, but because they make so much money that they can afford to live like royalty while still having a king's ransom socked away for the future."

richkidsofinstagram.tumblr.com13. Average people teach their children how to survive. Rich people teach their kids to get rich.

Rich parents teach their kids from an early age about the world of "haves" and "have-nots," Siebold says. Even he admits many people have argued that he's supporting the idea of elitism.

He disagrees.

"[People] say parents are teaching their kids to look down on the masses because they're poor. This isn't true," he writes. "What they're teaching their kids is to see the world through the eyes of objective reality––the way society really is."

If children understand wealth early on, they'll be more likely to strive for it later in life.

14. Average people let money stress them out. Rich people find peace of mind in wealth.

The reason wealthy people earn more wealth is that they're not afraid to admit that money can solve most problems, Siebold says.

"[The middle class] sees money as a never-ending necessary evil that must be endured as part of life. The world class sees money as the great liberator, and with enough of it, they are able to purchase financial peace of mind."

Kim Bhasin / Business Insider15. Average people would rather be entertained than educated. Rich people would rather be educated than entertained.

While the rich don't put much stock in furthering wealth through formal education, they appreciate the power of learning long after college is over, Siebold says.

"Walk into a wealthy person's home and one of the first things you'll see is an extensive library of books they've used to educate themselves on how to become more successful," he writes.

"The middle class reads novels, tabloids and entertainment magazines."

16. Average people think rich people are snobs. Rich people just want to surround themselves with like-minded people.

The negative money mentality poisoning the middle class is what keeps the rich hanging out with the rich, he says.

"[Rich people] can't afford the messages of doom and gloom," he writes. "This is often misinterpreted by the masses as snobbery.

Labeling the world class as snobs is another way the middle class finds to feel better bout themselves and their chosen path of mediocrity."

Flickr / Wei Tchou17. Average people focus on saving. Rich people focus on earning.

Siebold theorizes that the wealthy focus on what they'll gain by taking risks, rather than how to save what they have.

"The masses are so focused on clipping coupons and living frugally they miss major opportunities," he writes.

"Even in the midst of a cash flow crisis, the rich reject the nickle and dime thinking of the masses. They are the masters of focusing their mental energy where it belongs: on the big money."

18. Average people play it safe with money. Rich people know when to take risks.

"Leverage is the watchword of the rich," Siebold writes.

"Every investor loses money on occasion, but the world class knows no matter what happens, they will aways be able to earn more."

Flickr / Ibrahim Iujaz19. Average people love to be comfortable. Rich people find comfort in uncertainty.

For the most part, it takes guts to take the risks necessary to make it as a millionaire––a challenge most middle class thinkers aren't comfortable living with.

"Physical, psychological, and emotional comfort is the primary goal of the middle class mindset," Siebold writes.

World class thinkers learn early on that becoming a millionaire isn't easy and the need for comfort can be devastating. They learn to be comfortable while operating in a state of ongoing uncertainty."

20. Average people never make the connection between money and health. Rich people know money can save your life.

While the middle class squabbles over the virtues of Obamacare and their company's health plan, the super wealthy are enrolled in a super elite "boutique medical care" association, Siebold says.

"They pay a substantial yearly membership fee that guarantees them 24-hour access to a private physician who only serves a small group of members," he writes.

"Some wealthy neighborhoods have implemented this strategy and even require the physician to live in the neighborhood."

Getty Images21. Average people believe they must choose between a great family and being rich. Rich people know you can have it all.

The idea the wealth must come at the expense of family time is nothing but a "cop-out", Siebold says.

"The masses have been brainwashed to believe it's an either/or equation," he writes. "The rich know you can have anything you want if you approach the challenge with a mindset rooted in love and abundance."

From Steve Siebold, author of "How Rich People Think."

A New Year’s Resolution for Business Success: Build a Better Leadership System

http://lasvegas.informermg.com/2013/01/07/a-new-years-resolution-for-business-success-build-a-better-leadership-system/

 By Dr. Ray Benedetto and Tom Walter

What are you going to do to make your company better in 2013?  Shooting for financial targets is hardly enough.  Chasing financial goals is futile if the company lacks the human talent necessary to achieve such goals.  In brief, making any company better depends on how leaders retain and leverage their human assets as a distinctive competitive advantage.

Our research has shown how entangled companies sustain distinctive competitive advantages in various industries by building unique and enviable cultures that stimulate creative thinking, constantly generate new ideas, motivate high performance, and consistently delight customers.  Leaders of high-performing companies view their business as a system that requires the synchronizing of key subsystems.  Great leaders know that the future success of any enterprise rests on the strength of their leadership subsystem, which includes the current and future direction of the enterprise and their leadership pipeline—how tomorrow’s leaders are being developed today.

The leadership pipeline is a lot more than merely planning for leadership succession. The pipeline is a set of integrated steps that begins with having the right people on board, extends to daily reinforcement of right behaviors, and manifests itself in discretionary thinking and exceptional performance. If you want to do better in 2013 and beyond, assessing your leadership subsystem is a good place to start. The following questions spanning eight key areas can help you begin:

Core values.  Does the company have a set of explicit core values? Was staff from all levels of the company involved in creating these values?  Are the values easy to understand?  Does the set of core values, taken together, convey the spirit of the company?  Are the values conspicuously displayed throughout work areas to remind employees about the values the company holds most dear?

Code of conduct. Have employees created a code of conduct that exemplifies how core values appear in daily behaviors?  Do employees hold themselves and others mutually accountable for right behaviors? Does the performance evaluation and management system recognize and reward employees for exemplifying core values?

Organizational Purpose.  Does the vision for the company’s future inspire suppliers and key partners as well as employees? Does the company mission clearly state daily commitments in serving the stakeholders?  When employees meet formally to conduct company business, do they review and reinforce the organizational purpose (values, vision, and mission)?

Leadership Philosophy.  Does each employee understand the difference between leadership and management? Is every employee viewed as a leader who has influence upon others?  Does each employee have a defined circle of influence through which he or she can affect change?

Trust and Caring. Is each employee trusted to act as a responsible adult? Have the company shed a 20th century command-and-control management approach for a 21st century trust-and-track leadership approach? Does each and every leader work on building relationships based on trusting and caring for others?  Does the performance evaluation and management system recognize and reward leaders for relationship building? Are leaders who fail to meet this standard assessed, counseled, and coached to develop these skills?  Are leaders who fail to respond to positive development efforts relieved from duties and encouraged to find employment elsewhere?

Learning and Growth. Are employees at all levels taught how to read company financial reports and to assess functional performance related to cost and expense management and revenue generation? Does each employee understand how his or her daily performance contributes to company goals and objectives? Does each employee have an individual development plan that identifies three strengths to be leveraged as well as three improvement areas for the next performance year?

Transparency. Are employees receiving all the necessary daily and weekly information from which to make decisions?  Do employees receive routine, comprehensive reports of company operations they can use to improve service to their internal customers?  Are employees engaged in decision-making at the lowest levels related to cost and expense management as well as revenue generation, if appropriate?

