It doesn’t take an audience of hundreds at our beckon call to be a great leader. Sometimes it happens in the simplest and most humble surroundings. And in the case of this touching video it happens when a father decides to magnify his most important calling – fatherhood. It’s a labor of love that will affect you and make you want to do better as a human being. That’s the leadership piece.
I started asking myself one question at the end of each day. If I had a heart attack and could only work two hours a day due to doctor’s orders, what would I focus those two hours on? This is an amazing question to ask.
This last week I learned a great deal about being more productive. During a typical day most of us are fairly unproductive, right? Be honest now. We could probably stay focused and work a half a day and spend the other half doing something besides trying to convince ourselves we worked a whole day. But chats in the hall and office, internet excursions, trips to the copier making sure we walk by the bosses office so he or she can see we are busy, e-mail etc… can make for non productive moments and some times days. Be honest now…
I have seen this with teams that I have developed over the years. The leader with good intentions decides that he or she will begin to introduce competition among the team. So individual productivity based rewards are introduced to the team based as a way to drum up “healthy” competition. What the leader gets instead are team members not willing to give help, ask for help, provide best practices etc… Much like many of the team based reality games on television today like the “Biggest Loser” or “Survivor” team members will turn on teammates if it means they might win the game.
I am currently reading “In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules” by Stacy Perman. It is an interesting story of one of the most successful fast food chains ever. What is it about In-N-Out Burger that has led to its huge success?
