Learning Leadership

Enjoy Your Holidays

I'm going to be taking a couple of weeks off this holiday season to enjoy time with my family.  I hope you are doing the same.

I'll be back after January 1st to deliver more leadership teachings to you.

Enjoy your holiday season, and please remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Jim Collins Notes from the Catalyst Leadership Conference

Here's some of my notes from when I attended the Catalyst Leadership Conference in 2008.

One session featured Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, Built to Last and How the Mighty Fall.  His presentation was probably one of my favorite at the Catalyst Leadership Conference.  His teaching was richly research based and he shared his content with passion and energy.

Here are some of my notes of what I learned from his talk:

The best overnight success stories take about 20 years to get going

I believe this to be true.  I've heard the quote stated, "It took me 30 years to become an overnight success."  Change doesn't happen quickly and neither does success. 

Collins relates this idea to a flywheel.  A flywheel takes a lot of effort to move and to get rolling.  However, once it's moving, it keeps going with very little effort. 

Work also compounds itself day after day.  Similar to compounding interest, what we do today, affects tomorrow, and tomorrow's work affects the next day.  Every little bit of positive work makes a difference and becomes a sum at the end of it all.  And the sum of lots of hard work and good effort is an overnight success. 

Two examples: after seven years the founder of Wal-Mart, Sam Walton had only opened two Wal-Mart stores, and after 13 years of operation, Starbucks only had five locations.  It took each of them a while to get the flywheel turning.

The ultimate test of your leadership is how the work goes after you're gone

When the person in a leadership person changes, the work might not go on at all.  That's probably an example of poor leadership.  But great leadership is when the work goes on after you are gone, and the organization continues to grow. 

Even important work might not go on after a leader is gone.  Not because the work isn't important, but because the old leadership wasn't skilled enough to have trained and laid a foundation for others leaders to clearly follow in his footsteps. 

This is why it's so important that leaders take time to plan and set in place systems to keep the organization going after he is gone.

The #1 characteristic of a great leader is humility

If you've worked for a great leader, I'm sure you know this to be true. 

No one likes being around someone who thinks his feces doesn't stink.  Especially when it comes to leaders, yet it seems to be most common with leaders.  So you've written a book, spoke at a conference, started a company, founded your own foundation.  Big deal, write your mom about it and get it over with! 

Leaders need to be humble.  Humility allows them to reach down to the people they work with to pull them up. 

Nonprofits should not focus on being more like businesses, they should focus on being great

Very true.  Nonprofits and businesses are founded and started with two totally different missions and mindsets.  So why would you manage and lead them the same way?  One is focused on serving people by providing services free of charge, often to the poorest most underprivileged people in the community.  While the other is focused on providing a "product" which can be sold at the highest possible value to make the founder and creator of the company rich. 

Why would you lead these two organizations the same way?  You shouldn't lead them the same way because the people who are going to be attracted to work at the two organizations are extremely different.  People working in a nonprofit serving needy people are going to be motivated by total different methods than people working in a for-profit company. 

As someone who works in the nonprofit sector, I get sick and tired of people saying, "Nonprofits should be ran like businesses."  In my experience the only people who are saying this are people who spent their entire career in the business sector, but now are volunteering or have just started working at a nonprofit. 

Besides, why would a nonprofit be ran like a business?  I've often heard that over 60 percent of new businesses fail within five years.  So why should a nonprofit be ran like something which is more likely to be shut down in five years rather than survive?  That doens't seem to be very intelligent to me, does it to you?

Question: What Jim Collins books have you read and what have you learned from them?

How to Write a Book

While recently publishing my first book, it is natural to guess that I've done a lot of writing over the past year or so.  As a whole, I have written over 550 articles for this blog and on other sources throughout the web.

While writing a lot, I've learned some writing principles that I have followed and implemented.  If you write often, these might not be new to you, but they have been new to me as a new writer.

Here's my process for writing a book:

Get a sense for the main purpose

When writing it's important to get a sense for the main purpose of what you are going to write about.  What do you want to accomplish with your writing? What do you want the reader to learn and/or do? For my book, A Day of Hope, the main purpose was:

To inspire and teach others how to do A Day of Hope in their community.

Every chapter, section, sentence, and word of my book evolved around meeting that purpose.  That's the benefit of having a main purpose.  When you discover it, it's very easy to shed away anything that doesn't match up with it.

The first draft of my book was well over 300 pages long, but it dended up being published as 152 pages. How did so much content get cut? I knew my main purpose, and anyting that didn't match that main purpose was cut out.

Get all the ideas, stories, quotes, and illustrations on paper

This takes some serious work, but it pays off at the end.  I am not a person who can hold enormous amounts of information in my head at one time.  And because of that, I get everything down on paper so I can see it, organize it, and throw it out if I don't want it.  This usually means I write out stories, principles, and anything else that I might want to share.

