~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. October 2004 - Volume 7, Issue 19 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment – Start Now * Leadership@Large – Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Book Review – Overcoming Negativity * Quick Quotes – True to Self ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ START NOW By Dr. John C. Maxwell In the early 1970's, I had the opportunity to hear a speech by W. Clement Stone, co-author of one of the best-selling motivational books of all time, "Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude." At age 6, Stone was hawking newspapers on the streets of Chicago to help his widowed mother pay the rent. He had his own newsstand at 13, and later founded what would become a multibillion-dollar insurance empire with $100 of his hard-earned savings. Stone's own rags-to-riches story convinced him that, with a positive mental attitude, anyone could become successful. The formula for achievement that he shared with us that day allowed no room for procrastination, however, "When you wake up in the morning, start with the phrase, 'Do it now, do it now, do it now, do it now,'" he said, adding that we should repeat those three words 50 times in the morning and 50 times before bed. The message he wanted to ingrain in our heads was simple: If you want to be successful, don't wait for tomorrow. Just do it now. Stone, who died in 2002 at the age of 100, was a prime example of the power of starting. He didn't let significant obstacles deter him from becoming successful because he understood that the journey of a thousand miles really does begin with one step. And there's no time like the present to take that first step. I don't know what you need to start. Maybe it's an MBA program. A foreign-language course. A leadership training program. An exercise regimen. A new way of running meetings. A complete overhaul of your hiring process. The search for a new job. It doesn't matter what it is. Just start now. If you're still wavering, let me give you three more reasons why you should start now. 1. Start now because today matters. That phrase—today matters—isn't just the title of my latest book. It represents a deep conviction I have that, to borrow a line from Benjamin Franklin, "One today is worth two tomorrows." Here's what I believe. Most people—including many leaders—over- exaggerate yesterday, over-estimate tomorrow, and under-estimate today. The fact of the matter is that the "good old days" were never as good as we remember them to be, and tomorrow often isn't as productive as we think it will be. Today is the day that matters, the day with the greatest potential for accomplishment. 2. Start now because it removes the greatest barrier to your success. Do you know what that barrier is? It's what W. Clement Stone warned against: Procrastination. Anyone who brags about what they're going to do tomorrow probably did the same thing yesterday. My friend Dick Biggs made a tremendously insightful comment one day while we were having lunch together. "John," he said, "let me tell you what the greatest gap is. The greatest gap is between knowing and doing." That is so true. 3. Start now because it is the open door for opportunity. It's the job that never started that takes longest to finish. And let me tell you something—you cannot win if you do not begin. You must go through the door of opportunity when it opens to you, because you never know how long it's going to stay open or if it will ever open again. I love this statement by Karen Lamb: "A year from now you may wish you had started today." Those are strong words of caution, especially for people who are reluctant to start because they're comfortable with the status quo, they're afraid of failure or they don't want to put forth the effort. This highlights a problem that is all too prevalent in the 21st- century marketplace: We want the rewards of success without paying the price. Unfortunately, as Seth Godin—author of "Purple Cow" and "Permission Marketing"—pointed out in the May 2003 issue of "Fast Company," you can't have one without the other. "You don't win an Olympic gold medal with a few weeks of intensive training," Godin wrote. "There's no such thing as an overnight opera sensation. Great law firms or design companies don't spring up overnight. Every great company, every great brand, every great career has been built in exactly the same way: bit by bit, step by step, little by little." In other words, there is no magic solution to success. But there is a first step, and that first step is starting. Not tomorrow, but today. Not next week, but now. Anne Frank said, "How wonderful it is that we need not wait a single minute before starting to improve ourselves and our world." Start improving yourself today, and the rest will be history. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AN AMERICAN IN AMSTERDAM Nancy McKinstry is a rarity in business today: She is the American CEO of a European company. The fact that she is a woman makes her stand out even more on the other side of the Atlantic. McKinstry leads Wolters Kluwer, an Amsterdam-based publisher with 20,000 employees and 2003 sales of $4.3 billion. In a recent interview with Del Jones, USA Today's corporate management reporter, she cites an interesting reason why there are far fewer female executives in Europe than there are in the United States: schools that do not provide lunches. "Parents, usually mothers, pick their children up at lunchtime," she says. "Stores close early and don't open on Sundays, which makes it difficult for working mothers." It is easier for women in the United States to blend work and family, says McKinstry, whose own two children attend an American school with a cafeteria. McKinstry hasn't suffered from any anti-Americanism during her time with Wolters Kluwer; instead, she has found Europeans to be welcoming and interested in her work and life. "European executives like to talk about politics, economics, and culture," she says. "If you go to lunch and discuss only business, you won't be invited back." McKinstry