Posts Tagged ‘leader’

Thursday Thoughts: Bob Parsons’ 16 Rules for Success in Business and Life

By Gino Blefari | July 7th, 2011 0 Comments

Bob Parsons, founder and CEO of GoDaddy.com, the largest accredited domain registrar in the world, sold his company for $2.25 billion this last week on July 1. Parsons credits his success in leadership, business and life in general to 16 rules he developed and lives by every day. The rules cover everything from specific advice for problem solving and decision making to more general lessons about the way the world works. I want to share Parsons’ rules here:

  1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone. Nothing significant happens when we’re in our comfort zones.
  2. Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just because what you’re doing isn’t working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity.
  3. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think. There’s an old Chinese saying that goes like this: “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”
  4. Accept the worst thing that could happen and make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be. Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of “undefined consequences.” Parsons says his father used to tell him when he was struggling to get his technology company going, “Well Robert, if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you.”
  5. Focus on what you want to happen. Remember that old saying, “As you think, so shall you be.”
  6. Take things a day at a time. No matter how difficult your situation is you can get through it by focusing on the present and not looking too far into the future. You can get through anything one day at a time.
  7. Always move forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop trying new things. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better every day in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen: Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.
  8. Be quick to decide. Remember what General George S. Patton said: “A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”
  9. Measure everything of significance. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.
  10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for awhile. You’re guaranteed to find problems there.
  11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect from a distance. Even the planet Earth looks like a peaceful place from far enough way.
  12. Never let anybody push you around. In our society, you have just as much right to what you’re doing as anyone else, provided that what you’re doing is legal.
  13. Never expect life to be fair. Life isn’t fair. You make your own breaks.
  14. Solve your own problems. You’ll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you’ll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: “You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others.” There’s also an old Asian saying: “A wise man keeps his own counsel.”
  15. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.
  16. There’s always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, we’re really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. Parsons says his little brother always reminds him, “We’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time!”

The biggest leadership takeaway for me from Parsons’ 16 rules is Rule #7: Always move forward. By focusing on small daily improvements, you’ll eventually see huge advantages. This is doable, positive and a great leadership philosophy. Now get out there and do it.

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Thoughts on Leadership: Lessons from Genghis Khan

By Gino Blefari | April 21st, 2011 0 Comments

Over the past two months I’ve been sharing the secrets and key insights of leadership from a variety of books I’ve been reading. To continue our focus on distinctive leaders who have shaped history, I wanted to share a new book that I am currently reading called, “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World,” by Jack Weatherford, professor of anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota.

Weatherford unfolds the startling true history of how one extraordinary man from a remote corner of the world created an empire that led the world into the modern age.

Genghis Khan, first known as Temujin, was the son of a leader of a Mongolian tribe. He was brought up in a time of warring tribes and groups. His innocence was lost when a rival tribe poisoned his father, thus sparking his first brushes with war.

Genghis Khan, the creator and leader of the Mongol empire, is one of history’s greatest conquerors. During his reign, he conquered more land than any other ruler in history, and his territory reached twice the size of the Roman Empire.

His greatest leadership achievements were combining ruthless energy and resolve with the wisdom to provide efficient and just government; commanding absolute loyalty; leading by example; building his following on the basis of his achievements and becoming a master of Mongolia and most of China.

Genghis Khan shaped the modern world of commerce, communication, and large secular states more than any other individual. His vision matured as he aged and as he experienced different ways of life. He worked to create something new and better for his people.

Genghis Khan has long passed from the scene, but his influence and leadership lessons continue to repeat through our time:

  • Do not allow yourself to be defined by your history, your misfortune, or your “fate.” You are the creator of your destiny.
  • Secure your rear before advancing.
  • Whenever possible, fight one war at a time.
  • Build on earlier conquests. Develop a policy of constructive aggression.
  • Be thorough in conquest. Attend to details.
  • Avoid halfway measures. Deal with problems – and opportunities – definitively.
  • Be flexible. Adapt your tactics to the situation at hand. Precedent must be modified by immediate circumstances.
  • Develop a loyal staff of high excellence.
  • Lead by example.
  • Conquest is fleeting without follow-up. Enhance the lives of those you lead. Give others a stake in your leadership.

