I read a great short story by Steve Brunkhorst called Grandfather’s letter.  What incredible nuggets it had for climbers in life!   Steve’s points out that in order to climb from peak to peak—we must endure the valley between the mountains.  It takes courage to step off the peak and descend into the valley in order to climb the higher peak on the horizon.   I feel many of us have walked through a valley for the last 5 or 6 months and are starting to ascend to another peak.  This is the year to count your blessings, break camp and start the climb to the top!  Enjoy this wonderful story and follow the advice of Grandfather’s letter.

One day, a young man was cleaning out his late grandfather's belongings when he came across a bright red envelope. Written on the front were the words, "To my grandson." Recognizing his grandfather's handwriting, the boy opened the envelope. A letter inside read:

Dear Ronny,

Years ago you came to me for help. You said, "Grandpa, how is it that you've accomplished so much in your life? You're still full of energy, and I'm already tired of struggling. How can I get that same enthusiasm that you've got?"

I didn't know what to say to you then. But knowing my days are numbered, I figure that I owe you an answer. So here is what I believe.

I think a lot of it has to do with how a person looks at things. I call it 'keeping your eyes wide open.'

First, realize that life is filled with surprises, but many are good ones. If you don't keep watching for them, you'll miss half the excitement. Expect to be thrilled once in a while, and you will be.

When you meet up with challenges, welcome them. They'll leave you wiser, stronger, and more capable than you were the day before. When you make a mistake, be grateful for the things it taught you. Resolve to use that lesson to help you reach your goals.

And always follow the rules. Even the little ones. When you follow the rules, life works. If you think you ever really get by with breaking the rules, you're only fooling yourself.

It's also important to decide exactly what you want. Then keep your mind focused on it, and be prepared to receive it.

But be ready to end up in some new places too. As you grow with the years, you'll be given bigger shoes to fill. So be ready for endings as well as challenging beginnings.

Sometimes we have to be brave enough to move from the familiar to the unfamiliar. Life isn't just reaching peaks. Part of it is moving from one peak to the next. If you rest too long in between, you might be tempted to quit. Leave the past in the past. Climb the next mountain and enjoy the view.

Dump things that weigh you down emotionally and spiritually. When an old resentment, belief, or attitude becomes heavy, lighten your load. Shed those hurtful attitudes that slow you down and drain your energy.

Remember that your choices will create your successes and your failures. So consider all the pathways ahead, and decide which ones to follow. Then believe in yourself, get up, and get going.

And be sure to take breaks once in a while. They'll give you a renewed commitment to your dreams and a cheerful, healthy perception of the things that matter the most to you.

Most important of all, never give up on yourself. The person that ends up a winner is the one who resolves to win. Give life everything you've got, and life will give its best back to you.

Love always,

Grandpa

The quote below reminds me of:

William Wallace in Bravheart , Maximus in Gladiator, Winston Churchill against Hitler, George Washington against King George and England, Oliver Cromwell against King Charles, Martin Luther against the Pope, Spartacus against his Roman masters, Demosthenes against Philip!

When dictatorship is a fact, revolution becomes a right.

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

Throughout history, men and women have fought against tyrants who will steal a person's property, liberty and life.  It takes men and women of character to stand for their freedom against the tyrants.  Can you give any other examples that this quote reminds you of?

I am researching the habits of leaders.  Self-discipline is critical to a successful life and it takes self-discipline to develop the right habits.  Like they say, “You make your habits and your habits make you.”   In the spirit of the Wikinomics book, I am going to open up the discussion on habits for all.  Here is an article discussing some important leadership habits, but I think there are others.  Please read this list of leadership habits and add a habit and your thoughts.   All of us are on a leadership journey and I am curious on the habits we feel are essential to leadership.  The readers of this blog are the best! God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Many people are born leaders, yet the ability to lead is actually an art and an amazing collection of skills which can be learned and sharpened. The following top ten daily habits will help you and/or your clients grow as a leader personally, professionally, and spiritually.

1. Spend 30 minutes each morning looking for "cracks" in the major areas of your life.

Your depth of character is key to determining your success as a leader. It is easy for us to say that we are "in integrity," but your actions are the real indicators of strength of character. Spend 30 minutes each morning looking at the major areas of your life: career, marriage, family, community, and spirituality. Write down any instances where you see "cracks" (you have cut corners, something is inconsistent, you have not kept your word, you have been dishonest, etc.) Do all in your power to repair those cracks by apologizing and dealing with the consequences of your actions. After facing up to past actions, begin a plan that will rebuild you and prevent you from making further mistakes.