hasn't tried to turn her firm into an American company, but she has imported certain leadership elements that are more common in the United States. "I've encouraged informality and more open communication," she says. "I've moved more quickly than a European might have. It's interesting that the word 'aggressive' has a negative connotation in most European countries." To read more, see: http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2004-06-21-mckinstry_x.htm _________________________________________________________________ GROWING IN SOCIAL GRACES How do you handle yourself at formal galas and awards presentations? Are you comfortable making small talk with strangers? Do you use good table manners whether you're eating in the company cafeteria, at a lunch meeting in a conference room, at your desk or in a white-tablecloth setting? And, more importantly, when it comes to being an effective leader, does any of this even matter? "At-work expert" Liz Ryan thinks it matters—a lot. In a recent "Business Week" article, she explains why leaders should not only be aware of their "etiquette quotient," but also be looking to increase it if necessary. "You may not care about these seemingly small things, but other people do," she writes. "Other people such as hiring managers." Ryan has found that many professionals don't consider "making nice" with others to be part of their job descriptions. But as they move up in their companies—into management roles or positions with greater outside interaction—"their social ineptitude inevitably penalizes them," she says. If you're not sure how you measure up when it comes to social graces, Ryan has a solution. "Identify the most polished person in your office and ask him or her to lunch or coffee," she says. Tell that person how much you admire his or her style and manners. Then ask for an honest evaluation of your own manners. "Say, 'I think I do OK, but I could use some tips.'" Ryan writes. "'Do you have any suggestions for me on what to start doing, or not to do?'" Such conversations might not be easy, but the input you receive— and the subsequent changes you make—could have a tremendous impact on your ability to advance as a leader. To read more, see: http://www.businessweek.com/careers/content/aug2004/ca20040827_9827.htm?c=bwinsidersep3&n=link20&t=email ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OVERCOMING NEGATIVITY "How Full is Your Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life" By Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton (Gallup Press, 2004) According to the Gallup Organization, the No. 1 reason most Americans leave their jobs is because they don't feel appreciated. On the flip side, the polling firm's latest analysis has found that individuals who receive regular recognition and praise at work are, among other things, more productive, have better safety records, and are more likely to stay with their organizations. The fact that people leave their jobs because they don't feel valued and stay because they do underscores the importance of positive affirmation as a leadership tool. Unfortunately, it seems this powerful tool is vastly underutilized, as 65 percent of people polled said they got no recognition for good work last year. Help for overcoming this appreciation deficit comes in the form of this short tome by the late Donald O. Clifton, co-author of the bestselling "Now, Discover Your Strengths", and his grandson, Tom Rath. The authors assert that each of us carries an invisible bucket of emotions, as well as a dipper that we can use to either add to other people's buckets or dip from them. Praise, recognition, and other positive experiences fill our buckets, while negative interactions empty them. Research by Gallup and Clifton, a pioneer in the field of positive psychology, shows that when one person fills another's bucket, both parties benefit. Conversely, when one person dips from another's bucket, both suffer. Citing formal studies, examples from history, and personal anecdotes, Clifton and Rath paint a compelling picture of the good things that happen when people are encouraged, recognized, and praised regularly, as well as the emotional, mental, and sometimes even physical devastation that can occur in the absence of such positive encounters. They outline practical ways we can reduce the negativity around us, including becoming more aware of how often we make negative comments, focusing more on what others do right rather than where they need to improve, developing "best friends" at work, giving unexpected gifts, and "reversing the Golden Rule" ("doing unto others as they would have you do unto them," as opposed to "doing unto others as you would have them do unto you"). Some of the material in "How Full is Your Bucket?" might be familiar, especially to fans of other Gallup-sponsored works such as "First, Break All the Rules" and "Now, Discover Your Strengths." But don't let that deter you; the book is not without fresh content. For example, one of the most memorable sections is where Rath, who suffers from a rare form of cancer, explains how his grandfather's philosophies and teachings helped him cope with his own health problems. His story proves that daily bucket filling doesn't just improve workplace productivity; it also can have a dramatic positive impact on a person's family life, personal fulfillment and longevity. As Clifton and Rath effectively show, negativity kills—both literally and figuratively. Leaders who want to eliminate or avoid this kind of destruction should make "How Full is Your Bucket?" required reading for themselves and their people. - Review by Lois Flowers, INJOY consulting editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TRUE TO SELF "The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere." - Anne Morrow Lindbergh "He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away." - Raymond Hull "You were born an original. Don't die a copy." - John Mason _________________________________________________________________ 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) 2004, INJOY, Inc.