I dare not blow my own trumpet, for such an act smacks of pride. And pride precedes only one thing, and that is a fall. So in order to stand tall through it all, the cloth of humility should always be our adornment.
We are reminded in the good book to sit at the lower end of the table, and in that way there is only one way forward, and that is up. And that when we eat in the presence of a great man, to eat of his words rather than to eat of his food.
Positioning yourself in life does not necessarily come as you push your way to the front of the line. There is another way to the top, and that is to serve in humility.
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I’m on a mission: to make those who are working with me in my business - BIGGER and BETTER people.
Every Monday morning I have a staff meeting which is designed to inspire and to motivate us as a team to reach incredible heights in our industry of web design. As part of that program we have a book program where I sell my staff books that will help them build not only a successful position in our business, but also a successful life. Why do I charge them for these books? Because I want them to know what it feels like to invest into their own BIG future.
I want my staff to be super successful. I want them to develop business ideas. I want them to grow. I want them to succeed. That is why I devote the first hour of the week to making them bigger people.
One other way I do that is by sharing with them a BIG vision and inviting them to be a part of its fulfilment. Our vision here is simply this - that ‘OE Design - The Web Designers’ is the most respected and recognised web design brand in the world’.
And every day we go to work on this business, and as we embark step by step on the road to franchising, we hold tight to this vision. For it is this vision that makes us do better, achieve more, innovate continually and stretch and research like no other web design company.
And what is the end result - I am making BIG people.
And for me as the CEO - if at the end of the day I have been instrumental in making my staff think higher of themselves and of what they have been created for - then I have succeeded.
‘Make it your mission to see the good in one person today and tell them.’
One looks at a vegetable patch and sees a weed while another looks at the same patch and sees a beautiful rose. Choose to see beauty in all that you survey. Look for the good and you will find good. Seek out the best and you will discover the best. Once you have found it in another, tell them. Encourage them to use the diamond that they hold within their possession for the benefit of others. Then sit back to watch that flower blossom. Return from time to time to encourage and to remind the owner that they are the possessors of that great jewel. By doing so you will have done a great deed for all humanity.
The more leaders mature, the more value they place on people. when all is said and done, leadership isn’t about strategy, marketing, organization, efficiency, or high-quality products, but about people. Micah hurt when others hurt, even though they were in the wrong. The high value he placed on people teaches us…
1) People are an organisation’s most appreciable asset.
2) People skills are a leader’s most important asset.
3) If you are good with people, you can lead in a variety of contexts.
4) You can have people skills and not be a good leader, but you cannot be a good leader without people skills.
(The Maxwell Leadership Bible P1090.)
Stop waiting for somebody else to do something. Stop pointing your finger at those leaders whom you feel are not doing enough.
With one finger pointed in their direction, there are three pointing straight back at you.
I have learnt, that if I ever see leadership languishing; yes those leaders whom I’m following who have in some areas of their leadership lost their way, I need to be the first one to draw them aside quietly and gently whisper in their ear ‘How can I help you?’
The end result, in most cases, is that I have then positioned myself in a better place of leadership myself. I begin to assist that leader in getting those things that need to be done for the benefit of the organisation. And then I can begin to help others to stop criticising, by my example, and assist them in also finding other ways to rise and meet the challenges that lie before us.
When is the time right to rise and lead? Today.
Stop talking and start doing.
And if you are aware of those who are languishing in their leadership, take them out for a coffee and ask them that powerful question: ‘How can I help you?’
