THE LEADERSHIP GAP: WHAT GETS BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR GREATNESS

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Lolly Daskal, executive coach for his work, has found that leaders can improve on themselves and their results from identifying their distinctive leadership archetype and recognizing its own shadow. People are inclined to cover their very own default option and address difficult situations in ways that worked for them in resolving the matter, the worst strategy. Humans are receptive to change adaptation is really important to achieve one’s peak point in today’s changing world. Among the many reasons why many leaders get stuck is because they rely on what’s worked for them in the past even when it is no longer working.

On the flip side, fantastic leaders look for opportunities to learn and develop to serve the people they lead a lot better. Daskal, in her book, explores the seven archetypes of professionals by diving into why each exhibit abilities and corresponding expansion blocking gaps. She further provides the readers with guidance as they voluntarily seek to spot the negative and positive traits that are important within themselves. From this section, readers earn clarity into the potency and the fighting part of their leadership style and how to better adapt and pursue success as a leader. The writer focuses on seven leadership archetypes that are:

  1. The Rebel: somebody who’s driven by confidence backed up by proficiency.
  2. The Explorer: somebody who’s fueled by intuition. The Truth Teller: somebody who embraces candor.
  3. The Hero: somebody who’s courageous.
  4. The Inventor: Someone teeming with ethics.
  5. The Navigator: somebody who trusts and is trusted.
  6. The Knight: Someone whose loyalty is everything.

Everybody fits to the leadership gap. These gaps, when entirely concentrated on, leads us into the shadow side and tends to manifest itself by overuse of your strength. This evolves from the thought where leaders and workers are urged to concentrate only on their strength. Ones we have the ability to accept your power with the darkest part without bias, we may start to make a path ahead.

The author sees the leadership gap as the most successful victim of their very own success and struggles except they identify and comprehend what they really need to know. No person is perfect, but we may be the best version of ourselves. And being the best version of yourself comes along with us, recognizing our leadership gaps, use our knowledge in a new way and also stay in our bliss. A leader can be both even a collapse and an unbelievable victory. By understanding this, you are able to take charge of your very own fate and that of your staff or organization by merely identifying your gaps and finding the solutions to overcome them.

To conclude, being a leader is difficult, as well as a leader, you’ll find yourself in dark and difficult times. In these conditions, you now have what you want to choose the light over the darkness by making use of the leadership archetype the situation needs.  The rebel, explorer, truth teller, hero, inventor, navigator, and knight; we have them all in us.

THE BIG THREE – KEYPOINTS

Key point #1: To get to our greatness, we have to leverage our gaps

Key point #2: Who we are is affected by the choices we make.

Key point #3: Greatness is available to all of us.  We just have to choose it.

One Last Thing

“Within each of us are two competing sides, a polarity of character. Only one leads to greatness.”

― Lolly Daskal, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

H3 LEADERSHIP: BE HUMBLE, STAY HUNGRY, ALWAYS HUSTLE

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H3 Leadership: Be humble, Stay Hungry and Always Hustle. It’s a book filled with insight from over 2 decades of work and expertise as a leader. The author, Brad Lomenick, shares his hard-earned encounters on the best way to develop a fantastic leadership habit and put it to use because there’s a difference between knowing and doing. Knowing that a habit takes time to develop, he designed a plan which might assist leaders, both from the organization and outside world, to develop a consistent habit which produces great leadership results. Leading tends to be more comfortable than leadership. Leadership is constant work. It is put into practice every day in the work we do, the tasks we take responsibility for, the patterns we produce and it hangs on the success we might stumble upon.

Brad makes his readers understand the 20 most important habits to cultivate as a leader and orders them into 3 segments: BE HUMBLE, STAY HUNGRY, ALWAYS HUSTLE.

Segment #1: BE HUMBLE

Habit #1 – Self-Discovery: Know who you are.

Habit #2 – Openness: Share the real you with others.

Habit #3 – Meekness: Remember it’s not about you.

Habit #4 -Conviction: Stick to your own principles.

Habit #5  – Faith: Prioritize your day, so God is first.

Habit #6 – Assignment: Stay out of your calling.

 

Segment #2 – STAY HUNGRY

Habit #7 – Ambition: Develop an appetite for what’s bull.

Habit #8 – Curiosity: Keep learning.

Habit #9 – Passion: Love what you do.

Habit #10 – Innovation: Stay current, creative and engaged.

