Education is what survives when what has been learnt has been forgotten.  B.F. Skinner

Hello friends… before we dig into today’s meaty T4D let’s talk about “Making it Great”.  A whole bunch more of you ordered your own discounted copy this week.  And you most likely won’t recieve them until the middle of next week.  So let’s plan on digging into them and begin discussing our discoveries on the week of Mar 9th.  I’m hopeful to have a few action items completed by then myself and will appreciate some of your thoughts as well.  Remember we are looking at this book as a primer to get us going, growing and goaling.  It requires that we do more than just read and consider….it requires that we act, think, and DO.  Those with books already — go ahead and get growing.  But those waiting… don’t worry you won’t be left behind. (To read the last few T4D’s about this book click here or just visit www.kirkweisler.com/t4d and scroll down.)

OK…. last week I posted an excerpt from the foreward of the 25th anniversary edition of Servant Leadership that many of you really seemed to enjoy.  I know I did!  To read it click here or paste away. http://kirkweisler.com/t4d/2009/02/11/servant-leadership-things-that-will-destroy-us/

I mentioned that I loved the entire forward by Stephen Covey and that I hoped to convince my 14 year old daughter Brittany to type the whole thing in.  She did, for a price, and you can access it by clicking here.  It’s a bit long, but loaded with content.

Here is another wonderful excerpt from it…

Victor Hugo once said, “There’s nothing as powerful as an idea whose time has come.”  Servant Leadership’s time has come.

            The deepest part of human nature is that which urges people- each one of us- to rise above our present circumstances and to transcend our common nature. If you can appeal to it, you tap into a whole new source of human motivation. Perhaps this is why I have found Robert Greenleaf’s teaching on servant leadership to be so enormously inspiring, so uplifting, so ennobling. 

            There is a great movement taking place through out the world today. Its roots, I believe, are to be found in two powerful forces. One is the dramatic globalization of markets and technology. And in a very pragmatic way, this tidal wave of change is fueling the impact of the second force: the force of timeless universal principles that have, and always will govern all enduring success, especially those principles that give “air” and “life” and creative power to the human spirit that produces value in market, organizations, families, and most significantly, individual’s lives. 

Servant Leadership Will Continue to Increase in Relevance

            One of these fundamental, timeless principles is the idea of servant leadership, and I am convinced that it will continue to dramatically increase in its relevance. There is a growing awareness and consciousness around it in the world. One of the things that is driving it, as I have mentioned, is the global economy, which absolutely insists on quality at low costs.  We’ve got to produce more for less, and with greater speed than we’ve ever done before. The only way to do that in a sustained way is through the 3empowerment of people.  And the only way you get empowerment is through high-trust cultures and an empowerment philosophy that turns bosses into servants and coaches, and structures and systems into nurturing institutionalized servant processes.

            A low-trust culture that is characterized by high-control management, political posturing, protectionism, cynicism, and internal competition and adversarial simply cannot compete with the speed, quality, and innovation of those organizations around the world that do empower people. It may be possible to buy someone’s hand and back, but not their heart, mind, and spirit.  And in the competitive reality of today’s global marketplace, it will be only those organizations whose people not only willingly volunteer their tremendous creative talent, commitment, and loyalty, but whose organizations align their structures, systems, and management style to support the empowerment of their people that will survive and thrive as market leaders.

            Leaders are learning that this kind of empowerment, which is what servant leadership represents, is one of the key principles that, based on practice, not talk, will be the deciding point between an organizations’s enduring success or its eventual demise.

“People who consider themselves victims of their circumstances will always remain victims unless they develop a greater vision for their lives.”  ~  Stedman Graham
Ok, well let’s not be victims.  Instead let’s begin to develop a greater vision for our lives!  For those of you who over the last couple of weeks purchased a copy of “10 Ways to Make it Great” from Morebetterbooks.com I invite you to join me in working together to pick a couple of the chapters and action items and work to compete them this week.  I’m excited to build an even greater vision for my life and intend to dig into Phil’s book and take action.  My goal… complete 2 action items this week!  Come on, let’s “make it great!”

kirk out

“People think I’m disciplined. It is not discipline. It is devotion. There is a great difference.”  ~ Luciano Pavarotti
1935-2007, Opera Singer

Wisdom ~ I heard this one yesterday thought it had great merit and simplicity.  

A guy said, “If you are wrong admit it.  If you are right keep your mouth shut.”

Kirk out

Today’s T4D comes to us from Wisconsin subscriber Scott who writes.

Kirk:  I’m a long-time fan of your T4D column.  I’m passing on a story that happened in my neck of the woods - Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  I think it’s Kirk-worthy.   Take care!  ~  Scott

Below I have copied the story….or you can click the link.  It is a really great story.  http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=914609 

The coach never considered any other option.

It didn’t matter that his DeKalb, Ill., High School basketball team had ridden a bus two and a half hours to get to Milwaukee, then waited another hour past game time to play. Didn’t matter that the game was close, or that this was a chance to beat a big city team.

