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THAT DAY Strategy – Key to Success

July 24, 2012 in Leadership with 4 Comments

That Day Strategy - Key To Success

In most of the keynote presentations I give to leaders and educators, I share a key to success for leaders that I attempt to live out in my own life and leadership as well. So often leaders look for the right strategy or the right program to improve their services or gain the results they desire. But, truth be told, even the best strategy or program is not the key variable in the success equation. Sure, strategies and programs are important, but there is one key to success for leaders that is even more essential.

It’s PEOPLE!

That’s right, it’s your people…not strategies or programs…that make the biggest difference. In fact, according to Todd Whitaker, there are only two ways to improve schools, businesses, or any other organization:

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Celebrating Independence Day

July 4, 2012 in Leadership with 0 Comments

Celebrating Independence Day

Today in the United States, we celebrate our independence. Perhaps there is no greater way to reflect on what celebrating Independence Day should mean to each of us than to remember the words of some of the greatest leaders throughout U.S. history.

We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

~ Abraham Lincoln

 If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in time of peace.

~Hamilton Fish

We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.

~William Faulkner

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Career Guidance You Don’t Want To Use – How NOT To Inspire Someone

June 8, 2012 in Leadership with 4 Comments

It’s Friday, which means it’s time for career guidance that isn’t helpful, but it sure is funny.

If you are a leader looking to inspire your followers, here’s a great example of what you don’t want to do. In fact, there is one guideline I follow that has proven to be a key to success for me in leadership—do the exact opposite of whatever Michael Scott and/or Dwight would do. Watch this clip and see what I mean.

If you are truly seeking career guidance, we’d love to serve you. Check out Live It Forward Coaching and our Home Study Course. Each is designed to help you discover your Vocational Calling and equip you to strategically pursue the work and life that you love!

Also, be sure to check out past Career Guidance You Don’t Want To Use posts. Here are five of my favorites!

Turn ME Upside Down!

May 31, 2012 in Leadership with 13 Comments

Turn ME Upside Down − A Major Key to Success in Leadership

Key to Success in LeadershipI have the privilege of speaking to middle school, high school, and college students all across the country, and often I speak on the topic of leadership.

Many students say they want to be leaders, and I’m the first to applaud their desire to be a difference-maker. However, when “the rubber meets the road,” the key to success in leadership is the ability to take the right actions, and one of the most important actions a leader can take is learning to turn “ME” upside down so that it spells “WE.”

Yeah, I know, turning “ME” into “WE” might sound a bit cheesy, but think about it. Leadership is all about making decisions. “WE” decisions build momentum, enthusiasm, and direction. “ME” decisions simply mess everything up. This means a major key to success in leadership is thinking “WE” instead of “ME.”

Two of the traps young leaders fall into that involve a “ME” mindset instead of a “WE” mentality are:

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Dating…The Magical Pill to Marital Bliss

April 18, 2012 in Leadership with 12 Comments

It’s Not Too Difficult Guys — Love Is Spelled D-A-T-E

Kent & Kathy | Dating Your WIfe

Kent & Kathy

Guys, let’s keep this simple. If you want a great marriage, date your wife. Dating is not a magical pill to marital bliss, but it’s close.

Now, I’m not a proponent on creating rules and regulations about dating. For instance, I know some couples who religiously go out every Friday night. To me, that feels legalistic and routine, so it sort of sucks the romance out of dating for me. What’s more, if you slow down enough throughout the week to regularly connect with your spouse, a weekly date could actually feel like overkill. As I’ve shared in many blog post here, Kathy and I connect throughout a typical week by taking walks together, preparing dinners together, eating dinner as a family practically every night, and just spending time in the evening talking. These regular touch points keep us relationally close.

(As a side note, some people like to refer to taking walks and preparing meals together as “dates,” but we don’t. To us, these activities are simply part of doing life together as best friends. We like being together more than anything else, so we look for opportunities to be together as much as possible and don’t feel the need to label these times as “dates.”)

With that said, we still love to date, and even though we have three teenagers living under our roof (which translates into a very busy season of life), we still carve out extended time to get away from it all and date.

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