~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. March 2003 - Volume 6, Issue 5 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I am always amazed when people proudly proclaim, 'I never mix business with pleasure.' If you want to build a successful team at work, you should always mix business with pleasure. People like to do business with people who like to do business." - Matt Weinstein In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment - Paying the Price * Leadership@Large - Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Book Review - Start Your Engines! * Quick Quotes - The First Step ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PAYING THE PRICE By Dr. John C. Maxwell I once heard about a young man who, in his eagerness to make it to the top, went to a well-known millionaire for advice about how to get there. "What is the first reason for your success?" he asked. "Hard work," the millionaire replied. Disappointed, the inexperienced fellow responded, "What is the second reason?" We laugh at this young man's desire for a quick-and-easy formula, but his response brings up a much more serious question for people who aren't doing what they know they'd like to do: Are you willing to pay the price to get there? You don't get a fulfilling career at a bargain-basement price. In fact, the cost is often much higher than many people are willing to pay. I've seen more examples of this than I can count. People embark on a new career path with energy and enthusiasm, only to fizzle out when they realize how much effort is involved. If they had counted the cost first--if they had seriously investigated what it would take to make them successful in that area--they may have gone another direction. Instead, they're right back where they started--dissatisfied and unfulfilled. The way to avoid this scenario, of course, is to count the cost of doing what you'd like to do before you begin. So what does the price tag include? Here are just a few items: 1. Hard work There's no way around this--you can't fulfill your career dream without a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and maybe even a little elbow grease. You also might have to spend time--perhaps large quantities of time--working diligently at jobs you don't particularly like in order to prepare yourself for the job you want. 2. Learning Doing what you love might require you to acquire some new skills, polish existing abilities or earn another degree. Are you willing to devote the time, money and energy to making that happen? 3. Discipline It takes focus and commitment to pursue your goal without getting sidetracked or giving up. Success doesn't just happen. You have to be intentional about it, and that takes discipline. 4. Change At the surface, this might not seem like a significant price. After all, you wouldn't be engaging in this exercise if you didn't want a change in your life. And yet, as we all know, change isn't easy. It can cause stress, anxiety, uncertainty, and a host of other uncomfortable emotions. 5. Emotional stamina On your way toward doing what you love, you're going to stumble and you might even take a few hard falls. When that happens, you've got to have the intestinal fortitude to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get going again. Do you? As you think about the price of doing what you want to do, remember that the specifics vary from job to job. One career path might require a higher cost in the area of learning, while another might take more emotional stamina. The only way to find out for sure how much you'll have to pay in each of these and other areas is to find someone who is having a great time doing what you'd like to do and ask them about the cost. Ask them what they DID in order to DO what they do. The young man in our introduction got it partly right--he went to someone for advice about how to be successful. Sadly, his response shows that he was unwilling to pay the price. But it doesn't have to be that way for you. Now the ball is in your court. If you know what you want to do but aren't doing it yet, stop making excuses and start taking steps to make it happen. Don't wait until everything is perfect to begin because everything will never be perfect. Don't put it off until tomorrow because tomorrow you'll be tempted to put it off until the next day. Just start. And as you begin, remember these three truths about the end result. 1. Doing what you want to do will be different than you imagined it would be. 2. It will be more difficult than you ever imagined. 3. And it will be better than you ever imagined. I can assure you that when you're doing what you really want to do, it's not work. It's fun because you're reaching your potential and you're helping others reach theirs. It just doesn't get any better than that. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ APPEALING TO THE EMOTIONS One of the most effective ways to prepare people for a change effort is to show them something that touches them emotionally, as opposed to giving them an analysis that alters their thinking. So says leadership expert John P. Kotter, whose latest book, "The Heart of Change," explains how to use the power of feelings to navigate the steps of successful organizational transformation. "People change their behavior when they are motivated to do so, and that happens when you speak to their feelings," Kotter told "Leader to Leader" magazine. "Nineteen logical reasons don't necessarily do it. You need something, often visual, that helps produce the emotions that motivate people to move more than one inch to the left or one inch to the right. Great leaders are brilliant at this. They tell the kind of stories that create pictures in your mind and have emotional impact." For example, this might mean showing a video of an angry customer instead of handing out a report about a customer survey. According to Kotter, such a presentation upsets people's view that everything is perfect and helps to overcome the complacency that can hamper the change process. For more information, see: http://www.pfdf.org/leaderbooks/l2l/winter2003/kotter.html _________________________________________________________________ MOVING FORWARD When Fast Company asked readers to participate in its annual Fast 50 Global Readers' Challenge, more than 1,400 responded with answers about how they've moved their businesses forward. According to www.fastcompany.com, more than 800 also left "parting tips" to help others achieve the same goal. Here's a sampling of their advice: "Sometimes it helps to step back, reflect, and discern fantasy from reality. Do that first, and then make your decisions." ~ Jason Miletsky, executive vice president, PFS Marketwyse, Totowa, N.J. "Always hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst and be prepared to respond efficiently and effectively." ~ Bruce Blythe, CEO, Crisis Management International, Atlanta "Innovate daily, but obsess over the details of implementation unceasingly." ~ Mark Vadon, CEO and founder, Blue Nile, Inc., Seattle, Wash. "Pursue your goals because if you don't, you'll be used by someone else in pursuit of theirs." ~ Stephen Medici, CEO, Black Mountain Group, New York, N.Y. For more Fast 50 parting tips, see: http://www.fastcompany.com/fast50_02/partingtips.html _________________________________________________________________ RELATIONAL IMPROVEMENT If poor interpersonal skills are interfering with your ability to manage your work relationships, don't lose heart. It will take a concerted effort, but you can improve, says Jean Brittain Leslie of the Center for Creative Leadership. The first step is to figure out how a person with good relational skills functions in the workplace. "Managers who are interpersonally savvy are good listeners, available to others, collaborative and non-authoritarian," Leslie wrote in a recent CCL newsletter. "They are teamwork-oriented, supportive of others' ideas, honest and ethical." The next step is to come up with a plan to improve your interactions with others. Leslie offers the following suggestions: * Choose a specific relationship you want to improve and identify ways you can change your behavior towards that person. * Hone your listening skills. * Look for occasions to collaborate with others to achieve shared goals. * Learn to display empathy. For more information, see: http://www.ccl.org/connected/enews/articles/0203relationshiptrouble.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ START YOUR ENGINES! You don't have to be an avid professional football fan or a die- hard NASCAR enthusiast to benefit from Joe Gibbs' book, "Racing to Win." True, many of Gibbs' examples relate to his years as an NFL coach and as the owner of a champion racing team. But what else would you expect from a guy who has taken home three Super Bowl trophies (with the Washington Redskins) and NASCAR's prestigious Winston Cup (with driver Bobby Labonte)? Gibbs' accomplishments are undeniably impressive, but that's not what makes "Racing to Win" so memorable. The most remarkable aspect of this book is the humility and transparency with which Gibbs shares what he has learned from his mistakes and failures. It's apparent from the first few pages that he wants his readers to take what he has written to heart so that they can avoid the same missteps and breakdowns. You won't find any "highfalutin', hypothetical gobbledygook or theoretical mush" in this book. You will find inspiring illustrations and practical advice about how to achieve success in six key areas of life--career, finances, building a team, personal relationships, moral choices, and physical and spiritual health. The section on team building, in particular, is one every leader will want to read more than once. Gibbs' insights on leading by example, choosing the right team members, confronting problems head on, and valuing every employee clearly show why he has been such a successful leader and coach over the course of his career. The "cornerstones principles for success" that Gibbs lists at the end of each section also are worth reviewing frequently. The thread that ties the whole book together is Gibbs' heartfelt belief that true success is impossible without a strong spiritual commitment. "I'm telling you straight out: The greatest factor in my success has been my personal relationship with God," he writes. "You can take it or leave it. I'm no theologian; I'm just a coach. But I know a good game plan when I see one, and I've found the best plan of all in the Bible." Ironically, Gibbs had to learn this the hard way. For the first several years of his coaching career, he was driven by his obsession to become a head coach of a college football team. It never occurred to him to consider what God's plan for his life might be. It wasn't until later, after experiencing much frustration, discouragement and confusion, that he realized he needed to stop trying to be in charge and let God call the plays in his life. That's not to suggest that everything came easy once he made that decision. But Gibbs is honest enough to differentiate between the times when his trials were his own fault--when his penchant to invest in "get-rich-quick" business ventures led him to the brink of bankruptcy, for example--and when they were designed by God to build character and faith. Gibbs' conversational style and his collection of personal anecdotes from the world of sports make "Racing to Win" an entertaining read. And, thanks to his willingness to share candidly about his own life experiences, it also provides a compelling example of what true leadership looks like--on and off the playing field. --Review by Lois Flowers, INJOY consulting editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE FIRST STEP "A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves obscure men whose timidity prevented them from making a first effort." - Sydney Smith "Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was." - Richard L. Evans "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." - Henry David Thoreau _________________________________________________________________ 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.