Habit #11 – Inspiration: Nurture a vision for a better tomorrow.

Habit #12 – Bravery: Take calculated risks.

 

Segment #3 – ALWAYS HUSTLE

Habit #13 – Excellence: Establish standards that frighten you.

Habit #14 – Stick-with-it-ness: Take the long view.

Habit #15 – Execution: Dedicate to completion.

Habit #16 – Team Building: Create an environment which attracts and keeps the best and brightest.

Habit #17 – Partnership: Collaborate with co-workers and competitors.

Habit #18 – Margin: Nurture far healthy rhythms.

Habit #19 – Generosity: Leave the world a better location.

Habit #20 – Succession: Locate power in passing the baton.

Briefly about self-discovery; nurturing the habit of self-discovery entails becoming intentional about your daily life rhythms by listening to your life, observing your attitudinal patterns and setting your personal life apart from your professional assignment. Self-discovery is a position you cultivate intentionally not a clinic you finish. Trust me, individuals will choose to follow a leader who is always real over a leader who is always right. The next generation will be attracted to a leader’s realness rather than a leader’s riches. Jeff stated, and I quote “The more sway you make, the more you have to lose, the less likely you are to be exposed and share your own battle.” Humble leaders are leaders, they make it about others and stay approachable.

The best leaders according to Jeff are principled leaders. They understand the differences between principle and personal preferences and are willing to encourage the right things and stand against the wrong things. These leaders protect their reputation, value and conscience, developing the habit of conviction. It is doing what’s right rather than what’s easy, being effective and not only efficient. And the further you go, the higher you climb as a leader and guess what?… the harder it gets. Talent and ability get you to the top but what keeps you there is integrity and character. Nothing comes easy.

If you are not learning, you are not leading; if you are not growing, you are not going. At the point when it gets interesting, it is vital for you to be interested. Passion takes you farther.

Leadership is a choice, not a position. Listen to your followers to make an influence. People follow who they trust and not the position.

 

THE BIG THREE – KEY POINTS

Keypoint #1: The best leaders are leaders with principles and integrity.

Keypoint #2: When it gets interesting, it is crucial you are interested.

Keypoint #3: Talent and ability can take you to the top but what keeps you there is character and integrity.

One Last Thing

Hustle beats talent when talent doesn’t hustle. So, stay hungry, stay foolish.

Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done

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Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done. It’s a breaking through book that’s so keen on harnessing better productivity is target setting, focusing on set aims, been powerful and more. Jeff said as a way to finish we need to get rid of perfection first’. This usually means the less we think about how perfect things ought to be the more productive we become. The battle is with perfection. It can occasionally be the reason why we do not start things from the first case, but as Jon describes a gorgeous beginning isn’t the most significant barrier. The start does issue.

The beginning is important. The first few steps are crucial, but they aren’t the most important. Do you know precisely what things more and makes the beginning look almost silly and simple and almost insignificant? The finish. By not targeting perfection, the result might seem to be better. You get a surprise, something you did not see coming as there’s no room for surprises with regards to perfectionism.

Then Jon Acuff informs us about the different type of motives we could be very sensitive to: self-doubt or achievement. Self-doubt is that internal voice which thinks precision is crucial.

To prevent failure, we need perfectionism. How exposed will we believe whenever we finish something, and it isn’t as perfect as we once anticipated it to be. Therefore, we get frustrated before we finish. To get the most gratifying result, add a few fun, and divide your aims into half and select the best alternative forgone. Lofty targets that make us get to the stars are fantastic, but they could have us distribute to perfectionism, and for that reason, we can never finish what we started. Nobody wishes to be known as the man that achieves only half the target that he planned.

In order words, we are not the superheroes we’d love to be. We simply cannot do whatever the world wants us to do, and the earlier we realize and learn to say no, the more likely we are to succeed in what we mean yes, to. Acuff’s solution would be to cut the target in half, down to a thing which might not look entirely as praiseworthy, but it’s manageable. After we may attain the seemingly small objectives, we are much more prone to continue going, that makes us more prone to succeed. He also points to the 2 distractions which perfectionism will bring to our manner: obstacles and hiding areas.

