At nearly 300 pages, my next book entitled "My Mentor" will be in print!
It is an honor for me to share my experiences with an awesome person...my mentor...and friend!
I was moved to transpose many pages from my journals when I realized that what he had said...was more than just good advice to an aspiring leader...but eerily prophetic being more relevant now than when he gave it to me...nearly a quarter century ago!
With trepidation...I shared my manuscript with a few close friends and critics...and received nothing but glowing reviews!
I am hoping that you'll enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed returning to that time in my life...
may you not only learn something that may take you to the next level in leadership...but also help you become a better mentor to those who can benefit from your advice and direction...
What it takes to be a real 21st Century Leader and how to meet those challenges.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Leadership and Criminal Minds
Throughout all of history we have been plagued with "confidence men."
These are individuals that deceive people by making others believe that they are something that they really aren't...
These are people who appear to have others interests at the top of their priority list...when in fact...it is only smoke and mirrors...that hides the fact that they are only concerned with taking advantage of the person...
These crooks hide behind the image of a doctor, or an investment broker...or a teacher...or a consultant...and take trusting people for everything they have...
*******************************************
When you think of the the basic requirements of a leader...honesty and integrity seem to be "given" characteristics...
This means that if a person is recognized as a leader...they automatically possess those characteristics within their DNA and at the top of their priority list.
Shame on them...
Shame on us!
*******************************************
These are individuals that deceive people by making others believe that they are something that they really aren't...
These are people who appear to have others interests at the top of their priority list...when in fact...it is only smoke and mirrors...that hides the fact that they are only concerned with taking advantage of the person...
These crooks hide behind the image of a doctor, or an investment broker...or a teacher...or a consultant...and take trusting people for everything they have...
*******************************************
When you think of the the basic requirements of a leader...honesty and integrity seem to be "given" characteristics...
This means that if a person is recognized as a leader...they automatically possess those characteristics within their DNA and at the top of their priority list.
We automatically assume that if an individual rises to the top of an organization...they have consistently exhibited those characteristics...
Leaders who have criminal tendencies take advantage of the blind assumption (that they are honest and act with absolute integrity)...and steal us blind!
Lately this seems like it is no longer an exception...but a common behavior!
Shame on them...
Shame on us!
*******************************************
It appears that many leaders feel sheltered from their organization's illegal activities...and their very own!
They love the rewards but want no liability for their behavior!
They love the rewards but want no liability for their behavior!
We need to change this...
As customers...
As employees...
As stockholders...
As US and Global citizens...
No matter what you believe...it is us who ultimately pay for this...
The HUGE salaries and bonuses is your money...
The stock dividends are smaller than they could be...because these leaders banked the difference...
They are heroes to the shareholders and the investors "look the other way" as long as they get something out of their investments...
In the long run...these behaviors lead to failure...the stock or the company crashes...the shareholder cries foul...and the leader walks away with a BIG bank account because he or she sold his holdings before the crash!
*******************************************
When reality hits us, we go no further than making an excuse for our blindness and live in a word of "denial"...saying that "we didn't see that one coming..."
The fact of the matter is...all of the signs were there! Some are subtle...others jaded and others are outright blatant!
All we have to do is watch and listen...
Listen to their excuses...watch what they are doing!
Do they have a continuous playbook of excuses?
Are all of them pointing to someone other than themselves?
Are they selling off huge blocks of their stocks?
Are they trying to change laws rather than working within them?
Is the stock price the same this year as the past? Higher or lower?
Are they focused on improvement and expansion?
I could ask hundreds of leading questions...but the fact of the matter is...everyone should be continually asking these questions...in good times and in bad times...
Everyone should be demanding accountability of their leaders...in good times and bad times...
BUT...
You have a job...so you thank God and look the other way!
You got you dividend check...and you hear about your neighbor's loss and look the other way...
You are getting what you paid for...so you look the other way...
We can no longer afford to look the other way...
Diverting our attention from the present...has dire effect on the future...
If it is too good to be true...or more comfortable than you expected...or performing better than you ever dreamed...then it is important that you ask "WHY?" AND take that opportunity to stage the future for the better! It is our Quantum Obligation!
There is no such thing as "resting on your laurels!" A bed made of sprigs and twigs is not comfortable...no matter how thick you make it!
AND without roots...plants wither and rot!
What a cool parallel!
Organizational performance must be rooted...and in soil that favors their growth and prosperity...
The nutrients of organizational success include:
Honesty
Integrity
Fore-sight
Customer attentiveness
Ecological responsibility
A true leader and his/her organization is selfless...by definition...and is rewarded by acting that way...100% of the time!
The rewards of that trait includes longevity and a guilt-free sleep!
We can not afford to allow even the slightest hint of criminal behavior...
