I have been saying it for years, but it is nice to see mainstream media recognize the incredible leaders of the Team.  Thanks to the efforts of so many individuals sharing the Launching a Leadership Revolution by word of mouth the book hit Number 1 on the USA Today Money List last week.  Here is a cache shot.  I can't find the archive page. (Ok so I am internet challenged!) I am so proud of everyone for doing their personal best.  My lifelong goal is to repay this debt of gratitude with my personal best effort as a leader and mentor.  Chris and I salute all of you! God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas had a series of debates during the senatorial elections of Illinois in 1858.  These debates were extremely popular and catapulted Abraham Lincoln into a national level politician.  He may have lost the battle for senator, but he won the war of ideas and was elected president in 1860.  There were many subjects up for debate, but let me discuss the main issues of slavery and popular government.  Author David Donald wrote an excellent book called Lincoln.   Let’s start with quoting for Donald’s book.

One way to formulate that difference was to see Douglas as the advocate of majority rule and Lincoln as the defender of minority rights.  In Douglas view there were virtually no limits on what the majority of the people of a state or a territory could do—including, if they so chose, holding black-skinned inhabitants in slavery.  While Lincoln also valued self-government and would make no attempt to end diversity on, say, cranberry laws in Indiana and Illinois, he felt passionately that no majority should have the power to limit the most fundamental rights of a minority to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

This is a powerful paragraph and filled with meaning that has importance in the modern world.  Stephen Douglas was arguing from the law of the land and holding as his highest principle the right of people to vote in a government of their choice.  Abraham Lincoln believed in this principle, but held a higher principle.  The higher principle was tied back to his Biblical beliefs that all men were created equal before an Almighty God.  This is the essence of wisdom—to build a hierarchy of beliefs for which you stand.  All beliefs cannot be equal.  For example, I believe in representative government and the rights for people to vote for their representatives.  But if the people voted by a 51% margin to perform euthanasia on anyone over 80 to reduce taxes should we go along with this?  If we objected, by what principle would we object?  Lincoln objected to the law of the land by a higher law, an absolute law derived from Biblical teaching.   In our government, one person with the truth can back down a majority.  Majorities can be wrong and we must follow the rule of law if it conflicts with the law of the land. 

What makes the Civil War so tragic to me is good people on both sides, neglected higher principles and attempted to settle the dispute on lower principles.  I believe the person who throws the first punch has shifted from reason to emotion.  As a country we must let reason and let principles rule our choices.   Both Lincoln and Douglas were holding on to different aspects of truth.  Lincoln had a higher truth and if reasonable men would have discussed the issues, a Civil War could have been avoided.  Instead passion ruled the day and honorable men and women on both sides were hurt.  Both sides used force to settle the discussion and force is a terrible principle to use to settle a disagreement.  Douglas used reason, but had a myopic vision of the world as it was.  Lincoln used reason, but with a larger vision, he saw the world of absolutes and the hierarchy of principles.  The mass of people used passion and war resulted with terrible losses for everyone.  Every truly great leader must be a person of principle.  They must be willing to go against the majority, company, state or even country if the majority is violating an absolute principle.  Lincoln was great leader and had both sides come to the table and reasoned together the posterity of many men and women would be alive today. 

Do you believe there are absolutes even above majority rule?  If you do, where did you get those absolutes?  Every country must have a rule of law that the people agree to or chaos will ensue.  If the majority of you club, organization, state, or country are going against the absolute principles—will you make a stand?  Lincoln made a stand and history remembers him.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Calling all leaders.  I would like to take ya'll out fishing and catch a jack crevalle (Small, Large, or Biggie Size) or any other of the numerous types of fish just waiting for us!  Hey, I don't write on this blog and mentor people all the time!  Laurie and I enjoy having leaders come down to spend a couple of days at the property.  When are you coming to Florida??

God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Legal Disclaimer: All fish were caught and released.  No one can guarantee you will catch as big a fish.  We hope, however; that the techniques and approaches the author teaches you will assist you in catching your own very large jack crevalle. :)

This is the second part of young Patrick Henry's courageous stand for truth against the tyranny of the British King George the Third.  What will Patrick Henry do?  Will he stand for what he knows is right or bow to the older members? The older House members fear the King and are not representing the people they are under oath to represent.  The House of Burgess began its session and by all indications it would be a few days of closing up previously discussed items.  The monotonous proceedings clipped along until someone made a proposal to review all the actions the House had done in protest against the notorious Stamp Acts and consider any further steps that could be taken to convey their displeasure with the tyrannical actions of King George.  Patrick Henry stood up in the opening debates with 7 resolutions he had written out on a blank page of an old law book.  He drew the page from his pocket and began to read the resolutions.  (I will paraphrase and abridge the resolutions.)

1. Resolved: That subjects of his Majesty’s colony have all privileges, franchises, and immunities (rights) enjoyed by the people in Great Britain.
2. Resolved: These rights have been confirmed by two royal charters.
3. Resolved: The taxation of the people by themselves or by a person representing them is the distinguishing mark of British freedoms.
4. Resolved: The Virginians have always been thus governed by their own Assemblies in the areas of taxes and internal policy.

By this point the conservative Tory members of the House were getting nervous.  No one could argue with Patrick Henry’s logic or the correctness of his points.  But they did not like the tone or the direction that Patrick was heading with his reasoning.   In 1765, subjects did not talk like this against the King’s proclamations.  Patrick Henry knew there were principles stronger than the King’s commands.  Conservatives attempted to close the debate by saying they should wait until they heard from the British Ministry and Lord George Grenville on their earlier protest letter.  (In fact, they never heard from Lord Grenville, author of the Stamp Act as he scarcely glanced at the protest before dumping letter into wastebasket.)  After much discussion, Patrick’s first 4 resolutions were adopted by the slimmest of margins.  Patrick Henry did not sit down and what happened next was a major force that changed the thinking of the colonies and forged the unity which led to the United States of America.  The conservatives’ worst fears were being realized. 

5. Resolved: That the General Assembly have the exclusive right and power to lay taxes on the subjects of the colony.
6. Resolved: That the subjects of this colony are not bound to obey any law designed to impose taxes upon them—other than the laws and ordinances from the General Assembly.
7. Resolved: Anyone maintaining a contrary opinion to this either in writing or speaking shall be considered an enemy to the Virginian Colony.

This was a new and bold innovation in the colonies.  Although the Virginian colony enjoyed incredible freedom from British Parliament, it was more from neglect than by design.  The British had left the Colonist alone and their freedoms had thrived.  Now with the British desire for money and power they began to tax and regulate the colonist freedoms away.  Patrick Henry would not take this sitting down.  The fifth resolution passed by one vote, but the 6^th and 7^th caused an uproar amongst the members.   Members attempted to shout down the 29 year old Patrick Henry.   Patrick stood his ground and spoke with the eloquence of a backwoods Demosthenes. 

“Tarquin and Caesar had each his Brutus, Charles the First, his Cromwell; and George the third…..”

“Treason!” cried by Speaker of the House.  Numerous members of the House followed the Speaker in castigating the young leader.  Patrick patiently waited for the fury to subside and continued.

“……and George the Third may profit from their example.  If that be treason, make the most of it.”

The House appeared to accept all 7 resolutions, but the next day the inflammatory 6th and 7th were rejected by the more conservative majority in the House of Burgess.  On the following day the 5^th resolution was rejected also.  Even with this setback the die was cast.  The political foundations of the Virginian conservative order was cracked and soon to be broken.  Copies of all 7 resolutions were sent to the other colonies and the ideas that would lead to the Revolutionary War were disseminated into the leading minds of the colonies.  Here was the spark that lit the flame inside of the Revolutionary leaders burning for independence.  Let me quote from George Willison’s excellent biography again:

If Virginia—the oldest, largest, richest, and traditionally the most loyal and royalist of the colonies—was prepared to take the lead in resisting British “tyranny”, why should her sister colonies hesitate to follow?  The answer was: They shouldn’t.  And they began organizing associations to boycott British goods and take other measure to force repeal the Stamp Tax. . . . . . . . . . .

Years later, when assessing the relative influence of American leaders on the eve of Independence, it was Jefferson, always in the vanguard himself, who said of Henry: “He left all of us far behind . . . . He gave the first impulse to the ball of Revolution . . . . He was the idol of the country beyond anyone that ever lived.”

