The brief video below is one of my favorites. Don’t be afraid to be first regardless of how you might be judged. The person who goes first becomes the leader and a leader can start a movement.
Book Review: Boundaries for Leaders
July 1, 2013 By
Boundaries For Leaders by Dr. Henry Cloud is the second of Dr. Cloud’s books that I have had the pleasure of reading. It is clear, concise and if you take the steps outlined you can make dramatic changes your in your life at home and at work.
From the press release: “In Boundaries for Leaders, clinical psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Henry Cloud leverages his expertise of human behavior, neuroscience, and business leadership to explain how the best leaders set boundaries within their organizations–with their teams and with themselves–to improve performance and increase employee and customer satisfaction.”
I honestly think this book could change an entire company for the better. With over a decade of experience with a 300+ person business location I can tell you that I have seen many of these principles work in person. I do not think it matters whether you have 5 or 500 on your team this book will help you lead better, build culture, and keep the negativity and energy draining annoyances at bay.
I highly recommend reading this book and absorbing what is taught. While it did start out a bit slow for me it quickly picked up in Dr. Cloud’s style. You can’t go wrong here – pick it up and be “ridiculously in charge.”
If you would like to get other points of view or purchase the book you can do so on Amazon.
*Note: I received a copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review.*
I Dare You
May 22, 2013 By
Professional wrestler Jason Kincaid on top of the world doing a handstand overlooking a deep gorge. Photo by Will Trotter. Used with permission.
This week I wanted to share a small piece from the book “I Dare You” by William H. Danforth. I hope it means something to you.
I loved it the first time I heard these lines. We were digging through a bin of books and came across a small leather-bound red one with “I Dare You” in silver ink on the cover. I dare you, after reading this, to go do amazing things for other people.
I DARE YOU!
IT IS DIFFICULT to put a challenge on paper. I would rather look you straight in the eye and say, “I dare you!” In my mind that’s exactly what I am doing. I am on one side of a table. You are on the other. I am looking across and saying “I dare you!”
I Dare You, young man, you who come from a home of poverty—I dare you to have the qualities of a Lincoln.
I Dare You, heir of wealth and proud ancestry, with your generations of worthy stock, your traditions of leadership—I dare you to achieve something that will make the future point to you with even more pride than the present is pointing to those who have gone before you.
I Dare You, young mother, to make your life a masterpiece upon which that little family of yours can build. Strong women bring forth strong men.
I Dare You. boys and girls, to make life obey you, not you it. It is only a shallow dare to do the foolish things. I dare you to do the uplifting, courageous things.
I Dare You, young executive, to shoulder more responsibility joyously, to launch out into the deep, to build magnificently.
I Dare You, young author, to win the Nobel prize.
I Dare You, young researcher, to become a Microbe Hunter.
I Dare You, boy on the farm, to become a Master Farmer—A Hunger Fighter.
I Dare You, man of affairs, to have a “Magnificent Obsession.”
I Dare You, Grandfather, with your roots deep in the soil and your head above the crowd, catching the rays of the sun, to plan a daring program to crown the years of your life.
I Dare You, who think life is humdrum, to become involved. I dare you who are weak to be strong; you who are dull to be sparkling; you who are slaves to be kings.
I Dare You, whoever you are, to share with others the fruits of your daring. Catch a passion for helping others and a richer life will come back to you!
William H Danforth
Go First
May 15, 2013 By
On a recent EntreLeadership Podcast Jon Acuff mentioned something I really liked and wanted to share. He mentioned that as a leader you need to take the first step and allow everyone else to go second. Why? Because it is easier to go second and more people will follow.
This is something all leaders need to understand. To get people to follow you have to go first (sounds obvious, right?). But so many “leaders” want to tell people where to go instead of leading them where to go. People are more likely to follow your actions.
Imagine working in a fast food business and you see your manager empty the trash every night while you are doing the final cleaning. He doesn’t call attention to it but you notice that he is doing it. One night he is swamped with office work and without considering anything you simply go and take out the trash without being asked. Why did you do this? Some will answer because it is their job. I expect many others will say it is because their LEADER does it all the time they were willing to help him out without being asked.
There was an excellent TED Talk by Derek Sivers on “How to Start a Movement” where one person is in a park and starts dancing (the leader) which made it easier for a second person, then more, and more, and more until they had a group. The hardest thing was not the dancing but being the first one to dance.
If you want to be a leader then do it first.
Learn More By Leading A Group
February 27, 2012 By
Has there ever been something you wanted to learn but you do not find it easy to learn out of a book? Try leading/facilitating a training session or group discussion and learn along with the rest of the group!
In December of 2010 I ordered and blasted through “The Total Money Makeover” and I wanted to learn more. I found out Dave Ramsey has a class called Financial Peace University and was amped to take it. I lucked out and was able to put together a class with a lot of help from my friend Andy which allowed my to not only participate by to facilitate. This allowed me to learn a lot more and forced me to put more effort into it. I also learned how to be a better facilitator next time.
I was speaking to Dallas Page a couple of weeks ago and we were talking about the benefits of TeamDDPYoga which is a group site dedicated to his workout program and he discussed the importance of having this extra support. He said when he was teaching at the Power Plant (a former professional wrestling school) that he learned so much more and got better the more he helped other people in his group.
Next time you are wanting to learn something or you are passionate about a subject find a way you can help teach it in a group setting. It will make you better, learn more, and hopefully make the lives of those you are teaching better. What can be better than that?
Photo Credit: Michael Coghlan
