From Entrepreneurial Strenghfinder by Gallop

The 10 talents of current successful entrepreneurs are:

• Business Focus: You make decisions based on observed or anticipated effect on profit.

• Confidence: You accurately know yourself and understand others.

• Creative Thinker: You exhibit creativity in taking an existing idea or product and turning it into something better.

• Delegator: You recognize that you cannot do everything and are willing to contemplate a shift in style and control.

• Determination: You persevere through difficult, even seemingly insurmountable, obstacles.

• Independent: You are prepared to do whatever needs to be done to build a successful venture.

• Knowledge Seeker: You constantly search for information that is relevant to growing your business.

• Promoter: You are the best spokesperson for the business.

• Relationship-Builder: You have high social awareness and an ability to build relationships that are beneficial for the firm's survival and growth.

• Risk-Taker: You instinctively know how to manage high-risk situations.

While I agree with the 10 talents, I would argue that, with few exceptions, they are timeless and irrespective of economic considerations.  When I think of admired entrepreneurs, Ford, Tom Watson, John Johnson, Steve Jobs, or Bill Gates, I am reminded of how focused they were on these talents, almost to a fault.

In the case of both Jobs and Gates, they far surpassed their original partners (Wozniak and Allen) in understanding and embracing the criticality of these talents.  Ford, Thomas Watson, and John Johnson were pressing in on these talents in economical environments equally challenging to the conditions of our day.

I would change the conversation slightly and suggest that anyone who wants to be a success, regardless of the marketplace dynamics, has to understand, embrace, and utilize these talents. 

The list runs counter to the "employee mentality" where you come to work, adapt to the standard operating procedures, collect a pay check, and stand in line for a promotion.

So the task is to step up to the plate, decide to be a "game changer", and see things not as they are but what they can become.  Utilizing the 10 talents will be a key ingredient to success at whatever level you find yourself and regardless of the economic conditions.  

Webster says… An idea is something that you imagine or picture in your mind.  When I think on that definition, I agree with it.  I have had numerous ideas that I’ve imagined or have been pictures in my mind.  There are several ways that ideas arrive at my mental doorstep.  Here are a few of them. 

One way is for me to be in discussion.  I’ve been in meetings or simply having a conversation with another person.  In the midst of the discussion, I’ll have an idea that seems to pop up from out of the air.  But I generally attribute it to the “Lively Art of Conversation”.  It is my opinion that my mind goes into action when prompted by discussion.  If I had been simply sitting gazing off into space, I’m not certain that the same idea would have come to the forefront of my brain.  I find that I am mentally simulated during conversation and ideas arrive. 

Another way is when ideas are revealed to me when I’m asleep.  It has happened enough times that I regard it as a “place where ideas are born”.  Previously, I tried to analyze the process in order to determine the genesis of it all.  I had reasoned that an idea likely came because of something that happened before I fell asleep, watching TV, reading a book, or reviewing work papers.  But I have decided that ideas totally unrelated to my pre-sleep activities came to me during my sleep state.  Actually, I love this process because I am energized by the thoughts and the ideas that I received.  It’s as if they are sitting and waiting for me to open my eyes and begin a new day.  It’s like hearing the sound of birds chirping to herald in the morning and the prospect of tremendous things to come.

One more is when I have gotten a vision of something while I have been attending a totally unrelated event.  This one might seem a bit strange but for me it is very real.  One example…recently, I was at a leadership retreat and all of the attendees were watching and listening to a video.  All of a sudden, I got a vision of an idea.  It turned out that the vision was totally unrelated to the video or the retreat. That idea led to a significant series of life-changing events.

As a result, I’ve concluded that there is no rhyme or reason as to how ideas show up for me.  I attribute them to God and His desire to “Wow” me.  As a result, I try to stay open to what He wants to convey.  I’ve also learned that I can go with an idea or not.  My sense is that God is going to make it reality with or without me.  If I say “Yes”, I get to go along for the ride. 

Keep Writing!!! 

