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Thoughts on Leadership: What’s the Most Critical Quality of Today’s Leader? Creativity

By Gino Blefari | September 8th, 2011 0 Comments

If you’ve ever thought that creativity wasn’t necessary in the realm of leadership, think again. Creativity is critical to leadership success. It is a lifeline that renews, restores and inspires. Creativity can be used to build teams, enrich people and solve problems.

In fact, corporations need creative leaders to thrive. They need visionaries who act less as commanders and more as coaches, less as managers and more as facilitators, and who foster self-respect instead of just demanding it from others.

Creativity is what enables successful leaders to meet new challenges, and to recognize and pursue new opportunities through bold innovations.

Creative leadership that drives innovation and growth in this economy requires eight key qualities of a leader:

  1. The leader must have a vision for the organization.
  2. The leader must have the passion to transform that vision into action.
  3. The leader must be able to travel into an unexplored path.
  4. The leader must know how to manage both success and failure.
  5. The leader must have the courage to make decisions.
  6. The leader should have nobility in management.
  7. Every action of the leader should be transparent.
  8. The leader must work with integrity and succeed with integrity.

Leaders drive change and lead people in the pursuit of a vision. This means that often times, you’ll face the challenge of venturing into the unknown and the unfamiliar. This requires adjustment and the ability to respond to unexpected situations.

You could argue that creativity is actually the most important quality a leader needs to succeed in business today – outweighing even integrity and global thinking. According to a study done in 2010, about 60% of CEOs polled cited creativity as the most important leadership quality, compared with 52% for integrity and 35% for global thinking. Creative leaders are also 81% more likely to rate innovation as a crucial capability.

Whether you view yourself as a creative person or not, it is a skill that can be learned.

Creativity and innovation are not mysterious forces over which leaders have no control. Progressive leadership can and does create a climate that encourages creativity and innovation.

If you want to become a more confident and successful leader and improve your leadership skills and results, including your creativity, now is the time to take advantage.

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Thoughts on Leadership | Leaders Know How to Attract Attention

By Gino Blefari | September 1st, 2011 0 Comments

To accomplish anything in life as a leader, you’re likely going to need help from other people. Regardless of how talented or accomplished you are, you can’t always assume that you can count on attracting and retaining the attention of others. It will be more and more challenging and rewarding to hold onto the attention of those who matter to you.

Attention provides leverage. The more people leaders can attract and motivate to join them on a challenging quest or initiative, the more impact they are likely to achieve. So, what are effective ways to attract and retain the kind of attention that helps leaders to address the challenges they face? Here are four steps that build on each other.

1. Embrace mystery - Frame the more difficult problems that are relevant to you and need to be solved. Help people to understand why these are such significant problems and why so many people have been unsuccessful in trying to solve them. It probably will not attract the people looking for easy answers, but it can attract those who are naturally curious and looking for stimulating challenges.

2. Focus inquiry – Don’t try to suggest answers. Frame interesting questions instead. Help people gain perspective by posing questions that intrigue and motivate them to start investigating the mysteries that lie ahead.

3. Excite the imagination – Provide some “what if?” scenarios to illustrate the possibilities that await those who manage to come up with creative answers. Paint the pictures but make it clear these are only pictures. Stimulate people to pursue the questions with a lot of energy and creativity.

4. Be authentic – If you are not genuinely engaged in addressing these problems yourself, you will not be able to sustain the attention and effort of others to come up with creative solutions. On the other hand, if you are on a quest yourself, leading by example, you could have a contagious effect and the encounters you have can help both sides to learn from each other.

Do these techniques actually work? Well, think of how Martin Luther King excited and mobilized a broad group of people to tackle some very challenging social problems. On a completely different level, one leading tech company in Silicon Valley regularly attracts the attention of the venture capital community by sharing its most difficult technology problems and suggesting that they would buy the start-ups that come up with creative solutions to these problems. Or look at the way professional astronomers have mobilized a global network of passionately engaged amateurs to learn more about the vast universe beyond this planet.