Accountability. Is each employee held accountable for meeting objectives?  Does each employee provide a formal accounting of performance, such as weekly huddles (The Great Game of Business -1992 – by Jack Stack and Bo Burlingham, New York: Currency-Doubleday)?  Responsibility without accountability results in less than optimal performance!

Although answers to some of the above questions may not be easy, they provide a starting point for improving the leadership system within any company.  The eight areas above serve as a framework through which leaders can work during the course of a year.  Some areas are sequential, such as the code of conduct following establishment of core values, while others can run concurrently, such as learning and growth along with transparency.  The keys to success are doing honest assessments, confronting the brutal facts, and pursuing solutions for each response that lacks a definitive “Yes!”

Dr. Ray Benedetto, DM, is a retired USAF Colonel. He founded a consulting firm that helps leaders build high-performing, character-based cultures in addition to his teaching leadership and strategic planning for the University of Phoenix Chicago Campus MBA program. Tom Walter is a serial entrepreneur and nationally recognized speaker on entrepreneurship, leadership and business culture. They are the co-authors of It’s My Company Too! How Entangled Companies Move Beyond Employee Engagement For Remarkable Results. For more information, please visit, www.ItsMyCompanyToo.com.

5 Traits of Leaders Who Are Ready for Social Good

http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2012/12/09/5-traits-of-leaders-who-are-ready-for-social-good/

Meghan M. Biro, Contributor

‘Tis the season to do good. You might not believe it if you’ve just come from the Mall, but the spirit of good is out there. Perhaps unexpectedly, good deeds and real social change are coming from business leaders who understand that success carries with it the opportunity to exercise social responsibility without the burden of government mandate.

The path to becoming a socially-responsible leader is not as difficult as one might think. It’s a logical extension of the passionate leader’s journey. Not all leaders take it, of course; I could find no real good numbers as I researched this post but my instinct tells me less than 50 percent of successful business leaders go on to contribute to social good in a meaningful way. I’m hoping these numbers continue to increase.

Todd Warren, my fellow Forbes contributor, educator and thought-leader on startup culture, has proposed an awesome post about five attributes of entrepreneurial leaders: vision and dissatisfaction with the present, knowing and taking advantage of one’s unfair advantages, ability to recruit people to extend your vision, flexibility and ability to learn and adapt, and persistence and execution. These attributes are, in my view, the basic requirements for a socially-responsible leader – but wait, there’s more. Warren’s five attributes may make a good entrepreneur but they don’t go far enough to explain why some business success stories – for example Bill Gates – go beyond business success to become social activists and philanthropists. For every Bill Gates there are 20 or 30 Carl Ichans, Mark Cubans, even – and I am a fanboi – Steve Jobs, who achieved enormous personal success and wealth but have not contributed back significantly to society. So how does a business leader transcend personal success and extend his or her skills to the realm of the do-gooder?

I’d argue there are an additional five traits necessary to be a socially-responsible leader:

1) Heightened situational awareness. It’s one thing to be focused on being aware of the business landscape by staying open to ideas to extend and perfect your vision. It’s a different skill to be aware of the world around you. In the movie Scrooged, Bill Murray is completely unaware of his assistant’s life challenges until the ghosts visit him; once his awareness is engaged and the focus expanded from his wants and needs to encompass those of others, he is transformed into a socially-responsible, charitable soul. To become socially responsible, leaders must look beyond themselves to see what motivates, or holds back, those around him. Then he or she can see the need in others – in the world – and turn the intense focus of the entrepreneur to solving larger social problems.

2) Emotional intelligence. Yes, this is one of my favorite themes, for a reason. Until a leader opens
his or her heart and mind to others, turns what is undoubtedly prodigious intelligence and focus outward to understand the challenges of others, there can be no authentic social leadership. If you see an emotionally limited leader doing good works, look for a smart tax advisor standing in the wings.

3) Empathy. This isn’t the same as emotional intelligence. I know lots of emotionally intelligent people who are more cerebral than they are empathetic. They can understand why people behave a certain way, and adapt, but at some level it does not reach them. Empathetic people are open to the world of hurt that exists on the periphery of the world of things; they know not only why people have needs, but also why it is important to meet those needs.

4) Media savvy. This might not seem like an attribute but it is. Look at Bill Gates then look at Steve Ballmer. ‘Nuff said. The media savvy leader has an advantage when he turns his attention to social good. Bono, no stranger to the media or financial success, has done tremendous good because he knows how to work the media to advance his cause. And some media, notably HuffPo and Mashable, are making it much easier for socially-aware leaders to do good. HuffPo’s HuffPost Education Section is a media hub for all things relevant to the country’s failing education system. The brain child of Brian Sirgutz, SVP of Social Impact at The Huffington Post/AOL, HuffPo’s Education Section came about after the media channel’s executive leadership watched the movie Waiting for Superman. It’s a content channel devoted to charting what’s wrong – and what could make it right – in our education system. It may not meet your criteria for doing good, but when you’re a media channel, access is your gift and your gold. Then there’s Mashable’s Social Good content channel. The editors of Mashable, led by Meghan Peters, Community Manager for Mashable, scan the Interwebs for news and evidence of individuals, leaders and organizations dedicating resources to social good. Sometimes all it takes is a light shining on a good act, or a horror, to alert society (and leaders) to the opportunity for social good. PS: My #TChat World of Work Community will be featuring both the talented Meghan and talented Brian this week as we celebrate via social media channels.

5) Selflessness. This is the tough one. Some entrepreneurs and successful (wealthy, not merely well-off) people are not acquainted with selflessness. They do things because their personal calculus tells them there’s a benefit. Maybe it’s the unreconstructed Catholic in me but by my reckoning, you haven’t done a social good if you expect to deduct it on your taxes. You do a social good when you have no expectation of repayment of any kind – we’re not buying indulgences here.
Non-profit, for-profit, individual or business leader – we can all learn a lesson during the festival of light, the season of charity and goodness. Open your hearts and minds before you open your wallets. Charity doesn’t count if you don’t understand the motivation.

 

Secrets of Leadership Success Introduction to the Leadership Success Series

By Susan M. Heathfield, About.com Guide

http://humanresources.about.com/od/leadership/a/leader_success.htm

Key leadership success secrets set the great leaders apart from the so-so leaders in today's organizations. Leadership style is learned from mentors, learned in seminars and exists as part of a person's innate personal leadership skill set developed over years, and existing possibly, from birth. Nature or nurture is a question often asked about leadership. I answer, "yes," because I believe the combination of natural leadership skills and nurture through leadership development defines your leadership style.

Working from personal experience and research, I will define the characteristics of leadership that make great leaders. I envision a series of interlinked articles, each of which focuses on one aspect of leadership.

Leadership differs from management and supervision although some people and organizations use the terms interchangeably. While the definitions of the terms differ, an individual may have the ability to provide all three.

    Supervision means that an individual is charged with providing direction and oversight for other employees. The successful supervisor provides recognition, appreciation, training and feedback to reporting employees.