The book shows clearly that beginning without being dramatic doesn’t justify a successful ending of a job. Everything cannot be perfect. There’s no such thing as ideal, is there? What ideal looks like for you to be completely different from what perfect looks like to someone else. Jeff helps his reader to understand that to get it all done, you have to take it bit by bit and not focus on the ‘all.’  Doing it in bits makes us achieve more in less time because as humans, we are more efficient when we focus on one thing that different things clamoring for our attention.

THE BIG THREE – KEYPOINT

Keypoint #1: There’s joy in imperfection

Keypoint #2: Splitting goals brings about better results.

Keypoint #3: To achieve a successful goal, going to your hiding place or using a great obstacle is never an option.

One Last Thing

Progress is quiet. It whispers. Perfectionism yells hides and failure progress.

THE 21 IRREFUTABLE LAWS OF LEADERSHIP

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The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership was written out of many studies and observations John Maxwell has carried out on leaders in various sectors like business, politics, military, sport and most of all his personal leadership experience. He poured out his heart into this book by giving us 21 laws that can help you become the most powerful and effective leader. The principles of leadership do not change over time, only the application does. These principles or law brings consequences; people will either follow you or they will not. It will depend on your mode of application. These laws when applied in real life form the foundation of leadership.

  1. LAW OF THE LID:  The law of the lid states that leadership ability is a determinant of a person’s level of effectiveness. This means that your effectiveness is determined by your level of leadership. When your level of leadership increases, you become more effective. An increase in effectiveness directly affects the level of success.
  2. LAW OF INFLUENCE:  Leadership is different from every other subject matter such as management or entrepreneurship. The true definition of a leader is determined by the level of people he has influenced. Your followers are the proof that you are a leader, nothing more or less.
  3. LAW OF PROCESS: Maxwell explains five different phases of leadership growth. He also explains that what sets a leader apart from their followers is their ability to learn, develop and improve their skill.
  4. LAW OF NAVIGATION:  A true leader is a leader with foresight. Leaders chart the course for their team because they have full vision of where they are going, understand the challenges and risk and also understand the right set of people needed to achieve the vision.
  5. LAW OF ADDITION: This law defines the ability of a leader to add value by serving others and making things better for them.
  6. LAW OF SOLID GROUND: The foundation of leadership is trust. Trust is built when a leader is consistently competent and displays remarkable character. Character conveys potential and builds respect.
  7. LAW OF RESPECT: In this book, Maxwell explains six ways leaders gain respect and how to access and improve your level of leadership. Leaders tend to stand out while others follow because they are perceived to be stronger.
  8. LAW OF INTUITION: We relate and see people based on who we are so leaders also see things with leadership bias. Maxwell explains in detail various ways a leader can apply their leadership bias and how to improve their leadership intuition.
  9. LAW OF MAGNETISM: You attract who you are. It’s as simple as that. People are drawn to others with similar characteristics like attitude, ability, leadership ability, energy level, etc.
  10. LAW OF CONNECTION: The key to connecting with people is by relating to them as an individual even if they are in a group. There is a need to connect with people emotionally as a leader before you can move them to action. Maxwell shares a bigger picture of how you can connect with yourself and others.
  11. LAW OF THE INNER CIRCLE: Your inner circle is the group of people you turn to for advice, support and assistance. These people must be chosen intentionally. They must be people who display excellence, maturity and good character in everything they do.
  12. LAW OF EMPOWERMENT:  The important thing in empowerment is believing in people. Most leaders refuse to empower others due to three key reasons: resistance to change, desire for job security and lack of self-worth. In this book, John Maxwell sheds more light on how to improve your self-worth and empower others.
  13. THE LAW OF THE PICTURE: Exceptional leaders understand the irreplaceable role of vision. A vision shows the picture of what is to be achieved. Therefore, for a leader to communicate it effectively, he/she has to model the vision by setting the right example and showing the way. This act of modeling gives the followers credibility, passion and motivation to carry on with the vision.
  14. THE LAW OF BUY IN: The secret is people buy into the leader first before buying into the vision. They listen to people who they trust, believe in and feel they are credible and worth going along with.  When followers buy into the leader and the vision, then they are ready and willing to follow such leader through any challenge and success.
  15.  THE LAW OF VICTORY:  A Good leader must take responsibility for all actions, be creative and transfer his success and passion to his followers. Failure or quitting is not an option on a leader’s list.  Maxwell wrote ”one thing victorious leaders have in common is that they share an unwillingness to accept defeat.” As a result, they take responsibility for the success of the team and do what it takes to lead the team to victory.
  16. THE LAW OF BIG MO: Momentum is a leader’s best friend. An organization or team with momentum can successfully pass through any obstacle, and momentum is a determining factor between winning and losing. It makes you unstoppable. In this book, Maxwell shares several characteristics of the Big MO and how to access where we are.
  17. THE LAW OF PRIORITIES:  Don’t just get busy, get productive. The heart of the law of priority states that leaders understand that activity is not about accomplishment. This means prioritizing requires leaders always to think ahead, to know what is more important and how it all relates to the vision. Maxwell discusses the Pareto principle and other key factors that help in setting a priority list which are Requirement, Reward, and Returns.
  18. THE LAW OF SACRIFICE: This law gives a glimpse of what leadership life is.  A leader might be looking glamorous on the outside, but the secret behind his true leadership is that he has sacrificed and still sacrificing. The hidden secret behind success is the sacrifice. And a true leader does not only sacrifice but also put others ahead of him.
  19.   THE LAW OF TIMING: Leadership is not only about how to lead but discerning the right time to take action. Maxwell summarizes his statement by saying “taking the wrong action at the wrong time leads to disaster and the right action at the wrong time leads to resistance while the wrong action at the right time leads to a mistake”. This shows that leadership ability goes beyond leading.
  20.   THE LAW OF EXPLOSIVE GROWTH: You can attain explosive growth when you choose to lead leaders and not followers. To lead leaders, you have to focus on the strength and not weaknesses, treat everyone differently and invest quality time into others rather than spending time together. Maxwell summarizes this law by saying leaders who develop other leaders experience incredible multiplication effect in their organization that can be achieved in no other way.

