Five Lessons for Future Leaders

Five Lessons for Future Leaders

The age old question: Are Leaders Born or Are Leaders Made?

Personally, I go back and forth with the answer. There are times when I have seen a natural born leader take charge and give credit to that answer of "Yes, they are born."

Then again, there have been times that I have seen someone rise up from the organization's shadows and lead others to accomplish great things. Things that their own managers would never think about doing.

Thus, the question lives and it will live on for a very long time.

However, one thing is certain: To become a Great Leader you have to be an even better follower. In my upcoming sequel to "The Walking Leader" I have put together another 20 rules/guides/lessons to help Future Leaders become better followers.

Does this mean that I am answering the question? NO! It means that no matter who you are once you start on the path to becoming a leader you have to keep on that path. Along the way there are a few things to remember. Here are just five of them.

1. You Know Nothing

Sure you went to high school, college, vocational school,  grad school, and you have your education, congratulations but that is it. Unless you have worked at the organization before getting your education you walk into that company NOT knowing thing one about how that organization works. The company website, Facebook, twitter, and Instagram page tell you NOTHING about that company's culture, they may scratch the surface but it will never tell you the true nitty-gritty details. Others within the company can tell you but until you are knee deep in it, you know nothing.

2. Keep Your Mouth Shut

While you are learning how to fit into the corporate culture and how to do your job the company way my next lesson is for you to keep your mouth shut. Nothing sounds like nails scratching across a chalkboard more than hearing someone saying "back in school" or "back in basic training." Basic training or school is just that: school. You are there to learn the basics and that's it. You are there to learn the bare minimum. However, once you get to your first job or duty station (for those of you in the military) then it is the time to shut up and become a sponge. Soak up everything that your leaders, tenured staff, peers, and co-workers will to teach you. 

WORD OF ADVICE: If your new organization welcomes you aboard and then says get to work without so much as an orientation briefing, it is time to run to the hills.

3. Ask Questions 

Always ask questions! Ask questions, especially, when someone is teaching you something. Asking questions serves two purposes. First, asking questions ensures that you know and fully understand what is going on and what you will be held accountable for. Lastly, asking questions lets those that are teaching you know just how well you are grasping the training and just how well you will fit in within the organization.

4. Seek Out Mentors

Everyone needs a mentor or mentors. No matter where you go and what you do having a mentor to help and guide you in and outside the organization is always a great thing. One thing to remember, a mentor does NOT have to be your immediate supervisor. It does have to be someone you trust, you believe will be good for you, and will steer you in the right direction. 

WORD OF ADVICE: Do not select a mentor solely on the belief that their position or tenure with the company will skyrocket your career. If that's why you are doing this, STOP right now and move along nothing more for you to see or do here.

5. Have Fun

From the moment you set foot in the door filling that entry-level position to the moment you collect that gold watch and retire from the organization remember to do one thing: HAVE FUN!  If you are not having fun then why bother? Having fun as a follower will most certainly ensure that you will have fun as a leader. All the great leaders that I have known certainly liked to have their fun.

There they are, five simple lessons to take with you for your entire career. Don't forget to master them and then teach them to others (hint, that's the fun part).

Thank you,
David Guerra

P.S. I do invite you to join the conversation and tell me what you think about this post and all the others here on my blog.

I invite you to follow me on Twitter: @daveguerra  •  visit my website: www.daveguerra.com

To order your copy of The Walking Leader:  Amazon Paperback / Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble

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Blah, Blah, Blah + Static = Lack of Urgency

There comes a time in our lives when we see that not everything that others want us to see or wish for us to see is substantive but just a smoke screen.

It happens. 

In my opinion, this has been happening quite a bit lately. What I have seen is the continuing saga and drama of individuals that would rather deliver the same old song and dance instead of evolving to the next level, their next level of professionalism.

What I mean is they create the sense of urgency the same way they always have and fail to recognize that at some point there " urgency" becomes routine. It is that same sense of routine that others eventually stop giving any credibility to the individual. Think "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".

Then anything in the future becomes nothing but "blah, blah, blah" and that turns into STATIC.

It is that static that people eventually begin to ignore.  Then just like the boy, the person creating the "sense of urgency" no longer has any credibility nor is urgency applied when something real happens.

What then?

This is when those individuals that deliver that same "song and dance" must evolve and get away from that way of behaving.  Unfortunately, this will only happen when they have their back up against a wall and wolf is nipping at their heels. Is it too late?

Yes, when that time comes it is way too late! However, all is NOT lost.

Those individuals have to see the light before it becomes TOO LATE again.

If you are one of those individuals, please take this as a warning and not as static that you ignore now and later say to yourself, "If only I listened, then?"

Only you can save yourself.

Until Next Time,
David Guerra


 

Don't Forget The Front of the Boat

A few weeks ago, my daughter and I went on one of those Saltwater Fishing excursions out on the Gulf of Mexico. These fishing trips have become an annual event for her and me. Whether we catch fish or a cold or neither we always have a Great Time! We do some serious Daughter-Daddy bonding and this year was NO EXCEPTION.

