~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. September 2003 - Volume 6, Issue 18 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment - Getting Through * Leadership@Large - Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Book Review – Straight Talk * Quick Quotes - Press On ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GETTING THROUGH By Dr. John C. Maxwell In many ways, life is all about communicating. And nowhere is it more critical to be a strong communicator than in leading people and organizations. The best business leaders have the ability to effectively explain business fundamentals, strategy, alternatives, challenges and action plans in ways that tap into their employees' sense of meaning. Many people think they are communicating when they provide information in the form of memos, e-mails, reports and the like. But they're not. Information is giving out; communication is getting through. As you can imagine, there is a world of difference between giving out facts, figures and other material and actually getting through to people. I can't offer you one surefire method of communicating that is guaranteed to make your audience understand you completely every time you open your mouth. I can, however, describe nine vehicles that--when viewed correctly and used consistently--can help you get through more often. Here they are: 1. Behavior. It's a cliché, but it's true. Actions really do speak louder than words. 2. Relationships. The better the relationship, the better the communication. 3. Emotions. Laughter, tears, nervousness, anger—such emotions add a human dimension to your words and make what you're saying all the more powerful. 4. Values. When strong, consistent values are evident in your daily life, you enhance your credibility, which, in turn, improves your chances of being heard and understood. 5. Words. Whether written or spoken, words obviously are an integral part of communication. But don't use them carelessly. Good communicators stay away from sloppy grammar, foul language, run- on sentences and muddled explanations. 6. Listening. Communication isn't one-sided. Listening is one of the best ways you can truly connect with someone. 7. Expressions. If your mouth is saying one thing and your face is saying something else, your audience will listen to your face, every time. If you want to get through, make sure your expressions match your words. 8. Compassion. I've said it before and I'll say it again: People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. If you want your communication to be effective, don't be afraid to show that you care. 9. Change. I'm not talking about change in a general sense here. I'm talking about personal change. It might involve breaking a bad habit, adjusting an attitude, revising expectations or even learning a new skill. Whatever the case, changing something about yourself can often open the door to improved communication. I've given you nine ways to get through. But the communication puzzle has one more very important piece: integration. Let me explain. If you use four of the nine of the nine vehicles consistently, you'll be a much better communicator than if you only use two of them. If you use eight of the nine, you'll get through more often than if you only use five. In other words, the more of the nine ways you use when you communicate, the more effective you're going to be. Do you want to get through to the people you lead? If you do, evaluate how well you're utilizing these nine vehicles and begin adding the missing elements, one by one. Stop being an information provider and start communicating. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BANISH THE "BUT" Frances Hesselbein has interacted with many great leadership experts throughout the years, including Peter Drucker, Warren Bennis and Jim Collins. But Hesselbein, editor-in-chief of Leader to Leader magazine, says her grandmother, "Mama Wicks," was the person who had the greatest impact on her life and her work. Mama Wicks was a powerful leadership model because she taught her grandchildren the importance of listening--an art that Hesselbein calls "the essential element of effective leadership." "When people are speaking, it requires that they have our undivided attention," she writes in Leader to Leader's Summer 2003 issue. "We focus on them; we listen very carefully. We listen to the spoken words and the unspoken messages. This means looking directly at the person, eyes connected--we forget we have a watch, just focusing for that moment on that person. It's called respect, it's called appreciation, it's called anticipation--and it's called leadership." Hesselbein recently was asked to pinpoint her number one piece of listening advice. Her answer? "Banish the but." "How many times," she writes, "has someone told us how well we have performed--and we were feeling good about the feedback, listening carefully--then we have heard 'but," and the positive, energizing part of the feedback was lost in the 'but' and what followed it. 'But' is nobody's friend--listener or speaker. 'And' provides the graceful transition, the nonthreatening bridge to mutual appreciation, the communication that builds effective relationships. Replacing 'but' with 'and' is the best advice I could give to the leader who listens and wants others to listen with an open mind." For more information, see: http://leadertoleader.org/leaderbooks/L2L/summer2003/fh.html _________________________________________________________________ TODAY IS TODAY Every so often, a corporate leader says something in an interview that is so candid, brash or unexpected, you can't help but sit up and take notice. General Electric Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt made such a statement recently, during a September 3 conversation with BusinessWeek Associate Editor Diane Brady. The two were talking about the news that Vivendi Universal SA had signed a preliminary agreement to merge its Universal Entertainment assets with GE's NBC unit. The deal would expand NBC to include the Universal Pictures movie studio, a television- production group, three more cable networks and the Universal theme parks. GE would own 80 percent of the new company. Brady asked if the deal was a "bargain play" (it's worth about $14 billion) or a good strategic fit. "With Telemundo, Bravo and some of the other moves we've made," Immelt said, "it's clear we've wanted to make NBC bigger. We're looking for ways to make that business more valuable." When Vivendi decided to sell the assets included in the deal, GE didn't have to "get 60 people and do a study for two months," he added. "We know this world...We were able to engage quickly." Then came the attention-grabber. "Would [Immelt's predecessor] Jack Welch have done this deal five or ten years ago?" Brady asked. "I don't really care," GE's current chief responded. "Today is today, and that's all I think about." To read the entire interview, see: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/sep2003/nf2003094_ 2317_db049.htm?c=bwinsidersep5&n=link4&t=email _________________________________________________________________ GUEST COMMENTS: BEYOND TIME MANAGEMENT TO PERSONAL MANAGEMENT By Dick Biggs Before deciding how the hours of each day will be allotted (time management), you should decide where you want to spend your days over a lifetime (personal management). In other words, managing yourself is more important than managing your time. Time management is your daily diligence of choosing wisely. Personal management is the long-term determination of your dominant interests, which are the major areas of your life where you spend time. The key questions are: What's really important in my life? And am I spending time in these areas? For example, I have three dominant interests subdivided as follows: l. God. 2. Others - family, friends, community. 