Criminal minds always show themselves in criminal activity...
Nothing remains hidden...
"As a man thinketh...so is he!"
As a leader thinks...it will show in his/her behavior and in his/her organization!
There is no differentiating an organization from its leader...
For employees...as is the organization...so too are you!
For that very reason...employees should be watchdogs...
Calling their leadership to accountability...
His/her reputation is also yours...
If you are comfortable with a "criminal mind" then read no further...
If you are not...
Take action!
Your focus on today will assist in ensuring that you have a future!
The same is true for shareholders and customers...
Your relationship makes you part of the problem or part of the solution...
What are you doing?
Are you asking question that will ensure that your dividends are deserved...and your pay-check stable?
Enough Said!
As customers...
As employees...
As stockholders...
As US and Global citizens...
No matter what you believe...it is us who ultimately pay for this...
The HUGE salaries and bonuses is your money...
The stock dividends are smaller than they could be...because these leaders banked the difference...
They are heroes to the shareholders and the investors "look the other way" as long as they get something out of their investments...
In the long run...these behaviors lead to failure...the stock or the company crashes...the shareholder cries foul...and the leader walks away with a BIG bank account because he or she sold his holdings before the crash!
*******************************************
When reality hits us, we go no further than making an excuse for our blindness and live in a word of "denial"...saying that "we didn't see that one coming..."
The fact of the matter is...all of the signs were there! Some are subtle...others jaded and others are outright blatant!
All we have to do is watch and listen...
Listen to their excuses...watch what they are doing!
Do they have a continuous playbook of excuses?
Are all of them pointing to someone other than themselves?
Are they selling off huge blocks of their stocks?
Are they trying to change laws rather than working within them?
Is the stock price the same this year as the past? Higher or lower?
Are they focused on improvement and expansion?
I could ask hundreds of leading questions...but the fact of the matter is...everyone should be continually asking these questions...in good times and in bad times...
Everyone should be demanding accountability of their leaders...in good times and bad times...
BUT...
You have a job...so you thank God and look the other way!
You got you dividend check...and you hear about your neighbor's loss and look the other way...
You are getting what you paid for...so you look the other way...
We can no longer afford to look the other way...
Diverting our attention from the present...has dire effect on the future...
If it is too good to be true...or more comfortable than you expected...or performing better than you ever dreamed...then it is important that you ask "WHY?" AND take that opportunity to stage the future for the better! It is our Quantum Obligation!
There is no such thing as "resting on your laurels!" A bed made of sprigs and twigs is not comfortable...no matter how thick you make it!
AND without roots...plants wither and rot!
What a cool parallel!
Organizational performance must be rooted...and in soil that favors their growth and prosperity...
The nutrients of organizational success include:
Honesty
Integrity
Fore-sight
Customer attentiveness
Ecological responsibility
A true leader and his/her organization is selfless...by definition...and is rewarded by acting that way...100% of the time!
The rewards of that trait includes longevity and a guilt-free sleep!
We can not afford to allow even the slightest hint of criminal behavior...
Criminal minds always show themselves in criminal activity...
Nothing remains hidden...
"As a man thinketh...so is he!"
As a leader thinks...it will show in his/her behavior and in his/her organization!
There is no differentiating an organization from its leader...
For employees...as is the organization...so too are you!
For that very reason...employees should be watchdogs...
Calling their leadership to accountability...
His/her reputation is also yours...
If you are comfortable with a "criminal mind" then read no further...
If you are not...
Take action!
Your focus on today will assist in ensuring that you have a future!
The same is true for shareholders and customers...
Your relationship makes you part of the problem or part of the solution...
What are you doing?
Are you asking question that will ensure that your dividends are deserved...and your pay-check stable?
Enough Said!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Leadership, Gamers and Lay-offs
Although this may have been more timely a couple of years ago, we are still feeling the aftershocks of the earthquake caused by the amassed organizational karma from the 20th century.
When will we learn that...
“Nothing is free?”
and...
Every gain has a price…
and...
Every misdeed is ultimately recognized and punished…
*****************************************
Being an effective 21st Century Leader requires a deep understanding of this concept and accepting…(actually demanding) full responsibility for every organizational outcome (something that I see very few leaders willing to do today).
*****************************************
Video Game development has become a HUGE industry.
It has become so popular that a social segment called "Gamers" has arisen...
In short, video games are a social phenomenon!
There is an interesting parallel between video games and reality that is important enough to note…
But before we go there…let’s go back about a quarter century to the infancy of gaming!
******************************************
The game that started it all...
Pong…
The simple video ping-pong game…
Pong and those games that followed, missed and important element…
RECOURSE…
HUH?
Video games became the venue in which crazy things could be tried without any threats or punishments for failure...
