~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. April 2004 - Volume 7, Issue 8 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “When change is successful, you will look back at it and call it growth.” --Dr. John C. Maxwell In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment – Why Not Change?: John reveals why many people are reluctant to undergo significant change. * Leadership@Large – Surveying the Leadership Landscape: Keep the Creative Juices Flowing, Boot Camp for Leaders. * Book Review – Toward True Greatness—A review of “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t.” * Quick Quotes – How to Be Happy: James M. Barrie, Theodore Rubin, Charles M. Schwab. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WHY NOT CHANGE? By Dr. John C. Maxwell Have you ever met someone who wasn’t happy unless he or she was going through some kind of massive change? Perhaps there are a few individuals in this world who thrive on uncertainty, enjoy feeling insecure, and love to have their routines disrupted. But I think it would be safe to say that most people resist change every now and then, especially when it affects an idea, position, or practice that is near and dear to them. Although people in leadership roles are often called upon to be agents of change, I have found that leaders resist change as much as followers do! As you might guess, that poses a big problem in this world of rapid transition and constant flux. As I wrote in my book, Developing the Leader Within You, “Unchanged leaders equals unchanged organizations.” My goal in this column is not to teach you how to enact change or tell you when you need to change. I merely want to help you understand what most people—including many leaders—think about change. Here are six key observations: 1. Most people change just enough to get away from their problems,not enough to solve them. They change just enough to escape; and as soon as they escape, they say, “I’m OK now—I don’t have to do anything else.” Unfortunately, this is like painting a rusty car. Sooner or later, the paint wears off, and the rust has only gotten worse. 2. Most people want to change their circumstances to improve their lives instead of changing themselves to improve their circumstances. Let’s say you came to me, as leaders often do, and said, “John, give me some leadership ideas so I can change the people of my organization.” Well, I’m happy to offer leadership advice, but not so you can change someone else. If I give you advice, I’d like it to change you, because if I can change you, your organization will change, too. As I’m fond of saying, “People do what people see.” 3. Most people do the same thing the same way and expect different results. I see it happen all the time: People keep doing the same thing the same way, and yet they expect something to get better. When you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done. 4. Most people are willing to change, not because they see the light, but because they feel the heat. Read this carefully. As a leader, you better change when you see the light because if you wait and change when you feel the heat, it’s too late. Leaders go first. I know—sometimes we don’t want to go first, especially when it comes to change. But we have to—that’s what it means to lead. 5. Most people are unwilling to pay the immediate price of change; therefore, they do not change and pay the ultimate price. Change is uncomfortable. It’s unsettling. Sometimes, it’s downright painful. But in the long run, the alternative is often much, much worse. 6. Most people see change as a hurtful thing that must be done, instead of a helpful thing that should be done. Not all change is good. Some changes are based on bad ideas. Others are self-serving to the people who enact them. But as Max De Pree aid, “We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” Did you see yourself in any of these six observations? If so, decide today to change the way you think about change. Why is this so important? I stated the answer in Developing the Leader Within You: “When change is successful, you will look back at it and call it growth.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ KEEP THE CREATIVE JUICES FLOWING When a group of people is brainstorming about something—the solution to a complicated problem, a new advertising campaign, ways to attract new business, etc.—it often takes just one caustic comment from the leader to stifle all creativity. On the other hand, if the leader encourages input and responds to suggestions respectfully, the group will be much more likely to come up with the innovative ideas it needs to get its work done. A recent Center for Creative Leadership e-newsletter listed several comments leaders should avoid if they want to foster creativity. Don’t say: * We’ve never done it that way before. * It costs too much. * Let’s take a survey first. * If it’s such a good idea, why hasn’t someone suggested it before? * That’s a good idea, but … * Be practical. * Let’s sit on it for awhile. For more information, see http://www.ccl.org/cclcommerce/news/newsletters/enewsletter/ 2004/MARmonday.aspx _________________________________________________________________ BOOT CAMP FOR LEADERS From traditional classroom courses to Outward Bound-type programs, immersion training for CEOs and other high-level leaders is growing in popularity, according to the February 2004 issue of Entrepreneur magazine. Top business schools, industry trade associations, and organizations such as the Center for Creative Leadership are among the groups offering what writer Dale Buss calls “leadership boot camps.” Participants develop and hone their leadership, teamwork, and communication skills by engaging in activities ranging from horseback riding and skiing to ropes courses and (for the slightly less adventurous) improvised business situations. Leaders who want to get the most out of such experiences should keep the following tips in mind. * Prepare for a taste of humble pie. The best programs remind leaders that they don’t