~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. February 2003 - Volume 6, Issue 4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment - A Dream Is Not Enough * Leadership@Large - Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Book Review - Get it Together * Quick Quotes - Being True to Self ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A DREAM IS NOT ENOUGH By Dr. John C. Maxwell In the last issue of "Leadership Wired," I talked about the three types of jobholders. This issue and the next are devoted to those who know what they'd like to do, but don't do it. Every once in a while I run into people who say, "Well, I just have a dream." Having a dream and fulfilling a dream are two different things. Let me tell you something else--if your dream does not match your abilities, it'll be a nightmare. I see people all the time who have unrealistic dreams. Please understand that I'm not trying to dash your hopes or suggest that you listen to naysayers who try to dissuade you from doing what seems impossible when you know deep down in your heart that you can do it. I'm merely giving you a reality check because if you don't have the aptitude or the skill level to do it, you're going to have some real frustrations and you're going to have to change your mindset. For example, I love music and I'd like to be a great singer; but there's a problem--some would say that it's minor, but I think it's major--I can't sing. Isn't it awful when you can hear music one way in your head, but when you open your mouth it doesn't come out right? Fortunately for other people, I know I can't sing, so I don't torture them with my caterwauling. I've been places where there was a person singing who didn't know they couldn't sing. I don't know about you, but I wanted to look at the people around me and say, "You know, somebody ought to go up there and tell them." Here's the problem: if I can't sing, but my dream is to be a great opera singer, I will either be very frustrated or I will torture audiences everywhere who don't have the heart to tell me to give it up. Can I tell you something? It isn't going to happen. Not because I lack desire or lack the dream. It isn't going to happen because I'm not any good in that area--I simply lack the ability. Too many times, people work on their weaknesses. Don't work on your weaknesses. On a scale from one to a ten, if you're a two at something, don't spend a lot of time trying to improve in that area. If you work on it hard, you'll probably only become about a four. In other words, if I take music lessons, voice lessons, and bring all kinds of people around me to help me sing, after two or three years, I will have spent a lot of money and worked very hard, but I'm still not going to be able to sing. If you're a two and you go up to a four, you're a little bit below average. I know many people trying to do average things wanting people to stand in line and buy it. Average will never get you anywhere. So quit working on your weaknesses because if you work on your weaknesses, at best you're going to be average. You have to find your strengths; you have to find out what you're good at. If you're a six at something, you can get up to a seven or an eight. People pay for eights. So when you ask yourself whether or not you can do what you'd like to do, you need to be honest with yourself before you invest a lot of time and energy into it. By the way, when I say don't work on your weaknesses, I'm talking about your skills and abilities. The personal illustration I gave was my singing. There are three weaknesses you need to work on at all times, but they have nothing to do with your skills. The three weaknesses you have to work on are: 1. Attitude issues. If you have a bad attitude, fix it because your attitude will disqualify you. I know several people who have great potential, but their attitude is the disqualifier of their life. 2. Discipline issues. Work on your discipline issues if you're weak. If you can't get somewhere on time, if you lack initiative, if you're lazy, you won't make it. 3. Relationship issues. You'd better work on your relationship issues because if people don't like you, you're not going to be successful with them. Remember, people won't go along with you if they can't get along with you. Let me give you five quick questions to ask for yourself to determine your abilities: 1) Do I have experience in my desired area? 2) Do I have any success in my desired area? 3) Do I have any training in my desired area? 4) Do I know what is essential in my desired area? 5) Do I know someone who's successful in my desired area? I love this quote: "Find something you like to do so much that you'd gladly do it for nothing. Then learn to do it so well the people are happy to pay you for it." That's the way to live. Don't worry about what you're going to get paid and what kind of benefits there are; do something you love to do and do it so well that after a while you'll be paid to do it. If it's something you are capable of doing, and if you seek answers to the five questions I have given, you'll be on your way to doing just that. In the next issue of "Leadership Wired," I will conclude this series for those who know what they'd like to do, but don't do it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TAG TEAMS Ric Edelman, CEO of Edelman Financial Center, in Fairfax, Va., believes an all-inclusive hiring process helps create a close- knit atmosphere with very low turnover