 

  1. LAW OF LEGACY:  This is the final law in this book. The law of legacy states that a leader’s lasting value is measured by succession. What do you want to be remembered for? Maxwell summarizes the life of a leader by saying that “achievement comes when they do big things by themselves. Success comes when they empower followers to do big things for them. Significance comes when they develop leaders to do great things with them. Legacy comes when they put leaders in the position to do great things without them.” He ends the chapter with the thought, “our abilities as leaders will not be measured by the buildings we built, the institutions we established, or what our team accomplished during our tenure. You and I will be judged by how well the people we invested in carried on after we are gone.” This is the greatest challenge of  a lifelong pursuit of leadership, but it is also the only thing that will matter in the end.

Undoubtedly, you are eager to know other laws of leadership. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership not only explains the laws but include several tips on how to apply the laws. Do not hesitate to feed on the richness of this innovation.

KEY POINTS

Key point #1: Leadership is built on trust and compounds over time

Key point #2: Leaders attract who they are.

Key point #3: Leaders must learn, grow and develop.

 

One Last Thing

“Leaders Who Attract Followers . . . Need to Be Needed

Leaders Who Develop Leaders . . . Want to Be Succeeded”

― John C. Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You

Good To Great

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Jim Collins, an established management consultant, identifies and evaluates the factors and variables that allow a company to transition from merely good to truly exceptional in his classic,  Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t. “Great”is a very subjective term, but Collins successfully defines it by a number of metrics, including financial performance, the highest the market average sustained by several periods of time. Using this particular criteria, Collins and his research team exhaustively cataloged the business literature and finding a handful of companies that matched their predetermined criteria for greatness.  

Throughout the book, Collins addresses different components that build the bridge that guides the transition from good-to-great. Among these components, we find management, operational practices,  personnel, behaviors and attitudes that are both effective and yet mutually incompatible to the good-to-great transition.

Using the criteria described above, Collines selected the following eleven companies: Abbott, Fannie Mae, Circuit City, Gillette, Kimberly-Clark, Kroger, Nucor, Philip Morris, Pitney Bowes, Walgreens and Wells Fargo.  The most crucial factor in the selection process was a period of growth and sustained success that far outpaced the market or industry average.

Collins  begin the process of identifying and explaining the unique factors and variables that differentiate good and great companies. One of the most significant differences in the quality was the leadership in the firm. Collins goes on to identify the followings five levels of leadership:

  •    The highly capable Individual: Leaders who contribute using their skill, know-how and good habits.
  •    The contributing Team Member: Leaders who are able to use their expertise and knowledge to help their team succeed.
  •    Competent Manager: Leaders who are capable of organizing the team to reach pre-determined objectives efficiently
  •    Effective leaders: Leaders who are able to create the commitment from their team to pursue a clear and compelling vision vigorously. They are also able to build a high-performing team
  •    Lastly, the Great Leaders: leaders with all the abilities of the four levels plus a unique combination of will and humility. It is the combination that makes them a great leader.