However, isn't there always a HOWEVER when it comes to my posts?

I was left a little disappointed by the Customer Service/Business Side of the operation. The issue is that the Boat is a 50foot vessel. It has two decks but no one goes up there as all the fishing happens on first deck. The Wheel House is also on the second deck and it is big enough to hold the Captain and about three adults maximum.

Our first trip of the day was to take four (4) hours and it was going to be bay fishing at the Laguna Madre. Well we set sail at 8AM sharp and by 8:30 the hooks were in the water and the day was on. So Far So Good? Right?

Yes and No.

Yes, in that the day of fishing had begun. No in that there was a group of about eight individuals who were tying up the Captain and his crew at the back of the boat. Over the course of the next four hours, the Captain never once set foot to see how his passengers/customers/guests were doing at the front of the boat or the BOW in nautical terms. Yep, all the action was at the Stern and that's where they stayed. We did get a visit from the First Mate the ship's version of Gilligan or Little Buddy. He could not walk past us fast enough to get to the stern once again.

Seriously, Captain Lou (let's just call him Captain Lou) couldn't take five minutes from his busy schedule to ensure that everyone was SAFE, having a good time, or to do or say what he could to make certain we returned for more fun and fishing. For all we know Isaac the ship's bartender called in sick and Captain Lou was mixing Mai Tais on the Lido Deck while Gopher and Doc baited the hooks.


Aside from driving the boat to our next anchor point this guy must have spent more than 90% of his time and attention at the back of the boat. If memory serves me correct there were ten (10) of us on the Bow and there were about eight (8) fishing off the stern. I can't begin to stress enough just how much this guy was preoccupied with the back of the boat.

The time our Four Hour Tour had come to an end we managed to snag two trout, one catfish, and one complete Rod and Reel set  and that was sweet. My daughter somehow managed to snag it off the bottom of the bay and that was a good thing (see accompanying image).

As we made our way to get off the boat we had to go to the stern, there we finally got to see why Captain Lou and Gilligan were as giddy as little girls that they neglected their duties to their guests and possible paying customers. There was one individual, back there, who had one of those orange home improvement buckets FULL of fish. There were others who had stringers of fish. Well no wonder their experience was AWESOME! They were catching the fish.

I know, I know, some days you catch fish and some days you catch a cold. However, Captain Lou and his "little buddy" could have taken some time to talk to us and share their experiences on their waters and who knows we might not have had to stop, on the way home, for some "McFish."  Don't get me wrong we had a GREAT TIME!!! It was the customer attention that was lacking and that made my business interaction experience as EH....OK?

Let's break this down:

ONE BOAT + ONE CAPTAIN + ONE FIRST MATE + ALL PAID THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR THE TRIP = TWO DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES WERE RECEIVED
==========
!!!FOR PETE'S SAKE,  IT SHOULD NEVER EQUAL TWO DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES!!!


Less than half of the passengers got a Stellar Experience and will most certainly be returning for more fun with the Skipper and Little Buddy.

MORE THAN HALF got near bottom of the barrel experience and are most certainly entertaining the idea of finding a different boat and captain for any future fishing excursions. I know I will

Folks, it breaks down to this: When you have a captive audience you have to the your very best to that 100% get the Stellar Experience because short of being stuck up in a Ferris wheel all these people paid GOOD MONEY to spend time out on the water. For the feeling at the end of the morning, over 50% might as well have been stuck up in the Ferris wheel. So don't forget that aside from an engine and wheel house, a boat has a Bow, a Stern, a Port, Starboard side and sometime people have business to conduct on that boat. Take care of everyone and not just the ones that are making you look good.

Thank you,
Dave Guerra

P.S. I do invite you to join the conversation and tell me what you are thinking.

As always you can read this blog post in its original location at http://daveguerra.blogspot.com

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What is Great Content? Is It In The Eye Of The Beholder?

Last week, I was watching a "noted" author on SPREECAST.com talk about his soon to be released book. If you have ever seen any video presentation on SPREECAST you know that to the right of the video feed is a real time chat stream.

During that session, there was one individual, who later was revealed to be actively associated with this "noted" author, that posted on that chat stream: "We don't need more content, we need more GREAT content."

I responded, "[Name] all content is great. Remember "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Then who I will call the author's alleged "ringer" responded "Dave, couldn't disagree more. Not all content is great."

I opted not to respond because I was not going to dive into a flame war with this guy.


However, seeing as how this is my forum, my soapbox if you will, then I will continue the monologue here.

As the Spreecast ended I was still not satisfied that I decided not to go down that road with the "ringer" that was recognized by the author. However, I am not satisfied. I am not satisfied that I never asked the question: What is "great content"? 

Who sets the standard for "Great Content"? I guarantee it is NOT this "noted" author and MOST CERTAINLY not the alleged ringer, not you and DEFINITELY not me.

That's why I stand by my statement of beauty being in the eye of the beholder. I guess this individual could not see that "GREAT" is subjective and comes in many shapes and sizes.