Johntel Franklin scored 10 points in the game following the loss of his mother.

Something else was on Dave Rohlman’s mind when he asked for a volunteer to shoot two free throws awarded his team on a technical foul in the second quarter. His senior captain raised his hand, ready to go to the line as he had many times before.

Only this time it was different.

“You realize you’re going to miss them, don’t you?” Rohlman said.

Darius McNeal nodded his head. He understood what had to be done.

It was a Saturday night in February, and the Barbs were playing a non-conference game on the road against Milwaukee Madison. It was the third meeting between the two schools, who were developing a friendly rivalry that spanned two states.

The teams planned to get together after the game and share some pizzas and soda. But the game itself almost never took place.

Hours earlier, the mother of Milwaukee Madison senior captain Johntel Franklin died at a local hospital. Carlitha Franklin had been in remission after a five-year fight with cervical cancer, but she began to hemorrhage that morning while Johntel was taking his college ACT exam.

Her son and several of his teammates were at the hospital late that afternoon when the decision was made to turn off the life-support system. Carlitha Franklin was just 39.

“She was young and they were real close,” said Milwaukee coach Aaron Womack Jr., who was at the hospital. “He was very distraught and it happened so suddenly he didn’t have time to grieve.”

Womack was going to cancel the game, but Franklin told him he wanted the team to play. And play they did, even though the game started late and Milwaukee Madison dressed only eight players.

Early in the second quarter, Womack saw someone out of the corner of his eye. It was Franklin, who came there directly from the hospital to root his teammates on.

The Knights had possession, so Womack called a time out. His players went over and hugged their grieving teammate. Fans came out of the stands to do the same.

“We got back to playing the game and I asked if he wanted to come and sit on the bench,” Womack said during a telephone interview.

“No,” Franklin replied. “I want to play.”

There was just one problem. Since Franklin wasn’t on the pre-game roster, putting him in meant drawing a technical foul that would give DeKalb two free throws.

Though it was a tight game, Womack was willing to give up the two points. It was more important to help his senior guard and co-captain deal with his grief by playing.

Over on the other bench, though, Rohlman wasn’t so willing to take them. He told the referees to forget the technical and just let Franklin play.

“I could hear them arguing for five to seven minutes, saying, `We’re not taking it, we’re not taking it,” Womack said. “The refs told them, no, that’s the rule. You have to take them.”

That’s when Rohlman asked for volunteers, and McNeal’s hand went up.

He went alone to the free throw line, dribbled the ball a couple of times, and looked at the rim.

His first attempt went about two feet, bouncing a couple of times as it rolled toward the end line. The second barely left his hand.

It didn’t take long for the Milwaukee players to figure out what was going on.

They stood and turned toward the DeKalb bench and started applauding the gesture of sportsmanship. Soon, so did everybody in the stands.

“I did it for the guy who lost his mom,” McNeal told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It was the right thing to do.”

Carlitha Franklin’s funeral was last Friday, and the school turned out for her and her son. Cheerleaders came in uniform, and everyone from the principal and teachers to Johntel’s classmates were there.

“Even the cooks from school showed up,” Womack said. “It lets you know what kind of kid he is.”

Basketball is a second sport for the 18-year-old Franklin, who says he has had some scholarship nibbles and plans to play football in college. He just has a few games left for the Knights, who are 6-11 and got beat 71-36 Tuesday night by Milwaukee Hamilton.

It hasn’t been the greatest season for the team, but they have stuck together through a lot of adversity.

“We maybe don’t have the best basketball players in the world but they go to class and take care of business,” Womack said. “We have a losing record but there’s life lessons going on, good ones.”

None so good, though, as the moment a team and a player decided there were more important things than winning and having good stats.

Yes, DeKalb would go home with a loss. But it was a trip they’ll never forget.

“This is something our kids will hold for a lifetime,” Rohlman said. “They may not remember our record 20 years from now, but they’ll remember what happened in that gym that night.”

“You will find yourself refreshed by the presence of cheerful people. Why not make earnest effort to confer that pleasure on others? Half the battle is gained if you never allow yourself to say anything gloomy.”

Lydia M. Child 
1802-1880, Abolitionist and Writer

“The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next. The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just existing.”

Michael E. Gerber  `Author of The E-Myth Revisited 

In response to last weeks two messages about the book “10 Ways to Make it Great” just over 50 of you ordered a discounted copy of Phil’s book.  You should be receiving that copy today.  I have mine but am going to wait until next week to start sharing my “accomplished action items” so that more of U.S. can be doing it together.  

I did pull the following piece out of the book….page 24 from the “Never Stop Learning” chapter.  Phil writes…

            Most adults never read another book - for business or pleasure - after they graduate from high school.  Jerrold Jenkins of the Jenkins Group reports the follow shocking statistics:

• 33% of high school graduates will never read another book for the rest of their lives
• 58% of the total U.S. adult population has never read another book since high school
• 42% of college graduates will never read another book after college
• 80% of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year
• 70% of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
• 57% of new books are not read to completion.