An actual level 5 leader often has a long-term personal sense of investment determination and profound humility.

Collins went further to identify the nature of leadership. He specifically states that getting the right people takes precedence over strategy, vision and almost everything. The “who” must be put before the “What.” The most valuable asset of a company is not the people but the right people. It is not just the quality of leadership that is essential to be great but the quality of the people in the team. Collins gave three principles that will help you maximize your most significant asset to become great.

  1.    When in doubt, don’t hire – Keep looking
  2.    When you need to let go of the wrong people, act right away. But do not overlook the possibility that the right person might be in the wrong position.
  3.   Put your best people on your biggest opportunities.

Another defining characteristic of the companies Collins defined as great is simplicity. Collins used the metaphor of the hedgehog to illustrate the principle that simplicity can sometimes lead to greatness.

Equally, Collins shares that the simplist way to transform from Good to Great is often not by doing many things well, but instead, by doing one thing better than anyone else in the world. Usually it takes time to identify that single thing that you can be great at, but those who do successfully identify it are often rewarded with singular success. Collins suggests using the following three criteria to expedite the process to find it: 1) Determine what you can be best in the world at and what you cannot be best in the world at; 2) Determine what drives your economic engine; and 3) Determine what you are deeply passionate about.

Good to Great has become a classic in leadership and business. If you are in a leadership position or planning to do so, grab a copy and be ready to move from Good to Great.

THE BIG THREE – KEYPOINTS

Keypoint #1:   Companies need to create a climate where the truth is heard.

Keypoint #2.    Good to great companies are motivated by inner compulsion of excellence for its own sake.

Keypoint #3.    Always confront uncomfortable truths head-on, but never lose faith that you’ll work it out.

 

One Last Thing:

“Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.”

― Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t

So Good They Can’t Ignore You

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In this book, Cal Newport contradicts a long-held mindset about following your passion. He believed there is more to loving what you do than just following your passion. To discover this and back up his point, he set out on a quest by spending time with a Venture capitalist, organic farmers, writers, freelancers and other passionate individuals that derive great satisfaction in what they do.  In this quest, Newport identified strategies used and pitfalls avoided by these individuals in developing their career. Passion comes after you have invested in becoming excellent at something valuable not before you attempt something. Aligning your career with your pre-existing passion does not matter. “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” will change your perspective about your passion, career, happiness and developing a remarkable lifestyle.”

 

Steve Mark likes to say “be so good they can’t ignore you” irrespective of your level in your career. Whether you are just starting up, or you are a professional trying to move to the next level, your target should be to master your craft to the point where people can’t help but notice you. Being passionate about what you do is a great goal but following your passion will not get you there. There are two fundamental problems attached to following your passion:

 

Firstly, it assumes that people have a pre-existing passion they can identify and use when making career decisions. However, most people end up feeling lost because they have no idea about what they want to do.

 

Secondly, there is an assumption that says if you like something you will really like doing it for a job. “We don’t have an established evidence that is true,” Newport says. People passionate about their work has little to do with whether their job matches their pre-existing passions.  The bottom line is let your passion follow you in your craft and become someone that can’t be ignored and not to follow your passion. Try something interesting to do, find a skill and career path to pursue and if you are stuck at a crossroad, flip a coin. Make your skill valuable by reaching a high level of expertise. For example, many people look down on a linguistic major for being impractical. You can be very good at a particular type of writing; it will make you stand out. People who are passionate about their work develop the passion over time after building their skill to the point that they became rear and valuable.

 

To become so good at what you do, you need to master that skill through deliberate practice. Once you have chosen a career path, the next step is to master the skills in it to become irreplaceable. “You don’t have a leverage until you become so good.” Says Newport. Look out for simple and common mistakes that show up every day when working on your skill and don’t stop getting better. Many people build their skill to a stage that they become so comfortable and they stop improving on it. It is a deadly risk. To avoid this, push yourself beyond the comfort zone and continuously practice your skills just the way athletes, musicians or artists would.

 

Finally, you have to be good at something before big things start to happen. Don’t stop building on your skills. Be so good that you can’t be ignored.

