Tasks Vs Vision

Tasks Vs Vision

“Share with people the wonders of the ocean, they will build the boat.”

As leaders we are often time conscious and project driven. We delegate responsibilities to our team members, we assign specific tasks to those we know we can count on and we recognize that we are the ultimately responsible for the quality of their work.

What if we coupled inspiration with delegation? What if we shared our reasoning along with assignments? What if we tied the smallest duties to mission, every task to vision and …

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Recovery

Recovery

I invested 9.5 years of my life in East Africa. I lead teams to build the first permanent building on the Bavuma Island of Lake Victoria, Uganda, East Africa. I have shared leadership across the globe with John Maxwell’s EQUIP and I am the better for it. I have seen my share of water crisis in and throughout East Africa, never did I believe such a crisis would emerge in the USA, let alone in Flint, Michigan.

Tonight I listened to a leader who with a …

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The Price, Cost and Worth of Leadership

The Price, Cost and Worth of Leadership

The Price, Cost and Worth of Leadership. The answer to these 3 questions may determine your opportunities, future and effectiveness as a leader.

What is the price of leadership? The most common price associated with leadership is criticism. If you are the leader, then you are an easy target. Leaders are out-front because they see better, before and beyond the rest of us. When you are In front, you become not only an easy target but in many cases, the first casualty. I am convinced to lead effectively …

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Levels of Leadership

Levels of Leadership

John Maxwell has written to us about the 5 levels of leadership in one of his more recent books. The 5 Levels speech is by far one his most popular speeches as he shared in such prestigious leadership venues as West Point and many Fortune 500 companies.

The levels of Leadership are: Position, Permission, Production, People Development and Personhood are all straightforward concepts. These levels each involve rights, relationships, results, reproduction and respect.

Straightforward, simple concepts however, that does not make them anything less than complex. John …

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The Compass and the Clock

The Compass and the Clock

I just took possession of a new vehicle and I am thrilled with all the vehicle can do. The bluetooth interface with my iPhone is really amazing and fun. I downloaded the OnStar app and I can lock, unlock and start the vehicle all from my phone. I really like it.

Another feature involves directions and the map. Again I use the app and it sends the destination and route to the vehicle and it gives me turn by turn directions. The soft voice offers me …

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The Law of the Harvest

The Law of the Harvest

How many seconds are on your microwave right now? Mine has 3 seconds displaying on the panel. It is because I can’t wait until it ‘dings’. Seemingly, my ability to ‘wait’ is not very good.

I read recently where marketing research indicates that the attention span for an American adult is slightly over 9 seconds. Yes, I wrote ‘seconds’.

Now that spring time as arrived I see farmers beginning to work in preparation of planting and later this year the harvest. What does this process have to …

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Influence Never Dies

Influence Never Dies

Oswald Sanders defined leadership as influence, nothing more and nothing less. I agree, we are all influencers. We impact people to varying degrees and levels but influencers, therefore leaders defines us all. Sociologists support this idea with a study indicating the shyest person among us will influence approximately 10,000 people during their lifetime.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, the renowned America author, who among other works penned the Great Gatsby. I assume this is still required reading among High School students today and was recently popularized as a …

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Discovering the Promise of Purpose

Discovering the Promise of Purpose

I guess like the majority of people when I was younger, I undervalued the promise of purpose. Thomas Carlyle said, “A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder.” I think this was me. I was adrift, not truly understanding that life is short. In fact, I did not think about life at all. I failed to realize not only the brevity of life, but I missed the entire concept of no mulligans or ‘do-overs’. I was driven, motivated and wanted to …

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Discovering Purpose

Discovering Purpose

Each of us are given only one handful of life. Just one. Unfortunately, in this life, there are no ‘do-overs’ or mulligans. We get only one chance to be a 25 year old or a 55 year old, we do not get to go back and redo any of our years. One problem with this arrangement is we live life moving forward but understand it looking backwards. George Bernard Shaw remarked succinctly that ‘youth is wasted on the young.’ Perhaps not as eloquently the mega …

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Time

Time

This past weekend I was sitting on the boat in the middle of a beautiful lake and someone cued some music and before long, some classic rock and roll started to play. It wasn’t long before Pink Floyd arrived and the song “Time” started and all of sudden I was reflecting on my life. Triumphs, shortfalls, miscues, victories, memories – some easily remembered others to painful to forget and I was totally mesmerized by the song. You can listen to this classic rock ballad here: …

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