3. Personal - business, finances, health/leisure. By determining your dominant interests, you're clarifying your lifestyle focus. Naturally, dominant interests vary from person to person. The ideal number is between three and seven. With less than three, you'll probably be out of balance. With more than seven, you're likely to be stressed out, even burned out. There's no such thing as perfect daily balance every day. There will be days when balance means working longer hours...when balance means spending time with family and friends...when balance means exercising or relaxing...when balance means doing a community project or developing spiritually...or when balance means handling finances. Don't worry if a particular day is out of balance due to a heavy workload or family emergency. Strive for weekly, monthly, quarterly or even yearly balance. If you haven't spent time in each area by the end of a year, then reassess your dominant interests or strive for better time management. Generally, burnout occurs for two reasons: a single dominant interest becomes your life i.e., workaholic; or you make too many commitments in several dominant interests and your circuits become overloaded. I was a workaholic for 12 years. I burned out so badly I quit my job and didn't work for five months. During this difficult time, I realized burnout can't occur if there wasn't a flame in the first place. Fortunately, the fire was rekindled in late 1982 when I started my business and met Judy, who would become my wife two years later. I almost burned out a second time in the mid-1980's when I stretched myself too thin among my dominant interests. Besides operating a one-man business, I was active in my church and community. I was spending time with my family and friends. And I was running marathons. If anything, I was too balanced! I phased out of some organizations, reduced my volunteer activities and retired from marathons. It wasn't easy, but it sure beat burning out again. I've learned I can't do everything, and that it's okay to say no without feeling guilty. If you don't control your dominant interests, they'll control you. It's possible to enjoy a more balanced lifestyle by monitoring your number of dominant interests and the degree of activity within each one. Once you've mastered this principle of personal management, you're ready to "master your life and make the most of it" with some terrific time management tactics. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ STRAIGHT TALK "Up Your Business! 7 Steps to Fix, Build, or Stretch Your Organization" By Dave Anderson (John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2003) If you're tired of reading business books full of empty buzzwords, industry jargon and cheesy acronyms, you'll find "Up Your Business!" to be a refreshing change of pace. Instead of offering academic-sounding solutions to common leadership problems, Dave Anderson tackles the issues head-on, providing a much-needed jolt for leaders who are satisfied with the status quo as well as a significant dose of inspiration for those who are ready to take their companies to the next level. Whether he's talking about how to deal with poor performers, explaining why companies need to abolish "corporate welfare" or chastising leaders who habitually work 80-hour weeks, Anderson gets right to the point with his straightforward style. "I'm not going to let you off the hook with a bunch of Pollyanna, happy hot-tub talk," he writes in the book's introduction. "I'll give you effective strategies, presented in simple and direct talk that you can apply immediately." He lives up to his promise, never talking down to his readers but constantly urging them to look in the mirror and take responsibility for the "health of their enterprise." If you read many books on leadership and management, some of the material (particularly in the chapter on hiring the right people) will be familiar. But the way Anderson presents it--as if he knows you personally and is talking directly to you--gives the content a memorable twist. As the title suggests, the book is divided into seven sections, all designed to help readers fix, build or stretch their organizations. In addition to offering his own take on standard topics such as how to hire the right people, develop talented employees and set big goals, Anderson offers an intriguing perspective on corporate culture and why it's important to replace a "culture of entitlement" with one based on merit. His "daily priority to-do list for leaders," also known as the "leadership twelve-pack," is another valuable section, as is his chapter on overcoming the "six temptations of successful organizations." "Up Your Business!" is not the type of book you should attempt to read in one sitting--not because it's boring, but because it's packed with practical information that you'll want to mull over and apply to your own situation. Some of the chapters are too long and could have easily been broken into two without disturbing the flow of the book. Fortunately, the "Up Your Business Bullets" sprinkled throughout the text add visual interest and help break up the longer sections. These short snippets of wisdom, such as "There is no greater waste of time than doing something well that shouldn't be done in the first place" and, "Sacred cows make the best burgers," will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned. Anderson doesn't offer quick fixes. His recommendations, though simple, involve a lot of hard work. But, as he writes, "It's even harder work to do things the wrong way, to push the wrong people to do the right things, or to do more of the work yourself because you have the wrong people on board." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PRESS ON "The heights by great men reached and kept were not obtained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow "Little strokes fell great oaks." - Ben Franklin "Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another." - Walter Elliot _________________________________________________________________ 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.