    Management means to conduct the affairs of business, to have work under control and to provide direction, to guide other employees, to administer and organize work processes and systems, and to handle problems. Managers monitor and control work while helping a group of employees more successfully conduct their work than they would have without her. A manager’s job is often described as providing everything his reporting employees need to successfully accomplish their jobs. One famous quote from Warren Bennis, Ph.D. in On Becoming a Leader distinguishes management from leadership: “Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing.”

    While a supervisor and a manager may also exhibit leadership skill or potential, true leaders are rare. This is because the combination of skills, personality and ambition essential to leadership are difficult to develop and exhibit. According to Don Clark, on his excellent leadership resource, Big Dog's Leadership Page, Bernard "Bass' theory of leadership states that there are three basic ways to explain how people become leaders. The first two explain the leadership development for a small number of people. These theories are:

    Some personality traits may lead people naturally into leadership roles. This is the Trait Theory.
    A crisis or important event may cause a person to rise to the occasion, which brings out extraordinary leadership qualities in an ordinary person. This is the Great Events Theory.
    People can choose to become leaders. People can learn leadership skills. This is the Transformational Leadership Theory.”

The Transformational Leadership Theory is the one I believe is correct for most leaders today. This belief forms the basis for my thinking about leadership.
The Key Leadership Trait

The first, and most important characteristic, of a leader is the decision to become a leader. At some point in time, leaders decide that they want to provide others with vision, direct the course of future events and inspire others to success. Leadership requires the individual to practice dominance and take charge. If you choose to become a leader, whether in your workplace, community or during an emergency, the discussion of these characteristics will help you formulate the appropriate mix of traits, skills and ambition. Successful leaders choose to lead. Unlike Keanu Reeves as Neo in 1999’s smash hit, The Matrix, you get to decide whether you are “the one.” The first characteristic of a leader is Choice - leaders choose to lead.
Characteristics of a Successful Leadership Style

Much is written about what makes successful leaders. I will focus on the characteristics, traits and actions that, I believe, are key.

    Choose to lead. (Current article - you are here.)
    Be the person others choose to follow.
    Provide vision for the future.
    Provide inspiration.
    Make other people feel important and appreciated.
    Live your values. Behave ethically.
    Set the pace through your expectations and example.
    Establish an environment of continuous improvement.
    Provide opportunities for people to grow, both personally and professionally.
    Care and act with compassion.

Mission Leadership: 4 Principles For Creating Corporate Commandos By Denis Wilson

http://www.fastcompany.com/3003397/mission-leadership-4-principles-creating-corporate-commandos

Much of the post-Petraeus talk has centered on the crisis of leadership in the military's top echelons. But on the ground, innovation doesn't spring from "command and control," but from mission leadership, something commando-turned-consultant Damian McKinney can teach you a thing or two about.

There seems to be a misconception that the military operates strictly by way of a rigid hierarchy, as if every last move on the frontline is orchestrated from atop the chain of command and those in the thick of it wait for the orders to trickle down. Not so--especially in the post-9/11 era of uncertainty.
In fact, when Damian McKinney entered the private sector after serving 18 years in British Royal Marines, the commando-turned-consultant found the business world to be more rigid than the military and that in many cases, corporate soldiers were not empowered to carry out their missions.

Shake-ups like the financial crisis only served as a reason for leadership to tighten their grip. In the military, this top-down management system is referred to as "command and control." You might call it micromanagement.

But the nature of conflict has changed significantly since the trench warfare of World War I and II. To reflect this, McKinney says a massive cultural shift took place among NATO forces during the 1980s.

“Suddenly you’ve got this guy called a terrorist appearing. And a terrorist doesn’t operate like a conventional soldier,” says McKinney. “So you’ve got a situation where an 18- or 19-year-old is faced with this guy standing in front of him and he does not have time to go through the normal chain of command and ask for permission to do something. So we had to turn the system on its head.”

Turning the system on its head meant transitioning from command and control to mission command. With mission command, everyone is closely aligned to the mission, trained to make appropriate decisions, and given the trust and support from leadership to follow through. The mission dictates what is to be done, but the how is, to a greater extent, in the hands of those tasked with execution.

Upon entering the private sector, McKinney quickly saw an opportunity to bring mission command principles to corporate leadership. In 1999, he founded management consulting firm, McKinney Rogers, which counts among its clients Walmart, Bacardi, and HBO. And this year, he published The Commando Way: Better Business Execution. In a nutshell, McKinney thinks that commando thinking is ideally suited to meet an unstable, uncertain business world. And so as to avoid the proscriptive connotations of the term "mission command," he calls it mission leadership. Here are its fundamentals.

Mission Leadership Requires A Deal 

McKinney recalls an anecdote from 1990 when a young major was explaining to a mixed audience of generals and young Marines why adopting mission command was a good idea. A general stood up and expressed his doubts that those with less experience and a lower rank could make the critical decisions that this empowerment calls for. “One of these young Marines stood up and said, ‘With all due respect, general, you’re asking me with this new doctrine to make these big decisions. How can I trust you to support me?’”

Empowerment is a two-way street. If leadership can provide a clear mission, reports should be trusted to carry out that mission with greater independence. “Essentially, it’s a deal. You’re gonna say, “Look, guys, I need to make sure we’re really clear that you all understand why we are doing what we’re doing, what we need you to do, and the boundaries within which you have to operate. You’re going to hold yourself accountable for that. But in exchange, I have to give you the freedom.”
And McKinney has all the confidence that given the opportunity to operate with more discretion, employees will thrive. “If you do that, it never ceases to amaze me how successful people can be and how innovative and creative they can be.” He suggests taking a lesson from the military, where everyone is expected to be able to operate at one or two levels above their rank, because if someone falls in battle, there’s no time to run off to management training while the enemy waits. “It has to happen there and then. So it allows you to be thinking and operating at a very different level. And so you get high levels of performance with smaller groups of people.”

Have a Vision for Success

When McKinney resigned from the military in 1997 and decided to go into business, he fully expected to leave the military mindset behind. But on morning one as a consultant, he was listening to a project presentation and at lunch asked someone to explain the “end state” of the project. “In other words, what does success look like and why are we doing it? The senior partner looked at me and said, ‘You’ve clearly been in the military too long. There is no such thing as an end state.’” McKinney was shocked: “For me it’s just an excuse--poor planning and poor understanding of what success looks like.’”

McKinney’s takeaway was that leaders should be less concerned with controlling every aspect of a project, and more concerned with outlining a clear outcome for a mission. “There’s a very simple human need here: Tell me where we’re going, tell me what part you’d like me to play--in other words, a plan--tell me the boundaries within which you want me to operate, and then just let me go.”
McKinney continues: “The one I use always because I just think it’s the best I’ve ever come across, is Kennedy’s 1961 vision. Where he stood and he essentially said, we’re going to put a man on the moon and return him safely by the end of the decade. It was powerful because it was really simple. You could listen to it and see a man standing on the moon and I can see him coming back. It was also time-bound. So I say to all these companies, everyone needs a destination. So the starting point is what is the vision for success.”

Also, Have a Purpose

What most companies call a mission statement is actually their purpose, says McKinney, and most of them are poor. A strong purpose is something you can always come back to. It’s the reason why a company exists. “Having a purpose is really important because it defines who you are,” says McKinney. “Your visions may change over the years, but your purpose should never change.”