This kind of attention is priceless and powerful. All leaders need to find ways to generate it and harness it. This is not just an opportunity, but increasingly an unavoidable obligation. Leaders are all experiencing increasing economic pressure as individuals and institutions. In this kind of environment, leaders not only need leverage, but also need to more rapidly improve their performance.

Leaders get better faster by working with others. To do this, they first need to attract their attention. If they fail to attract that attention, they will not get better faster in an increasingly competitive global economy, and they could be overlooked. That is why attention is becoming more valuable at the same time that it is becoming rare.

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Thoughts on Leadership: How to Turn Failure into Success

By Gino Blefari | August 25th, 2011 0 Comments

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career; I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over in my life. And that’s why I succeed.”
-Michael Jordan, 2006

Failure. We all experience it. Most of us see failure as a negative thing, which makes sense; it doesn’t feel good to fail. We all want to succeed and failure feels like a setback to that goal. What we don’t realize is that failure presents an opportunity to learn, grow and succeed. Check out Michael Jordan’s “Failure” Nike Commercial.

Michael Jordan is a fun example to look at. When most people think about this basketball legend, they’re not immediately thinking about how he didn’t make the varsity basketball team his sophomore year in high school. They’re not thinking about the times he lost the game-winning shot. They’re thinking about his achievements: six-time NBA champion, five-time MBA MVP, 14-time NBA All-Star, two-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner, Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.

Michal Jordan’s success was real. People like to say that he was born a “gifted” basketball player, that Mark Zuckerburg was born a technology genius, and that Martin Luther King was a born leader. What we fail to realize, though, is that none of these successes were born that way. No one is born to play basketball, create a social media phenomenon, or to be a legendary leader.

Turning failure into success is hard work. It takes dedication and vision. When I was a brand new realtor my first coach Tom Hopkins taught me an important philosophy on failure and rejection that has resonated throughout my entire real estate career. He said “I never see failure as failure, but only as a learning experience. I never see failure as failure, but only as the feedback I need to change course in my direction. I never see failure as failure, but only as an opportunity to improve my sense of humor. I never see failure as failure, but only as an opportunity to practice my techniques and perfect my performance. I never see failure as failure, but only as the game I must play to win!”

Learn from some of the greatest champions on earth how to take the reigns and turn losses into wins – adapted from Adam Appleson’s book, “7 Steps to Turn ‘Failure’ Into Success:”

  1. Grin and bear it.
    When Michael Jordan came across rejection, he met it by practicing more.
  2. Take a time-out.
    The greatest ideas were founded when men and women were away from their usual routines. Albert Einstein was on vacation in the Apennine Mountains when we wondered what would happen if a ray of light became imprisoned.
  3. Assess whether your current plans are realistic.
    If things aren’t happening as fast as you’d anticipated, by the deadline you set for yourself, the deadline may not have been realistic. Don’t be afraid to make new plans and pursue them.
  4. Get support.
    Have a team behind you to get you through the rough times and keep you motivated!
  5. Play a game called “15 Ways…”
    Grab a sheet of paper and brainstorm 15 ways you can overcome whatever obstacle is standing between you and your goals. The first five are usually pretty obvious, but the last 10 are usually a bit harder to come up with, and often surface the innovative solutions you hadn’t thought about already.
  6. Pick a hero.
    Every time you fail and want to give up, ask yourself what your hero would do, then go do it!
  7. Go out and execute every day.
    Commit to doing one thing for your dreams every day. You know the saying, “genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration.”

True leaders do not fear failure; they know how to use failure to their advantage. Like Michael Jordan said, he has failed over and over again, and that is why he succeeds. Take chances and don’t be afraid to fail, it could be the secret to your success!

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Thoughts On Leadership: Leaders Need Those Who Know How

By Gino Blefari | August 18th, 2011 0 Comments

Last week, we looked at the importance of planning ahead from Simon Sinek’s book “Start With Why.” This week is a further look at the book, specifically on Chapter 8 and the discussion of ‘Those Who Know WHY Need Those Who Know HOW.’