So long as CONTENT gets out it will be great to someone! Then again someone will consider the content completely worthless.


It just hit me, the alleged "ringer" didn't also take into consideration that one day after the "noted" author's latest book is published there will be people that will consider the book a load of bunk and NOT chock full of "GREAT" Content.

So I say again: Beauty (and Great Content) is in the Eye of the Beholder.

Maybe he'll get it one day? I highly doubt it.


Thank you,
Dave Guerra

P.S. I do invite you to join the conversation and tell me what you are thinking.

As always you can read this blog post in its original location at http://daveguerra.blogspot.com

Here are some Technorati Tags: • 100 Ways • Content • Eye of the beholder • Author • Subjective Interpretations • Who sets the standard? • Dave Guerra • Leadership • Leading • Leadership Development • Professional Development • Lead, Follow, or Get out of the way • Ready, Fire, Aim! • If it ain't broke, break it. • Hire Crazies • Ask dumb questions • Pursue failure • Spread Confusion • Ditch Your Office • Read Odd Stuff • Avoid Moderation • Higher, Admire, Desire, Require, Satire, Inquire, On Fire, All Possible Scenarios • Give to the American Red Cross • Hire A Hero

105. About Plans (part II: ideas)

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Ideas must work through the brains and the arms of good brave men, or they are no better than dreams."

All plans are born from ideas. Ideas, in most cast cases, come to the mind as a result of addressing a need, an injustice, or just to make life a little easier. No matter what the reason, all plans come from ideas. You could say that a plan is an idea that has been defined to laser sharp focus and then made real once it is on paper.

On paper, an idea becomes real. It becomes tangible. Then and only then is the idea, now the plan, truly ready to be executed (acted on).

Work your idea, turn it into a plan, and make it happen.


Thank you,
Dave Guerra


Here are some Technorati Tags: • 100 Days, 100 Ways • ideas • focus • tangible • common sense • make it happen • Dave Guerra • Leadership • Leading • Leadership Development • Professional Development • Lead, Follow, or Get out of the way • Ready, Fire, Aim! • If it ain't broke, break it. • Hire Crazies • Ask dumb questions • Pursue failure • Spread Confusion • Ditch Your Office • Read Odd Stuff • Avoid Moderation • Higher, Admire, Desire, Require, Satire, Inquire, On Fire, All Possible Scenarios • Give to the American Red Cross • Hire A Hero

Trump Traits

A couple of months ago a blog post titled "Rhythm is the Power" was about what Joseph Jaffe, Duran Duran and Donald Trump have in common. This week I was cleaning out the TIVO and ran across an episode of the CNBC's The Millionaire Inside with Donald Trump as the only guest. In the episode he mentioned key points that were critical to what he saw as success.

Now we can all sit here and say "Well, he can afford to follow the traits because he has millions to fall back on should something go wrong." While that may be true, you and I cannot let that kind of thinking hold us back. If we cannot totally wrap ourselves around these "Trump Traits" then we are doomed to "working for the man" until we retire believing that spending more hours in office will define our legacy. I personally do not see my legacy as a plaque on a desk that reads "Dave sat here for 20 years, did his job, and never asked for a new chair."

I see my legacy as one that my children and their children will pass on to their kids. So as I watched that episode of Millionaire Inside nee Billionaire Inside, the things that he talked about were concepts and ideas that are rooted in common sense. Just like Tom Peters, Dr. Stephen Covey, and others like them, teach the use of common sense is the prime factor for success. No need to get fancy and paint a pretty "touchy, feely" picture of success because they don't work unless of course, the picture is painted on a canvas based on common sense. So as the show progressed it was interesting to see that as The Donald got into talking about the path to his success he kept underscoring (albeit covertly) the role common sense played in his success. While I am not saying anything new, I am saying what others, to include Trump, have said over and over again.

Therefore, for many of us, we now have to ask; How long will it take to ensure that these "Trump Traits" sink into our thick noggins? How often do we have to be told these things? Then how long before we make that change? The answer my friends is real simple: AS LONG AND AS OFTEN AS IT TAKES.

Here are the Trump Traits as mentioned in the CNBC series: The Millionaire Inside

• Find Your Passion
• Be Tenacious
• Don't Fear Risk
• Revenge Can Be Good (don't take crap from people)
  
• Know Your Subject
• Negotiate Face to Face
• Build Your Brand (by being persistent)
  
• Get in the game (Real Estate...hmmmm)
  
• Think Globally (the world is truly flat)
• Negotiate a new deal
• Have a killer idea
• Implement your idea well
• Have Confidence
• Never Lose Focus

Each one of these traits has had volumes written about them. So I will not get too much into them now but I will revisit them from time to time. However, between now and then I invite you to think about this list and see how they apply to you and your situation. Also, figure out how by applying the traits you can create a legacy that can be passed along to future generations.

tags:
Dave Guerra, Donald Trump, Leadership, Legacy, Success, Entrepreneurship, Common Sense, Trump, CNBC