Can one man with courage and convictions make a difference?  In my reading of the Revolutionary War, I believe this single event was the catalyst that united Massachusetts and Virginia together.  This unity created leadership teams across all colonies that formed together to resist the tyranny of the British tyranny.  I can only imagine the amount of courage it took for a 29 year old country lawyer to stand up in front of the wealthy Virginia aristocracy and speak the truth.  Where would you have stood in the Virginia House of Burgess?  Would you have rationalized the wrongs for your own personal peace and affluence?  Or would you have stood with the truth and young Patrick Henry.  Perhaps you will have an opportunity in your life to test your courage.  When you need courage, reflect back to the young lawyer from Virginia who stood up to the English empire and sparked a revolution.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

“Give me liberty or give me death!” proclaimed Patrick Henry in his most memorable phrase.  Patrick Henry was acknowledged to be the best public speaker of all the revolutionary war leaders.  After reading George Willison’s excellent biography on Patrick Henry, I realized this was not his most influential act as a leader.  There is a story from history that needs to be remembered as an example of a man and his principles.  On May 29, 1765 a young 29 year old Patrick Henry walked into the Hall of the House of Burgesses.  Only 39 of the 116 members were in the hall as many had left assuming nothing great would be accomplished in the last few days of the session.  In hindsight, nothing could have been further from the facts. 

The explosion of truth and courage displayed by Patrick Henry on this day would reverberate throughout the known world.  More evidence that individual moral acts matter in God’s eyes.  England had recently passed the infamous Stamp Act and Virginia leaders were upset at the obvious power play by the English leaders.  Virginia had always appropriated the taxes and “tyranny” was frowned upon by these freedom loving people.    As Thomas Jefferson was later to say, “The power to tax is the power to destroy.”   A direct tax on the people was a new policy employed by the British.  Virginians believed it violated their rights and privileges they had enjoyed since the founding of the colony.  Although many members of the House were speaking behind the scenes—no one seemed to have the courage to go public with the complaints the Virginians had with the English taxes.   In walked Patrick Henry to fill that leadership gap and expose the hypocrisy of the English position. 

The more conservative members of the house agreed the Stamp Act was wrong in policy and in implementation, but stressed an obeisance tone to the English leaders.  Patrick Henry believed if Virginia had constitutional and inalienable rights then let’s assert those rights—not grovel for them on bended knee at the whim of King George.  Let me quote directly from Mr. Willison’s book:

In pioneer communities where people lived by hard toil and most men were their own masters, a new equalitarian society was evolving—one in which there were no marked distinctions in wealth and social status.  Depending on his energy and abilities, one man was as good as the other, and none was disposed to bow to the pretensions and obiter dicta of their self styled “betters.”

I translate this to mean, “When you are right you better stand, because to not stand for truth does not make you a peacemaker, but a coward."  The Henry family had not raised a coward and he believed strongly in his God given rights.

I will continue this historical essay tomorrow.  Here are some questions to ponder before tomorrow’s leadership lesson.  If you were part of the House and saw the English trouncing on the liberties of the colonies what would you do?  Would you gripe behind the scenes and complain about those silly Englishmen and yet do nothing when you have a chance to speak in public?  Too many would be leaders know what is right, but they lack the character to stand for truth when they believe it may hurt.  What kind of leadership ducks and runs the moment things get tough?   What do you think Patrick Henry will do when he has his moment to speak to the House of Burgess?   History is so fascinating to me because you can learn from the moral stands made or not made.  Where would our land be today had we not had a group willing to stand for truth regardless of the personal cost?  You must use your own moral imagination to place yourself as a member of the House of Burgess and determine where you would be in the early conflict that set off the Revolutionary War.   History remembers the names of the courageous few who stood for truth and relegates to the dustbin of history the cowardice majority who fawn obedience to policies they know to be wrong.   Tomorrow we will learn what a courageous leader does when confronted with truth and tyranny.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

I have been teaching for the last few years a simple (but not easy) technique to create change in your life and business.  It is a process I originally read as an engineer called the Deming Cycle.  Edward Deming was a professor and statistics guru who went to Japan and helped rebuild their manufacturing after WWII.   His original cycle was Plan, Do, Check & Act.  After working for a couple of months on how to teach this concept to developing leaders I made one subtle change.  I like (PDCA) - Plan, Do, Check and Adjust.  With this simple process you can identify any area of life you wish to improve and develop a plan to create the change.  Check your results and adjust where necessary to accomplish the plan.  Anything from losing weight, improving sales, improving relationships, speaking ability etc.—can be run through this process.  In my opinion, this is the single biggest tool to change the results you are currently obtaining in life.  This tool is will produce similar increases in personal effectiveness as the change from horses to automobiles did in travel effectiveness.  In fact, I believe that every great achiever in all areas, sports, business, faith, etc. use some type of feedback loop for personal and professional improvement.  I salute Tim Marks with this post.  In all my years of mentoring leaders, I have never met anyone better than Tim at confronting the issues and making the proper changes to improve.  Thank you Tim Marks for your inspiring example.  Let’s break down each step:

1. Plan – “Those who fail to plan are planning to fail.”  You must have a plan to accomplish practically anything in a positive direction.  It has been said, “Any dead fish can float downstream, but it takes a live one to swim against the current!”  To be a live fish you must have a plan; otherwise, you are floating downstream. 
2. Do – “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”   Many would be leaders were planning on doing something great, but never got around to it.  One of my favorite quotes is, “When all is said and done, much more is said than ever done.”  The best plan in the world won’t accomplish anything unless it is implemented.  Develop the plan and then have the courage to begin.  A job well begun is half done!
3. Check –Many people fail at this point.  They set a plan and begin the work, but never check to see if the plan is moving them in the right direction.  Life is more like taking a canoe down a river.  There are many course corrections along the way.   Factors like the river current, obstacles in the water, and bends and turns will make you constantly seeking feedback.  Without feedback you will run ashore and wonder why the plan didn’t work.  By checking your results you will know which factors are different than you originally assumed and be in a position to make the necessary changes.
4. Adjust – After checking your results and identifying areas for improvement—the next step is to make the necessary adjustments.  This does not mean your plan was bad, but only that we are human and cannot predict all the possible outcomes.  By following this PDCA process—the destination will be met by adjusting the plan after you have checked for feedback.  If we were all knowing, our plan would work by planning and doing.  As human beings we must plan our work, do our work, check our work and adjust where necessary.

These four simple (but again not easy) steps can propel you to destinations you never thought possible before.  PDCA is the best way I have learned to accurately assess reality and to make changes to improve.  I have used this process for years in my life and over the last couple of years discovered how to teach it.  PLEASE for your own leadership program reread this and study every area of your life.  Ask yourself do you have a plan in this area or are you merely floating downstream?  Swim against the currents of mediocrity and negativity.  You can dream bigger and achieve bigger with the PDCA process!  God Bless you on your PDCA process.  Orrin Woodward

In today’s highly competitive market there are fewer and fewer ways to separate your company and your products from the competition.  All products offer the latest features and all companies offer guarantees.  What makes some companies and some individuals always near the top of the pack?  I would say the biggest differentiator in the new economy is a constant and never ending quest for excellence.  The Japanese have a word for this call kaizen.   Do you practice kaizen in your personal and professional life?   If you were hiring a doctor, lawyer, builder or accountant—wouldn’t you hope they were practicing constant and never ending improvement in their personal and professional lives?  If you discovered they were not interested in excellence would you think of hiring someone else?  I am shocked by how many people are accepting of the mediocrity in their personal lives and yet expect excellence in others.  We would be upset if the waiter or waitress does not refill our water when it is empty, but think nothing of giving less than 100% on our own jobs or businesses.  Why the double standard?

Let’s decide today to live our lives in all areas to a standard of excellence in all that we do.  Anyone desiring to live a life of excellence must declare war on average.  If you can do better, then it is time to start giving the world your better on your way to best.  How can we possibly change others if we will not do the hard work of changing our own average habits?   The world will flock to a man or woman who is focused on giving their absolute best to their chosen profession.  If you wish to get more—you must begin by giving more!  In fact, I would tell you to give more even if you never get more.  Success is an inside job and the satisfaction obtained from knowing you did your personal best is the ultimate reward.  My attitude anytime I speak, write, or mentor is to give my personal best.  Regardless of whether anyone recognized it or not—I still feel great because I know I did my personal best.

There is a story told of Joe DiMaggio of New York Yankee fame that exemplifies this principle.  Joe was one of the greatest hitters of all time and Hall of Famer.  In a spring training game that did not count in the standing or statistics—Joe drove a ball down the first base line.  Instead of jogging to first with a single, Joe sprinted around first and dove head first into second just ahead of the outfielder’s throw.  Joe hit a double in a meaningless game that did not count in the record book. Yet it looked like Joe was playing in a World Series game and not a spring training exhibition.  Why did Joe do that?  A reporter after the game asked the same question: wondering why Joe sprinted out a double and risked injury in a spring training game?   Joe’s answer ought to be taught to every person in every profession.  Joe said he couldn’t help but think that some mother or father had brought their young daughter or son to the game.  Maybe this was the only time they would ever see Joe DiMaggio play the game of baseball.  He wanted to be sure to give them something to remember.  Wow!  That gives me goose bumps just thinking about it!  In your life, are you giving people something to remember?   Are customers raving about your quest for excellence in all that you do?  Many people remember watching Joe play the game because he was in a quest for excellence in his chosen field.  Joe understood that success was from the inside out and if he played baseball he would play it at his high standards.