There are striking parallels between the management secrets of Genghis Khan and some of the most successful modern corporations.

Microsoft, Wal-Mart and Apple, for example, each dominate their industries through organizational self-discipline, flexibility and aggressiveness. Like the Mongols, they are criticized as ruthless and lacking innovation. In truth, all three companies are brilliant organization innovators.

Genghis Khan can be thought of as the first consistent executive, brilliantly organized and able to use his resources to optimize efficiency and flexibility. He had many of the attributes of a modern executive and aggressively intertwined people, process, and technology, in both strategy and execution.

The disciplines that helped him to conquer and unify the Mongols are the same ones we need today to prepare for the unknown, embrace the unexpected, and choose the better alternative.

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Thoughts on Leadership: Consistency Anchors a Leader in a Strong Position

By Gino Blefari | January 13th, 2011 0 Comments

In the middle of January, many of us experience post-holiday winter blues that can prevent us from getting work done. The excitement of the holidays is over and many of us face bills that have piled up, dreary weather and shortened days with little time out in the sunlight. We find ourselves off course and unable to make consistently positive leadership choices.

Exercising consistency in your leadership style means you are following a routine no matter how boring it may appear. Being a consistent leader right now at the beginning of the year means:

  • A level playing field.
  • What is important today is also important tomorrow.
  • You don’t chase the latest trend or project.
  • Your bad mood doesn’t cause you to act radically different.
  • People know what to expect from you.
  • You’re committed to being more productive.
  • Start each day at zero.

Just last night I returned from the Mike Ferry One-on-One Retreat in San Diego where Mike presents distinct ideas for becoming more productive. Each day there was a specific theme that showed a parallel between being a great Realtor and a great leader. Both have the same concepts and require you to be consistent in your commitment to becoming the best.

For example on day one, Mike presented the following set of questions regarding commitment and asked us to rate ourselves on a scale of 1-10:

  1. How committed am I to becoming a more productive and profitable agent?
  2. How committed am I to becoming a better salesperson?
  3. How committed am I to developing the disciplines necessary?
  4. Am I willing to do whatever it takes to win in 2011 to have my best year ever?

Four great questions; of course everyone answers yes when asked if they want to be more productive, more profitable and a better salesperson until they realize what it actually takes to achieve that goal. And that’s where the dilemma is, everyone wants to be more productive, more profitable and a better salesperson but very few, as Mike points out, are willing to do whatever it takes.

The bottom line, as Mike Ferry explains, either you are going to do what it takes to be committed to become the best or you are simply not willing to become the best.

One could argue that different types of organizations need different types of leaders to become the best and that these leaders both influence and are born of the company culture. Regardless of the style or type of leader, they must be consistent.

Consistent behavior is the trademark of a great leader. Consistency is important in our daily actions and reactions, whether personal or professional. As leaders, it’s important to manage all aspects of our behavior.

Consistency begins with an alignment of our beliefs, thoughts, words and actions. When these are integrated, it’s much easier for us to be consistent in our behavior. When we live by our values and constantly pull from our inner resolve, courage and integrity, it’s easy for us to manifest our actions in a clear and consistent manner. As a leader, even when dealing with the most difficult of challenges, it’s important to maintain consistent behavior – not only for our own self-control, but more importantly, for the benefit of others. This not only simplifies our lives, but also can decrease our stress levels.

Our effectiveness as leaders is directly tied to the level of trust we cultivate with others. When we exhibit consistent behavior, actions and words, we create a safe environment. We become predictable, not boring. A feeling of safety or security is one of the highest of human needs, and anything we can do as leaders to create that type of environment will be welcomed.

In what ways do you demonstrate consistent behavior? Are there any areas where you might exercise more consistency, not only to strengthen your purpose as a leader, but also to provide a safe environment in which others can thrive?

You might take this opportunity to ask close colleagues or family members for input about their observations. Even a small improvement in this particular quality of leadership can dramatically change and improve your interactions with others.

Consistent, dependable leadership choices provide a solid foundation for your people – enabling them to weather storms and operate at their peak performance. You don’t have to be perfect, and you’re allowed to have bad days. What you cannot do is permit outside conditions to fundamentally change you – causing you to shift whichever way the wind blows. Be the anchor that your organizational ship requires.