McKinney has worked extensively with Bill Simon, president and CEO of Walmart U.S. In his work with Walmart, the company’s purpose consistently informs their strategy. Their purpose, “Saving people money so they can live better,” actually led to the company’s game-changing $4 generic drug program. “What we did is start off by saying, ‘What effect can we have on medical health care in the U.S. that actually drives costs down? Where do people pay a lot of money? They pay on their prescriptions, particularly old people. Well, then why don’t we try to drive the price of that down?’ So we literally went from $20 to $4. A massive change. We did a whole vision and strategy over four days, we launched it a week later, we went right through the U.S. in four months, and we saved the average middle-aged patient $200 a month.”

Empowerment Leads to Innovation

The most basic tenet behind mission leadership that is once a mission is laid out to an individual or team with absolute clarity, they should be allowed to run with it. “An individual needs to know the what and the why--the mission, the boundaries within which they operate, and then frankly, you never tell somebody how to do their job. You should just let them go.”

McKinney cites Diageo, the maker of Johnnie Walker, Guinness, and Smirnoff, as one company that’s had success with mission leadership tactics. For example, as the tastes of vodka drinkers started to shift from Smirnoff to premium brands like Grey Goose, Diageo knew it needed to move into that space. At the time, Steve Wilson, was the global head of innovation with Diageo, (Wilson now serves as an advisor to the McKinney Rogers board), and he tasked his product development team to come up with a new brand.

The key to success was empowering the team to to be creative with their solution, says Wilson. “Empowerment where you actually tell people what you want them to do, but you don’t tell them how they’ve got to do it.” As a result, the company ended up with the very successful vodka brand, Ciroc, which is different from most vodkas in that it’s derived from grapes, rather than the more common grain alcohol.

Given the freedom, the team came up with the answer: “The answer was, ‘Let’s go do vodka that’s made from grapes.’ Why grapes? Quite simply, what is the most luxurious product that you can drink? It’s probably Champagne. So what about a vodka that’s made from Champagne grapes?”
Without telling the team exactly what to achieve, but sticking to the mission, Diageo ended up with a winning vodka. “You get a good mix of people,” says Wilson, “Tell them what it is you want them to do, tell them when you need it by, then you just give them the freedom. And they’ll make it happen.”

Five New Year's Resolutions Every Leader Should Make

http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/12/03/five-new-years-resolutions-every-leader-should-make/

This article is by Nathan Bennett, a professor of management at the Robinson College of Business at George State University.

The time for resolutions is rapidly approaching. You should take deciding what to resolve seriously, so it’s not a bad idea to begin thinking now about what you might want to accomplish as a leader in 2013.

To help you focus your self-reflection, I conducted a strictly unscientific survey of my social network on Facebook and LinkedIn. I’ve been a professor for more than 20 years, so my networks are made up largely of former students. I’d guess the preponderance are working individuals between 27 and 47 years old who have MBAs. I suspect that makes them quite a bit like the teams you lead. I simply asked them what New Year’s Resolution they’d like to see their bosses make—and keep—during 2013. Here are their top five.

5. Resolve to be the kind of leader we want to follow.

Be consistent. We can tolerate even a poor leader if he isn’t channeling a different sort of poor leadership each day. Be real. Let us see how you as a leader effectively manage emotions and frustration at work.  Show us what excites you about the challenges ahead. Help us celebrate when we overcome a perplexing challenge. Set an example. Everyone watches you—how you dress, how you treat others, when you come to work, and when you leave. Your behavior is the best argument for how you would like us to behave.

 How To Pick And Stick To Career Goals Susan AdamsForbes Staff
Oops... Assumptions Can Make an Ass of You and Me! John BaldoniContributor

4. Resolve to help us understand how we can develop.

This helps us be better in many ways. It allows us to understand our future with the company; it gives us a way to structure our efforts to learn more about our jobs, our company, and our industry; and it shows that you have a personal interest, because you have made an effort to know our individual strengths and weaknesses.

3. Become a better listener.

We have ideas. They won’t all be great ideas, but if you listen to us you can coach us to develop our ability to better vet and sharpen the next one. Listening is one of the most considerate things one person can do for another. What better way to earn loyalty and respect than by being a genuinely interested listener?

2. Hold the micromanagement. Let’s talk trust.

Nothing is more frustrating than to be prevented from just doing the job you hired me to do. We understand that it can be uncomfortable to delegate work. We understand that in many cases it is your reputation on the line when our team fails to produce something to our standard. We get the risk to you. But when you micromanage, what you are saying is that you don’t trust me. Was I a hiring mistake? Did you get stuck with me on your team when you really wanted someone else? These are not thoughts that are going to help me become a better employee. Instead, let’s get the issues of risk and trust on the table. Let’s acknowledge what’s real and then work together to find a plan that allows me to make steps every day to earn your trust. And let’s make sure that plan gives me room to contribute and to grow.

1. Hold poor performers accountable. If they can’t improve, pay the price necessary to cut them loose.

What could be more damaging to the morale of the team than the struggle associated with carrying dead wood? We understand that you may not want to lose a position, that you may have some hope that you can magically restore someone’s motivation or suddenly implant some talent, or that politics may provide the poor performer with protection. We don’t care. Those are your problems, not ours. Our problem is that we see the ironic truth in the expression “addition by subtraction.” We would all be better with this person gone. The fact he or she remains does a lot to erode your credibility, and broadly, not just in regard to what you might consider an isolated situation.

These top five resolutions are not that surprising. They are frustrations I hear repeatedly in class and have heard for more than 20 years. So they are formidable challenges. But I don’t think they need to be destiny. Let’s make a start this year. I invite you to take some time during this last month of the year to think about the resolutions above. What would your team think if you were to announce that your goal for 2013 was to improve on one of them? How much might a real effort to improve make your life as a leader more enjoyable?

What will make your resolution work? We know that promises that are made publicly and negotiated with others involved are the most likely to be kept. You can talk with your team about the list above. There may be one item that will provoke smirks and chuckles around the table because it clearly is your Achilles heel. Or maybe your team would prefer you work on something else. Once you’ve identified your assignment, work with the team to agree on what success looks like. Make sure that process includes agreement on metrics and milestones. You all know how to manage a project. Make this a project. Your team will thank you, and I expect you will be surprised at how much easier they become to lead.

And, team members: This doesn’t have to begin with the leader. The conversation can begin with you. Make it one of your resolutions to share this article with a leader you’d like to see get better.

Effective Leadership Produces Enthusiastic Followers - By Michael Mink, For Investor's Business Daily

http://news.investors.com/management-leaders-in-success/112712-634769-lead-people-right-and-get-results.htm

The expression "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink it" illustrates a key point: Effective leadership is proportional to inspiring willing and engaged followers. "As a leader, you'll never accomplish anything big if you try to do it alone. Your role is to unleash the power of people working together," David Novak, CEO of Yum Brands (YUM) and author of "Taking People With You," told IBD." Tips on doing just that:

• Share the outlook. Do your people know what success looks like for your business? So asks Erika Andersen, author of "Leading So People Will Follow."