2. Show up and be ten minutes early for every appointment.

Great leaders show up for every appointment, and they are always on time. Each day, practice not only showing up but being ten minutes early for each and every appointment. "The early bird gets the worm" has never been so true than when it applies to becoming a great leader that others want to follow.

3. Be dedicated to a high level of learning.

Great leaders are highly competent, because they are dedicated to a high level of learning, growth, and improvement. Spend 15-30 minutes each day devoted to learning something new. Do not settle for knowing "how" to do something. Dig deeper by asking the question "why" and then, go find the answer. Search the internet, interview an expert, or take a day trip to find the answer to a question that is on your mind or the minds of those who follow you.

4. Be simple and crystal clear in all communication.

As a leader, your communication should be simple, clean, and clear as a bell. Examine both written and verbal communication for simplicity and clarity. Use as few words as possible, and eliminate jargon and "big words" from your vocabulary. Express yourself in a way that your listeners can understand.

5. Surround yourself with great people.

One of the secrets of a great leader is great people. Hire the right staff, surround yourself with a strong inner circle, and spend time daily with people who have a variety of gifts. With the support of a strong circle of men, women and children, you will be ready for anything that comes your way.

6. Develop a sense of commitment and responsibility.

People do not follow leaders who are not committed and responsible. Commitment and responsibility can be measured by the hours you spend and how you spend them, the money you spend and how you spend it, and by what you do for others. Spend 15 minutes each day analyzing your time, your checkbook, and your volunteer work. Look closely at how much time you spend with family and friends as compared to work, how you spend your money, and how you give back to the community. You may be very surprised at what you find.

7. Develop a positive attitude by altering your mind.

It is very possible to alter your attitude by altering your mind. Saturate yourself daily with motivational literature, positive people, and inspiring music/art. By conditioning your mind to be more positive on a daily basis, you will find that winning will be a daily reward of your life.

8. Accept responsibility.

Great leaders never play the role of a victim. They recognize that part of being a great leader is being ultimately responsible for all successes and failures. On a daily basis, analyze your current projects, and ask yourself "Have I done all that needs to be done? What have I not done that I should?" Once you have analyzed each project, if you find a weakness, go the extra mile by working extra hours, hiring an outside expert, or getting really creative to repair the weakness or to turn it into a success!

9. Make self-discipline a part of your lifestyle.

What do you need to develop self-discipline? Following a better diet or exercise routine? Getting up one hour earlier? Being rigorous with your spending? Learning something new every day? Eliminate excuse-making from your life, and begin to develop habits that will invite self-discipline to become the foundation of your life. Hire a coach to support you during the development of a routine of self-discipline, and remove rewards until the job is done!

10. Develop courage by facing fear.

By a show of courage, you will inspire others to follow and to walk in your footsteps. Spend 15-30 minutes each day doing something simply for the sake of developing courage: speak to an audience, make a difficult phone call, learn a new skill, write an article or a top ten, or visit someone you have always wanted to meet. As Eleanor Roosevelt acknowledged: "You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

I found a reference to the Gladstone & Disraeli anecdote in the following interview.  Warren Bennis was one of the first leadership authors I ever read.  I truly believe we can Launch a Leadership Revolution—my assignment is to provide the best thoughts from the best minds for us to contemplate and develop our leadership ability.  Here is the article:

David Gergen, editor-at-large of "U.S. News & World Report," engages Warren Bennis, a professor of business administration at the University of Southern California, co-author of Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration.

DAVID GERGEN: Warren, you write in your book that the day of the Lone Ranger is over; that the era of creative genius and what we’re going to accomplish creatively in the future is going to be a new one dominated by groups. What do you mean by that?

WARREN BENNIS, Co-Author, "Organizing Genius": I think the problems facing us are so complicated that with globalization, galloping technology, and that the idea of a John Wayne--marvelous as he was as an actor--is just going to make it in the new world. The problems are much too complex. Furthermore, it’s always been a group. If you look through history, even though we tend to lionize the great man--as one of my students said, it was John Wayne who rode through my childhood, shaped my dreams of power and authority. It’s typically been a small group of thoughtful and committed people who have changed the world. When you ask people who painted the Sistine Chapel, what comes to most people’s minds, the correct answer is Michelangelo. But it was Michelangelo plus 13 terrific artists and a crew of 200 that did the Sistine Chapel. So all throughout history it’s been a group, a creative group.