know everything. “These professors will bring out stuff that makes you feel maybe you’re not so smart,” says insurance company president Michael Carricarte, who committed to an immersion course at Harvard University that required three consecutive weeks of training, three years in a row. * Seek deeper truths. You may enroll in a course thinking you will learn more about policies and procedures, only to come away with more foundational insights. For example, Buss writes that one CEO “came to understand how various members of her management team were motivated differently and embraced an idea she previously had avoided: She needed to demand a sense of urgency in some of them—or fire them.” * Take advantage of being away. During his total of nine weeks away, Carricarte took time each day to return phone calls and e-mails. But, writes Buss, he also “disciplined himself not to intervene in a significant way in the company’s operations during that time.” The result? “Last year, they had the company’s best-ever month in sales while I was away,” Carricarte says. For more information, see http://www.Entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,312653,00.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TOWARD TRUE GREATNESS Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Other Don’t By Jim Collins (Harper Business, 2001) Can anything be written about Good to Great that hasn’t been written already? Although it was published less than three years ago, this thoughtfully composed, highly instructive bestseller has quickly become a classic. As of late March, it ranked No. 16 on Amazon.com—not among business books, but out of all the titles available through the online retailer. The nearly 250 Amazon.com customers who have reviewed Good to Great were nearly unanimous in their praise, giving it four-and-a-half out of a possible five stars. The book—dubbed by Collins as a prequel to Built to Last, the bestseller he wrote with Jerry Porras—is the result of a five-year study designed to answer the following questions: “Can a good company become a great company and, if so, how?” Starting with every corporation that ever appeared on the Fortune 500, Collins and his team of researchers used a clearly defined and measurable set of standards to pinpoint eleven that made the transition from good to great—and sustained those results for at least fifteen years. By studying those elite eleven, along with a set of comparison firms, the team then came up with a list of distinguishing characteristics that reveal why some companies are able to overcome mediocrity and become truly great performers, while others are not. For example, during the pivotal transition years, every good-to-great company had what Collins called a “Level 5 leader.” In contrast to the flashy, ego-driven, charismatic leaders that frequently are hired to “fix” a struggling company, Level 5 leaders “embody a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will” and are often promoted from within an organization. Good-to-great firms also follow what Collins termed The Stockdale Paradox: When wrestling through difficult issues, they retain their faith that they will prevail in the end but, at the same time, they also are able to confront the most brutal facts of their current reality. Another factor that sets good-to-great companies apart is the fact that they found their strategies on a deep understanding of what they can be the best in the world at, how they can most effectively generate sustained cash flow and profitability, and what best ignites their passion. This understanding leads to the formation of a simple “Hedgehog Concept” that guides the future growth and direction of these organizations. In addition, good-to-great companies achieve sustainable success over time, rather than in one fell swoop, by “building a culture full of self-disciplined people who take disciplined action” in their pursuit of activities that fall within their particular Hedgehog Concept. Throughout the book, Collins supports his team’s findings with insightful examples from the good-to-great companies as well as the comparison firms. The result is a compelling textbook on how to build a successful business that every CEO and senior executives should have in his or her personal leadership library. But Good to Great isn’t just for chief executives. Leaders at any level can benefit greatly from Collins’ work, which is why yet another look at this oft-reviewed book was in order. Yes, Good to Great is about how to turn a good company into a great one. But discerning readers can sift through the material and apply many principles to their own personal lives and leadership methods. The sections about Level 5 leadership, facing reality and the Hedgehog Concept are particularly enlightening in this regard. If you read Good to Great when it was first released, now might be a good time to get it off the shelf and read it again—this time, solely from the perspective of how Collins’ words apply to your own life. And if you’ve never read it, don’t wait another minute. -- Review by Lois Flowers, INJOY consulting editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HOW TO BE HAPPY “The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does.” --James M. Barrie “Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.” --Theodore Rubin “Lead the life that will make you kindly and friendly to everyone about you, and you will be surprised what a happy life you will lead.” --Charles M. Schwab ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Contacting Us ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For more information on Dr. John C. Maxwell, please visit our web site at http://www.INJOY.com. Leadership Wired is written by Dr. John C. Maxwell and is available via e-mail on a free subscription basis. You can subscribe or unsubscribe at: http://www.INJOY.com/membership/memberprofile.asp. Questions about document transmission or editorial comments? Contact mailto:feedback@INJOY.com. 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