Common sense for the art of leading!

Month: January 2017

What have you read lately?

We are all a synthesis of our life experiences!  Be proud of where you’ve come from & focus on future possibilities that are attainable with continued effort to improve.  No matter where you are on life’s journey the following books are all great resources with diverse points of view to encourage & inspire you!

Maverick by Ricardo Semler

Have to be honest here, I’ve been totally enamored with what this man has been able to accomplish.  My brother says I have a bit of a “bro-mance” going on.  Not sure about that but he’s built a flatter organization that continues to profit in todays volatile marketplace.  This details the transitions after taking over SEMCO from his father.  Common sense, intuition & powerful questions have been his guide to strive for more wisdom at work!

What Matters Now by Gary Hamel

A great business thought leader on how we can create better organizations & studies of who’s doing it now.  His first book, The Future of Management, kickstarted my habit of reading, listening or writing something on leadership everyday.  I’m sure you’ll connect with his approach as well!

The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

A must-have in your library from the man who created the business of management so many years ago.  There is a time & place for management & leadership, they’re different.  We can & indeed need to be effective in our efforts for any enterprise!

Start with Why by Simon Sinek

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”  Simon Sinek  Most people aren’t aware of what they’re really good at.  Find out where your talents truly lie & connect with why you should do it!

Up the Organization by Robert Townsend

In this ABC reference book, the architect of the “We Try Harder” turnaround at AVIS car rental company tells us about his common sense approach.

The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes & Barry Posner

It’s been around about 30 years & is another must have reference book for anyone striving to maximize their leadership growth.  This book keeps you coming back & the mobile app keeps you focused moving forward!

On Leadership published by Harvard Business Review

This collection of articles is a breakdown of great concepts.  They detail each idea in short and these versions make quick work out of understanding & application.  They have many other collections on other topics perfect for a business trip!

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

This book completely changed my thinking of how to deal with not only my feelings & emotions but others as well.  You’ll enjoy his plain language philosophies in this relatively quick but powerful read!

Thanks for visiting, I look forward to your thoughts, learn on!

All the best,

Karl

*Disclaimer:  I don’t work or profit in any way from any of these individuals or organizations they are affiliated with.  Not that I wouldn’t love to in the future in some cases but to date do not!

My top TED Talks…so far

Leaders are lifelong learners & if you haven’t discovered TED Talks yet you must!  It’s a great resource for thought leadership in so many different fields & myriad of topics.  The following links are just a few of the presentations that have served me well as I hope they do for you.  Dig in to the Ted site to find inspiration on your passion & enjoy!

If any of these speakers inspired you for more, each of them has a ton of additional offerings on the web.  Who knows, maybe we’ll see you on the TED Talk stage someday making the world better with your great ideas.  Powerful ideas don’t take off until someone joins the cause.  You have the power to change the world…one person at a time!

All the best,

Karl

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5 “W’s” on Leadership

These questions appear so many times in articles, posts, marketing, etc.  They are a bit cliche at this point but nonetheless remain a powerful questioning tool.

WHO

Everyone has the capacity to tap into their personal leadership qualities in service to any enterprise we truly care about.  Developing them, therefore, is for anyone who’s decided to focus less on individual contributions & more on others development.  It can be an uneasy feeling to work yourself out of a job.  This is the prime spot to live in to support others’ personal & professional growth.  Giving up control can be hard but ultimately it’s necessary.  Paying knowledge forward gives credit to not only you but those who’ve mentored, supported & guided you along your path.

WHAT

Leadership is about influence.  Author & optimist Simon Sinek says leadership is a choice, not a rank or position.  Your positive influence can make a huge difference.  We will all work with people who choose to focus on other aspects of life & career but recognizing who has chosen to take care of those around them should be supported.  Respect their decision to lead as a natural part of their growth.  If they act with integrity & not to win power & authority over others they should be encouraged.

WHEN

Business thought leader Gary Hamel outlines in his book “What Matter’s Now” that there is no time like the present to transform our workplaces through courage, a contrarian mindset & compassion.  Courage of character with tactful questioning & compassion for others thoughts/opinions will make you a great asset for the long haul in our working lives.

WHERE

Discovering the right environment where you can thrive in your chosen profession is vitally important.  What is your preferred way of interacting in the world; listening, reading, hands-on?  Humans have a great capacity for adaptability but knowing where your foothold lives is a great place to start because you can’t fight your DNA.  Where we work & how we interact there will set you up for less activity & more achievement!

WHY

Because it’s a lonely feeling to look back on a long career to find that you had a chance to make a difference in others lives but didn’t take the opportunity to give back.  If you are feeling guilty about this then maybe you took too much along the way.  Giving back as you go provides a sense of accomplishment as we continue to balance taking care of our people & the tasks at hand.  Ricardo Semler has great thoughts on this in his TedTalk from a few years ago, it’s full of awesome nuggets.

HOW

The biggest challenge of leading is taking care of the needs of those we work with & the stuff that’s just gotta get done.  Striving for balance of these isn’t easy but it’s worth it because you’ll approach the people you lead with empathy while getting the right things done for the enterprise.  Peter Drucker has some great additional thoughts on this in his book “The Effective Executive”.

Always remember, those who follow after us are vitally important & their development can’t be underestimated.  Engage, encourage & inspire!

All the best,

Karl
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