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 8: Start With Why, But Know How, that I wanted to share with you:

The pessimists are usually right, to paraphrase Thomas Friedman, author of “The World Is Flat,” but it’s the optimists who change the world. Bill Gates imagined a world in which the computer could help us all reach our greatest potential. And it happened. Now he imagines a world in which malaria does not exist. And it will happen. The Wright brothers imagined a world in which we’d all take to the skies as easily as we catch the bus. And it happened. WHY-types have the power to change the course of industries or even the world…if only they knew HOW.

WHY-types are the visionaries, the ones with the overactive imaginations. They tend to be optimists who believe that all the things they imagine can actually be accomplished. HOW-types live more in the here and now. They are the realists and have a clearer sense of all things practical. WHY-types are focused on the things most people can’t see, like the future. HOW-types are focused on things most people can see and tend to be better at building structures and processes and getting things done. One is not better than the other, they are just different ways people naturally see and experience the world. Gates is a WHY-type. So were the Wright brothers. And Steve Jobs. And Herb Kelleher. But they didn’t do it alone. They couldn’t. They needed those who knew HOW.

“If it hadn’t been for my big brother, I’d have been in jail several times for checks bouncing,” said Walt Disney, only half joking, to a Los Angeles audience in 1957. “I never knew what was in the bank. He kept me on the straight and narrow.” Walt Disney was a WHY-type, a dreamer whose dream came true thanks to the help of his more sensible older brother Roy, a HOW-type.

Walt Disney began his career creating cartoon drawings for advertisements, but moved quickly to making animated movies. It was 1923 and Hollywood was emerging as the heart of the movie business, and Walt wanted to be part of it. Roy, who was eight years older, had been working at a bank. Roy was always in awe of his brother’s talent and imagination, but he also knew that Walt was prone to taking risks and to neglecting business affairs. Like all WHY guys, Walt was busy thinking about what the future looked like and often forget he was living in the present. “Walt Disney dreamed, drew and imagined, Roy stayed in the shadow, forming an empire,” wrote Bob Thomas, a Disney biographer. “A brilliant financier and businessman, Roy helped turn Walt Disney’s dreams into reality, building the company that bears his brother’s name.” It was Roy who founded the Buena Vista Distribution Compan that made Disney films a central part of American childhood. It was Roy who created the merchandising business that transformed Disney characters into household names. And, like almost every HOW-type, Roy never wanted to be the front man, he preferred to stay in the background and focus on HOW to build his brother’s vision.

In nearly every case of a person or an organization that has gone on to inspire people and do great things, there exists this special partnership between WHY and HOW. It is the partnership of a vision of the future and the talent to get it done that makes an organization great.

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Thoughts on Leadership: The Importance of Planning Ahead

By Gino Blefari | August 11th, 2011 0 Comments

Have you ever been in this situation? You rush out the door because you’re late for a morning meeting. You didn’t bother to take your time and realize whether you had all the materials you needed for the meeting. Halfway to your meeting it hits you that you forgot something so you drive back to your house to get it. You’re now even later than you were to begin with. If you’d taken just a few minutes to look around and check before running out the door, you could’ve saved yourself some time and trouble.

As Rick Pitino wrote in his motivational self-help book Success is a Choice, “What you should be doing is arriving at work a half hour early and getting all of your social conversations out of the way, getting your newspaper read, and getting your coffee poured, so that when the workday starts you are ready.” And if you do have to go back home for something you forgot, you’d actually be on time because you already planned to be on time.

There’s a great leadership lesson here – the importance of planning ahead. In his book, Start With Why, Simon Sinek also discusses a story that shows the importance and benefits of planning ahead for success from the very beginning:

A group of American car executives visited a Japanese automobile assembly line. They watched the cars go through the assembly line, which all seemed routine, but were confused by the process at the end of the line when the doors were put on the hinges of the cars. The Japanese process seemed to be missing a critical part. In the United States, a worker was hired to tap the edges of the car door with a rubber mallet to make sure that they fit perfectly. The Japanese assembly line, however, had no such worker or machine to ensure that the door fit.

Puzzled, the American executives asked the nearest Japanese worker how they made sure that the doors fit perfectly. The man replied, “We make sure it fits when we design it.” Not only was the Japanese process more efficient, but Japanese car doors last longer and are more structurally sound in accidents compared to American doors. Why? It’s simple: the Japanese engineered the outcome they wanted from the beginning of the process.