I encourage you today to live a life in a quest for excellence.  Listen to your customers and seek ways to improve their satisfaction with your service.  The more you have them raving about what you do, the easier it is to market your profession.  A satisfied customer is the best advertisement for what you do.  An unhappy customer is the worst advertisement for what you do.  You will never make everyone happy, but you must start with making yourself happy with your efforts.  If you are not happy then it is no surprise that others are not.   Today is the day to make your life a quest for excellence and live kaizen in your life.   I volunteer to be your coach and I expect nothing less than your personal best.  Together we can change your habits and then teach what we have learned to world.  What are we waiting for?  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Tomorrow our nation will celebrate another Thanksgiving holiday.  Many will eat themselves full of turkey or ham and watch the football games.  All enjoyable activities and part of the privileges we enjoy as a free country.   I would ask at some point during the day to take a moment and reflect on the many blessing God has bestowed upon our nation.  Because of the courage and character of many known and unknown heroes – our nation enjoys a wealth and freedom unimaginable to our forefathers.  A day of Thanksgiving was designed for us as a people to give thanks to our many blessing and the people and institutions that made the blessings possible.  I recognize many people are going through challenges in life, but I believe with my whole heart that we are a blessed people.  Let us take these blessings and use our gifts to bless future generations with the same freedoms and opportunities.  Our country was not built by chance, but by the work, study, courage, leadership and fortitude of past generations.  Let’s thank them for the sacrifice of their lives either literally through war or symbolically through diligent toil.  A thankful spirit is necessary to keep the heart from becoming embittered.  Here is a partial list of the things I am thankful for:

1. I am proud to be an American and proud to enjoy the freedoms and responsibilities associated with being and US citizen.
2. I am thankful for a loving wife and four incredible children.
3. I am thankful for the best group of friends and leaders in the world.
4. I am thankful for the ability to dream, struggle and have victories.
5. I am thankful for parents who taught me the value of hard work and character. 
6. I am thankful for great leaders like Pastor Dickie who teach people how to enjoy spiritual freedom from bondage through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
7. I am thankful for my struggles, because they teach me humility.
8. I am thankful for the opportunity to serve others as my life’s calling.
9. I am thankful for many authors who wrote books to inspire me to grow.
10. I am thankful to you—the reader for giving me a reason to share my thoughts.

 Do you have a thankful spirit?  On this Thanksgiving holiday—make sure you take the time to reflect on what you are thankful for.  Please feel free to share some of your blessings.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

My favorite quote, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” 

As a 4^th grader I had a teacher that became my first mentor.  Franz Luoma taught me that I was responsible for developing the talent inside of me.  He saw a young kid with too much energy and channeled that energy into productive uses.   Mr. Luoma said in order to be a champion you must be willing to endure the pain of the process.  Great dreams require a birthing process.   If you want the baby—you must be willing to endure the labor.   Laurie and I were blessed with four wonderful children.  I watched Laurie endure the labor for the dream of a new baby.  During the process, Laurie displayed incredible toughness to enjoy the results of our new baby.  Laurie is one incredibly tough lady and knows how to finish what she starts.  This principle is a non-negotiable law of success.   Do you have the mental toughness to endure the laboring process for your dream?  Many times when things get tough, I drift back to my 4^th grade teacher and say, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!”   I remind myself that I am tough and the dream is worth the labor.  I cannot begin to tell you how helpful this has been in my life.  Many times we are defeated because we become discouraged or feel we can’t go on.  I am here to tell you that you have the toughness inside of you and it is your responsibility to bring it out!   At the moments in your life when you need the strength, remind yourself that you are tough enough and have a dream worth the labor.  I have experience many failures in my life and have overcome through perseverance and faith.  You can too.

You have everything it takes already inside of you to be a champion.  The mental and physical toughness are lying dormant waiting to be aroused.    Set your soul on fire through a resolve to finish the laboring process and accomplish your dream.  Just as a ship will rot by staying in the harbor—your strength will wane if not put to use.   Take a step in the direction of your dreams and press on towards your destiny.   A person of faith that displays the toughness to finish will meet with an uncommon success.  Don’t tell me you can’t achieve because of your past, your family, your lack of skills, lack of intelligience, etc.  I will never believe this about you!  I sold myself short for years and had to learn to take baby steps toward my dreams.   I encourage you today to take a baby step towards your dream and persevere no matter what.  What dream would you pursue if you knew you couldn’t fail?  What would be the first step you need to take to pursue this dream?  What better time than now to get started?  What are you waiting for?  Life is too short to live with regrets!  You are tough and when the going gets tough the tough get going.  It’s time to get going.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

What dream will you pursue today?

The story of Dwight Eisenhower is a long series of assignments with no glory and the power of perseverance in waiting for his opportunity.  At 50 years of age he was a Lt. Colonel and nearing the end of his career.  Had it not been for World War II no one would remember his name—except for a few military historians.   Stephen Ambrose in his biography of Eisenhower states:

He was fifty-one years old; only the coming of the war had saved him from a forced retirement and a life with no savings and but a small pension to live on.  Although he had impressed every superior for whom he had worked, he had no accomplishments to his credit that he could point to with pride for his grandchildren.  Had he died in 1941, at an age when most great men have their monumental achievements behind them, he would be completely unknown today. 

A couple of key points emerge from Mr. Ambrose commentary.  First, regardless of fame or fortune Eisenhower did all he could with each assignment.  He persevered with whatever he was asked to do.  He focused on getting the job done—not self promotion.  Second, he was prepared when his moment of destiny came.  So many people feel life has dealt them a bad hand and decide to go through the motions.  But great leaders will play every hand life deals them.  Instead of getting worked up over injustice and playing the victim roll—great leaders make lemonade out of lemons.  Like the saying goes, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you handle it that counts.” 

I believe some of the greatest leaders developing on the team are toiling away in obscurity.  No one knows their name, but they will.  Leadership cannot be hidden and by preparing and responding properly—your moment will come.  Do the best where you are at!  Do not cry over what you don’t have, but focus on what you do have to get the job done.  This is all part of the process to develop the leadership necessary to handle bigger assignments.  Are you doing all you can where God has you in life?  Are you crying over what you don’t have or focusing on the gifts and resources you do have?  If you want more you must prove to be faithful in the little you have.

Laurie and I decided a long time ago to go the extra mile in whatever we do.  When you join the second mile club you are separated from the crowd.  Your team knows you are special and responsibility naturally gravitates to the second mile club.  Go the extra mile—accept responsibility even though it is not your assignment.  Everyone likes to follow people who get the job done with a cheerful attitude.  Eisenhower never cried about his fate, but worked diligently to be the best he could and look what happened.  He was a 50 year old Lt. Colonel ready to retire—to Supreme Allied War Commander and then two time president of the United States.   Are you the next Eisenhower?  Are you going to be prepared when your moment comes?  

I think of all the people who look back on their life with regret and believe they never had an opportunity.  I believe most were given their opportunity, but were not prepared mentally for the challenge.  When the opportunity came—they were too busy entertaining themselves or complaining about their situation to hear it knocking.  Opportunity is knocking.  Are you preparing to greet her?  Remember, “When opportunity and preparedness meet, success must happen.”   We have a responsibility to prepare and in confidence know that opportunity will come knocking.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

I read a quote the other day that struck me as a key principle for personal growth.  “Bad habits are easy to learn, but hard to live with and good habits are hard to learn, but easy to live with.”  Think through this principle in your personal life.  No one ever has to announce to the world that they are going off their diet and focusing on eating whatever they want.  Another example is that few announce to the world that they have decided to get out of shape.  This is easy and many of us have accomplished this at different points in our life.  The simple fact is that personal discipline to develop the right habits is an against the stream activity.  The direction of life is to chaos and it takes personal discipline to form the right habits against the chaos. 

I read another quote on habits stating, “Tell me a person’s habits and I will tell you a person’s future.”  The overwhelming majority of people in life pick up habits similar to how one pick’s up a common cold.  There is no rhyme or reason to the exercise.  If they associate with this person they pick up the habit of swearing, with another person the habit of negative thinking, griping or complaining.  What if a person took responsibility for their habits?  What if they became proactive with developing the right habits in life?  Do you think over the long term their life would significantly change?  I believe with everything in my heart and soul that this is the difference maker.  I have developed my share of bad habits in life and had to live with the negative consequences.  I have also leaned to discipline myself with good habits and have enjoyed the positive consequences.  The key principle here is for you to take control of the habits that make up your life.  Are you happy with all the consequences you are living with in life?  If not, what habits have caused the negative consequence and decide today to form a new habit?

