~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. December 2004 - Volume 7, Issue 23 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment – Making the Most of Every Experience * Leadership@Large – Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Book Review – Indelible Footprints * Quick Quotes – My Mistake ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MAKING THE MOST OF EVERY EXPERIENCE By Dr. John C. Maxwell On December 18, 1998, I had an experience that dramatically changed my outlook on life. It began at a Christmas party, but there was nothing festive about it. On that day, at the age of 51, I had a heart attack. As I tried to make sense out of what was happening to me, the brutal reality of the situation hit me head on. I didn't know if I was going to live to see another day. As I contemplated the possibility of dying, I suddenly understood that all I have is today. There's no dress rehearsal for life. This is it. I had known that intellectually, but having a heart attack drove the point home like nothing else could. If I want to live a useful life—in my role as a leader as well as in every other capacity—I have to make the most of every experience. Obviously, some events and situations—such as my heart attack—will fall into the "defining moment" category. But even those less memorable moments influence our lives and contribute to our usefulness and overall fulfillment. I'll talk more specifically about defining moments later. For now, though, let's look at experiences in general. Each one falls into one or more of the following realms: 1. Entertainment. We absorb this type of experience through our senses. People who engage in this type of activity can see, hear, feel, smell or taste what is happening. 2. Educational. Here, we have the participation of a person's mind and/or body. The goal, of course, is to learn. 3. Escapist. This is an experience that completely involves a person—like spending the day at a theme park: riding the roller coasters, eating the funnel cakes (unless you've recently experienced a heart attack, of course), interacting with the sidewalk performers. The emphasis is on doing, as opposed to feeling or learning. 4. Aesthetic. With this type of experience, you're immersed in a setting, but you have no effect on it. Think of visiting an art gallery or seeing the Grand Canyon—you're affected by the experience, but you did nothing to contribute to it. You're there simply because you want to be there. Jim Gilmore, co-author of "The Experience Economy," said, "The richest and most compelling human experiences draw from all four realms." Very often, those events and encounters we consider to be defining moments do exactly what Gilmore described. They capture our hearts, souls, minds, senses, emotions and sometimes even our bodies in a life-altering way. This is an important observation for leaders who want to communicate effectively. Whether you have an audience of a thousand or of one, you need to make sure you are utilizing as many of the four realms as possible. You also need to be aware of the powerful, growth-triggering impact that these types of experiences can have on people, and do what you can to provide them in settings that are relevant to what your team does on a daily basis. Defining moments don't just shape followers, of course. In "Geeks & Geezers: How Era, Values and Defining Moments Shape Leaders," Warren G. Bennis and Robert J. Thomas state that all of the truly effective leaders they studied, regardless of age, had "undergone at least one intense, transformational experience" that set them on their "desired, even inevitable" leadership paths. These "crucible" experiences, as Bennis and Thomas describe them, are defining moments that "unleash abilities, force crucial choices and sharpen focus." In essence, they teach "a person who he or she is." Based upon what I have observed in my own life and in the lives of those around me, I believe there are at least four different types of leadership-defining crucibles. 1. Ground breakers. These experiences literally thrust us out and enable us to break new ground. 2. Heart breakers. These are those painful, unwelcome events—such as my heart attack — that stop us in our tracks and force us to reevaluate our priorities. 3. Cloud breakers. The encounters allow us to see the big picture—suddenly and clearly—like never before. 4. Chart breakers. These defining moments allow us to soar with confidence. According to Bennis and Thomas, one key difference between lifetime leaders and "nonleaders" lies in how they respond to the defining moments they experience. "Leaders create meaning out of events and relationships that devastate nonleaders," they write. We don't always know it when we're in the middle of a defining moment; sometimes, the importance of these experiences can only be seen in retrospect. Either way, it is up to us to decide how they are going to affect us and our leadership. As Aldous Huxley said, "Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SURPRISE, SURPRISE Every new job comes with its share of the unexpected. These unknowns vary depending on the position and the company, among other things. Commonalities do exist, however, especially when it comes to the surprises often faced by new chief executives. In a recent Harvard Business Review article titled "Seven Surprises for New CEOs," Harvard Business School professors Michael E. Porter, Jay W. Lorsch and Nitin Nohria outline these unanticipated lessons and describe when they might become obvious. For example, new CEOs are often surprised to learn that no matter what they're doing or saying, they are "always sending a message," the authors explain in the October 2004 issue of HBR. A leader who is oblivious to this won't notice that employees are circulating stories about his behavior that "magnify or distort reality." Nor will he see that people around him are behaving in "ways that indicate they're trying to anticipate [his] likes and dislikes." It's also common for new CEOs to discover that it's hard to know what is really going on in their companies. This surprise is revealed when leaders find that they are constantly hearing things that surprise them, learning about events after they happen and receiving "dissenting views through the grapevine rather than directly." Many CEOs are also startled to learn that they "can't run the company" in the way they thought they would be able to. Warning signs that adjustments are needed in this area include being in too many meetings and "involved in too many tactical discussions," as well as having "too many days when you feel as though you have lost control over your time." For more information, see: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=4454&t=strategy&nl=y _________________________________________________________________ ESSENTIAL STRATEGIES Inc. magazine's October 2004 issue is a goldmine of information for leaders who want to improve the way they do everything from delivering ultimatums to conducting due diligence. Since Inc. is geared toward entrepreneurs, some of the articles in "The Ultimate How-To Guide for Business Owners" might not apply to people who don't run their own companies. But much of it is relevant for any leader. To whet your appetite, here are a few brief excerpts: * How to hire wisely: "To hire well, you need to hire more. Just to be clear, we're not advocating doubling your head count overnight. But, yes, we do recommend bringing more candidates through the doors. Get rid of the one-in-one-out mentality. Get rid of any arbitrary time frame for hiring. The beautiful economic reality in today's freelance nation is that there's always a contract player, part-timer or telecommuter willing to do high-level work without a commitment." * How to fire decisively: "When you call the employee in, always have another executive in the room to act as a witness and a buffer. Don't get confrontational, don't raise your voice, and don't create a scene by having security guards escort someone out of the building with his belongings in a cardboard box. That embarrasses everyone." * How to groom a No. 2: "Find a No. 2 who complements you. Hire a total opposite, and it's likely that you won't be reading the same book, let alone be on the same page, and problems that didn't exist before will erupt. Hire an exact clone and the odds are good that the problems that exist now won't go away and new opportunities will go undiscovered." * How to be a great boss: "Praise isn't proprietary, so be overly generous with it. Don't lose your temper. And when you're wrong (and you will be), apologize." For more information, see: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20041001/index.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INDELIBLE FOOTPRINTS Put the Moose on the Table: Lessons in Leadership from a CEO's Journey through Business and Life By Randall Tobias with Todd Tobias (Indiana University Press, 2004) "Put the Moose on the Table" is a classic tale of a small-town boy who made it big by learning from his experiences and making the most out of every career opportunity that came his way. But what makes this memoir especially memorable—aside from the catchy title, of course—is the way Randall Tobias, chairman emeritus of Eli Lilly and Co. and former vice chairman of AT&T, incorporates so much practical leadership wisdom into his life story. Not only did Tobias learn from his experiences—working as a grocery store clerk in Remington, Indiana, serving in the Student Senate at Indiana University, rising through the corporate ranks at AT&T, dealing with unexpected personal loss, leading cultural transformation at Eli Lilly, and so on,—but he wants readers to benefit from them too. Take his nearly 30-year tenure at AT&T, for example. In the aftermath of the government-ordered breakup of the communications giant in 1984, Tobias saw firsthand what can happen in the absence of a "clear and compelling vision that the organization understands, accepts and knows how to execute." As a result, when he joined Eli Lilly as chairman and CEO in 1993, one of his first goals was to clarify the pharmaceutical giant's strategic focus. "We needed to address the essential question: What businesses are we really in?" he writes. Tobias uses his experiences at both companies to illustrate lessons about career development, succession planning, leadership, corporate communications, core values, risk taking and change. But one of the most powerful parts of the book focuses on a personal tragedy that became quite public for Tobias and his family. His first wife, Marilyn, committed suicide in 1994 after having been diagnosed with clinical depression several months earlier. The sad irony of the situation was that "she had succumbed to the disease her husband's company was most associated with treating successfully. Tragically, the Lilly drug [Prozac] that had helped so many did not help her." Because of his high-profile position with Eli Lilly, Tobias received several requests from the local and national press to discuss his wife's death and the treatment of clinical depression in the United States. He was understandably hesitant, but—in keeping with the company's newly endorsed philosophy of open communication—he eventually agreed to an interview with a trusted media outlet. That decision was spurred by Tobias's commitment to "put the moose on the table," which means dealing with unaddressed, unresolved and unpleasant issues "as openly and as honestly as we would feel compelled to do if we had a real live moose to confront." This clever phrase is the title of Tobias's book for good reason—it's evident from his story that he practices this habit faithfully and encourages other leaders to do so as well. A key strength of "Put the Moose on the Table" is the journalistic contribution of co-author Todd Tobias. Unlike many writers who help well-known leaders with their memoirs, Todd Tobias witnessed many events recorded in the book firsthand because they happened to his father, Randall Tobias. He also interviewed more than 80 of his father's friends and business associates for the project—an enormous undertaking that greatly adds to the book's depth and usefulness. "Leadership is far more complicated than simply being an effective manager," Randall Tobias writes in his introduction. "Among other things, it's about leaving behind indelible footprints." With "Put the Moose on the Table," Tobias leaves behind a well- defined set of footprints that can help leaders at all levels find their way in an ever-changing marketplace. - Review by Lois Flowers, INJOY consulting editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MY MISTAKE "If you don't make mistakes, you're not working on hard-enough problems. And that's a big mistake." - F. Wikzek "In the game of life it's a good idea to have a few early losses, which relieves you of the pressure of trying to maintain an undefeated season." - Bill Vaughan "Admit your errors before someone else exaggerates them." - Andrew V. 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.