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Thoughts on Leadership: The Top Five Thoughts on Leadership of 2010

By Gino Blefari | December 30th, 2010 0 Comments

Want to check out the best-of-the-best in the world of Thoughts on Leadership during 2010? The following list is the top five blogs viewed and commented on in 2010. Each helps people find not only the best leadership advice being put out today, but also gives you the tools and confidence to help bring out the leader in you.

  1. The 10 qualities of a true leader
    How do you know if you have a strong enough desire to be a leader? Follow all the essential traits to be a true leader and with that enthusiasm to work hard, your progress toward leadership will accelerate.
    Read More
     
  2. Embrace a positive attitude for success
    Your attitude may play a bigger role in your life than you may think. It is up to you on how you want to use it to achieve success. Maintain a positive attitude and you’ll be surprised on how your life will change and how quickly you will climb the success ladder.
    Read More
     
  3. The 93% Rule: Nonverbal Communication
    Do you ever stop and think how your words may articulate one thing, but your nonverbal gesture can mean something completely different. Nonverbal communication, believe it or not, makes up the majority of our daily communication. So next time you are interacting with one person or a group of people, remember that your nonverbal expressions can reveal your true feelings about something.
    Read More
     
  4. The Golden Rule for Leaders
    All you have to do, really, is think of how you would like to be treated in any given situation, and then act accordingly. Apply the Golden Rule to your everyday behavior and you are sure to succeed.
    Read More
     
  5. Leaders Make Energy and Passion Contagious
    Do you want to show your energy and passion more at work? Then read more about Southwest Airlines’ founder, Herb Kelleher. He followed the footsteps of GE’S Chairman Jack Welch. They both loved what they did and not only inspired themselves but all the employees around them to create a lively organization. Perhaps if you pursue these gentlemen’s management rulebook, you too can catch this passion and energy.
    Read More

If you embrace the principal, that each of you can be a leader, you will find within yourself a greater desire to succeed and to perform at a higher level because you represent something larger than yourself. My hope is that each of you has your most successful year ever in 2011. Strive to make it so and recognize yourself as a leader in this company; a company of leaders.

Happy New Year and see you at the top!

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Thursday Thoughts: Listen with a Leader’s Eye

By Gino Blefari | August 20th, 2010 0 Comments

One outstanding quality of a great leader is excellent communication skills. But what exactly makes a great communicator? 

Using an excited tone of voice? Being able to use your body language with your words? Adding just the right amount of humor? Having a strong voice? Maintaining eye contact? Brilliant stories? An abundant vocabulary?
 
Most definitely, all these skills are very valuable and should be perfected daily. But none of these amount up to the single most important part of communication in a leadership situation:
 
Listening!
 
Why does leadership mean listening?
 
A leader must listen closely to the world around him or her to be able to react to it.
 
Business leaders all over the nation are asked about communication and one theme comes up repeatedly – great leaders are great listeners. Extraordinary men and women apply feedback, listen to opinions, and act on that intelligence.
 
Genuine listening generates respect, understanding and trust between talker and listener. Great listening skills are an important resource, educate, build business, innovate and motivate. In particular, employees like, and respond better to, supervisors who they think are listening to them.
 
Pat Croce, a nationally renowned motivational speaker explains in his book Lead or Get off the Pot, the Seven Secrets of a Self-Made Leader pg. 120-121, “The best listeners are those who learn to listen with a leader’s eye. This supernatural-sounding skill doesn’t call for magic spells, but when it’s practiced and consistently applied, it does lead to magical results.”
 
Listening skills have always been important in the workplace. View the possibilities. Observe the body language behind the words and identify the emotions. Listen with an eye toward making a connection. And keep all lines of communication open to all things. If you keep the big picture in mind, you will listen with a leader’s eye.

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Thursday Thoughts: Communicate with Power

By Gino Blefari | August 12th, 2010 0 Comments

“The art of communication is the language of leadership.”
                                                                                         -James Humes
 
Communication is a leader’s most powerful tool. You could possess all the knowledge and experience possible in your field, but without impeccable communication skills, you’ll have trouble leading effectively.
 