In a macabre way...
The game stick (commonly called a joy stick) or controller should have had electrodes embedded in them that gave the “loser” a huge and “potentially fatal” shock.
Why would I suggest such a drastic measure?
Let's look at what has happened with video games...
Over time...video games have gotten more and more real!
A gamer can steal cars...kill people...conquer countries...and more!
Over the course of a quarter century and these cool games...
We have subtly taught our future leaders (gamers) that there is no loss related to wrong decisions…
In fact, there is a spin-off industry nearly as big as the gaming industry…
It is the industry that identifies and sells “cheat-codes!”
We unwittingly allow our children to buy victory and send a message that it is OK to cheat to win!
In the "gamer" world...breaking the rules is OK!
Gamers are lauded if they know some obscure trick that lets them win! and…
I am afraid that they have transferred (through our apathy) that same attitude to their real lives!
******************************************
Think of how different it would be that if a gamer lost a game of “pong” and it cost them $250,000?
Or…they lost their girlfriend or boyfriend…
Or their best friends immediately died?
Or…they had to declare bankruptcy…or lost their car or their home?
Or they lost their video game system...
couldn't eat...
got sick...and couldn't afford a doctor
or worse...they died?
Extreme?
…YES!
Because "Leadership" is not a game…
Yet many leaders act as if it is!
They feel sheltered from recourse…that ANY mistake simply means a “system reset” or a start-over!
Other leaders act as if they live in the world of “cheat-codes”
Behaving as if it is OK to bend the rules to win the game…
And we support by lauding their prowess!
Just like the gamers bow to the cheats in their society!
Many leaders act as if they have no stake in the business game!
They are shielded by attornies and plausible deniability!
Could it be that they equate reality with gaming?
*******************************************
21st century leaders and those who aspire to real leadership success have to separate fiction from reality!
That separation is found in their taking responsibility and accepting the recourse for their actions and decisions…
Leaders who build an organization…add hundreds of people and then have to lay them off for any reason other than “an act of God” should reap the same recourse as those people who trusted them enough to take the job and the his or her empty promises!
21st century leaders have to recognize that there is no success when “cheat codes” are used.
Or when they push the legal limits...
Or take advantage of legal loop-holes...
That kind of stuff is a 19th and perhaps 20th behavior, but not that of today!
If one aspires to be a 21st century leader, they should step forward and take the consequences for every decision…not hide behind the statement “I am not going to be thrown under this bus!”
If jail is a component of the risk related to the reward…then take it…just like you took the money!
Business is not a game!
“No replays”
“No resets”
“No cheat codes”
Big Rewards has BIG RISK...the shock and awe that comes with the "jolt" of reality!
*****************************************
All Leaders play with the lives of hundreds of people at stake.
They want to reap rewards and have no responsibility for loss!
If you are one that disagree with this…then it is time to assess your position as a leader…
Step up to the challenge or step down!
If you are a stockholder or an expendable worker...demand that your leadership steps up!
Our world will be better if we demand that from them!
********************************************
“Employment at will” is a two way street…if you are a leader and promised employment…then provide it!
A lay-off is a leadership failure...the leader should be the first to go...
That termination will have the biggest bang for the buck...
Leaders are a "dime a dozen"...they can be replaced! Just like everyone else that does get laid-off!
Let me qualify that previous thought...employment is not a lifetime guarantee!
A worker should be terminated if they broke some ethical or moral rule…
Hmmmmm…isn’t lying unethical?
Like lying to the Board of Directors...or one's employees?
Leaders who build huge corporations and then dissolve it…have lied to "the Board" and their people!
Their poor judgment and short-sightedness or self-centeredness not to mention their incompetency is grounds for termination…yet…it is the leaders who remain and the innocent who are asked to leave at a moment’s notice!
******************************************
How do we put the icing on this cake?
There is nothing sweet about what we have become!
I have a tendency to believe that we are not products of our video games…but that our video games are products of our basic social values and belief system…
Game have their place…but they are not real!
I would love nothing more than to attach a stun gun to the "joy stick"…and turn it into a "reality stick!"
It makes a Wii into a WHOA!
We need to realize that there is no “joy” without the risk of “pain!”
Step up and be a 21st century leader!
Pura Vida
When will we learn that...
“Nothing is free?”
and...
Every gain has a price…
and...
Every misdeed is ultimately recognized and punished…
*****************************************
Being an effective 21st Century Leader requires a deep understanding of this concept and accepting…(actually demanding) full responsibility for every organizational outcome (something that I see very few leaders willing to do today).
*****************************************
Let’s shift gears for a moment and contemplate a huge injustice that we unwittingly bestowed upon our children…
VIDEO GAMES…
VIDEO GAMES…
Video Game development has become a HUGE industry.
