A woman was contemplating a trip to Europe with a friend. She really wanted to go, but would have to borrow the money to make the trip. Not sure what to do, as she was going to bed she asked God for a sign. The next morning she woke up and looked at her alarm clock. It was 7:47. “Well – I’ll be”, she thought. “A 747 is a type of plane. God must want me to go on my trip.” She borrowed the money and went – adding a couple thousand dollars to her $30,000 credit card debt.

As a leader, you must learn to Think Things Through! Thinking, before acting, will save you thousands of headaches and thousands of dollars! Of course you must be careful of the Analysis to Paralysis syndrome – but having said that… to ensure your business/career and your life are moving in a direction you want, you must learn to Think Things Through.

Thinking Things Through, is not as easy as it sounds. Why? Because when we think by ourselves, we only bring to the table what we know. To be effective, you must get the opinions of others. Too many leaders think that they need to have all the answers – never realizing that although they might always have an answer, it may often be the wrong one!

Thinking Things Through requires the ability to analyze a problem or situation using some critical analysis or logic. Not everyone possesses these traits naturally, although I believe it can be learned. Learn to be a critical thinker. How? Read. Listen. Reflect. Bounce ideas off of others.

All the best!
All the time!
JT

Man’s insatiable need for more, his (or her) craving for power, prestige and wealth is destroying our world. This has been true since the dawn of civilization, since Cain slew Abel out of jealousy. On the other hand, we have people, many people, who are decent upstanding citizens who try to do the right thing and who oppose those that focus only on personal gain. I believe that history has shown us that unbridled capitalism has failed, and so has socialism. Leaving us with a blend of Social Capitalism, which is where I believe the world is heading. Ok…so what? Where do we go from here and what does that mean to you. How can you survive in a social capitalistic society.

The answer is pretty simple. Lead with Honor. Ok – I’ll have to admit this is a bit self serving, but it isn’t meant to be. If those that are in positions of leadership, would remember that they have an obligation to make life better for those they serve (society, stakeholders, employees, family), we wouldn’t be in the mess we have are today. As I love to remind people:

If you are consumed with leadership because it will make you rich, that is called ambition, not leadership. The danger with ambition is that the more power you gain, and the less leadership skills you have, the greater the probability that you will hurt others, perhaps many others, on your rise to fame, power and glory.

To protect our way of life, we need to learn to Lead with Honor. We don’t have to look very far (and the list is growing all to rapidly!) for those that have led… with dishonor. Governor Blagojevich, Bernard Madoof, Enron Executives, the CEOs of the Big Three automakers, many Boards of Directors… the list goes on and on. Even our leaders is congress who have an automatic raise every year built into the system – regardless of performance – need to remember that they are here to serve the people.

How do we help teach people to lead with honor? By raising it’s visibility and by putting in measures that would force people to act responsibly. What does this mean to you?

1. If you are in a position of leadership, you need to start thinking about what it means to lead with honor.
2. Write a Credo statement for yourself and your organization – This I Believe….
3. Put teeth behind your beliefs by creating measurable behavior into annual reviews that directly impact career progression.

• Do you cus and swear constantly
• Do you listen to others
• Is your salary (or your staffs) reasonable? Not based on outside comparisons. I believe anything over $10 million/year is hard to justify unless everyone in your company is making over $200,000/year.
• Are your products socially friendly
• Are your products environmentally friendly
• Was your company profitable, or on their way to being profitable

There are so many things that can be done here, if you are serious about leading with honor.

Lead with Honor!!!

JT

I’ve been reflecting on the current financial crisis that in retrospect will be a great turning point in the course of our nation. The ease with which Henry Paulsen was granted access to $700 Billion, and the lack of accountability in how it is being spent is mindboggling. To watch the government purchase private corporations because “they are too big to fail”, with little regard given to long term effects of how our system of capitalism will function, is heart breaking. Our way of life is changing… forever.

I believe that our country will survive and that it will strive to take care of its citizens. But life will be different. The question I ask though, is how did we get here? The answer is not an easy pill to swallow because the breadth and scope of the number and types of people involved. There are too many people at all levels of society who did not act according to the leadership principles put forth by the RC³ model. Too many of us didn’t practice, Responsibility, Courage, Commitment and Cedibility.

Let me just tackle Responsibiliy in this posting. Responsibility can be broken down to:

1. Responsibility to Society
2. Responsibility to Others
3. Responsibility to Self

The breaking points are easy to find. Just think if all involved had been considering their responsibility to others and society just a little more seriously. There were so many warning signs and so many opportunities to avert this meltdown, if only we as a society had taken our eyes off of ourselves for just a moment.