In fact, when senior executives and CEOs all around the country are asked to list the most important skills a leader must possess, the answer consistently includes good communication skills.
 
Powerful communication is the work of great leaders. These skills create and support the understanding and trust that’s necessary to encourage others to follow. A manager accomplishes very little if he or she is having trouble communicating with the team.

An example of a well-known executive leader who exudes the power of excellent communication is Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz. This is a man who knows not only what he stands for, but also is able to communicate those values in an effective way that leads to significant results. He knows how to make an emotional connection with his listeners, and that connection creates an incentive for them to follow.

The three communication qualities that help Schultz stand out as a top-notch persuasive business communicator are:

  • Emotional connection: As I mentioned above, Schultz excels at tapping into people’s emotions as well as their minds to get the most out of them. Everyone can relate to stories. The ability to use stories to get people to see your vision is a powerful leadership quality.
  • Passion: Schultz is great at identifying his own passions and expressing that message to employees and colleagues. When you are passionate, you naturally are excited, energetic and enthusiastic. These are qualities people like to see in others – and if people like you, they are more likely to do business with you.
  • Inspiration: Schultz provides inspiration to employees and colleagues by painting a picture of a world that is made better by his company’s service. Inspiration creates a connection that people remember.

Sounds pretty simple, right? Each of these qualities can be used in your own workplace.

It all starts by stopping to ask yourself: how effective is my communication?

Powerful communication skills are often something we take for granted. In your next real estate transaction, consider that it does not matter what you know about anything if you cannot communicate with people. Leaders need to be sensitive to how and what they communicate to others with their actions and words.

How you communicate the message often is more important than information itself. Learn to communicate better and you’ll find yourself leading more effectively. 

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Thursday Thoughts: Courage + Counsel = Strength

By Gino Blefari | June 17th, 2010 0 Comments

The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places. 

                                                                                                – Ernest Hemingway

We have all had failures. Setbacks. The things that have, if only for a time, beaten us. While the pain and frustration we feel in these moments is real, it is important to feel something else too: the accumulation of wisdom and strength.

Good leaders understand that working through a hardship is an experience that allows them to grow. Just as any gem is polished by friction, success is frequently borne of hard-won lessons.

These lessons are often rejected. And that’s a shame, because leaders understand that everyone can achieve at high level if they are willing to pay the price – to work through difficulty and accept responsibility for themselves and others.

If this price is paid consistently, competition thins out as more people opt not to take the hard lessons of leadership and continue forward.

Good leaders also reject avoiding bad news, disagreement, and contrary opinions.

A leader with employees who always agree with him or her will reap a counsel of mediocrity.

A wise leader never kills the employee bearing bad news. Rather, the wise leader kills the employee who fails to deliver the bad news. Better to confront a problem quickly, head-on, than to hear “maybe I should have mentioned that” after the fact.

Leaders understand he who asks the wrong questions – usually the easy ones – always hears the wrong answers.

And a wise leader never asks a question for which he doesn’t want to hear the answer.

The lesson here? Leadership is hard. It presents myriad challenges. But these challenges – and the breaks and bruises they cause us on our way to the top –  are often our greatest source of strength.

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Thursday Thoughts: The 10 qualities of a true leader

By Gino Blefari | May 13th, 2010 0 Comments

People often ask me to share the secret to successful leadership – the one magical thing that propels people to positions of responsibility and respect.

But there is no “secret” and there is no one thing I can impart. The truth is the recipe for true leadership is a complex blend of qualities that shift in importance with time and circumstances. This is not an easy answer, but then leadership is not easy, is it?

Here, in no particular order of importance, are the 10 qualities I believe every leader must understand, cling to and put to practice.

It’s a list I reflect on often myself. I hope you will too.

