Money has
been a taboo topic in many circles and families. It is often an unspoken subject
for many while growing up, as a result many today give money a negative connotation.
Why is this? Is it the money that is evil, or what the holder intends to do
with the money that is evil?
In my opinion money is a
tool, nothing more nothing less. It can be used to do great works for better,
or squandered away and kept for selfish reasons. Money is a token, a token that
is used to show appreciated for value added. We no longer live in small isolated
villages, where a token of gratitude may be a simple good in exchange for a
service, but we currently live on a larger scale where we still contribute to
others just often never being in touch with the customer on a personal level
like we once were.
I believe money is an amplifier, if you are
a good person deep down you will continue that path and only increase the good
you are capable of with the more money you possess. I also know it is a huge
responsibility, before one takes the path to pursue riches they really need to
identify who they are deep down and their overarching why in their behavior and
goals.
Many say good
people do not need to be rich, but I would much rather see them with their
pockets full than the other side of the spectrum.
Decisions are one thing in this universe that can determine
and create totally opposite futures depending how they are called. The right
decision can vault you towards your goals and lock your bearing down towards what
you want to achieve, while a bad decision can take everything you hold dear and then drop you to the bottom. So the question is how do we make the best decision
possible while taking into account all the variables involved?
The Source of
Indecision, FEAR
There are many elements that go into a well-chosen decision
such as timing, manner, counsel and the list goes on and on. Without the right
perspective a leader may become overwhelmed and fall into the greatest decision
killer of them all, Fear. An indecisive leader is an oxymoron; there is not
such thing as a passive leader. Leaders must make decisions!
Decision-making
not only affects you, but every single person around you, and can continue far
into the future. That is why it is so important to use your assets wisely and
make the right decision the first time.
Why Loyalty is
Imperative For a Leader
Making a decision as a leader should not be a lonely process;
you should seek counsel from many around you. “One of us is never smarter than
all of us.” Now after you have talked it over with your peers and those who
work closest to the pulse of the problem, take the appropriate amount of time then
“Make The Call.” Even if it 180 degrees from what has been suggested from
everyone else, if you truly believe that is the right decision, Make The Call!
This is
where as a good leader you have a tool in your pouch so to speak, and it is
called loyalty. If you have done your job as a good leader, a good “ServantLeader,” you will have developed loyalty between you and those you lead. This
loyalty allows your team to know without a doubt you have the best interest for
them and the mission. Loyalty means you expect your team to tell you
exactly how they feel about a situation with true honesty, but after everything
has been said and a decision is made, Loyalty means everyone walks out of the room and embraces that decision made like it was their own.
Decision Making
Steps
1.Take time proportionate to the outcome of the decision
As Dave Ramsey would say, do not spend an hour
at the checkout trying to decide which pack of gum you want to purchase, make
the decision and move on! Now in the other hand, if you are deciding on
something that will effect your next 5 years you will want to take a lot more
time to come to a conclusion. A good rule of thumb is looking at your risk profile per the decision and gauging when it will increase, this will give you a good idea when a decision must be made.
2.Get
Good Input From Your Team
Bring in the best to talk about the decision, both Pro’s and Con’s. This is the point where you as a leader need to step up
and ask good questions. The goal is to encourage good debate among your
teams. The better the disagreement and debate the more information you get on the
subject and a better understanding.
3.Find
some quite space
Now that you have had plenty of time and
lots of great input on the decision, it is time to break away to find somewhere
you can truly be alone with your thoughts. This will allow you to really take
in everything you have learned on the subject and make a good call on the
decision. This is a very important step. Many great leaders find an activity to do, one that allows them solitude but keeps their hands busy, this allows their subconscious to really go into overdrive and for them to make a great decision.
4.Defeat
Indecision and procrastination.
Leaders may get stuck in analysis paralysis,
at this point after you have weighed all the inputs and spent the necessary
time thinking about the decision, put a day on the calendar down to the hour, this will signify the moment you must make the call. When that day and hour arrive do not push it back but
stick to your choice and pull the trigger!
The key to focus can be found in keeping it simple. “No” can
be your greatest asset during the journey to a more focused life. Every “Yes”
you make must be defended by a thousand “No’s.” Without the ability to say no,
you will never allow yourself the focus and dedication needed to truly accomplish
great work. Always use deep thought before making any “Yes” commitments. Ask
yourself will this new commitment get me close to my ultimate goal?
Remember
great leaders follow through on the little things, if your day is full of saying
nothing but “Yes” you will be setting it up for failure.