Winners consistently control their environment to ensure they are forming the habits that will lead to the long-term results they desire in life.  When a person is getting started in our personal development system they are beginning to form new habits.  You probably have heard, “Listen to a couple of CD’s a day and read 15 to 30 minutes every day.”  These are habits that may take some time to form, but how enjoyable are the results when you find you have a different perspective on life.  You will find that problems are no longer issues that cause emotional meltdowns and you actually look forward to problems.  Challenges are seen as opportunities to grow.  No I do not promise anyone easy when it comes to success.  Discipline is never easy, but you will be disciplined anyway.  The only question is do you choose self discipline or external discipline.  You will pay the price of discipline either way.  Yes the consequences of developing good habits have been more than worth any price of personal discipline. 

How about you?  Have you decided to pay the price of personal discipline and root out any bad habits in your life?  You know what they are and you know the price you are paying to “enjoy?” this bad habit.  Why not make today the day to change.  All it takes is a big enough reason to relentlessly attack this bad habit.  Your life is too precious to live small.  I dare you to dream a big dream and develop the necessary habits to accomplish it.  Many people live with their bad habits and wonder why they never accomplished their dreams.  Laurie and I decided that good habits were better for us no matter what we ultimately accomplished in life.  We found that the more we disciplined ourselves the better we felt inside and the easier it was for us to attack our next bad habit.  Begin today, pick some habit that you know is not consistent with your long term goals and replace this bad habit with one more in line with where you are going.  Yes it will be a challenge, but the rewards of a life well lived will more than make up for any temporary hardships.  God Bless Orrin Woodward

Remember in order to stop a bad habit you must replace it with a good habit.  What bad habit are you stopping and what are you replacing it with?  If you enjoy this blog then recommend it to a friend.   They can search "Orrin Woodward Leadership" and it will be the first site.

It was another late night reading session and as my eyes scanned the pages searching for another nugget to improve as a person and leader I read, “Leadership is character in motion.”  I stopped reading grabbed my red marker and underlined this quote.  I began to ponder the truth of this simple statement overflowing with meaning.   I looked at my own life of leadership and the lives of other leaders I have studied for the truths in the quote.  There are many ways to describe leadership and many authors have spent their whole lives studying the method of leading others, but this statement succinctly captures the essence of leadership.  Leadership involves two parts that Chris Brady and I describe as the art and science of leadership.  The art is who you are and the science is what you do.  Character is who you are (art) and motion is the action (science).   It has been said that much of learning is reminding us of what we already know rather than learning something new.  This quote reminded me of something already learned but deepened the meaning of the art and science to me.  Let’s take a few minutes to look at the character and motion side of leadership

Character is a look past the outside of the person into the core of what they represent.  Character is what you do when no one is looking or will ever find out.  Here are a few questions to contemplate as we discuss character. 

1.      Are you the type of person who will cut corners on the truth for your own personal gain or reputation?

2.      Are you the type of person that can negotiate win-lose deals and have no pangs of conscience?

3.      Are you the type that will sell out your friends if it benefits you at the moment?

4.      Are you the same person with each group of people you are with or do you have a chameleon effect based on who you are with?

5.      Would you sell your character out for money, recognition, or power?

The toughest thing when looking at your own character is the unbelievable ability for the human heart towards hypocrisy when it looks at itself.  We have no problem reading this list and identifying people we know who violate it, but we tend to make excuses or reasons why the same rules do not apply to us.  The philosopher Socrates said, “A line that is crooked will not know this until it compares itself to a straight line.”  How many would be leaders were destroyed because they never ensured their lines were straight.   Character is the only non-negotiable in leadership.  There are many characteristics that you can find in leaders, but the only non-negotiable for long term leadership is an unquestioned character ethic. 

            Think about this in your own life.  How many people know someone they absolutely cannot trust?  Now imagine giving this person leadership in your life.   It isn’t going to happen is it?  This would violate one of God’s laws of life.  You give no one influence in your life unless you trust them unequivocally and trust is earned through consistent application of a person’s character to the situations of life.  That is why it is foolish to aspire to be a leader and yet not build a foundation of character.  Who will truly follow you long term unless you have dug deep into your own heart to answer the question, “Am I who I say I am?”  If this is not answered before a leader goes into motion there will be a construction accident on your building journey.  You will destroy what you wish to build because you have not properly prepared the foundation to handle the growing edifice of influence.  If I were to give one piece of non-negotiable advice to anyone desiring to grow in leadership it would be, “Do not take short cuts on character because the only person you short is yourself.”  Leadership, just like a high rise building requires a solid foundation and the foundation of leadership is character.

            This does not mean I recommend hiding away for a couple of years waiting to get your character right before going into motion.  The beautiful thing about leadership is that while you are learning how to lead there are few fatal mistakes.  In other words working on the ground level, you can fall without being seriously hurt, but the same accident on the 50^th floor is game over.  Motion means to get doing the things you know leaders have to do.  You can study other people riding bikes, you can watch videos, interview great bike riders, but to ride a bike you must get in motion.  Albert Einstein once said, “We are born geniuses and taught to be idiots.”  A baby attempts to walk 999 times before it takes its first successful step.  Babies inherently know that failure is a necessary step (pun intended) to success.  When we get older we are less willing to take necessary steps to succeed.  Our fear of failure has overcome our natural genius and we accomplish only a sliver of what our potential is.  Why do we let the opinion of others hold us back from our personal best?  Imagine if a baby internalized failure like adults do.  We would have a generation of adults who crawl from place to place explaining that walking just isn’t for them.  They tried it ten times and they’re just not the type of person who can walk.  Ridiculous you say?  I agree, but how many times have you told yourself that you are just not a leader, or that just isn’t they way you are.   Of course that isn’t the way you are and that is why you need to start learning the skills.

            None of us are born leaders any more than we are born knowing how to walk.  Both are learned skills and we must develop the hunger and drive to learn the skill if we wish to walk or lead.  When I started my leadership journey I was a no people skills engineer.  I went to the same school for 11 years from elementary to high school.   The best thing that my classmates could think to say about me in my senior yearbook was, “Arguing, arguing early and late, if a line were crooked, he would argue it straight.”   You couldn’t describe someone with less leadership influence than that!   I wanted to be a leader bad enough to change and that is the question for you.  Do you want to be a leader bad enough to improve your character and begin the leadership journey?    When a person wants something bad enough they will do the work to get it.  Remember, “Leadership is character in motion.”  Character is an inside job and motion is the action behind the inside thinking.   The art and science of leadership are available and you have the ability inside to lead already.  Do you have the courage to pursue your God given destiny?   You can answer today by placing your personal character in motion.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

* New Pictures added to Photo Album - Picket Fence and Pond *

This article is dedicated to Chris Brady.  Chris is a man of ideas and actions. He epitomizes the leaders who can make the tough calls.  I am proud to call him my friend. 

I read a quote recently, “And remember, when all is said and done, much more is said than is ever done.”   This quote resonated with me because it describes so many organizations, committees, families, and countries.  I believe strongly in discussion and gathering all the facts.   But all the facts in the world will not amount to anything until someone makes a decision and follows through.  Think back to organizations you have been a part of that discuss great ideas and never seem to implement them.   It has been said that there are enough great ideas in Washington to solve many of our countries pressing problems.  What our world needs more than great ideas are great implementers of these ideas.  Why is there so much talk and so few actions?  I have come up with at least three possible reasons.

First, many people fall into analysis paralysis.  With so many options to choose from it is difficult to decide.  To decide means to close off all other options but the one chosen.  This can mean that others will be upset because you did not choose what they wanted.  It can cause fear that maybe the wrong option was chosen.  Analysis paralysis is caused by looking at too many options without a sufficient way of breaking down options into the most logical choice.  It has been said that the number one tool for a lion trainer is the stool and not the whip.  When the lion begins to act up the trainer sticks the stool in the lion’s face.  The lion cannot focus on one attack point because the four legs of stool are all options.  This caused analysis paralysis in the lion and he becomes docile from indecision.  If you are going to be a leader you must determine options and then decide on a path and move.  The worst decision is the one you do not make.  If you decide wrong you still get feedback which will help you decide better next time.  Most decisions are not fatal and every decision increases your ability to decide the next time.