  1. A desire to be recognized, and a commitment to achieving that recognition through unfailing honesty
  2. Resilience: the capacity to overcome setbacks, adversity, rejection quickly – and with grace
  3. An awareness that the extremes of your personality will be the drivers of your success (but may also be talked about at company parties!)
  4. A boundless willingness to work hard – not only to achieve your personal goals, but to inspire tenacity in those around you
  5. An ability to alternately employ passion and common sense to solve problems.
  6. The confidence to rise above fear of strong colleagues. Famed marketer Guy Kawasaki said, “A players surround themselves with A+ players – it’s the only way to get where you want to go.”
  7. A willingness to make unrecognized sacrifices for those you lead. It is often the smallest kindness or most private act of generosity that has the biggest impact.
  8. A passion to succeed that is matched only by a desire to see those who work for you succeed
  9. An ability to recognize that you are unfinished work that can be constantly improved upon by learning
  10. An abiding sense of humility that keeps you down to earth no matter how far you rise

As you think about your career – indeed, your life – ask yourself which of these qualities you might work more diligently to cultivate. Your progress toward leadership will accelerate to the extent you answer with honesty and conviction.

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Thursday Thoughts: Want to lead? Be prepared to take the bad with the good

By Gino Blefari | May 6th, 2010 0 Comments

That sounds obvious, doesn’t it? And, theoretically, it is. But in the real world of real estate management things don’t always work out that way.

Have you ever worked for a manger that couldn’t make a decision? Or, when presented with a failure, sought to deflect responsibility?

There is nothing more unsettling to agents and employees than being under the command of a manager who shows a lack of commitment in his or her responsibility as a leader. Someone who wants the perks of leadership without the challenges.

These failed leaders don’t understand that it is better to make a bad decision than no decision; more admirable to accept responsibility than to avoid it.

In accepting responsibility for the Bay of Pigs fiasco – a military disaster of massive proportions – President Kennedy said, “Success has a thousand fathers; failure is an orphan.”

It’s true. But leaders accept the good with the bad.

Bob Moles has always said, “Show me a great leader and I will show you a successful office.” Realtors will choose to follow only those managers who demonstrate a desire to lead.

Such leaders may be as different from one another as agents are different from one another. They will not have every human virtue, nor will they possess a flawless character.

But they will be distinguished by their good judgment, sincerity, compassion, authority and courage. They have a human quality, a strong commitment to their cause – and to those they serve.

In the next issue of Thursday Thoughts on Leadership, we will examine the question: “How do you know if you Possess Sufficient Desire to be a Leader?”

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What Is So Special About Leaders?

By Gino Blefari | January 5th, 2010 0 Comments

What is so special about leaders? Do we ever really stop to ask ourselves this question? There are a million different responses, but consider this one … they bring out the best in us. Leaders recognize what is possible before we do. They recognize the potential in an individual and perhaps more importantly, they know how to bring it to the surface.

Consider, Joe Montana. We all know how his story ends, but do you know how it started? As a freshman at Notre Dame in 1974, Montana was the seventh string quarterback. The following year Dan Devine, the newly hired coach stated to his wife after being impressed by Montana’s performance during training: “I’m gonna start Joe Montana in the final spring game.”  When she replied, “Who’s Joe Montana?” Devine said: “He’s the guy who’s going to feed our family for the next few years.” Today we all recognize what Dan Devine recognized in that spring training game in 1975. It is a difficult task to find six better quarterbacks in the history of football than Joe Montana, much less on one college football team. It took a leader with vision to see that.

Montana did go on to have a very good college career at a highly regarded college program, yet when he entered the NFL draft in 1979 he was once again overlooked. He was selected in the third round by the San Francisco Forty-Niners because Bill Walsh, like Dan Devine before him, recognized the potential that everyone else missed.

Walsh knew that in Montana he had found the perfect understudy to lead his team and execute his plans. As Montana related years later in the foreword to the book, The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership, “He (Walsh) had in his mind this ideal – an image of perfect football – couple with the nuts-and-bolts details of how to accomplish it, which he then taught … the place you dreamed of but didn’t know you could reach? Bill Walsh taught me how to reach it. He taught all of us how to reach it.”

I do not have any doubts that Montana believed he could make it in the NFL, but having a leader like Walsh who believed he could be one of the best ever played a vital role in Montana achieving that status. When others see potential in our abilities and they believe in us, and they reinforce that belief every day through their interactions with us, we are strongly influenced by that support. Our Chairman, Bob Moles played that role for me. If the potential exists within us, it will come out when a leader takes the time to bring us along.

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