Work Smarter Not Harder
There is a maxim of work and leadership that I’m sure we’ve all heard before. Ever since Steve Jobs used it in Apple ads, it has become a business mantra heard almost daily in office suites and on factory floors. It is this: work smarter, not harder. We all know what this means. We should execute wiser strategies and better technologies to achieve our goals. We shouldn’t just keep hammering away stupidly like a man with a dull ax who won’t stop his chopping to sharpen his tool. The problem for most leaders is that they don’t know how to[read more]
Important Truths About Leadership
I was asked this question on the air recently, and it made me want to emphasize it with you. The question was, “What is the most important truth you know about leadership.” I didn’t need to ponder long. My answer is this: “You have a destiny, but your destiny is fulfilled by investing in the destinies of others.” I believe in destiny. Most leaders do. They believe themselves called or chosen or ordained or set apart or specially gifted. Now, I’m a Christian and so I believe in a God who chooses and ordains. Perhaps you don’t. Stick with me.[read more]
Reading Tactics
Two Leading Thoughts ago, I described some of the virtues of a devoted reading life. In the last Leading Thoughts, I strongly recommended some books for your summer reading. Now, I want to describe some tactics for reading that are essential for leaders. Most people read to kill time, fall asleep, or entertain themselves. Each of these have their place. Yet leaders want to get more out of their reading. They want to absorb philosophies and techniques that they can incorporate into their leadership lives. They want to master stories and quotes that become part of their communications arsenal. They[read more]
Summer Reading
In my last Leading Thoughts, I wrote about my love of summer reading, about my belief that we must “read to lead,” and about some of the often-unrecognized benefits of reading. In this edition, I want to recommend some books to you. I ask only one thing: read at least two of these books this summer. Reading all of them will change your life, and if you do it I want you to tell me about it. Here goes: American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For, David McCullough Books of speeches have shaped the thinking and the[read more]
A Reading Life
It is May 1st as I write these words. Each year on this date, my thoughts turn to reading. This is because the first of May is for me the emotional first day of summer. I look forward to all that summer holds—the travel, the sports, the outdoor life, the preparation for fall and winter—but there is a special place in my heart for summer reading. The summer months are usually when we have a bit more down time. We vacation, we laze in back yards, and we have more unclaimed hours. Studies show that most of us read more[read more]
The Power of Story
I want to put another tool in your leadership toolbox and I want to tell you right up front what this tool is. It is the power of story. Leaders should be storytellers. They should make story their main method of communicating information. They should work to be good storytellers and grow a body of stories ready for use in every situation. This is one of the skills of great leaders. I came to my understanding of the power of story after years of speaking. I don’t mind telling you that I work hard on the speeches I give. This[read more]
Groupthink
When George Orwell wrote his prescient book, 1984, he coined a term that describes a leadership-destroying force. That term was “groupthink.” Orwell used this term to describe the human tendency to buy into the thinking of the crowd, to take hold of popular and prevailing ideas merely because they are popular and prevailing—but not because they are true. “Groupthink” is always a temptation. We all want to belong. We want to be cool and well thought of. Most of us also don’t want to make waves or be controversial. So, we affirm the ideas handed to us. We make the[read more]
Leadership in a Bubble
Most leaders live in a bubble. They hear much positive but little negative. Compliments abound and are tightly grasped. Criticism rarely penetrates and dies a quick death. The best leaders I know are feedback hungry. They are not insecure or compliment-addicted. They do, though, hunger for the “mirror effect.” Show me the truth. Show it raw. Tell it all. These leaders want to improve. They don’t let offense or cowardice keep them from the harsh truth about themselves. This means growth and, in time, success. If you read Leading Thoughts regularly, you either are a leader or you yearn to[read more]
Everything Reproduces after its Kind
There is an old truth that “everything reproduces after its kind.” This may be a reality of nature, but it is death to great leadership. Let me explain. One of the most difficult things for me to coach leaders into doing is hiring and encouraging leaders who are different from them. Most leaders want to surround themselves with people like them. They want a flock, not a team. They want to associate with their own kind. Save this for the golf course or the dinner party or the trip to the beach. That’s where you can freely hang out with[read more]
Micro Disciplines
I want to urge you to consider a practice that I am seeing produce tremendous results in the lives of friends and clients. I’ve never heard a name for this practice so I’ve decided to call it “micro disciplines.” Let me explain. Most of the leaders I know and work with are busy and ambitious people. These two features of their lives—that they are busy and that they are ambitious—work against each other. Time keeps them from achieving what they wish they could achieve. Their ambitions stress their time. It’s a classic problem. These micro-disciplines are a partial solution. They[read more]