DAVID GERGEN: We tend to think of Thomas Edison out there tinkering--

WARREN BENNIS: I know.

DAVID GERGEN: He had a great number of helpers.

WARREN BENNIS: He had a huge number of people whom he treated quite shabbily, so he kind of, you know, took the spotlight to himself.

DAVID GERGEN: What distinguishes a successful group, a great group--

WARREN BENNIS: A great group?

DAVID GERGEN: --from one that’s not successful?

WARREN BENNIS: Well, I think the--I was talking engine--source of these groups is that they’re accomplishing something that they really believe, all of them, is going to change the world, that’s going to make a dent in the universe, whether it’s Peter Schneider at the Walt Disney Studios who thinks the next film they’re going to make is the "Hunchback of Notre Dame" or the "Lion King" is just a different way of animating it, or I guess if the paradigmatic group in the book is really the "Manhattan Project." Imagine, you’re J. Robert Oppenheimer in 1943, with the free world in balance, and your task is to create a nuclear device before the Japanese or Germans do it, so all of these groups felt that they were on a mission from God. In other words, they had a sense of spirit. They--one of them called it his great group of spiritual project. An animator at Walt Disney said, why do I work 80-hour weeks, because I think somehow I’ll find that damn Holy Grail; they can make a dent in the universe. So that all of these groups had a sense of meaning, of spirit, that they could really do something that no one else has ever done, so that this isn’t just your ordinary company vision, you know, which to a lot of people is banal or vapid. But these are groups that all had a sense of true meaning that they’re going to do something that no one else in the world has ever accomplished.

DAVID GERGEN: They also seem to have deadlines.

WARREN BENNIS: Yes, they had that. I should put it differently. At the heart of every great group is a dream, but it’s a dream with a deadline. Great groups, as I wrote about, ship. They get something out, whether it’s a campaign, whether it’s a movie, whether it’s a nuclear device. They all have some--a thingness, if I could. They’re putting out something, not just a lot of talk.

DAVID GERGEN: Steve Jobs and Apple.

WARREN BENNIS: For example.

DAVID GERGEN: You’ve got to get your product out. You’ve got to have a dream, but at the end of the day you’ve got to get a product out.

WARREN BENNIS: Right.

DAVID GERGEN: The other thing was that these great groups seem to be young. I had never understood till I read your book at the Manhattan Project, the scientists there, the average age 25 years old.

WARREN BENNIS: Can you imagine that? I know. Yeah. I hesitate to talk about youth, having turned 72 last week, but--and when I talk a bit about the book to people whose hair is my color, but I do think there’s something about--there’s a certain innocence, a certain sense of not knowing what’s impossible.

DAVID GERGEN: And what you call delusional confidence.

WARREN BENNIS: It’s sort of a reality distortion field, unwarranted optimism, a sense of they can do something. And they don’t know what they don’t know.

DAVID GERGEN: Right. And the other thing I found so interesting, because I did find your--the "Manhattan Project" the paradigm, as you called it, the notion of making sure people in the group, the works in the group, that they think their work is meaningful. The anecdotes that you had about Richard Feinman, the physicist.

WARREN BENNIS: Yeah. They want all these technicians and engineers highly trained, college graduates, and they do sort of calculating work without the computers.

DAVID GERGEN: Bring it into Los Alamos.

WARREN BENNIS: Sort of doing--bringing it to Los Alamos, a godforsaken place, and they were doing just sort of minor calculations here, which were very boring. These were all very bright people. They didn’t know why they were doing it. They were brought their total secrecy. Finally, that young physicist, irreverent, outspoken, said to Dr. Oppenheimer, said, I’ve got to tell these people what they’re working on, because right now they’re just sort of like making little--they have no idea.

DAVID GERGEN: They have no idea about the atom bomb.