I have found that if I get everything down on paper, then I have more room in my head to think of new content to add to the book.  As Jason Womack has taught me, our brains are designed to think creatively and come up with content, not to hold large amounts of information in our memory.

Start putting everything in the order of an outline

Once everything is on paper, I start to put it in the form of an outline.  At this point I might have a file folder two inches thick with content I want to write about in the book. 

This process of creating the outline starts by going through that two inch thick stack of paper and starting to group together similar topics.  If I find a principle about leadership and a story about leadership, I stack those two pieces of paper together.  If I find a story about integrity and a principle about integrity, I stack those together too. 

The outline creates itself because I allow the best content to bubble up to the top as the most popular, thus also being the most important too.

Fill in the outline with extra content if you need it

At this point, sometimes I need additional material for what I am writing about.  I might go do some research for more content in an area if I feel I need more support for my position on a specific subject.  This very rarely happens as I usually cut much more content than I add.  As my girlfriend Jen says, "Cut, cut, cut!"

Start typing

Now I sit down at the computer and start typing.  I have my outline and my content ready, so I sit down and start pecking away at the keyboard.  I peck, peck, and peck.  And the end result is a very rough draft of a lot of ideas supported by stories and research that hopefully makes sense and will help someone.

The bottom line to writing a book is to write!  You write a book one chapter at a time, one section at a time, one paragraph at a time, one sentence at a time, one word at a time, and one letter at a time.  Hence, the most important part of writing a book is to write!

Question: What is your process for writing books or articles?

Do as I say, not as I do

We often hear it said, "Do as I say, not as I do."  Which we all know is a statement where we have no moral authority or integrity.  If we are telling people to do something that we do not do, then we have no real authority to tell them to do something that we currently do not do.

However, there is a great amount of influence that we have for looking back on things and being able to think reflectively.  When we are able to reflect on our experiences, learn from what we did incorrect, and then pass that information along to others, it is a very powerful way to share wisdom.

I noticed this when meeting with a mentor at my favorite place, Starbucks (I love a tall Christmas Blend, no room).  He was advising me on an experience he had about thirty years earlier in his life, and had advised me to "Do as he says, not as he did."  I took that advice with great appreciation knowing that he has had over thirty years to reflect on that experience.

There is very little power in "Do as I say, not as I do."  But there is a tremendous amount of power in "Do as I say, not as I did."  Because we can't always change our past, but we can certainly learn from it and pour into others.

My Five Favorite Leadership Books

Yesterday the LA Books Examiner published an article I wrote entitled, My Five Favorite Leadership Books.

You can read the article here for free.

Enjoy!

Influence: WARNING! (part 6 of 6)

I'm continuing my six part series of essays from the book, Influence: Science and Practice by Dr. Robert Cialdini.  Part six is below.

If you missed any of my others essays on Influence, you can read them here:

Introduction
Authority
Social Proof
Liking
Reciprocation

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WARNING! 

Watch out for these principles! 

They are active in the world that we are in, regardless of if you identify them.  Many of them have been hard-wired into our nervous system by society, marketing geniuses, and salesmen, much of the time without us even realizing it.  But if you are able to be aware of these principles, you can defend against them. 

As Gatorade attempts to convince you G3 will help you perform like Payton Manning, or an everyday Joe proclaims a Anthony Robbins seminar will change your life, or another quick witted politician attempts to convince you to vote for him, or you feel the automatic response to reply to a Christmas card from someone you don’t even know, if you are aware of the principles, you can sniff them out and know you’re not going to have a “long status as a sucker” (ix). 

You are now equipped with four of the most powerful weapons of influence.  Now take up your sword to defend yourself!

Influence: Reciprocation (part 5 of 6)

I'm continuing my six part series of essays from the book, Influence: Science and Practice by Dr. Robert Cialdini.  Part five is below.

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The principle of reciprocation is perhaps the simplest and most easily identified principle in Influence. 

It shows us that if we offer something to another person, there is a natural automatic response (remember fixed-action patterns) to feel compelled to give something in return.   Supporting this natural built in reaction, Dr. Caildini verifies that we “try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us” (20).  Not only do we feel that we should give something in return to someone who gives something to us, but it almost feels as if it’s an obligation even if we didn’t ask for or want the gift. 

While reading the cartoons section (the first part of the newspaper I read) of the Modesto Bee I came across a PICKLES cartoon that perfectly illustrates the principle of reciprocation.  The cartoon shows Mr. and Mrs. Pickles at the mailbox opening a Christmas card.  The Christmas card is from someone they do not know, the Chattertons.  Mrs. Pickles proclaims that even though neither her nor Mr. Pickles knows who the Chattertons are, they need to quickly purchase a stamp and Christmas card and send it off ASAP.  Then, interrupting the Mr. and Mrs. Pickles’ Christmas card commotion, the Postman returns to take the card back from Mrs. Pickles because he put the card in their mailbox by mistake. 

