~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. August 2003 - Volume 6, Issue 16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment - When Leadership Finds You * Leadership@Large - Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Book Review - Debunking Conventional Wisdom * Quick Quotes - Minutes Matter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WHEN LEADERSHIP FINDS YOU By Dr. John C. Maxwell Forty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stirred the passion and imagination of Americans with his dream of equality for all people. Reflecting on the life of Dr. King, I am reminded that history has demonstrated that leaders often emerge during periods of great change. For every major turning point in American history, great leaders assumed the mantle of leadership: Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, and Harry Truman all come to mind. What is interesting is that usually great men and women don't go looking for leadership. Instead, leadership finds them. When Dr. King received the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, he said, "History has thrust me into this position. I neither started the protest, nor suggested it. I simply responded to the call of the people." King's words remind me of Plato's, "Only those who do not seek power are qualified to hold it." It's as if you want it, you shouldn't have it. Instead, if you commit to other things, leadership will come. What do people who become great leaders commit themselves to that lead them to greatness? Here are four key commitments: 1. They commit themselves to growth. King was a lifelong learner. "I question and soul-search constantly to be as certain as I can that I am fulfilling the true meaning of my work, maintaining my sense of purpose, holding fast to my ideals, and that I am guiding my people in the right direction." Coretta Scott King confirms this by saying that King, "Worked so hard and studied constantly--long after he became a world figure." 2. They commit themselves to a larger than life vision. King saw the civil rights movement as the continuation "of that noble journey toward the goals reflected in the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Constitution itself, the Bill of Rights, and the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Nineteenth Amendments to the Constitution." Dr. King portrayed the movement as not simply a conflict between white people and black people, but a struggle between "justice and injustice." 3. They commit themselves to action. Dr. King always advocated specific and practical initiatives. Great leaders point to the problem and then clearly give several solutions. He would ask how is it that we can have all the great technology in America and yet cannot make the Constitution work at a luncheonette in a southern town. "What is needed," he said, "is a strategy for change, a tactical program that will bring the Negro into the mainstream of American life as quickly as possible. When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind." 4. They commit themselves to leaving a legacy. King said he wouldn't "have any money to leave behind" but wanted "to leave a committed life behind." This is best demonstrated in that he didn't want "a long funeral," not even "a eulogy of more than one or two minutes." He wanted no mention of his Nobel Peace Prize or other awards he had received. Instead, "I'd like somebody to mention that Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to give his life serving others. Say that I was a drum major for justice, a drum major for peace, a drum major for righteousness." Dr. King was right for the moment. He showed the nation a better way. Millions of us live with hope of an even greater future as we remember his dream of when "little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. didn't look to become a leader. Leadership found him, and because of his commitment, he was able to answer leadership's calling. That is a great lesson for all of us to learn. When leadership finds us, will we be the kind of people who can step up and lead? What we commit to now will be the determining factor. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BEYOND THE BUSINESS PAGE Do you concentrate on the business section while ignoring the rest of your morning newspaper? If so, you might be missing out on a wealth of information that could be valuable to your business--and even to your work as a leader. At least that's what Inc. contributor Adam Hanft thinks. Newspaper business sections, with their focus on Wall Street and national news, don't offer much insight for leaders who have to make tough decisions. "The rest of the paper, though, is a rich resource, a trend trove that can tell you more about the economy and your business than you might imagine," Hanft writes. Take the entertainment pages, for example. "Have you ever thought about what the reality-show phenomenon means to your business?" asks Hanft. "Sensational, trashy and irresistible, these shows illuminate an almost desperate need for authenticity, even a cheesy kind. They also betray a distaste for the prepackaged." Insights like that might not jump out at you right away, but they can influence many aspects of your work, from your marketing and product development efforts to the way you interact with clients and employees on personal level. You might be tempted to bypass the family section with its profile of your state's "mother of the year" or the front page with its article about your city's efforts to ban smoking in local eateries. But reading about how a mother of five organizes her life might inspire you to bring some much-needed order to your own world. Discovering how the leader of the group opposing the smoking ban has managed to rally the troops might provide just the insight you needed to motivate your own team to complete a difficult project. So go ahead. Get your nose out of the business section and see what else your local paper has to offer. As Hanft says, "You might learn something." For more information, see: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20030301/25212.html _________________________________________________________________ MAKING A CONNECTION Some leaders are comfortable addressing audiences of any size; others break out in a cold sweat just thinking about speaking in public. Whether you fall on either end of the spectrum or somewhere in between, Business 2.0's Jeff Wuorio offers some tips that may increase your effectiveness when you are called upon to make a presentation. 