How to "live usefully"
We can choose to be intentional and live usefully; to live our lives “on purpose”, to make a living “on purpose”, and to run our organisations “on purpose”, with a purpose that is greater than simply making a profit or surplus.
“I would rather have it said ‘he lived usefully’ than ‘he died rich’.”
~ Benjamin Franklin.
Seeing Beyond The Horizon
I recently listened to one of my favourite leadership voices, and I was reminded of one of his recent messages. John Maxwell was introducing the second publication of one of his earliest and most widely purchased books "Developing the Leaders within you 2.0" when he spent a few moments talking on the two themes - that effective leaders see more than others see, and they see before others see.
“A leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees farther than others see, and who sees before others do.”
~ Leroy Eims
Leadership Lessons from the Motor industry.
Are we going to be a gold digger, a wheelbarrow salesman or a Mustang Maker. All three business models have merit, and all three are significantly different ways to approach this crisis.
The journey out of COVID
Be authentic. We can’t know everything about a future that has so much uncertainty. We’ll need to make decisions, and we’ll inevitably get some wrong. People will expect that, and people will see that, so don’t try to hide it or spin it so that it looks right. Own your good decisions and own your bad decisions, and you’ll earn people’s respect. After all, people would rather follow a leader who is always authentic, than one who is never wrong.
Find your phoenix
Perhaps it seems like our intended mission has been aborted and that we are facing the worst disaster we’ve ever experienced. However, maybe, now is also the time for our finest hour, if we can find a way out of this season and rise, renewed, like a phoenix from the remains left from the embers of our predecessor.
Making decisions in the dim light of incomplete information
When I came back to the bike sheds to cycle home at the end of the day, of course, it had gone. My bike had gone. Forever. And I didn’t get a replacement for several years; my parents decided it would teach me a valuable lesson, and it did!
What did a conductor ever do for us?
What did a conductor ever do for us? Well, for me, exploring what a conductor does provides a really helpful model to see leadership . By the time a piece is ready to perform the hard work has already been done: seeing over the horizon, describing what’s on the horizon, and getting to the horizon.
What will my story be
Five years from now we’ll look back on this season as one where the adoption of online communications took off, where working from home and not travelling to work became mainstream and a preferred option for many, and where travelling for business meetings became a thing of the past. We’ll discover that we don’t have to do it as we always did!When we get there and take a look back with some personal stories to tell, what will my story be? I can start writing that history today.
Why focus on Difference Makers?
"I suspect that the future will be uncomfortable for companies who don’t pay attention to all five key components that will distinguish difference-makers. These key components are:Passion, People, Planet, Profit and Philanthropy."