WARREN BENNIS: At all, total secrecy. So finally, J. Oppenheimer agreed and had seminars explaining to them not only the meaning of this, what they were doing--the free world was in balance--but also the significance of getting it before the Japanese or the Germans get it. And overnight, according to him, it was a miracle he said. These people began working eighteen-twenty hour days. They knew what they were involved in. Not only did Oppenheimer tell them what the bomb was about but also the physics, the theoretical aspects of it, so they were involved, and he said it was--and finally his words were total transformation. Talk about energizing, animating a group. If people know what the significance of what they’re doing is, I think a lot of people who right now working in boring, dull jobs can, you know, get a new lease on life.

DAVID GERGEN: You’ve written a lot of books about leadership. What is the role of the leader in these groups, the great groups?

WARREN BENNIS: They smell talent. They’re able to hire people, bring people in better than they were. They had--even Oppenheimer before Rolodex had a Rolodex of the best theoretical physicists, nuclear physicists in the world. And he was able to recruit meticulously, so the first, and then secondly to orchestrate this talent, not just to pile a lot of good bodies together. That doesn’t make a great group. But you’ve got to bring together a group of people as Peter Schneider, again, of Disney Studios, the animation studio, said, you’ve got to bring people together who want to play together in the sand box. That’s--the third thing is you’ve got to--you’re not the creator; you’re not necessarily the brightest or the best. You are the curator. You’re not the Fred Astaire on the stage of the Frank Sinatra, but you have created the social architecture that creates the Astaires and the Sinatras doing their best. And the best single anecdote I can give you is about two 19th century English prime ministers, Gladstone and Disraeli, and it was said about Gladstone, Prime Minister Gladstone, that when you had dinner with him, you thought that he was the world’s brightest, wittiest, most charming man you’ve ever met. But when you had dinner with Disraeli, you felt that you were the smartest, the wittiest, the most charming person you’ve ever met. These people inspire. Now, Oppenheimer, take the Manhattan Project, you know, there were seven future Nobel Laureates working for him. They were clearly in a way made more contribution to theoretical physics than he ever did, bright as he was.

DAVID GERGEN: Critical to leadership of an organization, a corporation, is creating trust between the leader and the followers. How much of a challenge is that in an era of downsizing?

WARREN BENNIS: Big, major. I gave a talk recently on, you know, my notions of leadership and empowerment and trust, et cetera, to a group of high potential executives, Fortune 100 company, and after I was through, they said, you know, Dr. Bennis, what you said is absolutely true, but tomorrow there could be a pink slip on my desk. So trust is the major issue facing most institutions right now, generating and sustaining trust. And it’s so difficult. And the only--you know, they can give you a lot of background on trust, you know, talk about constancy and competence, and integrity, and all that, but the major thing is authenticity and to really feel comfortable with your own skin. A leader like Rabin, who had no, you know, social graces of many--politicians had that sense of authenticity. So I think trust--without trust, I don’t think you can have a great group or great organization or lead a great nation state.

DAVID GERGEN: Warren Bennis, thank you very much.

WARREN BENNIS: Thank you, David.

I loved this post by Matt Franks so much that I have decided to make it an article for all to see!  I think I will take my favorite comment of the week and generate an entire post from it.  Please keep the great thoughts coming!  Today's post is on treating others with dignity and respect.  I have experienced some egotistical managers on life’s journey and am disgusted by the way they view and treat people.  We all must serve and encourage others like Matt is displaying wherever he goes.  I will save the full treatment for a future post, but let me give you a preview to open Matt’s servant based leadership behavior.  

Let me share a story I wrote about two great Prime Ministers of Victorian England.  The general facts of the personalities of Gladstone and Disraeli are true, but I have taken artistic liberty to add other characters for suspense and development of the points. 