1. Don't wobble back and forth from one foot to the other. "Nail your feet to the floor if you have to--or walk a few steps, stop to make a point, and return," writes Wuorio. 2. Don't try to be funny. Most people aren't natural comedians, and while a bit of self- deprecating humor is okay--even helpful--every now and then, save your jokes for later. 3. Focus on the audience, not on your notes or the screen. This, of course, requires that you know your material well. 4. Acknowledge tendencies like occasional stuttering or sweating before they happen. "It'll put you more at ease and subtly encourage your listeners to root for you," Wuorio says. 5. To establish rapport or make a powerful point, gesture with an open palm. And whatever you do, don't point at your audience. _________________________________________________________________ GUEST COMMENTS: TRANSFORMING FAILURE INTO SUCCESS By Larry Julian The outlook for today's economy is far from optimistic. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, most recent figures bumped the national unemployment rate up to 4.5%. Since January of 2001, 1.1 million people have joined the ranks of the unemployed. The hardest hit areas are manufacturing and wholesale trade employment, both of which have shown a consecutive decline over the past year. In the midst of all this turmoil, those who are laid off or downsized due to the slowing economy take the hardest hit of all. While they may be hard-working, talented, and committed individuals, they fall prey to circumstances beyond their control and find themselves without meaningful employment. As a result, many are left feeling like professional failures. The Truth Behind Failure In reality, the real tragedy of today's business market is not the job loss epidemic itself; rather, it is our response to those feelings of failure that job loss often evokes. Underneath the surface, there are three hidden emotions tied into our feelings of failure that we don't typically talk about. They are fear, guilt, and discouragement. These emotions sabotage our long-term success because they rob us of our talents, passion, and purpose. For example, fear immobilizes us in the present, guilt makes us look back at things we should have done or done differently in the past, and discouragement saps us of hope for the future. When fear, guilt, and discouragement gang up, they not only rob us of our strength to overcome adversity, but they also rob us of our destiny. Over the years, our culture has done us a great injustice. We've been taught that winning is everything and losing is to be avoided at all costs. As a result, we live a life desperate to avoid feelings of failure. The truth is that failure is a necessary component for our long-term success. These five principles will help you transform feelings of failure into motivations for success. 1. Failure knocks our ego down a notch. Often, our egos give us a false sense of power, which ultimately can cause our demise. When our ego gets too big, it's easy to lose focus on what's really important because we try to control those things over which we have no control. Failure has a tendency to knock our ego down. While this can be painful, it teaches us to let go of things beyond our control. We learn that the world doesn't revolve around us. This is an important lesson because we come to understand that our work is about serving a purpose beyond ourselves. It's at this point where we begin to relax. Because we're no longer in control, purpose takes over where fear once resided, forgiveness overtakes our guilt, and hope replaces discouragement. How often does your ego prevent you from turning failure into success? 2. Short-term failure is a stepping stone for long-term success. A common thread of all great leaders is their use of failure as a springboard to success. Rather than obstacles, failures become stepping stones for their personal growth. When we take the time to look, we find that every setback has a blessing in disguise. Just as success leaves clues, so does failure. The key is to look beyond the immediate feelings of failure and discover all the possibilities that await. How can you use failure to your advantage? 3. Failure gives us freedom. Too many people stay in situations they dislike simply because they're afraid of failure. They prefer to stay inundated with urgent daily pressure because their fear of failure makes them work harder and harder. Often these people try to keep their grasp on the façade of being successful. What these people don't realize is that failure actually gives them freedom. They now have the freedom to pursue other interests, to open a new business, to find a more fulfilling line of work, to secure a job with better hours or better pay, and even to design a life that offers a better balance between work and family. Before you dwell in the depths of failure, ask yourself, "How can my failure give me freedom?" 