Now, why would Mr. and Mrs. Pickles spend the money for a card and stamp and dedicate time and effort to send the Chattertons a Christmas card, when they didn’t know them?  The answer is the principle of reciprocation.  Mr. and Mrs. Pickles received the nice gesture of the money and time spent by the Chattertons to send a Christmas card, and they felt obligated to offer that same time and money back in the form of a Christmas card. 

Sounds ludicrous, doesn’t it?  But it’s how our culture has wired us and now the principle possesses “awesome strength, often producing a yes response to a request that, except for an existing feeling of indebtedness, would have surely been refused” (22). 

The principle of reciprocation is extremely powerful and easy to employ because people often have an “obligation to receive that makes the rule so easy to exploit” (31).  Most people feel that if you’re being offered a gift, you should accept it, even if you don’t want it.

Influence: Liking (part 4 of 6)

I'm continuing my six part series of essays from the book, Influence: Science and Practice by Dr. Robert Cialdini.  Part three is below.

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The principle of liking is that we often do things and allow others to influence us because we know them well and like them. 

As Dr. Cialdini defines, “we most prefer to say yes to the requests of people we know and like” (144).  Almost everyone in our community has family, friends, and co-workers whom they come in contact with on a daily basis.  And that daily contact and interaction with people whom we like is what gives the principle of liking so much influence. 

There are many different reasons that we like people.  A few listed in Influence are physical attractiveness (148), similarity (150), compliments (152), and cooperation (154).  The principle of liking isn’t just for people we already know, as Dr. Cialdini explains that anyone can “benefit from the rule even when already formed friendships are not present for them to employ” (147). 

Among the massive amount of recent political propaganda bombardment, I received a piece of mail from Shawn Bessey who is running for Stanislaus County Judge.  This piece of mail caught and held my attention much longer than most pieces of mail because of the names of several people I know and like were printed on it.  With more investigation I noticed the names of a total of eight people I know personally who have endorsed him.  When looking at the piece of mail, I found myself thinking, “Well, if people that I know and like endorse him, then maybe he deserves my vote.” 

Again, as with the Payton Manning Gatorade ad and Tony Robbins’ brochure, I was a victim of the principle of liking and I didn’t even realize it.  This vividly explains Dr. Cialdini’s basic thought that people “prefer to say yes to individuals they know and like.” 

Since I know and like eight people who publicly endorse Mr. Bessey, the end result is that I’ll probably give him my vote in the November 2^nd election.

Influence: Social Proof (part 3 of 6)

I'm continuing my six part series of essays from the book, Influence: Science and Practice by Dr. Robert Cialdini.  Part three is below.

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The principle of social proof is when we take actions based on the opinions of others around us, often because we don’t know what to do. 

Dr. Cialdini elaborates on this point claiming “we determine what is correct by finding out what other people think is correct” (100).  Often we decide whether we want to purchase a product, attend a church, visit a vacation destination, drive a car, or live a type of lifestyle based off of other people. 

This principle of social proof is even more powerful when we don’t know what to do.  We all have times and situations where we are unsure of ourselves, and Dr. Cialdini contends: “when we are unsure of ourselves, when the situation is unclear or ambiguous, when uncertainty reigns, we are most likely to look to and accept the actions of others as correct” (111). 

I have found a good example of the social proof principle in a brochure for Anthony Robbins’ Mastery University seminars.  The program takes a lot of selling to get participants enrolled since it consists of three separate events with each event being five days long and requiring a $4,000 registration check.  The brochure for Mastery University uses many testimonies from past participants to explain the value of the University and how those attendees received positive results from attending.  The brochure includes testimonials from many unknown people such as Loan Officers, middle managers, small business owners, and other areas of work that are lesser known to the greater public.  When I first glanced at the brochure I found myself thinking, “Wow, if these seminars could do that for these people, what can it do for me?” 

With that said, social proof was in action in its truest and most effective form.  I was considering enrolling in this program, because I was able to see the opinions and experiences of others who had already participated in it.  Many of those people were just like me, so I could easily relate to them. 

The principle of social proof gains even more leverage when people similar to us share their opinion with us, therefore explaining why the principle “operates most powerfully when we are observing the behavior of people just like us” (119). 

As a result, this well pieced together brochure that included twenty pages of content and eleven strategically placed testimonials from people like me, led to more influence over me, so much more influence that I did end up enrolling in the Mastery University.

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Question: Where have you seen the principle of social proof in your life as a leader?