Phil and I have been talking about books and the importance of reading for years and many of you know my story of having a leader years who gave me some strong encouragement to “read more books with less pictures”.  And my response to that challenge was to set a goal to read a new business or idea book every 30 days.  This practice has literally changed my life forever.

Think about it this way… with most of American not reading the bar is really low.   So if you and I read just 2 or 3 books this year we’ll be looking like HIGH JUMPERS!!  

Too read last weeks two blog posts on “Making it Great Click Here  

Post 1 http://kirkweisler.com/t4d/2009/02/12/goal-primer-make-it-great/

Post 2  http://kirkweisler.com/t4d/2009/02/13/knowledge-not-just-information/

Kirk Out

3 words… just 3 words and yet they say so much.

Leaders need to be deliberately and purposefully engaged in positively influencing the cultures of their teams, departments and organizations.  There can and should be strategic discussions and plans to accomplish this most worthy of tasks.  Because CULTURE SHAPES CONDUCT.

At the same time every single individual in the organization needs to hold themselves accountable to their own personal contribution to the culture which they contribute to each day they show up for work.  And sometimes even when they don’t show up. (Because let’s be honest, sometimes we’re relieved when some of our more toxic personalities are away for the day).

We might each ask ourselves one of these questions. 

How is my world at work (our culture) better today because of my contribution?

How is our culture more positive, more nurturing, more inviting, more fulfilling, more refreshing, or more productive because of my deliberate, thoughtful and genuine contribution?

Culture shapes Conduct… and Conduct shapes Culture.  The choices we make, the things we are willing to say and do communicate “the norm” of what is acceptable.  What is acceptable could be exceptional if that is what your culture communicates.

Make Your Choices Wisely….

Conduct yourself with care….

and Make your Culture Count…

Kirk Out

I came across this great definition of knowledge:

“Knowledge is information that changes something or somebody — either by becoming grounds for actions, or by making an individual (or an institution) capable of different or more effective action.” — Peter F. Drucker

Don’t just give people information, give them the knowledge they need to be effective

A whole bunch of you ordered copies of the book we discussed in yesterday’s T4D. “10 Ways to Make it Great”   Before they arrive in your mailbox next week…. Let’s agree on a short term goal together.  Remember this is not a book to read but a book to accomplish.  So the goal is to complete two chapter exercises immediately upon receipt of the book.  LET’s GROW FOR IT!   I’ll be doing this right along with you.

For more information about this little book and it’s author Phil Gerbyshak the “Relationship Geek”  here’s a url for you.   http://www.relationshipgeek.com/books/

I am concerned that the vast majority of people I continue to meet have no written goals or plan for their lives, or even the immediate year ahead.  Frankly, I understand this … because the majority of us were raised by parents who weren’t goal writers or goal setters, who were raised by parents who didn’t teach them.  This doesn’t make them or us bad people or bad parents.  But enough is enough… someone has to break the cycle and I ask…. WHY NOT YOU?  and WHY NOT NOW?  

 One young professional responding to my thoughts on the of lack of goals actually said, “What’s the point of setting goals when things are so unpredictable and with everything changing so rapidly?”  

I tried to explain to him that the uncertainty and storms of life are the exact reason to have goals…. they can provide the direction.  It’s almost as if they are the rudder that keeps the ship pointed toward the destination.  Without goals we drift and can end up where we wash up.

The current economy has left a lot people feeling scared, uncertain, and worried for the future.  Goals can give us a sense of direction, purpose and confidence.

Henry Ford stated, “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” 

Now I can’t claim to be a goal writing guru… I’m still growing and getting better at this myself.  But I can say that I have come to a personal knowledge and understanding of the power of goals and the importance of writing them down.  I also know that goals…especially the really good ones, aren’t something you usually just jot down in a few minutes.  Rather they are something that we need to think about, develop and strengthen over time.

I might suggest a wonderful book that may help PRIME your goal setting spirit.  A couple years ago Phil Gerbyshak, THE Relationship Geek,  wrote a book called 10 Ways to Make it Great.  In this book Phil suggests 10 ways a person can grow their greatness .  While his intent wasn’t to help people be goals setters… I think he layout of his book can serve as a great primer to get a person warmed up to do just that.  Each principle he shares is presented briefly and clearly… and is followed by Action Steps that invite the reader to TAKE ACTION and do something.  There is even space in the book to write down your plan, action or results.  It’s almost like a goal setting warm up workbook and is a wonderful way to get started.

Phil usually sells this book for $14.99 but I asked for special pricing just for you …and so it’s now available for $9.99 at http://www.morebetterbooks.com/

Finally… I would love to hear some of the titles of your favorite books on GOAL Setting so please share them with us at the T4D Blog post www.kirkweisler.com/t4d  What books on Goals have helped you the most!

GO FOR IT, GOAL FOR IT…

Kirk Out