 

The Big Three – Key Points

 

Key Point #1: Do not follow your passion. Let your passion follow you and learn how you can grow your mindset around your passion.

 

Key Point #2: To become so good at what you do, you need to master that skill through deliberate practice. You don’t have a leverage until you become so good.

 

Key Point #3: Push yourself beyond your comfort zone and continuously practice your skills just the way athletes, musicians or artists do.

One Last Thing

So Good They Can’t Ignore You Quotes Showing 1-30 of 224

“Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before. In other words, what you do for a living is much less important than how you do it.”

― Cal newport, So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love

The First 20 Hours. How to Learn Anything Fast

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The First 20 Hours was written with an intention to enlighten people on how to rapidly acquire a skill. The key to learning any skill is to have a clear definition of what you think will be “good enough” and focus on the small parts that make that “good enough” skill. The author, Josh Kaufman, tailored the three major areas of this book towards principles to learn effectively. He organizes them in three key components:

1- Rapid Skill Acquisition

2- Effective learning

3- Effectiveness of the approach

RAPID ACQUISITION SKILL

Rapid skill acquisition is a way of breaking down a particular skill into the smallest pieces possible for easier processing then identifying which of those pieces are most important and deliberately practicing those elements first.  There are four steps in RapidSkill Acquisition process.

First you need to deconstruct the skill into the smallest possible subskills; the second step is to learn enough about each subskill in order to practice intelligently and self-correct during practice; the third step is to remove any mental, emotional and physical barriers that may get in the way of practice; and lastly, practice the most important sub-skills for at least twenty hours.

EFFECTIVE LEARNING

Any time you start practicing something new, your skills will naturally improve in a very short period of time. The key is to start practicing as soon as possible. Not thinking about practicing or worrying about practicing, but actually practicing. By just simply practicing, the skill set will start escalating. To guarantee the process of practicing is effective, take into consideration the following:

1.    Identify mental models and mental hooks.

2.    Talk to practitioners to set expectations.

3.    Eliminate distractions in your environment.

4.    Use spaced repetition and reinforcement for memorization.

5.    Create scaffolds and checklists.

6.    Make and test predictions.

7.    Honor your biology.

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE APPROACH

Not only does Josh talk the talk, but he also walks the walk when it comes to the principles guiding Rapid Skill Acquisition and effective learning. To put them to the test he chose six skills he was interested in learning,

•    Yoga

•    Programming

•    Touch typing with a Colemak keyboard layout

•    Playing Go

•    Windsurfing

•    Ukulele

Josh puts 20 hours into practicing each skill and he didn’t withhold the feedback. A more significant part of the book is devoted to his experience in these skills. Briefly, programming which is one of his “wants to acquire” skills was a big hit. He wanted to create a functioning web application.  But guess what, He did not spend the precious hours stuck in textbooks, NO, he rather focused on basic elements of creating a program and then applied a “build – test – fix” approach to honing it into a working prototype. He utilized the full 20 hours, 10 of which were spent on research and the remaining 10 on the programming.  In the end, he had a couple of working software solutions. It was a breakthrough.

On a final note, the only time you can choose to practice is today. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not next month or next year. Today. So, to all my life learners and self-taught folks… when you wake up in the morning, you have a choice and this book helps you to make the right choice. Stop procrastinating and start learning. It will take just 20 hours.

THE BIG THREE – KEY POINTS

Key point #1 – Always make the next skill you’re going to learn the one you’re most excited about.

Key point #2 – Think about emotional and real-life obstacles beforehand.

Key point #3- Initially, focus on quantity over quality.

One Last Thing

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

― Albert Einstein

Extraordinary Influence

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It’s no secret, anyone who has ever lead a parent, a boss, a teacher or a coach, would love to know the recipe for bringing out the best in others. In this  book, Extraordinary Influence, Dr. Tim Irwin explains the power of affirmation. He outlines the powerful approach to motivating others and shows us the key to sustaining peak performance in the organization by motivating people to extraordinary performance through affirmation, inspiration and positive influence.  He says “although it is very satisfying to know deep down that we are pursuing purpose, perhaps the most personal affirmation occurs when another person acknowledges the strength of our character. When someone of significance affirms us particularly in a deep way, certain beliefs are formed. These beliefs are stored in our core (that person living inside of us who thinks, feels, forms opinions and quietly speaks to us). As opportunities and circumstances occur, beliefs direct our actions. Research has shown that affirmation from others whom we respect forms beliefs in our core that guide our actions.”