Tell your people about your vision of success, she said: "What will your business or group look, feel and act like two years from now, or three? What will you be focused on and accomplishing? People want leaders who can articulate and guide them toward a compelling and inclusive future."

• Be resolute. No leader "ever accomplishes much by starting out with the 'maybe' attitude," Novak said. "Successful leaders recognize the first responsibility is to define reality and create a shared vision."

• Provide tools. Novak, whose firm oversees Pizza Hut and KFC, says leaders must back their plan by putting the right resources in place.

"This says to your team you really care about getting it done vs. giving it lip service," he said.

• Be courageous. Ineffective leaders often evade or blame others rather than taking responsibility. "When you make a mistake, do you apologize?," Andersen said. "The next time you stumble, say you're sorry and what you'll do differently going forward." This creates loyalty and followers.

• Demonstrate generosity. Do it with more than money.

Try giving others credit for a job well done, Andersen said: "Reflect on how you handle those things, and think about specific ways you can share that wealth."

• Show trust. "Don't make promises you can't keep," Andersen said. "Don't talk about one employee to others. Don't shade the truth. Remember that when you're the leader, people are watching everything you do to see if it lines up with what you say."

• Listen and act. Novak said hearing those you lead is "the most powerful way to motivate your people." Take what they tell you seriously, or they will lack commitment.

• Know your people. By getting inside the heads of those you lead, "you'll have the best chance of motivating them to help you achieve big things," Novak said. "I always ask: 'What perceptions, habits and beliefs do I need to change, build or reinforce to take people with me?'"


• Define your culture. People want to work in organizations that inspire them, Novak says. How a leader conducts himself greatly influences that.

He asked: "What sort of values are you projecting? What kind of atmosphere are you creating? Does it motivate your team to come to work every day feeling supported and appreciated?"

Novak said there's a "tangible difference in results between people working toward a goal because they're being paid to do it vs. working toward a goal because it is a rewarding experience."

• Be complete. Human beings are wired from ancient times to look for certain qualities in leaders, Andersen said: "On an almost instinctive level, we still take that decision very seriously. We need to see those time-tested qualities in a leader before we'll fully sign up."

Doing that gives people the best chance of becoming the best leader they're capable of being, she said, "the kind of leader people look to and say, 'I'm with you — let's go.'"

Four Characteristics Of Pivotal Leadership by Doug Dickerson

http://www.ibtimes.com/exnet/four-characteristics-pivotal-leadership-891102


Pivot -- n; a person or thing upon which progress, success, etc. depends -- World English Dictionary

A story is told about Charles Francis Adams, a 19th century political figure. He kept a diary and one day his entry read: “Went fishing with my son today -- a day wasted.” His son, Brook Adams, also kept a diary. His entry was far different than that of his father. His read: “Went fishing with my father -- the most wonderful day of my life!” The father thought he was wasting his time while fishing with his son, but the son saw it as an investment of time.



The illustration reminds us how our perceptions shape our reality. What the father perceived to be a waste of time was perceived in a totally different light by his son. It also reminds us of the importance of leadership. Leaders come in many stripes and styles and each possess their own unique approach. In short, leadership development is a work in progress.



In considering the qualities of exceptional leadership I turn to a word that is rarely used to define it --pivot. No, it’s probably not the word on the tip of your tongue in your leadership vocabulary. But in the context of the definition above, it might just grow on you. So what are some pivot points of exceptional leaders? Here are a few for your consideration.



A pivotal leader puts forth a clear vision. Success will only come to your business or organization if those in leadership have a clear vision for where it is going.  Leaders who are directionally challenged by a lack of vision will not go far. “A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future," leadership guru Denis Waitley said. "You must break out of your comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.” When a leader presents a clear vision he sets into motion the opportunity for success.



A pivotal leader shapes core values. Core values are the non-negotiable principles of how you operate. These values define who you are, who you hire, the way in which you treat your customers and your competitors, and how your reputation is measured. When decisions flow out of core values it elevates everyone to a higher standard.



A pivotal leader has a positive attitude. “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference,” Winston Churchill said. And he’s right. Pivotal leaders are acutely aware of the power of a positive attitude and the difference it can make in their organization. The challenges of leadership can be daunting but a positive attitude will defuse stress, keep the team focused, and build strong morale.



A pivotal leader shows grateful appreciation. One of the endearing attributes of any successful leader is that of gratitude. Smart leaders understand that their success is tied to the hard work and dedication of those around him. When leaders recognize the contributions of others they are exercising a degree of heart intelligence that is just as valuable as their business smarts. Tangible acts of appreciation go a long way in building team confidence and indicate that you recognize that it was a team effort.



Are you a pivotal leader?



Doug Dickerson is a nationally recognized leadership columnist and speaker. He is the author of the new book, "Great Leaders Wanted," and is available to speak for your business. Visit his web site at www.dougsmanagementmoment.blogspot.com for more information.

Leadership, Influence & Relationships by Mike Myatt

http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2012/11/10/leadership-influence-relationships/

Have you ever wondered why some people have more influence than others? It’s because they invest more “in” others. Those with influence have built into others through some form of consistent direct or indirect contribution. Those with the greatest amount of influence almost always have the strongest relationships. My hypothesis is a rather simple one: If true leadership is about influence, then influence is about relationships, and relationships are about the investments made into people. In today’s post I’ll examine the ties between leadership, influence and relationships…

You cannot be an effective leader without influence. Let me make this as simple as I can – if you’re a leader, influence needs to be a competency. The key to developing influence is understanding contacts and relationships are not synonymous. Don’t confuse a database with a sphere of influence.

A database consists of information records, and a sphere of influence consists of meaningful relationships built upon a foundation of trust – a point of distinction lost upon many. Spammers and info-product sales people add contacts to a database, while savvy professionals interested in creating influence invest into people for the purpose of creating and sustaining high value relationships.

 As business people nothing is more valuable than the quality of your relationships. Whether you realize it or not, your success in business (and in life) will largely be dependant upon your ability to not only establish key relationships, but in your ability to influence and add value to your relationships. We have all known professionals that have been smarter, more affable, better looking, possess a better CV, or are more talented than their peers, yet they never seem to rise to the top. These professionals who seem to have the whole package yet fail to grab the brass ring simply don’t understand the power of relationships – they’ve failed to invest in people.  Again, leadership isn’t about any single person, but rather a complex ecosystem of meaningful relationships.

Lest you think I’m overly mercenary in my approach, and only view people as pawns in a chess game, let me introduce you to Myatt’s golden rule of building relationships: ”Give, give, give some more, give until it hurts, and then when you have nothing left to give, you guessed it…give even more.” The best relationships are not built on the backs of others, but rather they are built by helping others succeed. It is by building into others and through assisting others in reaching their goals and objectives that you will find success. Reflect back upon your own experience and contrast the responses you’ve received when you ask for help from someone that you’ve previously provided assistance to, versus asking the same favor from a casual acquaintance that you’ve never lifted a finger to help.

