Blog about Leadership

In 2000, during the high road of Microsoft’s success, Bill Gates wrote and published the book Business @ the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in the Digital Economy. Within he wrote about four leadership tips that he applies:

1. Take two “retreats” every year.

“Leave your office to develop long-range strategies.” Leadership transcends the tactical management and leads the strategic initiatives. A great way to refresh and refocus is to get out of the mold, so you can gain a different perspective on where things are heading.

2. Read books on other topics.

“Read books on topics that don’t pertain strictly to your business or industry. It’s the best way to maintain a broad perspective.” Leaders need to open up broad channels of input; you need to assess what other industries are doing as they impact yours. Microsoft did not attain its level of success by forgetting about their customers were doing. Their customers were small and medium businesses in healthcare, government, finance, and “mom and pop” shops, etc. All these other industries are intertwined with all the rest of the world.

3. Identify problems early.

“Identify problems early by tracking “exceptions,” such as sales figures that suddenly sag for a particular product. Jump on them right away.” Know what to expect and you will find anomalies. Once you found an anomaly, you have found a potential problem worth exploring. But, all in all, you need metrics in place to track anything.

4. Stop at the end of each day

“Stop at the end of each day to analyze how well you used it. If you wasted time on things you didn’t need to do, eliminate them tomorrow.” Just imagine how much more efficient and effective you will be!

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Formula for Successful Leadership

I want to share an idea that I have been dwelling on. It’s a simple formula or model for effective and successful leadership.

Successful Leadership = (Effective Communication + Articulate Vision + Influence + Action) (Ethics)

Effective Communication

3 Dynamics of Leadership

Articulate Vision

The Leaders Vision

Influence

Dr. Myles Monroe on Leadership and Influence

Action

Leadership and Action
Influence and Action

Ethics

Ethics is the multiplier for a very critical reason – anything multiplied by zero equals zero. Without ethics, nothing else amounts to much of anything.

The Relationship of Ethics and Leadership

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Joel Barker

Joel Barker is known as The Paradigm Man for his leadership in defining the concepts of paradigm shifts for corporations. He was even presented an honorary Doctorate in Visionary Leadership from St. Mary’s University.

Joel Barker Quote about Vision and Action:
“Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with Vision is making a positive difference.”

Vision

The vision is your mission statement to define the purpose and objectives of the organization. CEOs of most corporations utilize visions statements as a leadership tool to define strategic goals for the organization and defining operational traits for managers, leaders, and other professionals in the organization to follow. For leaders of small groups and teams, you can create a mission statement that works within the framework of the organization’s vision statement and target the objectives and operational traits specifically to the group.

Action

The action is the momentum and drive which work towards the defined goals – both short-term and long-term. The action falls subject to the corporate culture of an organization and is greatly influenced by the leadership with the organization. Effect leaders learn how to propel their teams and groups to action, but effective leaders also set the stage by practicing what they teach. Most people in an organization have no knowledge of what a CEO does on a daily basis, but most people can perceive whether a leader is a person of action or not.

Combining

Combining vision and action is highly effect as Joel Barker articulates. Your vision statements should clearly define your objectives and define how to accomplish your objectives. When you consistently and effectively communicate your vision statement, you demonstrate the importance of the goals and objectives that the statement defines. A significant part of the action for a CEO is the effective communication of the vision statement.

You can learn more from Joel Barker here.

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