There is a 19^th century story told about and older British woman who had the rare opportunity to have separate lunches with the two most famous living Englishmen of the era: William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli.  Both had been Prime Ministers of England several times.  Both were men of strong character, convictions and decisive leaders.  A young reporter tracked down the fortunate Victorian lady and requested an interview.  The reporter asked her questions about her lunches to determine what the two legendary PM’s were like as persons.  After asking questions like: “What did you discuss?”, “What did he eat?”, and “What were his thoughts on the political scene?” the reporter was wrapping up his interview and contemplating his story in tomorrow’s paper.  He had only one more question for the patient woman, “Which Prime Minister did you enjoy lunch with more?”  She thought for a moment and then a bright smile covered her face.  “When I went to lunch with William Gladstone,” she shared, “I was convinced that I was dining with the greatest living Englishmen!”  The reporter quickly scribbled down his thoughts and thinking the lady had finished was getting up to leave—not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable that she had chosen William Gladstone over Benjamin Disraeli.  As he was thanking her for her time, she politely told him she was not finished.  “When I went to lunch with Benjamin Disraeli,” she enthused, “I was convinced that he was dining with the greatest living Englishwoman!”   As the reporter was leaving, he vowed to never forget the beaming smile that had transformed the elderly ladies presence.  “Yes,” he thought, “it is nice to feel important and capable of impressing others by discussing eloquently on the many subjects of your choice.  But others will remember you on how nice it was to feel important to you and capable of impressing you by your attentive listening on the many subjects of their choice.”

Quote: “You can tell how “big” the person is by the way they treat the “little” person.

Orrin,

I love your 2 quotes! Very thought provoking! Hey I hope the book signing went well in Michigan! This weekend I had an interesting experience that I thought might fit into the title of your lesson especially around responsibilities. It was an experience that I will never forget and something I couldn't wait to share with everyone! It reminded me about my responsibility, as a growing leader, to always be a lifter for other people.

For me, as I described in a few posts back, I have a responsibility to develop my God given potential and practice my personal "daily dozen" everyday. Why? I believe that my gifts and abilities are God's gift to me and what I do with those gifts is my gift back to God! One of the practices I try to do daily is add value to people I have never met before. Whether it is opening up doors for others, saying hi, or striking up a conversation to learn about them I just want to add value to others. In other words I just follow the Golden Rule that is taught to all of us in the Bible: "Do unto others as you want them to do unto you."

Of all places, my experience happened at a Wal-Mart with a 70 year old lady who was a cashier. :) I was checking out in line and just struck up a conversation with this cashier and she worked there because her husband passed away and she needed to earn an income since her retirement was not very good. Anyways to make a long story short one of the items I purchased was 2 packages of Extra chewing gum. When she was done tallying up what I owed her she said "I charged you for 3 packages of gum instead of 2." Then she burst into tears! I said "What is wrong? Is there anything I can help you with?" She said "about 5 minutes ago I did the same thing to someone else and he told me I was so ignorant that I shouldn't even work at Wal-Mart. I am sorry if I made you upset." I told her "ma’am I have shopped at many Wal-Mart’s during my lifetime, but I have never met someone as kind as you. You are a person of worth! I have watched you serve the previous 2 customers and I wish every store I went into had someone like you working the register!" I was in awe that a $1.99 mistake made this experience happen! She said "the only person that ever said that to me was my husband, but since he died no one has paid me a compliment like that before." Can you believe that someone made this woman feel so low for a $1.99 package of gum?!!!!! Anyways I went and got another package of gum off the shelf since I paid for it and then came back to show this wonderful cashier that it was OK. She held my bags and gave them back to me before I walked out the door. Then she said something to me that I will never forget. She gave me a hug and said "I know God has great things in store for you. Thank you for valuing me as a person and not seeing me as "just a cashier." Like I said earlier this was at a Wal-Mart! I went out to my car and just sat stunned because I couldn't believe that experience just happened. It was something I will never forget and know now how important it is to carry out the responsibility of treating everyone with love and respect.

That is why the stakes of leadership are so high! You see when opportunity comes, as we all know, it is too late to prepare. I am very thankful because of my continued leadership learning through TEAM and other leadership organizations I was prepared to add value to someone that just got de-valued by someone else. This experience teaches me that no matter who we ever talk to or run into, God brings us to that moment for a specific reason, but it is our responsibility to be lifters to all people not just a select few! However in order to be a lifter in other people's lives we have got to check our EGO at the door! Back off and stop taking yourself too seriously, because you can't help anyone if you are only concerned with helping yourself! I must say though if I would have seen that man treat the cashier the way he did I might have been asking for forgiveness! :)

There are so many people that everyday are de-valued or de-edified by Egotistical and our jobs as leaders is to see others not as they are, but see them as they could become. It is our responsibility to see the good in other people and tell them how those great qualities will serve others well.

Thanks Orrin!

Best,

Matt

Assignment:  Are you making others feel important?  In what specific ways do you make others feel accepted, approved and appreciated?