When you closely examine the core characteristics of what really makes for great leadership, it’s not power, title, authority or even technical competency that distinguishes truly great leaders. Rather it’s the ability to both earn and keep the loyalty and trust of those whom they lead that sets them apart. Put simply, Leadership is about relationships, and the trust, stewardship, care, concern, service, humility and understanding that need to occur in order to create and nurture them. If you build into those you lead, if you make them better, if you add value to their lives then you will have earned their trust and loyalty. This is the type of bond that will span positional and philosophical gaps, survive mistakes, challenges, downturns and other obstacles that will inevitably occur.

You don’t change mindsets by being right, you do it by showing you care. Logic and reason have their place, but they rarely will overcome a strong emotional or philosophical position. Trying to cram your positional logic down the throat of others will simply leave a very bad taste in their mouths. This is a very tough lesson for many to learn, but a critical one if you take your duties, obligations and responsibilities as a leader seriously. The best leaders are capable of aligning and unifying opposing interests for a greater good. You won’t ever become a truly successful leader until you understand a person’s need to be heard and understood is much more important than satisfying your need to impart wisdom I’m going to make this as simple as I can…leadership is all about relationships. It’s the people – nothing more & nothing less.

Being right isn’t the goal – accomplishing the mission is. If you can only lead those who agree with you then you will have a very small sphere of influence. Stop and think about this for a moment – history is littered with powerful leaders who have fallen, failed, or who have been replaced, usurped or betrayed. Fear doesn’t engender loyalty, respect or trust – it breeds resentment and malcontent. A leader not first and foremost accountable to their people will eventually be held accountable by their people.

Generally speaking there are two types of spheres of influence…those that just evolve over time by default, and those that are strategically engineered. While contacts are rarely purpose driven, relationships are highly intentional. People who are influential have spent years developing relationships spanning geographies, industries, and practice areas. They have invested both time and money developing these relationships to a high level of mutual benefit.

So why is it that most people aren’t as influential as they would like to be? The answer is that most professionals, even if they intellectually understand the benefits of what I’m espousing, just don’t do the work it takes to build an influential network. Great relationships take great amounts of effort, energy and commitment. Think of the most successful people you’ve ever known and they will always seem to know the right person to call on in any given situation to influence or decision the needed outcome. This type of influence doesn’t just happen, rather it has taken years of painstaking effort.

If you want to create a powerful sphere of influence start by taking the following ten steps:

1. Create a Vision: Take pause and examine where you are currently in your professional career as contrasted with where you want to go. Think about the people who could help you reach your destination more quickly and efficiently. Don’t put any artificial ceilings on your thinking – remember that almost anyone on the planet is only a few degrees of separation away from you. Be sure that your vision is based first and foremost on adding value to the lives and careers of others. Building a great relationship has little to do with what you get out of it, but everything to do with what you put into it…

2. Take an Inventory: Once you have a clear vision of where you want to go, take a personal inventory of your contacts and relationships. See who it is that you know, but also pay attention to who they know. Review in detail each and every relationship in your network and rank them on a scale from 1 to 5 with 5 being the contacts perceived to be of the greatest value to you. Make a detailed relationship plan for each of the people that rank 3 or higher. Take a personal interest in rekindling those relationships and finding out how you can help them succeed.

3. Participate in the Dialogue: Develop a strong core competency, and then give freely of your time and knowledge. Be visible and accessible, and don’t approach business solely based on a “what’s in it for me” attitude. Don’t be a joiner unless you can be a contributor. I belong to a number of organizations I will likely never see a paying client from, but it is through these groups I build relationships that will help me serve my clients. These relationships are only built because of the time I invest in them. Relationships don’t get built overnight, and are not built without active participation.

4. Value Your Network: It is critical you develop a keen understanding of the following point – your network is your business. The core value of your business is not actually steeped in the conventional thinking imparted to you in business school. The reality is the true intrinsic value of a business is in your network, which adds value to your products, services, brand, stakeholders etc. A strong network = sustainability.  It’s your network that will provide you much needed resources, influence and leverage in both good times and bad.

5. Focus on the Positive: Don’t waste time with those who only see problems and flaws, but cannot ever seem to create solutions. The world is full of bitter people, small thinkers, naysayers and those who just get their kicks out of sniping from a safe distance. Remove these people from your network. Associate with energy gainers and not energy drainers. People do business with people they like, and avoid doing business with people they don’t like – it’s just that simple. Are you approachable, positive, affable, trustworthy, a person of character and integrity, or are you someone who is standoffish, pessimistic and generally not to be trusted? Those who fall into the camp of the former as opposed to the latter will find themselves having more influence and success.  The key take away here is that being a jerk doesn’t lead to the creation of influence.

6. Quantity and Quality Both Matter: Successful networking requires an understanding there needs to be a balance between quantity and quality. Well built spheres of influence are both inclusive and exclusive, and while the emphasis should always error on the side of quality, this assumes you have sufficient numbers to create leverage and scale to your networking efforts. You want to avoid at all costs the appearance of simply being in it solely for the numbers, but it is also important not to be viewed as a networking snob who doesn’t reciprocate.

7. Influence is built upon a foundation of trust: If a person is not trusted there is a firm limit on their ability to create and use influence. People will rarely make a leap of faith for someone who hasn’t earned their trust. However most people will gladly take a blind leap of faith for someone whom they have come to trust. Trust matters.

8. Influence is built upon making others successful: This is often times referred to as the law of reciprocity. The theory is that if you invest yourself in making someone else successful, then they in turn will likely be predisposed to helping you become successful. While this principle will not always pan out, in my experience it has held true across the overwhelming majority of my interactions through the years. True influence is rarely built upon the backs of others, but rather by helping others achieve their goals.

9. Influence is most often possessed by those with authority: It is important to realize that there is a reason for the statement “the highest authority is that which is given, and rarely that which is taken.” Authority is most often given to those who display honesty, competency, empathy, expertise and wisdom. With authority comes credibility, and with credibility comes influence. While influence can be wielded by those without authority, it will be limited in both scope and scale. Those with the most authority will always have the most influence.

10. Value and scarcity drive influence: Understanding the value of your position, brand, authority, resources, access to people or knowledge and any number of other items as it relates to fulfilling the needs and desires of others creates influence. To the extent anything under your direct or indirect control is scarce or proprietary your ability to create influence will increase significantly.

Keep in mind the purpose of developing influence is not to manipulate for personal gain, but rather to facilitate for mutual benefit. Take a sincere interest in the success of others, work on your likability factor, become adept at gaining commitment, develop your authority, secure access to things of value and/or scarcity, and your influence with others will increase.

Bottom line – engineer a relationship development plan built upon service, trust, giving and adding value – then work the plan. Before you whine about how much time this will take, consider if you will the potential rewards at stake and ask yourself this question: Can I afford not to do this?

Inside the Successful Leader's Mindset

As a business leader, you are mired in the everyday details of your company's success. You're worried about your bottom line, your sales goals, or your next board meeting. Amid the chaos, it's easy to forget that intangibles -- like your beliefs -- play an important role in your success.