Second, few people want to be held responsible for implementing any change.  They know if they push for any change and it goes wrong the crowd of Monday morning quarterbacks will state why they knew this was a bad move.  People can become so jaded by the criticisms of others that they will become fearful to make the tough decisions.  Leaders have to have courage to make the tough decisions.  Do not let the criticisms of the non-achievers allow you to become a non-achiever through fear of failure.  I don’t know any great leaders who have not failed a few times and had to listen to the critics.  In fact this is one of the major factors credited for leaders in general.  If you do not have the guts to make the tough decisions then call yourself anything you want, but you are not a leader.  Harry Truman on his way to Potsdam at the end of the European portion of World War II said, “I did not come here just to discuss, I came here to decide.”   Harry constantly talked about the ability to decide is what separates the leader from the follower.

I can remember an incident in my own life as an engineer.  We had a machine that ran only 87% quality first time through.  This is terrible and we were throwing away over 3 dollars every failed part.  I spent over 3 months developing new tooling to hold the assemblies in place.  Everyone told me not to mess with this machine because if it did not work—we would shut down car lines that needed this part.  I weighed the potential upside and downsides involved and felt a million dollar plus scrap issue was worth taking a calculated risk.   The first night the new tooling was in place we had designed a new pin that failed to center the part properly.  This led to a near 40 percent scrap rate the first day.  I had the supervisor, general supervisor, superintendent and plant manager in the building yelling and criticizing the new tooling.  The criticism was so great that I nearly gave up the design entirely and contemplated retooling old design.  After watching the machine run for a couple of hours I realized the design engineer had inadvertently used the wrong pin to guide the bearing into position.   By quickly replacing the new pins with the old pins from old tooling and keeping the rest of our new tooling the scrap rate dropped to less than 1 percent.  The machine ran for less than 24 hours with the incorrect pin and ran for the next year plus at over 99 percent first time through quality.  Why do I tell you all this exciting engineering detail?  The main point is how easy it would have been to draw the wrong conclusion here and never attempt anything great again.  I could have easily let the machine run with poor quality like the 5 engineers before me did and have no problems.  In fact deciding to make a change caused me to be criticized by every major leader in the facility.  Not one of the managers ever came back and thanked me for the machine running so effectively after 24 hours.  This is a perfect example of why everyone talks and few decide because they know when they decide as Harry Truman said, “The buck stops here.”   I decided a long time ago to strive for excellence in all I do.  If that means others without the same drive will not like my decisions then so be it.  I am ultimately accountable to God—not man.

Thirdly, many people delay decisions waiting for perfect information before deciding.  This is an excellent way to fail in business.  By the time you would have perfect information your opportunity has passed you by.   When I started in business many told me they would wait to see how I did.  I told them if they waited it would only place them years behind.  The interesting point is that none of the people who said come back when you make it ever chose to start the leadership journey of success.  Procrastination is the assassination of motivation and many people are suffering from this disease.  They feel if they have good information today that they will have better information tomorrow.  This may be true, but the competition has already decided and has moved ahead by making the tough decisions.  There is no such thing as perfect information.  This is why it requires guts to succeed.  Jack Welch has come up with a fancier term and calls it “Edge.”  Call it what you want, but it boils down to intestinal fortitude and the willingness to make the tough calls.  If you know you cannot accomplish your destiny with path A, then make the tough call.  So many people give up their destiny and true dreams for the convenience of what they already have.  I refuse to be part of the "settle for" club and I refuse to wait for perfect information to decide.   Confront the facts, analyze the options, and make the call.  Remember, the ability to learn and decide faster is a major competitive advantage.  Slow organizations to not last in today's market environment.

When your life is said and done—will people talk about what you said or what you have done?  Make your life count!  I heard a speaker say, “If you are going to run with the big dogs—you need to get off the porch!”  It is time to get out of the stands and on to the field.  The game of life is being played!  Are you a participant or a spectator?  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Today is a new day and I encourage everyone to strive for excellence in their personal lives.   Whatever you do—do it to the best of your abilities!  Our culture today seems to be satisfied with mediocre efforts and outcomes.   I believe it is easier today than ever to separate from the crowd.  By giving 100% to the task at hand you will be on your way to creating uncommon success.  If you can prove you are faithful in little—you will be given more.  More responsibility, more influence, and more opportunities are available.  Are you faithfully pursuing the task at hand?   Are you giving your best in the small prepatory assignments necessary to develop yourself for the big assignments?  Life does not hand over success cheaply.  You must relentlessly move in the direction of your destiny despite perceived setbacks and roadblocks.  You will find a way if you keep the dream in front of you and never lose faith.  Life is a journey and it begins with getting out of the house and serving others.  Are you living the game of life?  Are you helping others live life to the fullest?  Today is a new day!  Seize the moment.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward 

I received a letter this week that really touched my heart and describes beautifully why leadership matters.  I will keep the names anonymous, but this true story is too good not to share.  Here are a couple of paragraphs that display the difference a leadership training organization like the Team can have.  The Team teaches leadership principles to improve people’s lives in all areas: faith, family, finances, fitness, and friends.   I hope you too are blessed to get letters like this in your leadership journey.  Here are a couple of paragraphs from the letter.

Thank you for the life of my son.  As a single parent, I was hopelessly depressed, broke, mother with a 16 year old teenager who had dropped out of school and was interested in nothing until Team came along through Round Table members ______.  I took _____ to a major function because my prayer was to reconnect with him on the long drive.  I knew I was losing him and had run out of options.  Hearing you and your leaders speak resurrected our relationship and his enthusiasm for life!   ………..

He just turned 18 ….. and the system has transformed him into an honor roll student, a diligent athlete who competes in Taekwondo competitions and has advanced 6 belts in 6 months.  I am most proud that he lives a life of service as a matter of choice, serving this past summer on a mission to a Mexican orphanage and urban mission for foreign refugees and the homeless. …….

How can I ever repay the blessing of bringing a dead son back to life?  I feel like the widows in the Bible who had their dead sons resurrected by Jesus (and the prophet Elisha in the Old Testament.)  Your work is sacred!  ….. Thank you all from the depths of my heart.

Yes my eyes did well up in tears the first time I read this.  I do believe leadership is a noble calling.  What an opportunity to give back the blessings bestowed upon you to others through leadership!   This is a great example of the ripple effect in action.  Because a mother was doing right in attempting to reconnect with her son and because the leaders of Team were doing right in attempting to give back some of their blessings—a connection was made to her son!  The ripple effect states you do not know how many shores the ripples will hit when you do acts of service to others.  I thank everyone for sharing their stories of how leadership has impacted your lives.  Tell others about this site so I can hear their stories also.  If someone searches Orrin Woodward Leadership it is the first item so you don't have to remember the URL.  Keep leading and growing!  God Bless, Orrin Woodward.

A couple of months back I read a profound book by Robert Grudin.   The book is titled The Grace of Great Things and deals with creativity and innovation.  It describes a philosophy of innovation and creation and really makes you think.  Let me share some thoughts from one chapter.  This book is kind of deep for a new leader, but for an established leader it is worth the mental challenge.  The book will help you understand why new ideas are attacked so aggressively.   Let me quote Mr. Grudin’s thoughts from the chapter on Pain in the section Ethics of Creativity:

To be truly open to any experience, the mind must be open to all.  The willing endurance of pain is a key factor not only in human dignity, but also in human creativity.  It would seem to follow that individuals who spend their lives in the persistent avoidance of pain are not likely to amount to much. …….

The process of achieving their professional level is usually full of pain.  Such mastery demands endless practice of technical operations, endless assaults on seemingly ineluctable concepts, humiliation by teachers, anxious and exhausting competition with peers.  To gain such mastery, one must face the sting of pertinent criticism, the shock of a thousand minor failures, and the nagging fear of one’s own unimprovable inadequacy.

These pains are seldom eroded by success; as we proceed to higher and higher levels of expertise, and as the stakes get higher and higher, the agonies of excellence reappear in new and frightening way.  A tiny minority gets through to the top, to memorable excellence or profound understanding.  The rest of us stop along the way, perhaps for a temporary rest, perhaps for a period of reassessment.  But once we stop, we are unlikely to start up again.  Security is suddenly far sweeter than enterprise.  ……..

One might reply that most people who surrender simply lack the ability to get very far.  But it is more accurate to say that ability and intelligence, rightly understood, include a readiness to face pain, while those characteristics which we loosely term “inadequacy” and “ignorance” are typically associated with the avoidance of pain. ……

Modern society has evolved an idiomatic defense of nonachievement so subtle and elegant that it almost makes failure attractive.  We can equivocate with failure by saying that we could not stand “the pressure.”  We can inflate mediocrity by calling cow colleges universities, by naming herds of middle-level executives vice presidents or partners, and by a thousand other sorts of venal hype.  We can invert the moral standard by defending a fellow nonachiever as being too sensitive or even too good for the chosen arena.