4. Failure makes us grow stronger. Whether we like it or not, failure is a part of life. The question is whether it makes us weaker or stronger. An insightful person once said, "Life is a grindstone; whether it grinds you down or polishes you up depends on what you're made of." We can become victims of circumstance and let failure break us or we can grow in character and allow failure to shape us. Many times, it's not the big failure that harms us; rather, it's a series of small failures that wear us down and discourage us, which is the worst ill of all. Discouragement causes us to die a slow emotional death. It happens over time without our ever realizing it. It's during times of failure that our character is developed. We need to have the courage to move forward with perseverance when we have no energy and want to give up. Instead of letting feelings of failure rob you of hope, ask yourself, "How can I persevere today?" 5. Our response to today's difficulty prepares our future destiny. Our beliefs and actions shape our future. Unfortunately, it's so easy to allow our failures and difficulties to overwhelm us. When we approach our life one decision and one day at a time, we can overcome our difficulties and become the person we're destined to be. No matter what challenges are put before us, when we take the time to realize how precious and special each day is--even the bad days--we can respond to every situation in a positive manner. To keep this perspective, do what one prominent CEO does. She routinely asks herself, "Am I willing to put my signature on today?" The signature we put on each day authors our legacy for tomorrow. As Charles Reade said, "Sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny." How do you see the challenges before you today? Do you see your situation as the end of your success or the beginning. The choice is up to you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DEBUNKING CONVENTIONAL WISDOM "First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently" By Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman (Simon & Schuster, 1999) Every so often, you run across a book you just can't put down. For me, such books tend to be inspiring autobiographies of people who overcame enormous challenges or fast-paced novels full of mystery and intrigue. Rarely do they fall into the business/ leadership/management category. It's not that there aren't plenty of well-written, compelling business books on the market today. But I've never come to the end of one and honestly wished it wasn't over. Never, that is, until I read "First, Break All the Rules." Written by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, both with The Gallup Organization, this book has ranked in the top 10 on Business Week's bestseller list for more than 35 months. First released in 1999, it is now in its twenty-eighth printing and has been translated into 14 languages. And it deserves every bit of recognition it has received. In "First, Break All the Rules", Buckingham and Coffman assert that the greatest managers in the world--though vastly different in many ways--have one thing in common: They break nearly every rule held sacred by conventional wisdom. For example, conventional wisdom says people can achieve anything they set their minds to. Great managers say they cannot. Conventional wisdom declares "there is no 'I' in team." Great managers believe "excellent teams are built around individual excellence." Conventional wisdom says supervisors should spend the most time with their struggling employees. Great managers spend the most time with their best performers. The authors' explanation of why and how the world's best managers defy conventional wisdom is based on more than 80,000 in-depth interviews with individuals in various managerial roles. With that much material at their disposal, it would have been very easy for Buckingham and Coffman to get bogged down in statistical analysis or detailed descriptions of Gallup's interviewing methods. Fortunately, they avoided this temptation. They describe their research approach in an appendix, but they devote the main text of the book to explaining—-in a very user-friendly manner--what their research revealed and how readers can practically apply it on a daily basis. "First, Break All the Rules" is insightful and useful, but it's also a joy to read. Artfully sprinkled with compelling-- sometimes even poignant--anecdotes and quotes, each chapter flows thoughtfully and logically into the next, pulling the reader along and making him or her eagerly anticipate the next key point or illustration. It's almost as if the authors anticipated the questions and thoughts their words would trigger and set out to respond to them before the reader even thought of them. The end result is a book that, if taken seriously, has the potential to transform the way managers at any level in every profession do their jobs. So what exactly do the world's greatest managers do differently? According to Buckingham and Coffman, they select employees based on talent, as opposed to focusing primarily on experience, intelligence and determination. They set expectations by defining the right outcomes, not the right steps. They motivate by focusing on strengths instead of by helping employees identify and overcome their weaknesses. And they develop people by helping them "find the right fit...not simply the next rung on the ladder." They do all this because they know a secret anyone who desires to succeed as a leader or manager would do well to learn: "People don't change that much. Don't waste time trying to put in what was left out. Try to draw out what was left in. That is hard enough." If you want to learn how to "draw out what was left in," read "First, Break All the Rules." You'll be glad you did. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MINUTES MATTER "He who every morning plans the transactions of the day and follows out that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life." - Victor Hugo "Most time is wasted, not in hours, but in minutes. A bucket with a small hole in the bottom gets just as empty as a bucket that is deliberately emptied." - Paul J. Meyer "Nothing else, perhaps, distinguishes effective executives as much as their tender loving care of time." - Peter Drucker _________________________________________________________________ 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.