No, the most under
used word in our vocabulary
Try this experiment, start the day with this objective in
mind. Count the number of times you say, “Yes” or agree to do something, be
very precise and write it down. Now count the amount of times you tell someone,
“No.” To a few of you this will be an eye opener and clearly one sided, though
I think most of us already realize we agree upon way to many things each day,
the worst part is we know deep down we will never be able to give each
agreement the time and focus needed to do great work. I don’t know about you
but I’m not striving to be an OK leader, I want to be a Great Leader. That
being said we will need to be great in the small things, this includes keeping
all of our promises.
The efficiency of
“No”
We all are given the same amount of hours each day, why is
it that some of us get so much done and others do not? The very successful
among us have found the efficiency that comes with the word “No”. Don’t get me
wrong walking around all day just saying no over and over is not the key to
success and most likely will ruin your social life. Before you can start to use
the power of “No” you must make a list of goals you want to achieve and make
them as clear as possible, you will need to be very specific while creating
this list, the more clearly you can see you goals the better. I suggest you
make this list early in the morning in a time of peace, and before others get
up. For suggestions on how to do that refer to my post “Great Leadership Begins with Great Focus.”
No can be an
important tool for refining Diligence, after you define your goals. “No” can
allow you to place your time where it is best spent, this will allow you to
achieve the most in return. Diligence is a major key to success in my mind, you
can find more on this subject in my post “Diligence They Key to Success?.”
The True Power of
Focus
What is the one thing you can do today that would make life
easier and help you get the results you want to achieve your goals? Ask you
brain this question everyday. The key here is to keep it simple!
Whatever aspect of your life you
want to improve, look and find the sweet spot or the target area that will give
you the most return on your time, by doing this you will see huge returns on
your efforts, so much so it will eventually bleed over into many other areas of
your life. In the beginning progress may seem small but over time you will be
amazed at what you can achieve. I recently read about the domino effect and I
believe it is a great illustration of this phenomenon, and gives you a way to
picture and realize your true potential.
I’m sure everyone has held a domino
in their life and can picture the size of one. A domino has the ability of
knocking over another domino 50% larger than itself, this may not seem
impressive at first, but when you think about it if you keep that up by the
time you reach the 23rd domino you will be knocking a domino over
the size of the Eiffel Tower! The 31st domino will reach the size
greater than Mount Everest, and the 53rd domino would be tall enough
to reach the moon. Now think about your effort and what it can do in the long
run, it should give you goose bumps!
Question of the
Day
What could you put more focus on to improve you life
tremendously? What steps will you take to ensure this happens?
Without trust societies are surely doomed for failure. The
Absence of trust means no matter how well educated, diverse, or prepared a team
may be, they will never achieve the quality of success a group made up of
members with fraction of the talent but would die for each other could get, I
know that’s a little extreme but you get my point.
How A Leader Gains
Trust
Great leaders are great not
because of their position but rather the fact people respect and trust them; it
has nothing to do with their power, actually when a leader must rely on his
power frequently it is often a sign they will not be in that position much
longer. There are a few traits a leader must show their tribe before they grant the respect and trust needed to become a great leader. I broke these down
in the following four traits.
·First Capability,
leaders must show their tribe they are capable of doing the job, this is easy
if the leader is truly aligned with the tribe’s vision. Knowledge and capability
are a byproduct of passion, when the leader is truly on fire and on board with
the organizations mission he will surely be capable or learn very quickly if not.
·Second is integrity,
does the leader follow through with their promises, do they walk the walk? Nothing
kills morale in a tribe more than a hypocritical leader.
·Third is Caring,
if a leader begins to treat their tribe members like interchangeable parts the
company will soon erode from the bottom out. Great leader know it is the
members that make the tribe great, no matter how loud they yell they will never
get the same results they could have from a tribe of inspired members. Take
care of your people and they will take care of you.
·Finally Reliability,
Great leaders know how important it is to keep the small promises, to often
leaders make the mistake of just paying attention to what they deem “is a big
deal” but after falling through on the small things time and time again they
soon lose credibility and are deemed no longer reliable. Even worse, whatever trait
a leader exhibits often spreads to the members of the tribe, soon you have an
organization of members who cannot follow through on the small stuff which will
also result in overall failure.
The Trust Killer!
A leader is the head of the tribe,
and the biggest mistake someone appointing a leader could do is place a leader
who is not 110% congruent to the tribes Why or Vision. Education, resume, or
any other qualification will not matter if the leader is not bought in and
believes what the tribe stands for. You cannot fake excitement or enthusiasm
and tribe members will catch on quickly and realize you are a non-sincere leader.
Question:
What are traits you notice in leaders that build and
breakdown your trust? Do you think a leader can do their job and get the
mission done with minimal trust from the people they lead?