Affirmation from those we respect, admire and love profoundly changes us. As we incorporate and utilize words of affirmation, we begin to influence others and bring out the best in them. Criticism focuses on defects while affirmation strengthens abilities and achievement in a positive manner.

Dr. Tim Irwin also shows the difference between being polite and compliments.  He said “compliments are by their very nature superficial social rituals.” But  they are perfect for our social well being and needed in our lives as political and civilized beings.  As humans, there is a need for affirmation at different levels but most importantly at our core. Both the words we use and the frequency in which we give the affirmation are equally important. There are things that need to be affirmed on a daily basis, others weekly and monthly.  

Also, in organizations, employers need to foster intrinsic motivation so that individuals will grow to becoming better employees, better athletes or better students. The method used in providing feedback to employees such as performance appraisal or multi-rater feedback systems sometimes accomplish the opposite of what we intend. We inadvertently speak words of death instead of words of life. Many brain research studies have demonstrated  that these methods tend to engage a natural “negativity bias” that is hardwired in us all. How do we redirect employees who are out-of-line without engaging our natural negativity bias? The author urges leaders to ban the term “constructive criticism”. Brain science also tells us that we can establish a connection between the employee’s work and his or her aspiration.

Dr. Tim Irwin does a great job in explaining the biological and physiological responses of humans when facing  criticism vs. affirmation. When criticized, the amygdala (specific part of the brain that allows human to feel and perceive certain emotions) activates, decreasing attention and decreasing the higher functions of the brain. In contrast when we receive affirmation, the higher functions of the brain are activated bringing out activities such as creativity and productivity.

The author asks a thought-provoking question:”what would happen if we applied these principles of affirmation more broadly?” His response was a food for thought. He says, “my opinion is that the research I referenced throughout the book is prescriptive for individuals; however, we as a society would be much more likely to flourish if we became more affirming and less critical.”  This book explains a new approach to align staff members with an organization’s mission, strategy and goals.

 

THE BIG THREE – KEY POINTS

Keypoint #1: As opportunities and circumstances occur, beliefs direct our actions.

Keypoint #2: Affirmation from others whom we respect forms beliefs in our core that guide our actions.

Keypoint #3: Criticism focuses on defects while affirmation strengthens abilities and achievement in a positive manner.

 

One Last Thing

“Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.” John C. Maxwell

GREAT BY CHOICE: UNCERTAINTY, CHAOS, AND LUCK WHY SOME THRIVE

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Great by choice is a masterpiece of Jim Collins in-depth research. It was written in collaboration with another influential management analyst, Morten. T. Hansen.  Great by Choice aims to solve the problem of “why in spite of ambiguity, chaos, uncertainty, and market volatility, a few companies thrive, and others struggle.” Collins tackles this question by comparing those who outperformed their competitors by a factor of 10 (10Xers) in given time frame and set of variables.

The authors confirm that the great companies are no luckier than good companies, average companies or bad companies. Luck does not make them succeed because even in times of chaos and uncertainty, they go on working as if nothing has happened. These companies succeed because they have acquired an antifragility trait through a process which combines discipline and preparedness. It is not something in the DNA or something you get by luck or sheer courage. It is through a process that can be learned.

The authors successfully illustrate their point with the story of conquering South Antarctica. In 1911, two explorers made dangerous trip to Antarctica in an attempt to become the first people to reach the South Pole. One was led by a Norwegian, Roald Amundsen, while the other was led by a British Navy officer, Robert Falcon Scott.  Looking at both explorers, you would expect the latter to be remembered by history. That was not the case. It was Amundsen’s expedition who won the race to immortality. Why? Simply put:

PREPARATION. Roald Amundsen didn’t know where he was going, but he had a good idea of the conditions that he may be facing and spent as much time as he could researching Eskimo habits and trying all potential food sources.  Scott, on the other hand, wanted to reach the pole faster, so he carried a lot less weight and used the “untested –for-that-terrain” motor sleds. No one remembers if Scott’s team ever made it home. Neither Amundsen nor Scott knew what they would face on Antarctica, but the former did better in preparing for it.

My favorite part of the book is how much research was included. The authors analyzed the companies which beat their industry indexes Y at least ten times in as many years (10X companies) and found out that they were able to overcome stressful situations because they were prepared.