This double rejection of pain—a surrender sanctified by a euphemism—has in our time achieved institutional status.  Because it includes its own antimorality, it can be passed on with pride from generation to generation.  Other ages may have been as full of nonachievers as ours, but no other age, I believe, has developed so comprehensive a rhetoric of failure.

To conclude, then:  those people in quest of intellectual dignity and independence in the late twentieth century must act in a cultural context that has done its best to annul or camouflage one of the key elements in the quest, the challenge of pain.  For this reason such people currently labor under a double burden: they must face the pains inherent in their task, and they must do so in a culture that has little appreciation for their suffering.

I know this is deep, but the point is so profound and necessary to understand for any would be achiever.  Our society has equated pleasure with good and pain with bad.   This belief is an unquestioned fact in most circles and in some cases is accurate.  Certainly using equipment vs. using a shovel to dig a basement is a reduction in back pain and an improvement of people’s lives.  But this can be carried too far when discussing achievement and creativity.  In the struggle for achievement, you will experience pain.  Just as the typical child falls 999 times on average before taking his first successful step—we  must fall and experience pain before achieving breakthroughs.  If we picked up our child every time they attempted to walk (and risk pain), they would never develop the muscles to walk on their own two feet.  Pain avoidance in the area of achievement equates to success avoidance. 

There are 3 types of people in life according to Paul Stoltz – Quitter, Campers and Climbers.  Mr. Stoltz teaches: Life is like a mountain and we are born with an innate urge to climb the mountain.  Billions of people in the world and all of us born to climb the mountain and yet the mountain top is practically empty.  What happened to all the climbers?  

1. Quitters see the mountain with its dangerous cliffs and storms and decide not to climb at all.  By denying their God-given urge to climb they make major compromises in their life.  Quitters are people who entertain themselves to death or escape into drugs, sex, or some hobby.  They do this to keep from looking at the mountain they are avoiding and not climbing.  They suffer the worst pain of all—the pain of regret for a life not used in the service of others.  They spend their lives justifying why they didn’t bother climbing and attempting to solicit others to justify their position. 

2. Campers climb the mountain in the beginning.  They are excited about life and begin to climb the mountain of understanding and achievement.  At some point they achieve a nice mountain view and begin to make compromises.   They look around and think they are doing pretty good and the next climb may be dangerous.  They start compromising on their calling for the security of the camp.  They set up tent and convince themselves they are temporarily resting until the storm subsides.  Some of the most talented people in life are here.  They have achieved phenomenal lifestyles and may fool others into thinking they are still climbing.  The problem is when they have set up camp; they compromise their calling for the view and comforts of camp.   Taking a rest at camp before the next climb is necessary, but many never climb again.  Some of the best would be leaders are stuck in camp focusing on buying a bigger tent or filling the tent with nice camping equipment. 

3. Climbers decide their calling and convictions cannot be compromised—no matter how hard the climb or how bad the storm.  They know they were called to climb and the mountain top is obtainable.  Climbers are a rare breed—they never sacrifice their convictions for conveniences.  The climber knows that life is not about obtaining the biggest tent or the most items in the tent.  Will anyone quote your net worth at your funeral?   Climbers know that true living is in the discovery of your own potentialities and the willingness to give your discoveries away to others.  A true climber discovers an easier path up the mountain or a better technique to climb.  They subsequently take the time to teach all other climbers what they have learned.  Making it to the mountain top is not about being there alone—it is about how many people you bring with you!  This is what leadership is about.

To stay in climb mode you must not listen to the world’s thinking.  Our culture has glorified the quitter and campers.  They actually demean the climber as someone who does not have his priorities straight.  I am not suggesting climbing at the expense of family, friends, etc.  I am suggesting teaching family, friends, etc. how to climb with you.  We were called to climb and anything besides climbing is compromise.  Don’t tell me you are doing “pretty good” and have a great nest egg.  Tell me what you are learning and what pain you are going through as you discover how to reach the next peak.   Yes, being a climber is tougher in today’s society because of the surrounding culture.  But it is also more necessary because of the surrounding culture.  If we don’t climb today, our children and grandchildren may get to the mountain and find it has been closed for safety reasons.  Someone may have decided they could reduce pain even further by barring people from climbing at all. 

Points to Ponder:  Are you climbing, camping, or quitting?  What pain are you going through and what are you learning from the process?   If you have been quitting or camping, when are you going to start climbing?  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

There are more pictures added.  I hope you strive to become a leader and join the Woodward family for a weekend or weekday for that matter. :)  But until you get there, the next best thing is the pictures and this blog.  My goal is to answer every comment.  I will do so for as long as I can keep up.   A comment from you deserves and answer, agreement, or encouragement from me.  If I am traveling it may take a day or two.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Author Jeff O’Leary has hit a homerun with his book Centurion Principles.  Former Colonel O’Leary’s views of world changing leadership are right in line with mine.  This is an inspiring read from a man who has walked his talk.   He has a section on George Washington about Leadership that Serves Greater Ends.   George Washington took an incredible risk to be part of the Revolutionary War.  He had plenty of land and was doing “pretty good.”  Why would someone get involved in a conflict where they Colonist were severe underdogs?  I think the answer is; George lived by principles and he would rather sacrifice his wealth than his principles.  There were many times during the war where it was George’s convictions and character that held the army together.  Compromise on your core convictions is cowardice.  In the end, George Washington and his principles overcame England and a new country was formed.  We need more men and women with the courage of George Washington.  Let me quote from the book:

The greatest leaders were also great risk takers.  Stop for a moment and decide if you are willing to become that kind of leader.  If not, move on to the next chapter.  This risking is costly.  If it wasn’t everyone would be doing it.  Who wouldn’t want to leave a legacy like Washington’s behind him? …………

The key to getting beyond the illusions of fame, money and power is to take the long view.  It is paradoxically both simple and difficult.  Take the long view—not the quarterly, monthly, or daily view of your business or calling.  When you finish your race and look back at the footsteps of your life, what are you going to see, and what are you going to be proud of? ……………

Near the end, I was offered the opportunity to continue my service and be promoted to brigadier general within a few years.  I politely declined and turned in my papers for retirement at the same time my book was released.  This infuriated my superiors, and I was quickly moved from my special status of “golden boy” to untouchable leper.  But I believed then, as I do now, that we are created for a destiny greater than accumulating power, money, or fame.  (Certainly, being a general could be a high calling for someone if that was his or her destiny.  It just wasn’t mine.)

This is some incredibly courageous thinking!   A Colonel that is offered and opportunity to be a general turns it down to follow his destiny.  Very few people will do that.  Most settle for the immediate and give up the long term.   Leaders must stay focused on the long term even through the inevitable criticism.   How is your legacy coming together?  Have you even considered a legacy before?  I know I was 25 years old and had never thought about it.  That is why I am so thankful for Dexter Yager.  I heard Dexter when I was 26 and he said, “You must be willing to give up everything you have to accomplish everything you want.”   This thought resonated with me and I realized I had been playing it safe with my life.   Why are we playing it safe?   Haven’t WE all figured out that we are not making it out of life alive?  So if we are all going to die—the only question is—are we going to truly live? 

When you make long term decisions in your life you will be criticized.  The myopic thinkers cannot see what you see or think what you are thinking.  They will see your choices as foolish, self serving or worse.  You can take heart that George Washington was criticized greatly in England for his choices.  Abraham Lincoln was criticized horribly from people in the North and South during the Civil War.  Winston Churchill was a pariah for his thoughts on Nazi Germany before World War II. Albert Einstein said, “The biggest people with the biggest ideas will be criticized by the smallest people with the smallest ideas.”  Colonel O’Leary was offered a promotion and when he refused, he was criticized by the same people who loved him minutes before.    The old saying, “Everyone want you to get by, just not by them” is appropriate here.  To Mr. O’Leary’s credit, he followed his destiny.  Sometimes you have to take the road less traveled. 

Here are some closing thoughts.  Follow your dreams!  Follow your destiny!  Leave a legacy!  If it hurts—then you know you are right on track.  What is your Legacy?  Please share your thoughts with me.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Robert E. Lee the Virginian, American and Civil War general was a great leader because he had great character.  General Lee taught that you are not worthy to lead until you take your focus off yourself and focus on serving your team.  Here are some thoughts out of H. W. Crocker’s phenomenal book called Robert E. Lee on Leadership:

Lee recognized that most men—especially soldiers—have every reason to regard selfishness as a vice, and to regard an officer who thinks first of himself and then of his men, who is casual about their lives and well-being but selfishly protective of his own, as unworthy of his commission.  Vice, however tempting to the individual, rarely invites respect in practice.  Leaders who lack the respect of their subordinates must rely on force—something Lee regarded with acute distaste and a confession of failure, necessary only under the most extreme circumstances.  For the modern business leader it might be appropriate to point out that leaders who rely on force are ultimately ineffective businessmen—especially in a competitive marketplace operating with a free exchange of labor and capital.