It’s a great idea of Steven Shallenberger to suggest that leaders establish a moratorium on blaming and criticizing for 21 days. Also, it is true that some leaders often try to appear to be highly competent all the time. But one of the critical aspects of world class leaders is the fact that they openly communicate their weaknesses. There is an expression “Don’t trust a leader that doesn’t have a limp”. If a leader can’t communicate their weaknesses, it’s likely that the organization will suffer and the “blame game” is one of their strategies when something goes wrong. With that said, there are some strategies employed successfully by world class leaders.

Here are six approaches to consider:

-       Try to remain calm in the face of turmoil

-       Ask open-ended questions in order to understand the situation

-       Get multiple points of view before coming to a conclusion

-       Determine what the “down-side” risks are

-       Come up with a viable solution

-       Provide “constructive” criticism off-line

Try to remain calm in the face of turmoil

The worse action to take is to fly off the handle and start naming and blaming.  Nothing good can come from that.  World class leaders rarely “run down the street with their hair on fire”.  This is where words get used that can’t be taken back.  Calm leadership is one of the first steps needed to recover from a bad situation.  The team generally is waiting to see just how the leader will react.  The expression “the speed of the leader is the speed of the team” is true in this situation.  Calmly approaching the situation is best for all parties concerned (and it helps tremendously in getting to the bottom of the problem).   

Ask open-ended questions in order to understand the situation

This is how the world class leader excels.  Before they make a decision, they realize that it is critical to understand the total scope of the situation or the problem.  If their questions start with “Who, What, When, Where, How much, How long”, it will go a long way at getting to the issues at hand.  Once the world class leader gets to the end of this process, the picture becomes much clearer and a possible solution to the problem can emerge.

Get multiple points of view before coming to a conclusion

The world class leader will try to hear from as many involved people as possible.  Each person clearly gets from their leader that nothing is out of bounds, nothing is off limits, and there will be no penalty for communicating the facts of what transpired.

Determine what the “down-side” risks are

Without blaming anyone, the world class leader has the facts of the situation, what went wrong and the potential down side risks.  With the risks isolated, potential solutions can be determined.  

Come up with a viable solution

There is an old adage “there are 100 ways to skin a cat”.  Based on experience and the input from a strong team, the world class leader will decide on possible solutions to the problem. He/she may make the final decision but it done with others providing guidance along the process.  The old adage, “there is wisdom in the counsel of many” is especially true here.   With the best solution determined, the world class leader will put it in motion and take full responsibility for the problem.  This is not the time for blaming or pointing fingers.

Provide “constructive” criticism off-line

If it is determined that someone was responsible for the problematic situation, generally the world class leader will give advice and constructive criticism to the person/s responsible.  The admonition might be very strong and direct but it is not to tear down but to build up, regardless of how thoughtless or immature the error was.  One of the best teaching aids is when the world class leader shares a time when they “screwed up”.  This hits home like nothing else.  It shows that the leader also has faults and weaknesses.

So, when the moratorium on blaming and criticizing is over, it will be critical for the leader to have a process to replace the old one.  Most psychologists suggest that it takes 21 days to eliminate a habit but it also takes 21 days to establish a new one.  So, I suggest to leaders start today to make a decision of your will to cast off the yoke of blaming and pick up a process that will have long term positive implications. 

 

This is an interesting topic.  I am in the midst of releasing my first novel.  Initially, I had to find a publisher.  It actually wasn’t very difficult.  I won’t spend any time discussing that process because I had some issues with my publisher and had to sue to get the rights of my book back.  So the process of selling my book has come as a self-publisher.  All of the work associated with getting the book promoted, every effort regarding the advertising of the book came as a result of my efforts and the efforts of the team that I amassed.  It was a very trying process.  