The most successful entrepreneurs share a set of core beliefs that help them persevere as they grow their businesses. These four tips will promote a positive mindset and increase your chances of success:

1. Trust that you'll adapt to new challenges. Successful entrepreneurs approach uncertainty with confidence. When faced with an unfamiliar challenge, they think of similar situations they've handled before or skills sets that might apply. "Focus on the abilities you do have and apply your general knowledge to whatever comes your way," says Matthew Della Porta, a positive psychologist and organizational consultant.

If you focus on your current skills and your ability to learn new ones, you'll be less likely to feel overwhelmed. "Trust your ability to adapt," Della Porta says.

2. Attribute your success to hard work, not luck. Successful leaders believe their achievements are due to hard work, not just lucky circumstance. "That's a result of self-efficacy," Della Porta says, meaning that people who believe they've worked hard trust their ability to master new or unfamiliar skills.

Leaders who are confident in their ability to learn are more likely to seek out and persevere through tough challenges, increasing their chances of success.

3. Believe that you are unique. Every great entrepreneur stands on the shoulders of giants, but successful leaders champion their individuality. In other words, they don't try to become "the next Steve Jobs." To be successful, learn from the people you admire but don't try to emulate them.

"You need to focus on being the first you, not the next someone else," Della Porta says. If you foster the unique strengths that you bring to the table, then you will be far more likely to stand out in a crowded industry.

4. Challenge your negative beliefs. If you want to succeed, stamp out negative beliefs that might be holding you back. "People have a tendency to self-handicap," Della Porta says. For example, an executive who believes he won't meet his sales goals is more likely to prioritize other tasks, giving him a preemptive excuse for a poor performance. His belief becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Notice the goals or tasks that you shy away from and articulate your beliefs about them. Challenge any negative thoughts by reminding yourself that you will succeed if you apply yourself. When your beliefs are confident and positive, your actions will promote success.

8 Leadership Lessons That Buck Showalter’s Success Teaches Us Leadership

http://www.business2community.com/leadership/8-leadership-lessons-that-buck-showalters-success-teaches-us-0303133

By Lisa Swan, Published October 10, 2012

Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter turned around a failing baseball franchise and made the team into a baseball postseason powerhouse. And he did this without the financial resources of the competition, in the toughest division in the game. This is the fourth time the manager has worked such miracles with an MLB team, making the postseason with three different teams. Whether you are a baseball fan or not, there are good leadership lessons to be learned from Showalter’s career that may help you in your company:

Changing the culture:  When Showalter took over as manager of the New York Yankees in 1992, he inherited a team with a slew of malcontents. One of them was an outfielder named Mel Hall, who bullied Bernie Williams, one of the most promising young players on the team. Hall called the shy Williams “Bambi” and treated him badly, hazing him and hurting his confidence. Showalter got rid of players like Hall and saw Williams become a star. Leadership lesson: Don’t be afraid to get rid of bad actors in order to build your work team.

Spotting and developing talent: Former Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly, who played under Showalter and is now an MLB manager himself, said that Showalter has “the ability to spot talent that people miss.” In 1990, as a coach for the Yankees, spotted a young, unheralded pitcher in the lower levels of the Yankees farm system that he knew would be a star. The hurler? Mariano Rivera. Leadership lesson: Learn what makes a great employee at your company, and how to spot diamonds in the rough.

Expecting accountability: Employees are accountable not just to Showalter, but to each other.  As he told the New York Times last month, “When you see something done the wrong way, you say, ‘Hey, that ain’t good enough.’” He said that as time goes on, “you get the players to do that for each other,” where they expect the best from themselves and their teammates.  Leadership lesson: Holding your employees accountable can eventually result in their taking ownership of not just themselves but their co-workers.

Showing no fear of the competition:  Showalter currently manages in the American League East, the team with the toughest competition in baseball, with the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays as rivals.  Before he got there, his team played with fear of the superstars on the other teams. For his part, Showalter showed that the teams were nothing to be afraid of by, as he put it, taking the fight to his opponents, exhorting his players to play hard, and giving them a vision of success to strive for. He took the Orioles from 93 losses in 2011 to 93 wins in 2012 and their first playoff appearance in 15 years, a remarkable achievement. Leadership lesson: Don’t be afraid of taking on the big dogs in your industry.

Paying attention to detail:  In each of his managerial stops, Showalter has shown great attention to the little things, from picking the colors of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ uniforms to redesigning the Orioles’ spring training facility to more closely resemble Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the team’s stadium. Doing so has raised the bar as far as creating a team ethos. Leadership lesson: You can change the big things by changing the little things.

Be prepared: Showalter puts in the preparation, staying hours after the game to work on strategy.  He also makes sure to impart this knowledge to his players, so they can execute this strategy. That preparation is one of the reasons why the Orioles have a won-loss record that is 11 games more than they should have this year, given how many runs they score. Leadership lesson: Put in the work if you want to run with the big dogs.

Expecting the best, and establishing consequences: When Showalter first met with his Orioles players after taking over the team in the summer of 2010, he had a dry-erase board in the background listing replacements from each player in the minor leagues. This was done to let the players know that they couldn’t be complacent about their spot on the team. Leadership lesson: Don’t let you staff feel that they can have a job forever, even if they don’t produce.

Changing with the times:  While nobody will ever call Showalter mellow, the 56-year-old manager he showed that he was capable of lightening up a little, and communicating with players 35 years younger, when he got the job with the Orioles after not managing for four years. The notoriously austere manager even allowed the Orioles to have a ping-pong table in his spring training facility, something they didn’t expect him to let him keep. Leadership lesson: Be willing to relax a little if it means gaining better relationships with your staff.

Read more at http://www.business2community.com/leadership/8-leadership-lessons-that-buck-showalters-success-teaches-us-0303133#qSpP4sBiF7fE2Iol.99

Seven Keys To Sales Leadership - Scott Edinger, Contributor

http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottedinger/2012/10/04/seven-keys-to-sales-leadership/

The sales leadership job is one of the toughest in business today. I have previously written about why this is so, but suffice it to say it is a few critical jobs rolled into one: super seller, coach, strategist and business leader. I have had the chance to work with thousands of sales leaders over the course of my career and have observed that the most successful among them possess key characteristics: the seven keys to being a great sales leader.

1. Create useful success metrics that mark progress, not just report results. Most sales leadership jobs demand a series of metrics that indicate results that have been achieved. Revenue and profit contribution are classic examples of these very important measures. But there is another side of the metric scale which includes those measures that are indicative of progress toward those goals—successful sales calls, implementation planning meetings, and the like are examples. The key difference is creating a balance of those that are backward-looking or lagging indicators, and others that are forward-looking, or leading indicators. Having both is vital to success.

2. Provide visionary leadership. There are few audiences more cynical than sales professionals (I have found lawyers and accountants to come close), so providing clear and definitive leadership is critical. Since most sales organizations serve as the nosecone of the business, as customer and product or service issues impact them first, they benefit greatly from having a vision for the entire team. The sales leader must be the exemplar of that vision, as the team will be watching. Pithy and concise are the themes for your sales team’s vision, which should dovetail with the organization’s vision.