Many leaders make the mistake of structuring their organization how the Americans’ structure their car assembly line. They forget to base all their actions, from the beginning, on the original intention. Instead, they tend to focus on the short term. When something goes wrong, they provide their followers with several short-term tactics that would not be necessary if they had simply had the final goal in mind during the whole process.

If the American automakers had designed doors to fit from the very beginning, they wouldn’t need to worry about having a mallet or an extra employee and step in the assembly line to tap the door into place.

We can learn a very valuable lesson from the Japanese assembly line – one that applies not only to business, but also to life in general. We need to realize the importance of our long-term goals and keep them in mind with everything that we do. If we stop taking shortcuts and making short-term solutions, we will actually save ourselves time, stress and in some cases, (such as the assembly line) money!

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Thoughts on Leadership: Why Apple Inspires People

By Gino Blefari | July 21st, 2011 0 Comments

Like millions of other people, you’ve likely wondered out loud at some point, “What makes Apple so successful?” It is an extraordinary technology leader, founded and led by extraordinary men.

While it’s easy to explain what a company does or how an organization works, it is much more difficult to understand why. Why is Apple so driven not just to succeed, but to lead in consumer technology, to change the world and stop at nothing less? It is the why that separates amazing companies from mediocre ones – just as it’s the why that separates people who truly lead and inspire from those who are just in power positions.

Apple’s cofounders, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, are great examples of influential leaders (not just men in positions of leadership). I’ve been reading about the common traits of true leaders in Simon Sinek’s book, “Start With Why.” By studying influential leaders, Sinek discovered they all think, act and communicate in the same way – they start with why, and that is what inspires people to follow them to success.

In 1979, best friends Wozniak and Jobs created the first personal computer. Why? What was their why? Wozniak built the Apple I with a vision of giving average folks the same computer power as big corporations. He wanted to help level the playing field in business. Before Apple I, computers were too complicated and expensive for the average individual; they were primarily used as a tool for privileged businesses. Wozniak’s why was to enable individuals to compete.

What about Jobs? What was his why? He was the salesman – an amazing one. He dreamed of building a company that would change the world. With just one product, Apple Computer made $1 million in revenues in its first year. It made $10 million in its second year and in just six years became a billion-dollar company.

Even more remarkable than Apple’s fast growth is its longevity. More than 30 years later, the company continues to succeed – empowering individuals with world-class technology. Changing the world. Apple didn’t stop with the personal computer; the company continued to conquer the small electronics, music, mobile phone, and entertainment industries. Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs succeeded because they started with why. They had a contagious passion that fostered real innovation.

What’s even more interesting about Apple is that not only did the company’s founders inspire its employees to achieve greatness, but also it inspires its customers – to the point where thousands camp out overnight to buy its new products.

Sinek’s following excerpt sums up the leadership lessons from this legendary company:

“Great leaders are able to inspire people to act. Those who are able to inspire give people a sense of purpose or belonging that has little to do with any external incentive or benefit to be gained. Those who truly lead are able to create a following of people who act not because they were swayed, but because they were inspired. For those who are inspired, the motivation to act is deeply personal. They are less likely to be swayed by incentives. Those who are inspired are willing to pay a premium or endure inconvenience, even personal suffering. Those who are able to inspire will create a following of people- supporters, voters, customers, workers- who act for the good of the whole not because they have to, but because they want to.”

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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: Mothers as Leaders

By Gino Blefari | June 30th, 2011 0 Comments

Last week’s Thoughts on Leadership message was “What My Dad Taught Me…” where I shared life lessons from what I and several of my friends learned from our dads.

This week’s message comes from the pearls of motherly wisdom titled “What My Mom Taught Me.” So in honor of our moms…

“My mom inspired me to never be complacent and never settle on doing anything less than the best I can do. This had less to do with the acquisition of material things and everything to do with how I fulfill my commitments to others. She believes in having a strong work ethic and completing what we start no matter how hard that might be. Everything I’ve accomplished ties back to this sensibility and competitiveness that she instilled in me.”
-Gino Blefari
Founder, President and CEO Intero Real Estate Services

“My mom was one of the hardest working and most focused people I’ve ever known. She taught me the importance of putting in the necessary time to succeed at the work before me.”
- Mike Ferry
Real Estate Coach, Founder Mike Ferry Organization

“My mother is the most incredible woman I know. She has taught me to believe in myself and not let others words and actions affect my mindset. She also taught me to give 110 percent and not be afraid to work hard! If I fail at something, I was taught to get up, brush myself off, learn from the experience and move on! From her encouragement I have learned to be strong, work hard, and value my family and friends. Never be too busy to help others!”
- Renee Kunz
VP and Managing Officer Intero Hollister

“My mom taught me the value of hard work and keeping optimistic in the face of adversity… she worked and lived with great consistency and perseverance.”
-Dominic Nicoli
Intero Chairman’s Circle, Top 1%

“My mom is my hero and my best friend. I’ve learned many things from her. But two things in particular that I remind myself of on a daily basis are: the early bird catches the worm and always illustrate generosity and patience to other people.”
-Jinny Ahn
Intero Chairman’s Circle, Top 1%

“My mother was a woman of few words, but she always told me to give my best effort and I would always succeed. How right she was. I used these words many times when raising my own children and am very proud of their accomplishments in life.”
-Marilyn Ferreira
Intero President’s Circle, Top 5%

“I wasn’t the strongest kid academically. Tests, homework, not my strongest suit. While grades might break the will of some children and disappoint parents, my mother never succumbed to that. She was relentless in her belief in me and kept telling me how capable I was and could accomplish anything in life if I put my mind to it. It was her words and belief in me that assuaged me of all doubt in myself. It carried me though high school, college, and the building our current company.”
-Tom Tognoli
Founder and Chief Operating Officer Intero Real Estate Services

“My mom taught me love – being sweet and kind. She always told me to just love everyone and everything.”
-Bob Moles
Founder and Chairman Intero Real Estate Services

“Mom taught me to be emotionally free. It’s OK to laugh. It’s OK to cry. It’s critical to be yourself and not hide who you are and what you feel. She showed me the importance of having a great attitude, a sense of humor, and not to take yourself or others too seriously.  Smile, laugh, and love a lot…she showed me the value of these in ourselves and in others.”
-John Thompson
Founder and Executive Vice President Intero Real Estate Services

“My mother taught me to stand up for what’s right, regardless of what’s popular and to always put faith, family, and principle first.”
-Chris Moles
Brokerage Counsel

Where would we be today without our moms? Their kindness, gentleness, caring and nurturing passed down through the ages. Generation upon generation. Our moms have shared their advice, guided us through life and tried to help us be better people. Our mothers shaped us as people. Their words are now expressed through our actions as adults and as leaders. Continue to appreciate them to this day and remember, a mother’s never-to-be-forgotten sayings apply to your everyday business life. Pass them on!

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Thoughts on Leadership: The Steve Jobs Way

By Gino Blefari | May 26th, 2011 0 Comments

“You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” – Steve Jobs

Last week, I had dinner at Sino in Santana Row, San Jose, with Jay Elliot, former Senior VP of Apple Computer and author of “The Steve Jobs Way – iLeadership for a New Generation.”

“The Steve Jobs Way” is a captivating book that offers interesting and inspiring insights into the leadership style of Steve Jobs. This is a must-read book for all who are working to improve their business and their lives.

Jay gives readers the opportunity to see Steve Jobs in a way that only his closest associates have seen him. You learn what has made him, and the charisma of his management style, capable of creating tools so extraordinary that they have remade three industries and have transformed the way we create, consume, and communicate with each other.

Jay Elliot has more than 30 years of operations experience with leaders of IBM, Intel and Apple Computer. He worked side by side with Steve as Senior Vice President of Apple and brings us his deep insider perspective of Steve’s remarkable leadership style – which includes four major principles: product, talent, organization, marketing.

I asked Jay to put together a list of leadership points that could apply to the technology business and the real estate business as well. The following are 10 leadership points that you could apply today:

  • Passion for the product: Agents need to fully understand their products and know all about the homes they are selling or buying. They need to become the home buyer or seller themselves.
  • Success in the details: Be totally familiar with all aspects of their products and buyers and be involved in all the details of their products and process.
  • Talent rules: Select agents and managers for the talents they display for selling and managing clients.
  • Team culture/small teams: Create a strong culture of teamwork with small teams or offices that all work together.
  • Horizontal communications: Create a strong communication system to communicate all information needed for teams and individuals to effectively do their jobs.
  • Rewards, ownership: Give employees a sense of ownership through a reward system.
  • Product-driven organization: Organize your company around the success of the company vision, goals and products.
  • Branding: Ensure everyone understands the company’s mission/goals and achievements and how they are presented to the public.
  • Embrace technology: The use of modern technology is critical to showing the company is part of the growth in its industry.
  • Content is king: What information your present about products and product support and how you present it to consumers is critical.

Jay shares the lessons that come out of Steve’s intuitive approach to show how the creative and technological brilliance of “iLeadership” can be utilized to drive breakthroughs in any organization.

There is no doubt that Steve Jobs reigns supreme in the worlds of product innovation, brand building, marketing, presenting and leadership. Many believe that Steve Jobs is a leader of the most outstanding company in the history of business.

The one question people always ask and that Jay brings up in his book is, “What is it that has made Steve so unique in the way he runs an organization that brings such convenience, time-saving, and pleasure to so many people around the world?” And that is the question Jay Elliot sets out to answer in his book.

After reading through the stories and examples that he provides, you can reflect on your own experiences and then think about ways that you can implement Steve Jobs’ way as part of your own.

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Thoughts on Leadership: Lessons from Lincoln

By Gino Blefari | May 12th, 2011 1 Comment

Today’s business leaders who are grappling with questions of how to lead in turbulent times can learn quite a bit from Abraham Lincoln.

As a U.S. President, Lincoln led the nation through the Civil War, emancipated the slaves, fought to restore and preserve the union, balanced common sense and idealism, and earned a local reputation for integrity and ability. Lincoln still stands as one of our greatest presidents.

In the book, “Lincoln on Leadership – Executive Strategies for Tough Times,” author Donald T. Phillips examines Lincoln’s diverse leadership abilities and how they can be applied to today’s complex world.

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks in a small town in Kentucky. He spent only 18 months in formal school; much of his education came from his own reading. He began his political career at the young age of 23, and five years later, he began his first protest against slavery.

Ironically, Lincoln lost his footing in the political scene and was twice an unsuccessful candidate for election to the U.S. Senate before his election as the 16th President of the United States.

Lincoln represented the summation of those leadership qualities that had helped to form a nation. The last great leader before industrial change, Lincoln stood for all that was right, honest, and self-evident.

His life – especially his presidency – demonstrated his leadership qualities. Some of his inherent abilities were natural; others were consciously developed over the course of his life.

At first, Lincoln appeared as a man unable to lead the nation out of a dark dilemma. He’d never held an executive leadership position. He’d only been a one-term national congressman. He had no military experience, had never been in battle and had been only an elected captain in the Illinois militia briefly during the Black Hawk War.

Few people at the time could have known that he possessed all the leadership qualities and abilities necessary to save the Union. And no one would have been able to predict the unparalleled strength of his leadership – that he would seize upon the very circumstances at hand, created by the crises of confusion, urgency and desperation, to exercise the full power of his office, and to create new limits of authority and leadership for the presidency.

Lincoln demonstrated an ability to withstand adversity and to move forward in the face of frustration with the following leadership lessons:

  • “Honesty is the best policy” (favorite saying of Lincoln).
  • Have confidence in the power of lofty principles. Do not be afraid to inspire those you lead.
  • Appeal to the best in people, not the lowest common denominator.
  • Pragmatic compromise does not require the negation of idealism.
  • A good solution now is far more valuable than a perfect solution when it is too late.
  • Prioritize. It is often best to fight “one war at a time.”
  • Endure criticism, learn from criticism, and act in spite of criticism.
  • Labor in the service of the highest goals.

Looking at the life of Abraham Lincoln, we can learn from his experience and become better leaders ourselves.

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