My saving grace was my business/sales background established at firms like Aragon Consulting Group and IBM.  I took those tools that I learned and transferred them into the selling aspects that were required to get this book, “Betrayal” off the ground.  We had an amazing book launch tour where over 200 people came and bought tons of books.  We had the presence of mind to videotape it and take numerous photographs.  So it has provided us with a rock solid beginning point for the sale of the book and the building of our brand. So, some steps to consider:

1) Create a business plan – this might not seem like a big deal but it is.  Selling a book can be hard work.  If you don’t have a plan, it makes the effort much harder.  Once you take the time to structure a business plan, you realize the steps required and it becomes easier to execute them.

2) Build a team – No man or woman walks alone.  First, there are too many moving parts to try and tackle it all on your own.  Second, there will be greater joy in the journey when you aren’t walking alone.  Third, there is an old African, “If you want to go fast, go alone.” “If you want to go far, go with others.”

3) Establish objectives with timelines and responsibilities – This will help you to stay on point.  There will be so many things to accomplish.  So, having timelines and responsibilities will help you to stay on track.

4) Use Social Media – In today’s economy, this one goes almost without saying.  If you can’t afford to have someone handle this, take the time to learn it and then implement the basics to get you started.  As soon as you can afford it, give it to an expert.  You’ll be glad you did.

5) Amass a following – That’s one of the great things about social media but it’s not the only way.  You can build a following through mailing and speaking engagements.  It just requires you to get, and stay creative.

6) Utilize a series of marketing campaigns – If you don’t have a marking background as I developed with consulting firms and at IBM, it will be important for you to align yourself with people who can help you with this.  But you have to decide first what you want to achieve from your marketing campaigns.  Do you want to sell stuff, build a following, advertising an upcoming speaking engagement, etc. Whatever it is, will help you pick the right marketing campaign.

7) Evaluate and monitor your progress – Is it working?  That’s the question that has to be asked and answered.  It’s like going on a road trip.  You are continually looking at the map to determine how far you’ve come and how much farther you have to go.  This applies in the book selling process as well.

8) Fine tune your plan – if you haven’t achieved as much as you planned when you reach a certain point, it will be important to make some “mid-course corrections”.  This will help you to not fall too far off course. 

9) Don’t give in, don’t give up – This one doesn’t require an explanation J

10) Keep Writing!

Webster says… An idea is something that you imagine or picture in your mind.  When I think on that definition, I agree with it.  I have had numerous ideas that I’ve imagined or have been pictures in my mind.  There are several ways that ideas arrive at my mental doorstep.  Here are a few of them. 

One way is for me to be in discussion.  I’ve been in meetings or simply having a conversation with another person.  In the midst of the discussion, I’ll have an idea that seems to pop up from out of the air.  But I generally attribute it to the “Lively Art of Conversation”.  It is my opinion that my mind goes into action when prompted by discussion.  If I had been simply sitting gazing off into space, I’m not certain that the same idea would have come to the forefront of my brain.  I find that I am mentally simulated during conversation and ideas arrive. 

Another way is when ideas are revealed to me when I’m asleep.  It has happened enough times that I regard it as a “place where ideas are born”.  Previously, I tried to analyze the process in order to determine the genesis of it all.  I had reasoned that an idea likely came because of something that happened before I fell asleep, watching TV, reading a book, or reviewing work papers.  But I have decided that ideas totally unrelated to my pre-sleep activities came to me during my sleep state.  Actually, I love this process because I am energized by the thoughts and the ideas that I received.  It’s as if they are sitting and waiting for me to open my eyes and begin a new day.  It’s like hearing the sound of birds chirping to herald in the morning and the prospect of tremendous things to come.

One more is when I have gotten a vision of something while I have been attending a totally unrelated event.  This one might seem a bit strange but for me it is very real.  One example…recently, I was at a leadership retreat and all of the attendees were watching and listening to a video.  All of a sudden, I got a vision of an idea.  It turned out that the vision was totally unrelated to the video or the retreat. That idea led to a significant series of life-changing events.

As a result, I’ve concluded that there is no rhyme or reason as to how ideas show up for me.  I attribute them to God and His desire to “Wow” me.  As a result, I try to stay open to what He wants to convey.  I’ve also learned that I can go with an idea or not.  My sense is that God is going to make it reality with or without me.  If I say “Yes”, I get to go along for the ride. 

