The Art of War… and Leadership

January 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The Art of War has been regarded as THE book on strategy of the last century. The U.S. Marine Corps actually recommends the small book as part of its Professional ReadingProgram for the rank of Captain and above. This book is also a must read for any decision maker in the business world. Forbes recently published an article with some of the top leadership lessons to take away from the book, here are some of my favorites.

Lesson #1 Don’t Underestimate Your Importance As A Leader

commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage, and strictness. (Chapter I, 9)

You should feel the weight of the responsibility that comes with leadership. Every leader is responsible for setting the highest standards of which anyone on your team can aspire to live/work by.

The principle on which to manage an army is to set up a standard of courage which all must reach. (XI, 32)

Lesson #2 Know The Difference Between Authority and Power

The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger. (I, 5-6)

The need for power suggests that you’ve already lost your authority. Your team should follow you without needing fear as a motivator. That doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t respect the authority you do have.

Lesson #3 Pause, Think, Act Decisively

Though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been associated with long delays. There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. (II)

The basic lesson is to not act without putting thought into your decision, but to not wait so long that you miss the opportunity. Your team is relying on you to make those decisions when they need to be made. Missed opportunities lead to a loss of faith in your ability to lead.

Lesson #4 Adapt

by attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier’s minds. (III, 14)

Don’t use the “Scratch it Till It Bleeds” technique. Adapt to your circumstances. This includes the environment, the people you’re working with and the final goal you hope to achieve.  The methods to use to manage your sales team might not work for your marketing department.

Have you read The Art Of War? Leave your thoughts in the comment box below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Filed Under: Business Leaders, Leadership, Leadership and Trust, Leadership Lessons, The Art of War Tagged With: , , , , ,

7 Habits of Highly Ineffective People [Infographic]

June 13, 2012 By 1 Comment

This infographic is made especially for all the bosses out there. Nobody expects you to be perfect, but they do expect you to do your best. To honestly do that, you need to identify your weaknesses and do whatever you can to improve upon them. This infographic does a great job of pointing out some of the easiest errors to make as a leader, and it tells you how to stop making them.

Have you ever had a boss who had one or some of these habits? Share in the comment box below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Filed Under: Business Leaders, Business Tips, Infographics, Leadership, Leadership and Trust, Leadership Lessons Tagged With: , , , , ,

The 15 Richest People…In Fiction

April 23, 2012 By 1 Comment

Forbes was kind enough to do the ‘research’ and provide the list of the richest characters in fiction. Don’t assume that they are just picking these characters at random, they actually crunch the numbers. They did the math on everything from the Dragon Smog’s treasure stash (The Hobbit) to Forest Gump’s shares in Apple. I thought this would be a fun way to start the week off. Enjoy!

Who do you think should be on the list? Share in the comment box below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Filed Under: Being Awesome, Business, Business Leaders, Running a Business Tagged With: , , , , ,

How To Be An Incredible Boss

March 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

You’re a leader. You lead your employees and you lead your company. That being said, you probably want to make sure you’re leading them in the right direction and in the best way possible. You want to inspire the people who work for you to create their best work and you want to make the decisions that keep your company growing.  Here are a few things to do to make sure you are an incredible boss.

1. Develop Each And Every Employee

Without great employees you’re essentially running a one-person show. Take the time to really train and develop your team so that they are all confident in what they’re doing and so they know how to bring their own talents to the table. Instead of focusing on results, focus on development and the results will follow.

2. Deal With Problems ASAP

Putting off problems is a great way to tell your employees that you don’t have time for them. It’s also a great way to kill morale. Put the time in immediately to prevent any negative feelings and results from backing up. Never hope a problem will just magically go away or that someone else will deal with it. Face it head on and take care of business.

3. Don’t Be Selfish

The best leaders are also servants. Don’t ever make it all about you. When you are congratulating your employees, leave the  part you played out of it. Never do or say anything that puts you in the spotlight. When you go above and beyond,  you’re doing your job. Don’t look for extra attention. When your employees go above and beyond they deserve some recognition, especially from you.

Read More Here.

What do you think makes a great boss? Share in the comment box below or on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Filed Under: Be A Better Boss, Business Leaders, Leadership, Leadership Lessons Tagged With: , , , ,

How To Re-Focus… Yourself

February 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Even the most productive and focussed people will occasionally find them selves staring at a blank wall. It might just be “one of those days”, but if it starts to happen repeatedly you might have to consider that there’s a bigger problem.

You’ve Lost Your Focus

You don’t really feel like doing anything and you can’t keep track of what you actually convince yourself to do. You start asking ‘Why?’ without ever really looking for an answer. Well don’t worry, it happens. Luckily there are a few things you can do to re-focus your mind and your attitude.

1. Set Your Priorities Straight

When you feel like you have too much to do, you end up not wanting to do anything. Set your priorities so you have a clear vision of what needs to get done now. This way your to-do list is a little smaller and more focussed. Also keep a list of things you will want to be thinking about or working on in the future. This way you will be aware of your future endeavors and also have a list of things to work on when you just don’t feel like focusing on the tasked at hand. This way your focused on something that needs to be done rather than nothing.

2. Seek Silence

If you’re becoming more easily distracted, get rid of the distractions. Invest in a pair of headphones that block out all the noise. Keep your cell phone out of sight and only open your e-mail 1-3 times a day. If none of that helps, leave your phone at home and work from a remote location that you are unfamiliar with and try facing a wall.

3. Relax A Bit

When you’re relaxed you will be able to look at the big picture instead of just looking forward. You will be able to observe what’s working and what’s not which will give you the direction and focus to get more done. Being relaxed also helps you get in “the zone”. You are calm enough to organize your thoughts and goals and then strategically approach all of them.

Find more tips to focus here. 

What helps you focus? Share in the comment box below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Filed Under: Advice, Being Excellent, Business, Business Leaders, Focus, Motivating Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Recruiting Only The Best

February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Just because someone is capable of doing the job that needs done, doesn’t mean that they are the right person for the job. Your company is only as good as the people who represent it so it’s incredibly important to hire the right people. You need to consider the X Factor for every person you consider hiring. Are they a fit for our culture? Are they going to help motivate the rest of the team? Keith Cline is the founder of successful recruiting firm Dissero. In this video he shares some of the most important thoughts and steps to have and take before hiring someone to join your team.

 

What do you think about before you hire a new addition to your team? Share in the comment box below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Filed Under: Business Leaders, Hiring, Hiring Talent, Managing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Picasso Of Business

January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

This is the title that Forbes gave to Napster founder and part owner of Facebook Sean Parker. Watch the video below to see why Forbes estimated his worth at $2.1 billion.

 Share in the comment box below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Filed Under: Business, Business Leaders, How to Be More Innovative, Innovation Tips, Running a Business, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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