To avoid other meltdowns like this in the future, we need to revisit basic principles of behavior. We need to start not only teaching these values, we need to start living them. What about you?: Are you a true leader who exemplifes behaving responsibly? Are you responsible to Society? Others? Yourself?

All the best!
All the time!
JT

For those of you following my blog, you know I’ve been thinking about branding lately. There are a lot of people with a dream out there… including you and me. So, what makes you and I different from everyone else?

When I look at what I do, leadership development, there are tons of other people out there who have a heart for making an impact in others, for helping them become better leaders. There are a lot of people out there with a lot of knowledge. There are a lot of people out there with websites, brochures, models and presentations. So – what makes me (you) different?

To be honest – not much. Except – one critical thing. Attitude. The one thing that will make or break me (or you) is our attitude. You have to believe that you are different – that YOU can have the impact on others that you are trying to serve. Without this key ingredient, the rest is worthless.

If you find your business or your career languishing, take a deep and honest look at your belief system. How deeply do you believe that you can make a difference? That you will be successful at what you’re trying to do! The bottom line is that all the things we produce, will not make you successful by themselves. No marketing material, business strategy, networking, business plan, presentation, book, brochure (you get the idea) will drive your success. Only your attitude will.

If your career or business is stalled – check out my coaching program. You won’t regret it.

All the best,
All the time,

JT

I’ve been reflecting on the next level of my business and have spent some time thinking about branding. Branding is a core concept when it comes to developing your business, your career, or just a better life! Branding is about focus.

As part of my thought analysis, I tried to come up with some names of people who are really successful at what I want to do. I came up with several, but ended up focusing on Tony Robins and Robin Sharma. Now, I thought about changing my name to “Robin” – but don’t think that is quite what made them successful. I’m on both of their distribution lists, and was fortunate enough to receive some free videos from Tony. While the videos weren’t on branding, he mentioned a few points that hit close to home.

First of all – what are you certain of? If you are not certain about something, how are you going to be successful at it. You must be certain about your goals, your aspirations, your direction. In my case, the question I asked myself is, what am I certain that I can teach someone, that will definitely improve their lives?

Second point – If you want to be a leader (or achieve success at what you’re doing), you not only have to be good at asking questions, you have to be able to tell people what to do. Now, I don’t necessarily mean ordering people around. But, you must be able to tell people what they need to do to. If you are selling something, you must be able to tell them how to use what you are offering so that their lives will improve. If you are leading, people will follow you, only if you have given them a direction to go. So – what are you going to tell others to do?

Branding is about focus. Refine your goals, your objectives, your product, your life – so that you are focused on a few specific things. What are you certain of? What are you telling others to do?

All the best,
All the time
JT

Well, things are certainly pretty glum aren’t they! Well – so what. Let’s put this in perspective. In spite of all that has happened over the past few years, perhaps dating back to September 11, 2001 – America is alive. Perhaps not well, but alive. In hard times of the past, Americans have found a way to bounce back and thrive. It will happen again. The question is, how are you reacting to the crisis.

One of my favorite sea stories is that of John Paul Jones (You can read the full account in my book). Despite overwhelming odds and a desperate situation, his immortal words – “Sir, I have not yet begun to fight” should be call to all of us, to all of you, who are facing some financial challenges. It is time to get up and fight.

Our country was founded on the ideals of our immigrant ancestors. One set of my grandparents came over from Japan to work as immigrant workers in the pineapple fields in Hawaii. The other side of my family tree goes back to France and Scottland. My great great grandfather/grandmother came over to Canada from the Isle of Eigg in Scottland, after they were evicted from the island by a land baron. No money, no property – BUT – a will to survive. To thrive. To Fight.

It was the pioneer spirit that allowed America to become what she is today. The spirit that encouraged our forefathers to take risks. To throw caution to the wind and to move forward. We too often forget that the signers of the Declaration of Independence faced hanging at the gallows if they were captured. We often picture them sitting in a courthouse in Philadelphia, safe, secure, perhaps even cozy. But, the reality was that they were taking a step over the line. To challenge the status quo in search of a better life.

Enough about bailouts. Enough looking to Uncle Sam to get you out of your predicament. Stand up. Fight. Get creative. Do something. It WILL be ok. Perhaps not comfortable – but ok. Be thankful for what you have… get up… and go do something.

As I write this, I’m sitting across from a gentleman who is stuffing envelopes for a seminar he is going to give on motivation. A seminar? Who would pay to go to that in this economy? Who can afford it? Well, I have no idea how many people will go to his seminar. But, he is doing something. Perhaps he is the next Anthony Robbins. I don’t know. But if he were at home, wringing his hands and crying about what he lost, I know where that road leads. Nowhere.

Get up. Be resilient. Take risks. Be creative. Be encouraging. Take Heart.

All the best!
All the time!
JT