Keep Writing!!! 

The general was right and his comments were well said.  I wouldn't add or subtract anything from his speech.

There is another model of a man who walked this earth and left us with a real model of servant leadership.  Jesus continues to be referenced by endless numbers of people.  Many have commented about the miracles he performed, his eloquently messages he gave, and so many other things that people are still trying to understand. 

One thing that he demonstrated was being a servant leader.  Almost at the end of his life on earth, he had a dinner with his closest friends, his buddies that would continue to share his words with the rest of the world.  He told them that in order to be a leader it required being a servant.  He could have simply said that and left it.  But he performed a service for these guys that would be done only by the lowest servant.  He got up from the table, wrapped a garment around his waist, and washed the feet of every man there.  That one act had an enormous impact on every man there that night.  The story is still impactful today and helps to illustrate servant leadership.

I agree that Leaders should listen, learn, and put the needs of others ahead of their own.  Somewhere along the way, really great leaders realize that the needs of others are so much more important than the needs of their own.  Somehow it helps ordinary men and women become extraordinary leaders, servant leaders of others. 

Veterans are extraordinary servant leaders because they choose to put the needs and the safety of a nation ahead of their own.

If you read my last entry, you’re aware of the powerful impact my mother had on me and my three sisters.  She was truly an amazing woman.  I’m still awe-struck by just how smart and perceptive she was.  She had a way of seeing things not as they were but the way they would become.  She was one of the first people that I ever heard discuss the attributes of Barack Obama.  This was long before he became president, years before becoming a senator from Illinois, and sometime before he ever gave that gripping speech at the democratic convention.  She saw him as a man of character, full of integrity.  She spent time researching his background long before his book “Dreams of My Father” was ever released.  She was quick to say “He’s not a saint but he’s an honest man and can be trusted.”  Not long after he became an Illinois State Senator, she started to comment about him as a man, a husband, and a father.  At the time, I had no idea who he was or what he stood for, but she did.  It wasn’t until he was elected US Senator from Illinois that I started to notice him.  When he gave that impassioned speech at the democratic convention in 2004, my mother told me that Barack Obama would become the President of the United States.  My mother died on October 27, 2013 at the age of 93.  But she lived to see her prediction come true.  She voted for him twice and witnessed his historic inauguration.  But her decision to believe in Barack Obama was not political. She believed in him based on his character, his conduct, and his integrity.

She once remarked about his character.  She said “John, character is one of the attributes that distinguishes an individual.  Trust me, Barack Obama has character.”  She would comment about how he paid close attention to his wife.  He placed her first.  It is well documented that he regularly asked her opinion about his life, and especially his political life.  My mother appreciated this aspect and repeatedly told me that I should model my behavior after this attribute of his.  I can’t say that I always followed this but it was well worth considering.  She said that the best way to determine how well he paid attention to this detail was by asking his wife Michelle.  I decided to find out what the President’s wife had to say on the subject.  I found a speech she gave back on October 12th of 2012 in Fountain, Colorado.  Michelle said “I love talking about my husband. He's handsome and smart, she said, but I married him for his character — his compassion and decency.  He treated the women in his family, me, his mother, and grandmother, with great respect and tenderness.”  Wow, I was impressed by that and how it was right in line with what my mother said.

My mother also stressed the importance of integrity, and again used Barack Obama as an example.  She said “Integrity is what you do when no one is looking.’  I thought long and hard about that definition and, in the end, I agreed with her.  She detailed all of the integrity challenges of Mr. Obama’s predecessors.  There have been endless stories about their indiscretions both in and out of the White House.  Then she said, “In all the years that I have been following him, there has never been an indiscretion of any kind since he’s been married.  Every man in America could take a lesson from him.”

A Smart woman, my mother, she gave me a great set of examples to follow based on her life and in the life of Barack Obama.