It has become so popular that a social segment called "Gamers" has arisen...
In short, video games are a social phenomenon!
There is an interesting parallel between video games and reality that is important enough to note…
But before we go there…let’s go back about a quarter century to the infancy of gaming!
******************************************
The game that started it all...
Pong…
The simple video ping-pong game…
Pong and those games that followed, missed and important element…
RECOURSE…
HUH?
Video games became the venue in which crazy things could be tried without any threats or punishments for failure...
In a macabre way...
The game stick (commonly called a joy stick) or controller should have had electrodes embedded in them that gave the “loser” a huge and “potentially fatal” shock.
Why would I suggest such a drastic measure?
Let's look at what has happened with video games...
Over time...video games have gotten more and more real!
A gamer can steal cars...kill people...conquer countries...and more!
Over the course of a quarter century and these cool games...
We have subtly taught our future leaders (gamers) that there is no loss related to wrong decisions…
In fact, there is a spin-off industry nearly as big as the gaming industry…
It is the industry that identifies and sells “cheat-codes!”
We unwittingly allow our children to buy victory and send a message that it is OK to cheat to win!
In the "gamer" world...breaking the rules is OK!
Gamers are lauded if they know some obscure trick that lets them win! and…
I am afraid that they have transferred (through our apathy) that same attitude to their real lives!
******************************************
Think of how different it would be that if a gamer lost a game of “pong” and it cost them $250,000?
Or…they lost their girlfriend or boyfriend…
Or their best friends immediately died?
Or…they had to declare bankruptcy…or lost their car or their home?
Or they lost their video game system...
couldn't eat...
got sick...and couldn't afford a doctor
or worse...they died?
Extreme?
…YES!
Why would I take such a position?
Because "Leadership" is not a game…
Yet many leaders act as if it is!
They feel sheltered from recourse…that ANY mistake simply means a “system reset” or a start-over!
Other leaders act as if they live in the world of “cheat-codes”
Behaving as if it is OK to bend the rules to win the game…
And we support by lauding their prowess!
Just like the gamers bow to the cheats in their society!
Many leaders act as if they have no stake in the business game!
They are shielded by attornies and plausible deniability!
Could it be that they equate reality with gaming?
*******************************************
21st century leaders and those who aspire to real leadership success have to separate fiction from reality!
That separation is found in their taking responsibility and accepting the recourse for their actions and decisions…
Leaders who build an organization…add hundreds of people and then have to lay them off for any reason other than “an act of God” should reap the same recourse as those people who trusted them enough to take the job and the his or her empty promises!
21st century leaders have to recognize that there is no success when “cheat codes” are used.
Or when they push the legal limits...
Or take advantage of legal loop-holes...
That kind of stuff is a 19th and perhaps 20th behavior, but not that of today!
If one aspires to be a 21st century leader, they should step forward and take the consequences for every decision…not hide behind the statement “I am not going to be thrown under this bus!”
If jail is a component of the risk related to the reward…then take it…just like you took the money!
Business is not a game!
“No replays”
“No resets”
“No cheat codes”
Big Rewards has BIG RISK...the shock and awe that comes with the "jolt" of reality!
*****************************************
All Leaders play with the lives of hundreds of people at stake.
They want to reap rewards and have no responsibility for loss!
If you are one that disagree with this…then it is time to assess your position as a leader…
Step up to the challenge or step down!
If you are a stockholder or an expendable worker...demand that your leadership steps up!
Our world will be better if we demand that from them!
********************************************
“Employment at will” is a two way street…if you are a leader and promised employment…then provide it!
A lay-off is a leadership failure...the leader should be the first to go...
That termination will have the biggest bang for the buck...
Leaders are a "dime a dozen"...they can be replaced! Just like everyone else that does get laid-off!
Let me qualify that previous thought...employment is not a lifetime guarantee!
A worker should be terminated if they broke some ethical or moral rule…
Hmmmmm…isn’t lying unethical?
Like lying to the Board of Directors...or one's employees?
Leaders who build huge corporations and then dissolve it…have lied to "the Board" and their people!
Their poor judgment and short-sightedness or self-centeredness not to mention their incompetency is grounds for termination…yet…it is the leaders who remain and the innocent who are asked to leave at a moment’s notice!
******************************************
How do we put the icing on this cake?
There is nothing sweet about what we have become!
I have a tendency to believe that we are not products of our video games…but that our video games are products of our basic social values and belief system…
Game have their place…but they are not real!
I would love nothing more than to attach a stun gun to the "joy stick"…and turn it into a "reality stick!"
It makes a Wii into a WHOA!
We need to realize that there is no “joy” without the risk of “pain!”
Step up and be a 21st century leader!
Pura Vida
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