Another case for asking, “Why?” (5 times)

For several years I’ve encouraged people to learn about how to think.  That might sound strange at first, but if you ponder it for a moment, it becomes obvious how important it is to understand how we approach information and situations…and determine what needs to be done.  It is a core skill set that any great leader needs to have.

One short-hand way I’ve suggested is to ‘go to the fifth level of why?’.  Well…turns out, like most things, that others came up with a similar approach.  You can read about it, here!

 

Why are leaders in such short supply?

That’s the question found recently on the Harvard Business School’s blog site.  Here’s what they have to say.  Do you agree?

 

Building your own list…

From time to time I come across some interesting lists.  Often they are reminders of things we should always be doing but sometime we drop our focus…or get distracted.  Here’s one…a pretty long one actually…but it might serve as a starter for you to create your own.  By creating your own list, you’ll likely add items that are the result of “lessons learned”…and that will serve as a great review for you from time to time.

 

A great leadership blog to add to your review lists!

Had a nice response from an earlier post that led me to a great blog to add to my “Recommended Blogs” list! Lots of great articles and posts related to leadership for both the military and private sector. Click here!

 

Leaders can add or subtract…

Leaders always need to be mindful that people are drawing energy and impressions from them at all times.  Leaders are human…and they have good days and bad days…but when you’re on-stage…you’re on-stage!

Here’s a great article that reminds us about the importance of this “softer side of true leadership”!  Click here.

 

50 Life Secrets

Here’s something that aspiring leaders, everywhere, can use to generate some ideas!  It’s called “50 Life Secrets and Tips”.  You can find it by clicking here!

 

Focus on followers to learn what leaders need to be…

An interesting article in this week’s Washington Post uses area sports teams to illustrate the point that sometimes our focus on growing leaders by starting with leaders may not yield the results we are looking for.  Much like companies that focus on the customer end up doing better than those who do not…the same can be said by understanding what followers are looking for in a leader and building a leader accordingly.

You can read the article by clicking here.

 

What would happen if everyone tried to learn from their mistakes?

On any given day how many things do we do ‘right’ vs ‘not as good as it should be’ (kind way of saying perhaps it was a mistake)?  A wonderful article that explores how a 61-year old premier choreographer purposely looks for the mistakes in order to find success makes for terrific reading!  You can learn how to do this for yourself by clicking here!

 

Must read: Thomas Friedman’s latest book

If we are ever going to address the symptoms (high-unemployment, displaced workers) we really need to understand what is going on instead of relying on sound-bites from ‘experts’ that offer us polarizing alternatives that don’t work in the world we now live in.

Take the time to read Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum’s book:  ”That Used to Be Us:  How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back.  You can find a link for the book by clicking here.

You can also read excerpts and here interviews by visiting Thomas Friedman’s website by clicking here.

 

What if Disney ran the government?

Now there’s a thought provoking question!  One of the blogs I follow is Lee Cockerell, author of “Creating the Magic”.  As the former Disney Vice President for Park Operations at Disney World.  Someone did an interview with him which was featured on the Huffington Post.  It makes for good reading…and conversation.  You can read the article by clicking here.