at his company, which had 1998 revenues of $11.6 million. No applicant wins a job in any of the financial planning and investment management company's six subsidiaries without facing grueling office-wide scrutiny. First, potential hires are screened by telephone. Then, as many as 10 applicants per job opening are interviewed, usually by employees from the division that has the opening. Finally, the top two or three candidates return for final interviews with teams of two or three Edelman employees. The employees who conduct the interviews receive training in the legal issues that surround job interviews, Edelman notes. "We're very sensitive to those rules," he says. If any team turns thumbs down, not even Edelman can veto the decision. He says the strategy both reduces turnover and yields "high-quality people because employees hire in their own image." Source: INC.com, 101 Great Ideas for Managing People FROM AMERICA'S MOST INNOVATIVE SMALL COMPANIES October 21, 1999. _________________________________________________________________ LESSONS FOR PROVOCATEURS Here are some of Larry Weber's provocative rules for new-style leaders. The rules are taken from his new book, "The Provocateur." * Build a community, not a company. The strength of a business is measured by the strength of its relationships. Provocateurs involve customers, partners, and employees in the business, allowing them to feel that they are important players in the enterprise's success. * Roll out the welcome mat for nomadic customers. Customers are footloose; loyalty is rare. But a community that appeals to nomads can attract and keep customers even when they can find a better price elsewhere. * Good communities are not built on monologues. Provocateurs try to create a feeling that no walls separate the company from the outside world. The goal is constant interaction with customers and prospects, other businesses, suppliers, and regulators. * Act like a great mayor. Who better than former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani knows how to bring constituents together and create a common goal? Successful provocateurs, like great mayors, create excitement, engagement, and a sense of belonging. * Marketing is job one. Communicate with customers to benefit the company, and put the brand before everything else that a CEO does. The stronger the communication, the stronger the brand. * Love your competitors. Even your toughest competitor serves to validate your ideas and to generate interest in your community. Provocateurs know that they can learn from competitors. And they don't worry that their competitors might learn something from them. Source: Fast Company, January 2002, issue 54, page 108 by Paul C. Judge. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GET IT TOGETHER Getting and staying organized is a discipline that proves to be difficult for many of us. We buy PDA's, day timers, attend seminars, and hire assistants to try to fight our inherent scatteredness and fulfill our many obligations. David Allen, dubbed by Fast Company as "the personal productivity guru," is here to help the disorganized world at large with his book, "Getting Things Done." Although he can stay in the abstract more often than he should, Allen provides many helpful tools and hints on how to stay on top of our priorities. One especially valuable suggestion that Allen offers not only works on organizing your papers and workload, but organizing all the random thoughts and projects that are in your head. Clearing your head of all the clutter is especially effective because once you have purged your mind of flotsam, you can sort through it more easily and pick out the good ideas amidst the madness. Allen does have a way of getting too organized, though. At times, you wonder if he sorts his socks in order from lightest color to darkest. Still, his aim is true and his methods do make sense. He understands that organization and productivity go hand in hand. The backbone of his system is illustrated on a straightforward, one-page flowchart that serves as a pithy reminder of the book's overriding concepts. After you read how it works, you may find yourself photocopying it and putting it somewhere for quick reference. Also worth noting is Allen's Two-Minute Rule: If there's anything you absolutely must do that you can do right now in two minutes or less, then do it now, thus freeing up your time and mind over the long term. Simple advice, to be sure, but extremely valuable if followed. Best of all, people from all walks of life at various levels of their organizations can apply such principles and yield great returns as a result of their efforts. Organization gives us a sense of order--it brings a feeling of relief and catharsis to not be sapped of energy, as we often are when we struggle with things in a state of disarray. On the whole, this is a very good book to achieve that end. Nevertheless, you may still want to keep your PDA, your day timer, and especially your assistant. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BEING TRUE TO SELF "Almost every man wastes part of his life in attempts to display qualities which he does not possess." - Samuel Johnson "Above all: to thine ownself be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." - Shakespeare (from "Hamlet") "The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear." - 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. 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