Did you catch that?  First, if a leader is more concerned about protecting his income or his position and not the welfare of the people under their leadership—then they are not worthy of the title leader.  People followed General Lee because of who he was, not his title.   General's Lee's army followed him even when they hadn't been paid.  They followed even when they knew their cause was lost.  Why?  People knew they were following a leader who had given his all to the cause.

Second, personal character faults—lying, stealing, adultery, etc.—destroy your ability to lead.  No one follows a person willingly they do not trust.  The poorest form of “leadership?” is positional.  This is only used when the “leader?” is not capable of building a relationship based on trust.  With no trust the relationship defaults to threats and use of force.  You will do this because I am the boss!  You will do this or I will take your Christmas bonus!  You will do this or I will see you in court!  There is a better way for leaders to solve issues.  I am a firm believer that two reasonable parties can agree to disagree.  By displaying mutual respect they can still treat each other with God-given dignity.  General Lee disagreed with his subordinates at times, but he always treated them with dignity and respect.  This allowed General Lee to find win-win solutions to every issue that developed.

Third, free enterprise allows the free flow of people, capital, and ideas.  If someone has a better idea and cannot apply them at their current employer or business—our free enterprise system allows them to go elsewhere to test the ideas.  This is what makes America great.  Economist Joseph Schumpeter used the term “Creative Destruction.”   Mr. Schumpeter explained the term to mean the constant flux of people, capital and ideas to recreate the marketplace.  What makes the free enterprise system so much better than state controlled system? 

It's the reward for entrepreneurs to make the changes and benefit if they are right.  In the process of creating the new—they by definition—destroy the old.  That is free enterprise!   This is why leadership of the quality of General Lee is so important.   Ultimately, people will follow leaders over money, perks, and positions and because of leadership the money will follow them.   If people, capital and ideas are free to come and go, then the only competitive advantage is the ability of leaders to lead and teams to learn.   All over America today people are leaving jobs and businesses because the management team is not leading the people with vision and competence.  The industrial age is over and the information age is upon us.  Lead, follow, or get out of the way! 

I love free enterprise and I love the chance to test new ideas in the marketplace.  I encourage you to read up on free enterprise.  Our country is what it is today because it allows entrepreneurs to enter the marketplace and compete with their ideas, capital, and team of leaders!  Robert E. Lee won some battles and lost some battles, but he was always a man of character and won in the game of life.   General Lee won and lost his battles with honor.   Free enterprise demands that type of honor.  True leadership is the strength of character to compete honorably and give everyone an equal opportunity.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Tell me your thoughts.  What has free enterprise and personal growth meant in your life?

Here is one of my favorite stories about Ronald Reagan.  I am not impressed as much by a person’s achievements as I am a person’s life.  Jesus said it best, “What good is it to gain the whole world, but lose your own soul.”  Ronald Reagan was not merely a great politician, but also a great man.   If you asked Mr. Reagan he would tell you he wasn’t a great man, but just dealt with great ideas.  I believe he was a great man because he associated with great ideas - but never forgot he was just a person with faults and foibles like the rest of us.  It is very rare to see someone who can achieve great results and still maintain personal humility.  This is something I believe Reagan exemplified in his life.  Reagan loved people in the particular as well as in the mass.  So many would be leaders love the masses as long as they don’t have to know and serve them personally.   The “people” becomes a slogan to use and the leader forgets they are flesh and blood with hopes and dreams.  The great leaders know they are called to serve people in the particular as well as the general.  In fact, only when we serve people personally are we qualified to serve them generally.  Here is the story from Dick Wirthlin’s excellent book - The Great Communicator - that will tie this all together:

On February 23, 1984, I walked into the Oval Office and found the president standing beside his desk holding what appeared to be a photograph. 

            “Mr. President, what’s that you’ve got there?” I asked.

            “Well, Dick, I just got off the phone with this young man.” 

As the president turned the photograph around for me to view, I winced at the haunting image staring me in the face.  It was the picture of a twelve-year-old boy who had been severely burned while attempting to rescue his two younger brothers when their family’s trailer caught fire.  The first brother he found easily, and simply passed through the window.  Saving the second brother, however, proved much more difficult.  While frantically searching through the flaming trailer, the young man sustained severe burns before carrying his sibling to safety.  As a result, the president explained, the boy’s face and body had been seriously scarred and disfigured. 

            “I called this little fella to see how he was doing and to tell him how proud I was of his heroism,” Reagan said.

            Still shaken by the image, I struggled to get something out.  “I’m sure he appreciated your call, Mr. President.”

            As he looked back down at the little boy’s visage, a smile spread slowly across the president’s face.  “Dick, at the end of our conversation the youngster said, ‘President Reagan, I sure wish I would have had my tape recorder on so I could remember our call together.’  So I said, ‘Well, son, turn it on and let’s chat some more.’”

Now that is character in motion, which is another name for leadership!  The president of the United States takes the time to encourage a young boy’s heroic actions.   Never forget the tasks are secondary to the relationships.   As leaders, we many times get so focused on getting something done, that we forget to build those around us.  In fact, I would say this is the number one task of the leader is to build those around them.  Ronald Reagan knew and practiced this principle.    A principle for every leader to remember is, “Never be too big for the little person, because we are all little people!”  I believe Ronald Reagan’s prayer life kept him humble as he approached an Almighty God.  It is hard to think of yourself as too big when you face the Infinite.   Look at your life.  Are you taking the time to nurture relationships and encourage the discouraged?   Are you always too busy to point out other people’s gifts?  Worse yet, are you too self-occupied to even notice their gifts?  If the President found time to recognize heroic actions and encourage a young boy (and non-voter) then how much time can we find to do the same?   Another point to ponder.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

I added a few pictures of the property down in Florida.  I will be adding more over the next couple of weeks.   To the left is a photo heading which displays the digital pictures.  Here are some of the sites spreading the word on the Launching a Leadership Revolution.  The more people get this book into the hands of the leaders of our countries, the more change will take place.  I am impressed by how many times you hear about a friend telling a friend who handed the book to their president.   The president of the firm is now ordering the book for their whole staff.  Making a difference in life is many times standing up and taking the first step.  A personally signed book telling other leaders about LLR can and will make a difference.  Here are some links about the book.  Thank you all for making a difference! God Bless, Orrin Woodward

http://reviving-leadership.com/default.aspx

http://www.businessweek.com/pdfs/2007/0745_bestsellers.pdf

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/AA2A5EC24C53B43F862573800007D045?OpenDocument

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_45/b4057107.htm

http://diaryofadreamer.com/?p=221

http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/pf/story.jsp?floc=FF-APO-1333&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20071101%2F1410310532.htm&sc=1333

This is the latest and greatest!  Chris Brady and I thank everyone who has purchased a book and recommended it to a friend.  The New York Times has our book on the best seller list.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

I read a great book on Character and Virtue called Standing for Something by Gordon Hinckley a few weeks back.   In the epilogue he has a quote from Abraham Lincoln.  Let me quote the whole paragraph:

On February 27, 1860, Abraham Lincoln, the Republican presidential candidate, gave one of the more significant speeches of his political career.  Among other things, he attacked the proslavery position of his opponent, Stephen A. Douglas.  He concluded his presentation with a strong admonition to his party that they hold fast to the beliefs they had espoused:

“Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the Government nor of dungeons to ourselves.  Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.”  - Abraham Lincoln

Faith is irreplaceable virtue for all, particularly those who lead – be it a nation, a company, or a family.  There is a great loneliness in leadership.  This is so because we have to live with ourselves even if it means abandoning other relationships and pursuits.  We have to live with our own consciences.  We have to live up to our own inner feelings.  We have to stand for the values and beliefs that we have embraced, adopted, and woven into our characters. 

Do you have beliefs you feel so strong about that you are willing to endure slander, libel, and threats?  Are you willing to walk down a lonely road with your beliefs or will you sell out to the crowd the moment the going gets rough.   I truly enjoyed this book from a man who has walked his talk for over 90 years.  We must go back to our foundational roots of our country if we wish to restore America.  Our world is filled with plastic people who blow with the wind.  Where are the men and women who will stand for what they believe?  Not just in the good times, but in the storms of life also.   Courage is the mother of all virtue, because without this one, none of the others matter.   Abraham Lincoln stood on his principles even when he knew it would hurt.  It eventually cost him his life, but selling out would have cost him his character and honor. 

