The View Never Changes If

If you’re not the lead reindeer, the view never changes. Being emplyed is like that too.  And it reminds me that as a leader, it’s incumbent on me to see the future and describe to others what it looks like.

Someone has to set the vision.  If it ain’t the leader, what have you got?  Seriously.  If the leader doesn’t do it, you’re in serious trouble.

Imagine these guys without a lead reindeer:

PS. Okay, so they’re not exactly reindeer, but you get the point. Make your day great. You know where you’re headed, right?

jungle jeff and His Camera

jungle jeff always has a camera in his pocket.  Always.  Well okay, not always.  Not while sleeping.  Who has pockets while sleeping?

Einstein once said, “Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means.”

Writing as the five-a-day blogger, it is a hope that I may become the change I wish to see in the world.

A camera is a helpful tool to capture thoughts and share them in a different way, a visual way.  Expect to see quite a few One-Take-You Tube videos in the next couple days.  Carpe diem!

Four Tips to Be World Class

How does a person or an organization become world class, and stay world class? Here are four tips to do just that.  First, however we need to state the obvious:

It’s a double edge sword isn’t it?  If consistency is the hallmark or quality, and continuous improvement is the key to becoming (and sustaining) world class status, how do you balance risk and reward?

Let’s use this example from yesterday.

As a professional speaker, there are several goals for every presentation:

  • Give a speech to change the world
  • Never give the same speech twice
  • Ask great questions
  • Get the audience to reveal the key points

Let’s review from a different angle, what you just read:

  • Have passion and faith that impossible is possible
  • Be authentic, not going through the motions
  • Know where you want to go and be prepared to get there
  • Lead, don’t manage

The second set of bullet points states the common sense theories that we all nod our heads in agreement when we hear them.

The first set illustrates how I internalized these common sense things to make them work for my particular role in the business world.

Now it’s your turn. Take the four common sense bullet points and make them your own.  Tomorrow, I’ll share how practicing what I preach led to an amazing result.

You don’t have to any of this.  And maybe that’s a leader’s biggest challenge, doing what’s easier rather than what’s harder.  So here’s a fifth tip – being world class means out working your competition.  Most people hate to admit this.  And then they wonder why they aren’t world class.


On Startups.com

OnStartUps. Ever heard of them?  Click here to see a list of entrepreneurs that are changing things.

Many years ago, I found myself driving Ken Blanchard to the airport. We had 30 minutes to talk.  And I was smart enough, even back then, to do most of the listening.  One of the things that has stayed with me all these years was something very simple that Ken Blanchard said:

“You can watch the parade.  You can march in the parade.  Or, you can lead the parade”.

I think about hometown Halloween parades this time of year, with High School Marching Bands and Drum & Bugle Corps.  Do you?  Can you picture watching a home town parade?  Ever march in one?  Ever lead one?

Entrepreneurs change things.  And they are leaders.  Remember Rosa Parks.  I’d like to testify that Rosa Parks was an entrepreneur.   “I rest my case, your honor”.

How big are your dreams?  How much courage (guts) do you possess?  What are you gonna do today?

Who Is Leading Your Tribe?

Tribes, by Seth Godin.  Heard of it?  Read it?

The tag line, “We need you to lead us”, really hits home for me.  Why?

Because, in today’s world, if you haven’t noticed, there’s a lot of chaos and uncertainty.  “Duh”, right?

What I’d like to challenge is our predisposition to look to others to be better leaders.  When in reality, the real work, where the biggest need is, is right in front of you as you look in the mirror.

Quite complaining about others needing to do this or do that – and presumably thinking that your life will get better as soon as “they” change.

Let the change begin and end with you.  Period.  Because until that happens, you are in no place to expect it from someone else.