Influence: The Authority Principle (part 2 of 6)

I'm continuing my six part series of essays from the book, Influence: Science and Practice by Dr. Robert Cialdini.  Part two is below.

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The authority principle is when the influence of someone is attached to a product that is being sold. 

This is the principle I have chosen first because it is very powerful and is practiced in many parts of our lives, many of which we are not aware of.  But, why does authority make such a big difference in dealing with products?  Dr. Cialdini cites several studies in Influence and comments that we have “a deep-seated sense of duty to authority” (182). 

We seem to believe that if a successful athlete comments on a sports drink, or a grey bearded doctor in a lab coat advises us on health products, then it must be true.  Helping us to identify where this sense of authority comes from, he declares, “we are trained from birth to believe that obedience to proper authority is right and disobedience is wrong” (185).  In school, if you misbehave you are punished by the teacher.  On the sports field, if you don’t follow the rules of the game, you are penalized by the referee. 

A website ad of future Football Hall of Fame quarterback, Payton Manning depicts this principle of authority vividly as he is sitting down in what appears to be an after game rest.  He is has a bottle of the new Gatorade G3 in his hand which he is casually sipping on.  This is the authority principle at work in its most powerful form.  The amazing athlete is showing us that he drinks Gatorade G3 to recover from a tough day of physical work. 

We see the amazing results of athletes’ performance every week, and when they make a comment on a particular sports drink or dietary supplement, we naturally think that if they drink it or eat it, then it must be beneficial for us too.  With sports endorsements this often doesn’t even have to be in words.  Just the sight of Payton Manning drinking Gatorade’s new G3 is enough for wanna-be athletes like me to purchase it on the way home from my Wednesday night English class. 

Dr. Cialdini’s view of authority takes us right back to his “fixed-action pattern” philosophy.  As I showed you in my last paragraph, following these automatic responses makes it easier for us to make decisions and saves us “time, energy, and mental capacity” (17).  And when we follow the authority principle by simply reacting to someone in authority commenting on a product (i.e. a sports drink), it saves us that time, energy, and mental capacity; that’s why the principle of authority has such influence on you and I.

 

 

Influence: Science and Practice by Robert Cialdini (part 1 of 6)

I recently wrote a very lengthy essay about the book, Influence: Science and Practice by Dr. Robert Cialdini.  It's a great book about sales and leadership which I recommend as a read to anyone who is responsible to influence others.

Over the next few days I'm going to post different portions of that essay here on my blog for you, free!  Enjoy and read the introduction to my essay, Influence at Work below.

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Influence at Work

A well researched book, Influence: Science and Practice by Robert B. Cialdini Ph.D symbolizes the bookends of life: people who try to influence others and those of us who are influenced. 

Reading it is eye opening and helps us see why we do what we do.  What a revealing read!  Many a time while reading I concluded “so that’s why we do what we do” or “that’s why I bought what I bought in that situation, even though I didn’t want it.” 

Dr. Cialdini’s basic point throughout the book is that each of his six principles of persuasion facilitates an automatic response from us.  Dr. Cialdini dubs these as “fixed-action patterns” (17).  If “A” happens in the physical environment, then a natural reaction of “B” is acted upon from us. 

Further illustrating his point of this “fixed-action patterns” behavior, Dr. Cialdini reasons “automatic, stereotyped behavior is prevalent in much human action, because in many cases, it is the most efficient form of behaving” (7).  And why wouldn’t we participate in this behavior where we simply react to an outside stimuli?  Following Dr. Cialdini’s “fixed-action patterns” allows us to be more active as humans because we do not have to think fully through every situation.  It allows us to become faster and quicker in our reactions, therefore allowing us to move on to the next task. 

Further illustrating this point, Dr. Cialdini explains the “advantage of such shortcut responding lies in its efficiency and economy; by reacting automatically to a usually informative trigger feature, an individual preserves crucial time, energy, and mental capacity” (17). 

Isn’t time, energy, and mental capacity something all Americans want more of?  In America, faster is almost always better.  And salesmen, fundraisers, and marketing geniuses have learned to play on these “fixed-action patterns” to their advantage.  Since these principles are used in a subtle way that we don’t always know about, Dr. Cialdini envisions them similar to a “woman employing the Japanese martial art form called jujitsu would use her own strength only minimally against an opponent” (12). 

The principles of persuasion that Dr. Cialdini helps our naked eyes to see are gentle and light.  If a salesman is attempting to use these principles on you, he cannot allow you to know he is attempting to use the principles to his advantage; otherwise the principles drastically lose their effectiveness.  To illustrate Dr. Cialdini’s principles I am going to bring them to life for you by using recent examples and show them in practice in your life and in mine.  The first of those principles is authority.