I am inspired by the great men and women from history and encourage everyone to read more of the biographies of our past leaders.  There is so much to learn!  As Harry Truman said, “There is nothing new under the sun, only the history you do not know.”   What do you believe in?  Are you willing to make a stand for your principles?  If not you do not have principles, but have preferences.  Preferences change with conditions, but principles never do!   God Bless you on your journey to discover the principles worth living and dying for.  Orrin Woodward

Since it is Sunday, I would like to recommend one of my favorite Christian books of the year.  Chuck Colson’s The Good Life.  I have always enjoyed Mr. Colson’s books and this one is another classic.  I love how he ties his principles together with stories from people living these laws.  Here is his list of life’s paradoxes from Chapter 3 and my thoughts about the paradoxes underneath:

1. Out of suffering and defeat comes victory.

If you look back on your own life, didn’t you learn more from the times of struggle than ease?   Even though we may not enjoy the medicine, we know it is necessary for the cure. 

2. We have to lose our lives to save them.

Until you have a cause worth dying for you have nothing worth living for.  It is not until you are willing to lose your life over something you believe in do you have a passion about life.  Certainly we should ensure our cause is just, but concern over fanaticism has led most people to throw the baby out with the bath water.   Because a few become fanatical over unjust causes most have decided to not be passionate or committed to anything.  This is what Henry David Thoreau called, “Leading lives of quiet desperation.”

3. Freedom lies not in conforming to the world’s expectations or even realizing what we take to be our deepest wishes; it lies in following the call on our lives.

A person is free when they are doing what they were created to do.  God created everyone for a purpose and it is our responsibility to detect and fulfill that purpose. This unlocks a passion and joy in your life that cannot be hidden.  Are you doing what you are called to do or are you doing what others want you to do. 

4. We have to understand the evil in ourselves before we can truly embrace the good in life. 

We are fallen creatures living in a fallen world.  We must change ourselves before we can ever change the world.  G. K. Chesterton won an essay for "What is wrong with the world?" with a one word answer, “Dear Sirs, Me, Sincerely, G. K. Chesterton.”  We must be careful to think we are all knowing or are the moral absolute.  This is why there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors. 

These principles are counter-intuitive and can be hard to understand.  But I can speak for these principles and have seen them lived out in many people’s lives.   As we enjoy another Sunday of freedom, I encourage you to reflect on these principles in your life.  The Good Life is a great book to help you to reflect on your purpose and responsibilites to an Almighty God.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Last night I spoke at men’s leadership in Flint, Michigan.  The room was packed and people standing in the back.  I am impressed by how many men desire to make a difference in their lives and the lives of others.  I finished my talk with the story of Teddy Stallard.  I had read the story in a book called The 7 Laws of the Learner by Bruce Wilkinson.  In the book it was represented as a true story.  After researching this morning I have discovered it was a work of fiction by Elizabeth Ballard.  It doesn’t change the point, but wanted to set the record straight.  This is one of the tougher things with speaking.  When you reference books you have read and stories quoted, you assume they are accurate.  But what can happen is authors quote a story they assumed truthful and an Urban legend results.  The moral of the Teddy Stallard story is that teachers can have a big impact on the results of their students.

Teaching is not teaching unless the student is learning.  So many teachers feel they are not responsible for the learning, but just getting the information out there.  I disagree strongly!  As a leader we must create the hunger in our students to want to learn and grow.  We must help them understand it is to their benefit to learn and grow using the information we are sharing.  A teacher who is not sold on the material themselves will never be able to create a hunger in others.  This is why I have never given a speech in my life.  I cannot go on stage and regurgitate information.  I cannot represent something that I do not believe in 100% myself.  I can only go up and share what has touched my heart and attempt to reach other people’s hearts.   This is why I can never give the same talk twice, because I never know what I am going to say particularly.  I have a general direction and then based on how the crowd is responding I make adjustments.  If I do not feel they are learning I can change tempo, volume, or subject matter, etc.  The goal is not to finish a talk.  The goal is to inspire others to take information and apply principles to their lives.  This is when true learning and growth occurs.  Here is the Teddy Stallard story for your enjoyment.  We all need to be teachers who inspire others to be their best.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

TEDDY STALLARD STORY

As she stood in front of her 5^th grade class on the first day of school she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However that was wrong, because there in the front row slumped in his seat was a little boy named Teddy Stallard. Miss Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he didn’t play well with other children and that his clothes were messy, and that he constantly needed a bath. And, Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Miss Thompson would actually take delight in marking Teddy’s papers with a broad red pen making bold X’s and then putting a big ‘F” at the top of his paper.

I finished another book on relationships and personal development the other day.   There were some points where I strongly agreed and others where I disagreed.   We should come to all books with the idea of being stretched.  The old saying, “Iron sharpens Iron” comes to mind and this book sharpened me.  The book was You Inc. by Harry and Christine Beckwith.  (Not the You Inc. from Burke Hedges)  Let me quote a snippet from the book:

She asks him, “From your work, what do you consider the key to successful relationships?”

“Predictability,” he answers, “We are most comfortable with people whose behavior we can predict.”

Being predictable means you are the same person in all situations.  Are you an inner directed person whose values are developed through your reading and faith?  Or are you outer directed and take on the values of the group you are with at the moment.  You cannot possibly be predictable if your core values change depending on which group you are with.  Live an authentic life and be predictable (consistent) on whom you are.  Many people are afraid to be themselves for fear of rejection.  My thoughts are if you are rejected for believing in virtuous principles then so be it.  I would rather be rejected by a thousand people than have my conscience rejecting me for not being true.  Who are you and are you the same you in all situations?  No one is perfect here, but the key is to close the gap between what you say you are and what you are.  This makes you character predictable which creates security in the group, team or family you are leading.

We are most comfortable with people who are in emotional control of their life.  If the ups and downs of life cause you to emotionally respond then others cannot predict your behavior.  If they cannot predict your behavior they will avoid spending time with you.  The reverse of this is true also.  No matter what is going on in your personal life focus on serving others.  When you see someone focus on encouraging them.  Life can be discouraging at times and we must choose to be an encourager not a discourager.  If I were to add one trait to every person I know it would be the trait of encouragement.  I know what a difference a kind word has made to me at times in my life.  God has blessed me with incredible friends and association with incredible leaders.  I have been blessed to speak across the world on leadership principles.    But to this day, when someone pays me a sincere compliment it is appreciated and motivates me to improve further.   I try to remember that if kind words have that affect on me after all these years of speaking, then it has an even greater effect on a new potential leader.   Think of the people who have had the greatest impact in your life.  Weren’t they all encouragers who expected more from you?  If they had an impact in your life, why not become that person for someone else’s life?  The choice is yours because leadership is a choice.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

I am reading a great book for the second time!  It is titled, “The Closing of the American Mind" by Allan Bloom.  There is a chapter on books that will make you think about the importance of reading in a person’s life.  Mr. Bloom has watched a decline in good reading from his students.  His thesis is without good reading the soul is shallow and has a reduced capacity to process heroic virtues.  The pop culture does not recognize virtuous behavior, but recognizes bizarre behaviors.   Classic books give people examples of heroic virtue and helps us draw on the strength of our past when we go through our own struggles.  When you have a friend that is hurting you can draw on the loyalty of Achilles to his friend.  When you need to make a moral stand, you can draw on Daniel willing to be thrown to the lions for what he believed.   When you are oppressed by tyranny you can read about Patrick Henry, “Give me liberty of give me death!”   How would you process these thoughts without reference to the great men and women of the past?   I encourage everyone to read more and read better books.  Just as there is junk food there is also junk reading.  To be virtuous you need to have examples of virtuous behavior and model this behavior in your own life.  No excuses about your past or how you were raised!  It is your life and you have the power to choose to read, listen and grow.  Leadership is a choice and a life well lived is the reward!   Let me give you a couple of Mr. Blooms thoughts:

“I began to ask students who their heroes are.  Again, there is usually silence, and most frequently nothing follows.  Why should anyone have heroes?”

“In us the contempt for the heroic is only an extension of the perversion of the democratic principle that denies greatness and wants everyone to feel comfortable in his skin without having to suffer unpleasant comparisons.”

“One can only pity young people without admirations they can respect or avow, who are artificially restrained from the enthusiasm for great virtue.”

“Idealism as it is commonly conceived should have primacy in an education, for man is a being who must take his orientation by his possible perfection.  To attempt to suppress this most natural of all inclinations because of possible abuses is, almost literally, to throw out the baby with the bath.”

“But deprived of literary guidance, they no longer have any image of a perfect soul, and hence do not long to have one.  They do not even imagine that there is such a thing……Thus the most common student view lacks an awareness of the depths as well of the heights, and lacks gravity.”

I will be recommending good books to improve your life and leadership on this blog.  Drink deeply of the classics and watch your perspective choices widen as you draw on the knowledge gained from great books.   You will enjoy Mr. Bloom’s thought provoking book.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward