There is more than one way to know if you can trust a leader. But one key way is find their crucibles. If leader isn’t willing to talk about them or can’t seem to remember any, a red flag should go up in your mind.
Teddy Roosevelt had some penetrating thoughts on leaders who seemed to have escaped suffering:
“I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life; I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”
I found this at one of Guy Kawasaki’s Twitter posts. It’s Malcolm Gladwell speaking at the New
Yorker’s Stories from the Near Future conference back in May. His speech revolves around our antiquated approach to hiring talent. You can view the speech here. Mr. Gladwell makes some great points, but I will allow you to glean that on your own.
Here are my thoughts on the matter:
I know you may be thinking that the above has been said before. And you would be right. Nothing new under the sun as once been said. But here’s something to consider:
A friend once asked me, during a time of great struggle/learning, how I knew if the lessons learned would stick. I told him that sometimes God has to orchestrate such winds upon our life-tree that our roots go so deep that we never turn back. I’m living proof of this. Maybe this applies to organizations too.
We’re not short on data that tells us to change, but short on character and courage to move forward in change.
I'm a believer in "Brand You." I even dedicated a chapter of my book to it.
Now comes a cool tool called VisualCV. It gives you the opportunity to present your brand in a unique way.
The rest of the herd might not get tools like this, but why not be a trailblazer. Who knows, you might make a habit of it.
Let me know your thoughts on this product.
Friday's Epic Living Hour will feature a conversation with Wayne Turmel of the Cranky Middle Manager Show. Wayne is also the president of Greatwebmeetings.com and the host of the Cranky Middle Manager Show.
Hope you can tune-in.
Friday's Epic Living Hour radio show will feature a conversation with Matthew Scott of The Life's Work Group. Matthew will give some needed insight into "Boomer" men and their career challenges. He will also provide Gen Y workers some surprising advice.
Hope you can tune-in on Friday.
Friday's Epic Living Hour will feature a conversation with Asher Adelman of eBossWatch.com. Asher will give us some great ideas on how to make a difference by rating a boss (past or present) and what he wants to accomplish with his new non-profit.
Lebron James gave us some great advice on our careers the other day.
As pictured above, Lebron’s mom came to his rescue after being fouled by Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Lebron is yelling for his mom to sit down.
Lebron would advise us that our moms need to remember were playing a game:-)
If you’re still in sales (you make your living by what revenue you bring in for the organization) and haven’t moved into creating lasting value, then this post is for you.
Here are my suggestions for salespeople in our age of constant change:
We need more people willing to be striking and brilliant in the discipline of creating value, while generating revenue. Anything less is robbery.
In our hyper-competitive age, having an MBA matters. I’m not saying that it truly matters. I’m saying it matters to our culture. Just like March Madness or the cost of oil does to many. I have always believed that whatever education you choose should be fuel for your destiny. Sadly, destiny doesn’t matter a lot for people caught in the whirlwind of competition and material success. It’s more of an afterthought.
So, does an MBA matter. I think it can if it is a part of the story that is your life. Getting an MBA because it will increase your money-making power is not the best motivation. I say that, knowing that many have obtained the degree for those reasons. So if you’re considering putting in the time to obtain an MBA and don’t really have a vision for the future, then you may be placing your ladder on the wrong building. Happens all the time. More than you’d believe.
Here are some tips on how to value an MBA:
Wrote this post a while ago, but the relevance still resonates. It’s intended for the customer service rep. or the senior vice president of sales.
I’m always fascinated by organizations that appoint, or anoint, influencers (leaders) who don’t really love people. Yes, loving people is essential to leading people. For all of Corporate America’s talk of the importance of people, the results speak to a different reality. If asked, most workers would tell you that the organization’s leaders are focused on an audience of one…themselves. Don’t get me wrong, I am no populist, but those who influence should remember that power flows through them and not from them. Leaders need to use their power to love.
Some time ago, I was in a conversation with a friend who was involved in a management restructure. It was striking what she observed in the early days of that change. The leaders were very focused on the work and process. But sadly, they looked at the people as merely a means to an end. The tragic part was that they were unconscious of the message they were sending. The working dead at work. Being a part of the working dead is bad enough for the individual worker, but it is lethal when a leader of people falls asleep.
In the end, loving people will keep us focused on the what is most important. Loving the people we lead is the most important "thing" in any type of organization.