~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. February 2003 - Volume 6, Issue 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "If you love what you do, you will never work another day in your life." - Michael Nolan In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment - Career Advice and the Three Types of Jobholders * Leadership@ Large - Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Book Review - Catch This * Quick Quotes - Enthusiasm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAREER ADVICE AND THE THREE TYPES OF JOBHOLDERS By Dr. John C. Maxwell Find a passion and follow it is all the career advice that you'll ever need. Michael Nolan was right when he said, "If you love what you do, you will never work another day in your life." I can say "Amen" to that. I've never known what it is to work a day in my life. I love to do what I do. Sadly, not everyone is as fortunate as I am to do work they really love. I think that the world would be a much better place if everyone were happy with their jobs. Still, many people just go to work day in and day out, trading hours for dollars simply because they don't know what they'd like to do or they are afraid to leave a secure job to go after their dreams. I have found that people tend to fall into one of the following three categories: 1. Those who don't know what they'd like to do. This type of person is confused. Everybody knows somebody just like that. These people have no clue--they just get up in the morning and float through life without much of a plan of action. They don't know what they'd like to do and when you ask them about it, they just look at you with a blank face and don't have an answer. 2. Those who know what they would like to do, but don't do it. This type of person is frustrated. In fact, they'll tell you what they'd like to do. "Oh, I'd like to be this or I'd like to do this, I'd like to go there." You might ask them, "Well, why aren't you there, and why don't you do that?" Their answers usually consist of a bunch of excuses. In other words, they know what they'd like to do, but they don't do it. They don't seem to have the initiative, the energy, whatever it is takes to get to where they want to be and so they go through life knowing what they'd like to do but never doing it, and as a result, they're frustrated. 3. Those who do what they'd like to do. This type of person is fulfilled. They have a sense of significance and fulfillment in their life. They really like to do what they do. They say, "I'm accomplishing something that brings not only worth to me but also worth to others." If you have made your dream come true (and continue to make it come true each day you live and work), this is who you are. If you know what you would like to do, but don't do it, this is who you want to be. Even some or most people who fall into the first category want to be here. The next issues of "Leadership Wired" are for those in category number two: "Those who know what they would like to do, but don't do it." In the meantime, I would encourage those who don't know what they'd like to do to seriously consider it and cheer on those who have seen their wishes come to reach fruition (don't rest on your laurels, though). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RESILIENCE RULES Andrew Shatte and his colleagues at Adaptiv Learning Systems, a consulting firm based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, teach people at such companies as Ford and Nortel Networks how to stay resilient in the face of adversity. It's an important skill for leaders to have at any time, but in a period of challenge and change, it is especially crucial. Here are some of the principles that they teach. 1. Explain yourself. Dealing effectively with a problem or a setback starts with how you explain it--to yourself and to those around you. "Too many people learn negative or helpless ways of thinking," Shatte says. "But they can unlearn them and adopt more resilient ways of thinking. Once you're aware of your explanatory style, listen for a pattern. Ask yourself why this happened, and listen to what you say." Some people tend to explain setbacks as temporary, while others view them as permanent. Do you tend to cast blame on others, or do you explain everything as your fault? Each style needs to be offset with logic and perspective. 2. Don't overreact. "In most rough situations, people tend to describe what went wrong in terms of 'always' and 'everything,'" Shatte says. "For instance, when a boss criticizes part of a presentation, or report, many people say to themselves, 'My reports are always bad,' or, 'I bet I'm one step away from getting canned.'" Shatte and his colleagues teach people to counter those standard overreactions with a more accurate evaluation. Most of the time, things aren't as bleak as we make them out to be. 3. Act fast, but don't rush to judgment. It's important to be honest when you run into a setback--but it's also important to be sure you understand what's really going on. Adaptiv worked with a European company that was selling whiskey in a country that preferred vodka. The country also had an active black market. Whiskey sales had hit the skids. The company's executives blamed the sales team. Everyone knew there was a problem, and everyone rushed to judgment about the cause. The real problem, it turns out, involved the sales force's lack of training. Armed with the proper analysis, both sides worked the problem. 4. Keep it in perspective. Ask yourself: "What's the worst thing that can happen? What's the best outcome that we can hope for?" And then keep pressing yourself about the accuracy of those scenarios. "People most need to work on being accurate and candid about what has happened," Shatte says. "Then they can take strides to remedy the situation." Taken from Fast Company, April 2001, by Andrew Shatte http://www.fastcompany.com ________________________________________________________________ PARTNER WITH PEERS When two people are in conflict, it's easy to see them as adversaries or opponents. But CCL has found it useful to think of them as conflict partners. Neither person is totally wrong or right. Instead, each is a partner in an uncomfortable situation. By managing conflict with peers in a collaborative or partnering way, you can find an underlying common principle on which you both agree. From that common point both of you can move toward a resolution. Taken from Center for Creative Leadership, January 2003, http://www.ccl.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CATCH THIS The word "epidemic" carries a negative connotation. It is commonly associated with widespread illness or social problems. It can also refer to something that grows, develops, or becomes prevalent rapidly or even suddenly. This type of epidemic is the one that Malcolm Gladwell describes in "The Tipping Point." His focus is not on contagious maladies, although he does acknowledge and cleverly use them as a parallel for how fads and trends are caught and spread. His argument is that the world "is a place where the unexpected becomes expected, where radical change is more than a possibility. It is--contrary to all our expectations --a certainty." Every epidemic has what is known as a tipping point--a moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point. As his examples, Gladwell points to various phenomena such as Hush Puppies, Sesame Street, and "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." He closely examines the factors that led to these epidemics and uses compelling arguments to make his point. Understanding how and why certain things spread like wildfire while others never catch on is important in business, as well as almost every arena of life. Despite the fact that the overarching theme of the book is far broader than business, many business leaders will be engaged by the ideas derived from epidemiology that can explain and potentially even predict consumer behavior. "The Tipping Point" has earned the praise of people such as George Stephanopoulos and Michael Lewis. It isn't hard to see why: it's fascinating, thought-provoking material conveyed with an intelligent voice. It brims with originality and relevance. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ENTHUSIASM "Every calling is great when greatly pursued." - Oliver Wendell Holmes "Man is so made that whenever anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish." - Jean de la Fontaine "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." - Ralph Waldo Emerson _________________________________________________________________ Leadership Wired is written by Dr. John C. Maxwell and is available via e-mail on a free subscription basis. You can subscribe at: http://www.INJOY.com/Newsletters. Questions about document transmission or editorial comments? Contact mailto:feedback@INJOY.com. Visitors may use the information contained in this e-newsletter by placing the following credit line: "This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell's free monthly e-newsletter 'Leadership Wired' available at www.INJOY.com." This information cannot be used for resale in any manner. Copyright (c) 2003, INJOY, Inc.