3. Develop talent and coach relentlessly. Many a sales leader has risen through the ranks as a great seller to a sales leadership position. One of the problems I frequently hear about sales leaders is that they were great individual contributors but they haven’t quite taken hold of what it means to be a sales leader. Most of the time, the fundamental issue is a lack of coaching and development of talent. All too often they are narrowly focused on the role of super closer in an effort to drive business instead of building sales capability across a team.

4. Pay close attention to your selling roles and understand how you get involved in sales cycles. I have seen four distinct roles that sales leaders take on: Model—you run the call, Observer—you observe only with an intent to coach following the call, Teammate— you engage in joint selling with clearly defined responsibilities to take on specific topics during the call, and Strategist—you provide pre-call planning guidance and post-call support. Each of these selling roles has a unique purpose and impact, so it is imperative that the sales leader is intentional about what role they are playing as they support business development efforts.

5. Focus on creating value in the sales process. For many, success in selling is far less about what they are selling and increasingly about how they sell. Said simply, it’s about how, not what. That how is creating value in the sales process, and sales leaders can engineer the sales experience of customers to be one that is worth paying for. The litmus test for this is, as sales guru and a former boss of mine, Neil Rackham, has said is: “Would the customer write you a check for the sales call?” A sales call worth paying for is the pinnacle of value creation, and those interactions provide insights, new approaches and ideas for solving problems, and innovative opportunities to capitalize on, instead of simply a description of products and services.

6. Forecast with an understanding of where the customer is in the buying process. By and large, forecasting tools are centered on a series of tasks that sellers perform during the course of a sales cycle. What they too often lack is the perspective of the buyer and where the buyer is in the decision process. One of my mentors, John Hoskins, often said “if you want to learn how to sell, learn how buyers buy.” When forecasting, include milestones of customer behavior and joint accountabilities like “mutually reviewing a proposal together” versus “proposal sent” to have a considerable impact on forecast accuracy.

7. Motivate with recognition and rewards. I’ve said before that sales professionals have a reputation for being prima donnas, and, having spent my career in sales, I think the stereotype is correct. (It takes one to know one, right?!) That means a good sales leader has the opportunity to use this to their advantage and develop a strong rewards and recognition program. Rewards and recognition ought to be timely and relevant, and while an annual awards banquet is great, in order to reinforce behaviors it needs to be more frequent. Top performers value financial rewards for certain, but they also crave regular feedback on performance, autonomy, and degrees of freedom. Consider the myriad ways to reward and recognize in non-monetary form and you have a good recipe for an important element of sales team motivation.

This Month's Employee Recognitions

Congrats to on your recent promotions Alexandra, Gary and Doug! Great job stepping it up. We look forward to what you will accomplish in the coming months. Keep up the great work!


Congratulations Jamie for being the top performing client representative in the nation! Great Job!! Keep up the good work!


Congrats to the entire team at Infinite for bringing our client more revenue than any other vendor in the nation. 

We are looking forward to a strong finish to the year!

 

Infinite Attends Leadership Conference In Detroit At Ford Motor Company,Gets A Change To Play On Ford Field and MORE

Executives from Infinite were invited to a leadership conference at the Ford Motor Company.  In addition to some great speakers and lessons from successful consultants, the weekend included a trip to the Ford Museum, a charity kickball tournament at Ford Field and a look inside the Lions' locker room.

Five business lessons from Bradley Wiggins

http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/features/1144259/five-business-lessons-bradley-wiggins/

By Vicki Bennett Friday, 03 August 2012

Bradley Wiggins is the first Britain to win the Tour de France and the most-decorated Brit following his performance in this year's Olympics. Here are five lessons business leaders can learn from 'the Mod' of cycling.

Think like a winner

Wiggins’s revolutionary tactic in cycling training was to race less often but to always race to win. His team got used to leading a race rather than chasing the lead. Perhaps one of the most powerful elements in his 2012 success is the idea that Wiggins and his team already felt like winners. This is linked in to the idea that visualizing things can help to lead up to their creation.

When someone begins to think differently they begin to feel differently and, in turn, this can change their actions: they can become a different person. Adopting the 'as if' theory to business may encourage a world of fresh possibilities. As Henry Ford said ‘If you believe you can or you believe you can’t you’re probably right’.

Never stop learning from your mistakes

Wiggins’s training programme drew inspiration from the sport of swimming (working at top intensity from the start vs. a steady build), which completely changed the way he and his team trained. That said, he also learned from his past mistakes, and made sure to pace the start of a time trial to leave enough power in his legs to finish.

Many may find reviewing their own failures a painful process but, as Wiggins has shown, it is crucial in order to progress towards goals. In Joseph Campbell’s book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, the hero has to learn from each of the tasks and ordeals presented, or he is forced repeat the lesson over and over. The art for the business leader therefore is to be able to identify and learn from past experiences in order to achieve their goals.

Working with and for others

Leadership is rarely just a solo act. Wiggins’s path to his 2012 success has seen him perform as a member and leader of a team as well as a solo competitor.  In the Tour he was lead in the team and is seen as the winner but he would be first to say it was a team effort.  He worked in close unison with the rest of the team, leading out the ‘Sky Train’ to set up Mark Cavendish to win the last (most prestigious) stage.

In the Olympic men’s race, victory escaped them in the end but it was Mark Cavendish who was in the frame for the win; Bradley was (in effect) a stage pace leader in service of Cavendish’s gold medal aims. Of course Wiggins’ solo effort in the individual time trial did lead to Olympic gold.

Wiggins’ ability to work with and for others demonstrates that sometimes leadership can be best played out by working in the service of others. Successful business leaders know the importance of empowering their team, with each member sharing objectives and working collectively in pursuit of a common goal.

Plan but be flexible

Wiggins raced five times in the lead up to the Tour de France. Each race was a mini-goal in his overall strategy; first to win the Tour and then the Olympic time trial. Although Wiggins felt at his peak at the start of the Tour, he had accounted for every possible scenario (from crashing out to winning).

If you have a clear sense of the direction you are heading in and what you are trying to achieve in each year, month, week, day, each moment, you are far more likely to be effective in your work and personal life. Keeping on track means both dedication to the programme and flexibility in the face of a changing landscape.

Success is as much about aligning and planning as it is about knowing when to be flexible and agile enough to meet new market demands as the external environment shifts. Robert Fritz (Corporate Tides, 1994) reckons that the hallmark of a leader is their ability first to articulate a desired state whilst remaining closely in touch with the current state (how things are right now) and second to sustain this tension without letting go of either vision or reality, until it can be turned into effective change.

Keep it real

On returning home to Chorley, Wiggins commented that he felt overwhelmed and that one of his first tasks was to take his son to a rugby camp in Wigan. This British sporting hero is first and foremost a dad and a husband who recognizes the importance of this team’s effort in his success. Described as a ‘nice guy’ by fellow competitors, Wiggins is authentic in his approach to life and his sport.  Leaders are often held as role models in their organizations so need to act with integrity and authenticity in pursuing their business goals.


Vicki Bennett is a partner at change consultancy Sheppard Moscow