Firstly, they were disciplined. They were not in a hurry to become better than anyone else; they choose consistency over a rapid rise. By setting targets for themselves and hitting them precisely year by year, they became immune to external influences.

Secondly, they were bold. Their leaders weren’t interested in taking unnecessary risks and as a consequence weren’t required to be anymore of visionary than those of merely good companies.

Lastly, they were productively paranoid, just like Amundsen. The polar explorer tried dolphin’s meat to prepare for the worst-case scenario. The 10x companies do this regularly. In the event that something terrible happens, they already have a good strategy.

The 10x companies are neither more innovative nor more bolder than competitive companies; they were merely more attentive. They use bullets until they are entirely sure of their target and then they fire the cannon balls.

In conclusion, be SMaC: Specific, Methodological and Consistent. That is how discipline is implemented within a company. However, it is  only one aspect of what will help you through hard times. The other is being productively paranoid. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best!

THE BIG THREE – KEYPOINTS

Key point #1: Be Attentive. Fire the bullets, then the cannonballs.

Key point #2: Be specific, methodological, consistent and productively paranoid

Key point #3: Greatness is a long-term strategy, strengthened by a consistent discipline in tactics.

One Last Thing

“The great task, rarely achieved, is to blend creative intensity with harsh discipline so as to amplify the creativity rather than destroy it. When you marry operating excellence with innovation, you multiply the value of your creativity.” Jim Collins & Morten Hanson. Great By Choice

FAILING FORWARD Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success

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Failing forward is a strategic guide that helps people move beyond mistakes to fulfill their potential and achieve success.  In this book, John C. Maxwell took a closer look at failure and revealed that the secret of moving forward beyond failure is to use it as a lesson or stepping stone. He covers the top reason people fail and shows how to master fear instead of being mastered by it. Usually, failure is considered the opposite of success, but this is not true. Failure is not to be avoided but to be embraced.  It is a vital part of success. Learning to embrace failure, we will become stronger.  Each chapter of the book deeply explores the psychology of success and failure, using case studies of people, organizations, companies, and nations that managed to take advantage of their failure to succeed and even self-actualize.

Among my favorites stories in the book, we have the story of Mary Kay Ash, which Maxwell uses to make the point that the main difference between those who achieve and the average people is how people handle and respond to failure.

Other stories highlighted by Maxwell were, the story of the Major League Baseball player Tony Gwynn, and the founder of Chick-fil-A restaurant chain, Truett Cathy. The author leverages their stories to propose a new definition of failure. “Failure is the price a person pays for progress, as it provides growth and learning opportunities that would not be had otherwise.”

One of the most impactful chapters is Chapter Four,  the section presents many statistics of research on how fear of failure can impede success. Maxwell uses many of this statistics and studies to explained what he calls the “Fear Cycle.” The Fear of  Cycle start with  Fear, followed by Inaction and Inexperience, and close with Inability, and as inability is the main pre-angle to fear, the fear cycle begins again.  The Chapter closed with useful tips on how to break the cycle. Maxwell showed how we can cut from the past to create our own breakthroughs. And he explains the process of how we can see failure as a unique opportunity to face ourselves, and understand our own weaknesses and deal effectively with them.

The last chapter of the books explained how to grasp the positive benefits that each “negative” experience brings, and leverage from those benefits to keep taking risks because that’s the only way to succeed.

As Benjamin Franklin said “whatever hurts, instructs,” and most times people get in their own way of succeeding for one or a combination of the followings ten reasons:

1. Poor People Skills

2. A Negative Attitude

3. A Bad Fit

4. Lack of Focus

5. A Weak Commitment

6. Unwillingness to Change

7.A Short-Cut Mindset

8. Relying on Talent Alone

9. A Response to Poor Information

10. No Goals

In conclusion, Peter Drucker says, “The better a man is, the more mistakes he will make, the more new things he will try.” Mistakes really do pave the road for achievement.

THE BIG THREE – KEYPOINTS

Key Point #1: Failure creates new and a better opportunity

Key Point #2: Turn failure into knowledge and knowledge into success

Key Point #3: The only way to make failure useful is to learn from it.

One Last Thing

Achievers are given multiple reasons to believe they are failures. But in spite of that, they persevere. The average for entrepreneurs is 3.8 failures before they finally make it in business. But here is the key, fail early, fail fast, fail often, but always fail forward.

~John C. Maxwell, Falling Forward