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2018Long-term Focus…What Life Has Taught Me About Leadership Success
One of the most important lessons in success that I’ve learned is the need to focus on the long-term rather than the short term. Every failure in my life has been because of short-term thinking. This may be true for you, too. It is for most people. But, a person might say, “No, that business failed because its biggest client pulled out.” Yes, that may…
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2018Counterintuitive…Go for the Long-term…Do What You Don’t Want to Do
FACT: Successful Leadership is a most counterintuitive commodity. I first noticed a forlorn-looking office building on Nashville’s world famous Music Row in late 1981 with our country still deep in an economic recession. Our business was still young, and so was I—just 29. Money was tight. But, at a glance, I saw what could be done with this property. So, I inquired and found that…
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2018An Important Leadership Puzzle Piece: Become Quick to Forgive
With whom are you angry? Yes, that’s the question. Right this minute, who are you mad at? Who do you need to forgive? Is it your business partner who expects you to do the grunt work while he shows up for the rewards? What about the person you helped with a project who got the position you were vying for? Is it a colleague who…
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2018Improve Your Life Outcome, Reduce Your RQ, Regret Quotient
My goal is to reduce my RQ. To explain: most of us are familiar with the IQ (intelligence quotient) concept. This is the way smart people determine the intelligence of the rest of us. Generally speaking, someone with an IQ of around 100-110 is considered to be of average intelligence. Those with IQs of 120 will probably grow up to manage other people. And those…
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2018The Giving Principle Demonstrating the Heart of a Leader
We can only develop personal empathy for others when we personally identify with their pain. Whether from a sincere heart or not, one of Bill Clinton’s most appreciated comments was, “I feel your pain.” That short sentence resonated with millions of Americans. People hold their money back from others because they’ve forgotten what it felt like to be without. Generous giving is more about who…
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2018Listen: The Successful Leader’s Magic Bullet
I still remember the night. Actually, it was in the early morning hours, probably around 3:00 a.m., in August 1974. I was involved in the Nashville record scene and had received word that Elvis was in town for one of his clandestine middle-of-the-night recording sessions. So I slipped by RCA Studio B and arranged to be there when Elvis ended the session. As he walked…
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2018Valuable Lessons From a Portable Outhouse Salesman
I still remember a delightful couple we met some years ago on a trip to the Southwest. It was obvious from their dress and presentation that they had no money worries. As our conversation progressed, I asked the other man what all guys ask each other, “So, what do you do?” His response surprised and intrigued me, “I’m in the portable outhouse business.” Over the…
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2018There’s 1 Best Way…You May Not Need to Reinvent the Wheel
In high school, Jeremiah had never won any awards for brilliance. His wheel was still spinning, but the hamster was dead. So, it came as a big surprise when Jeremiah returned to his hometown three years after graduation as the richest kid who had ever come from that town. Today, he was a quad-zillionaire…and no one could figure it out. Finally, some of Jeremiah’s old…
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2018Three Critical Considerations for the Fast-Forward Leader
I’m known as the Fast-Forward Leadership guy. Each year I speak to audiences over 100 times…many on the topic of the Principles of Principled Leadership. Below are three critical considerations for any of us who presume to lead others. 1) FACT: Most people focus on their weaknesses. Successful people play to their strengths. This doesn’t mean we ignore those weaknesses forever. Quite the contrary. Instead…
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2018Your Highest and Best Use
I’m presently at about 30,000 feet flying home from an extraordinary visit in Lubbock, Texas with my friend, Rick Betenbough of Betenbough Homes. BH is one of America’s 100 largest homebuilders. The company started in 1992 with Rick and his dad, Ron, pretty much making it up as they went. Their goal was to build 40 or 50 homes. But something happened. Ron, who had…