jungle jeff

It Could Happen

You Never Succeed By Being A Follower.

There are probably exceptions to this rule, but let’s be real.  The exceptions are just that, exceptions.

Please don’t get me wrong, following is good. And safe. And mostly predictable.

And then there are the questions of when, where, what, how and why?

Whatever it is that is important, should be visualized and evaluated.

Then, there is that simple choice:  Follow or lead.

And in my case, this took a lifetime.

Time For Business Week?

“Guest Blogger” today is Alaina Love from The Purpose Link, sharing her Business Week article: “You Can Lead. But Can You Inspire?”

Click here to read about the ten attributes senior managers need to lead their organizations through the recession and the demoralizing consequences on their workforce.

You see it and hear it every day. In the world news and in the hallways of your own organization. There are demoralizing consequences from this brutal recession.

We are way past managing in today’s world. You know it and I know it. The antidote is inspiration.

Which leads us back to the original question, “Is there a doctor in the house?”

Time Waits For No One

Quote from John Maxwell, courtesy of Bob Stewart.

“Law of the Niche: People are most valuable where they add the most value.”

Duh, right?  No brainer.  Obvious. Get a clue. You can’t be serious.

In the hectic pace with which we travel through our days (weeks, months), we often miss the most basic of life’s truths.

This happens to me with our son.  I’ll get caught up in my work, and the next thing you know, the week has flown by and our son has done amazing things, but guess who hasn’t noticed?  Guess who wasn’t there to add a little coaching, a little fun, a little encouragement?

Guess what else?

Life is like this.  Always was, is now, and always will be. Whatever your level in your organization, you must find your own ways to stay engaged, to stay passionate.

I see so many people who are stuck.  Many of them leaders, responsible for inspiring and developing others, the way a parent does with children.

They get stuck managing their to-do list instead of inspiring and developing their people.  Just like a Parent.  Just like me.

But the days (weeks, months) fly by.

Our son can not wait for me to find the time.  His life marches on at an incredible pace. He will not slow down for me. I must find the way(s) to keep up with him.

Same is true as a leader, and as an employee who follows orders. Same as you. You must figure this out yourself and not wait.

Because if you don’t, what are you stuck with?

The most important leadership characteristics have been the jungle jeff topic on the past few blog posts.

First it was trust.

Then vision.

Now, actually, I’m going to just come out and say it.

The number one leader characteristic is passion.  Hands down, passion.

Final answer.

Passion!

Agree or disagree?

Rosa Parks was not out to win a popularity contest.  Was she?

She also was not the first to refuse to give up her bus seat for a white man.  But thank goodness she did on December 1, 1955.  She was 42.

• Where did her courage come from?
• Why did she demonstrate it?
• Did she have a plan?
• What was she prepared to give up?
• What did she think she’d gain?
• Was she scared?

Rosa Parks is one of my heros, inspiring  me to use courage for the right reasons.  So today I commit to asking  the same questions.

And, by the way, it’s not a popularity contest.  Courage rarely makes you popular until years later.

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.

jungle jeff MBA.  Who woulda thought, after all these years, I’d be returning to school to get an MBA?

Why do people return to school after decades of real-world leadership experience?  Many reasons to be sure.

The main reason is the pursuit of a better way of life.  Can you imagine, “Nope, heading back to school because I have all this extra time and money.  Plus, I’m bored stiff just sitting around”?.

Dude, seriously, we need to talk.  It don’t happen like this.  In fact, my story is almost a fairy tale of a completely different sort.

My professor is crazy.  He’s cool, but tough.  On the first day, he told me everyone who attends his class has three years to do something that no other MBA requires….

“Money, Money, Money….Money“.  The O’Jays, 1974, For The Love of Money.

I want to make a ton of money.  Seriously.  Enough to buy whatever I want.

First on my list:

1. A Cure for Crohn’s disease

To take action, – to “put my money where my mouth is” – I’ve returned to school to earn my MBA.

Maybe that’ll be second on the list – pay off school loans.

Money.  Can’t live with it, can’t live without it.  Money has always been my biggest stressor.

Eventually, I learned a very simple and very profound rule.  It is the first rule that should be learned.

• Spend less than you earn

What made this most basic of rules so elusive for me, is that I did not subscribe to common sense.  A million reasons for that, which I’ll not even attempt to address.

The second rule I learned is have a business.  After reading “Rich Dad Poor Dad” last Christmas, my whole mindset about money was changed forever….

Ted.com

Ideas worth sharing.

David Hoffman talks on Losing Everything.

I often wonder who I’d be if I lost everything.  Just yesterday, I was tempted (for a very brief moment) to think I actually had.

It was one of the best, and briefest, moments of my career.

Carpe diem, jungle jeff