Has your life ever been influenced by a film that you saw at the cinema or maybe on the TV whilst having your supper? In my case, the film was "City Slickers." If you know the film you will remember that three tired advertising executives head for Colorado to try and deal with their mid-life crises and "find themselves."

It is an amusing film, but also a very moving one. The scene that had a dramatic impact on my life, at the time, is the "camp fire scene." The main character, played by Billy Crystal, is talking to a leathery old cowboy, played by Jack Pallance, who is scathing about the New-Yorkers' "pathetic little lives and material lifestyle."

He says "…..You know, life is only about one thing of course"

Billy Crystal looks up and eagerly says ………"You mean out here in the middle of nowhere you know the meaning of life?"

"……Of course I do…………it is about one thing, as I said!"

"Well, for God's sake tell me…………I've travelled thousands of miles to work this out so you must tell me………what is life all about?"

"……As I said, son, just one thing and one thing only!"

"……But what is that? ……….what is this one thing?"

"……Son, life is about one thing and one thing only……….and that is for you to work out!"

So how does this film clip affect you today – at both a business and personal level? What actions do you need to take to be "slicker" in 2010? Here are a dozen "one things" you may like to reflect on and discuss with your team:-

1. What is your one main business objective this year?
2. What is the one thing your business needs to do more of?
3. What is the one thing your business needs to do less of?
4. What is the one thing your business needs to be better at?
5. What is the one thing you want prospects to understand when they arrive on your website?
6. What is the one thing you want your existing customers to say about your company?
7. What is your one main external threat to progress?
8. What is your one main internal threat to progress?
9. All businesses have an "us" and a "them"…..what one thing would improve teamwork within and between your departments?
10. What is the one main thing you can learn from your competitors?
11. What is the one major change you want to make to your lifestyle?
12. What is the one main thing you need to do to make this happen?

Take action today! Remember Gen. Patton's words of wisdom all those years ago………"a good plan actioned today is better than a perfect plan actioned next month."

The current business climate, as we all know, is moving very quickly. I think it is fair to say that by the end of 2010 there will be three types of organisation:-

Those who made things happen in 2010.

Those who watched things happen in 2010.

Those wondering "what happened !?"

The above article is just a sample of the type of practical, no nonsense session that speakers such as Phil deliver to the members of ACE. The whole community is dedicated to inspiring the leaders of businesses to change their thinking, challenge their views and help them with their decision making abilities. Leaders no longer need to feel isolated at the top. Academy Membership – find out more >>

One of my strongest beliefs is that unless we take positive action, nothing will happen. I know that it seems obvious but it has been reinforced in my work with hundreds of top executives where I have seen the difference that positive action can make.

I'm not alone in that belief. 'Action this day' is the wording of a note that Winston Churchill would add to papers when he was Prime Minister. It is a good motto for Chief Executives to have on their desks and on the desks of their senior team. I have no doubt that Strategic Planning was important to Churchill, too, but he wanted to ensure that planning lasted no longer than was absolutely necessary to ensure good action and a positive outcome.

For many businesses, that is still an issue. Developing a good strategy can be hard enough however many of us achieve it and some obsess about it. Executing that strategy successfully is something that fewer achieve. Yet dreams without action are just dreams, though they can fool us into thinking that we are doing something when the truth is that nothing is happening.

Taking action can be thought of through the 'ready, aim, fire' approach from firearms training or archery. Firing a gun without putting a bullet into the breech, or by simply shooting in any direction is unlikely to be successful and is potentially disastrous. The same applies in business. Following the right sequence that you should follow and ensuring that you do not stay stuck on any area of it for longer than is necessary to move on.

Being ready

Being prepared is essential. Action without thought is as bad as thought without action. Preparation can consist of ensuring that

1. you understand the endeavour you are about to undertake, its risks and the potential rewards
2. you know where the competition are and what they are likely to be doing
3. that you have the resources - people, time, equipment and money you need and
4. that you know how you will deploy them initially

Too little preparation coupled with poor research can mean that issues arise that were not expected and the project becomes stranded in a growing pool of problems. Too much preparation and research seems to generate more of the same and nothing happens at all. Everything goes in unproductive circles. Having an Aim (and being able to measure it)

You will need to be clear on what do you want to happen, where, when and with whom. If it is a communication, then who is your audience, how can you reach them and what do you want them to do as a result of hearing your message? What is the sequence of events that is needed to achieve the goal? If the activity is poorly aimed and there is no feedback in place, it is impossible to know if it was successful. It creates the question, do you repeat as before or change the process and leads to indecision and inaction. If the activity is aimed at too big an audience or created with too large a scope, the team controlling it can be overwhelmed.

Fire – taking decisive action

Action means doing something but it doesn't have to be the whole thing in one go. In fact, it is usually better if it isn't. Trying a sample approach or a phased introduction and watching the results allows you to keep developing the project to be fully effective.

Don't however, fall into the trap of having a permanent pilot project. Unless you take action, nothing will happen and nothing will be learnt. That is a good way of avoiding the truth of the effectiveness of the idea but if your plans stay as plans, you risk the market overtaking you. Someone implements your idea (or their version of it) and you are now playing catch up where you could have been leading.

Taking action is important to business. It is also vital that it is action taken with enough planning to make it viable and enough feedback to ensure it can be adjusted 'in flight'. You will need to know enough background, aim for achievable goals that can be expanded, take some decisive action, read the feedback and then, depending on the feedback adjust and move on, rethink or abandon the activity.

Unless you test your theories, they'll remain theories. And theories add nothing to the bottom line.

Brian Chernett is founder of The Academy for Chief Executives (ACE) - He has 43 years' experience as managing director of private and public companies, including subsidiaries of Booker Bros McConnell, the Landmark Group, and several other major companies. Find out more at our membership page.

Vilfredo Pareto was an Italian economist who developed a very exciting and important theory …

… OK, so I lied about the word "exciting" but the theory is important and still resonates today (as you will see later).

First the history: Whilst working in the UK in 1897 Pareto identified that 80% of the wealth in England was in the hands of 20% of the people. In the fifties, Quality gurus like Juran and Deeming referred to the "Pareto Principle" as part of their work with American and Japanese companies. Although Pareto himself never referred to his "principle" the post-war economic miracle in both of these countries helped secure Pareto's place in history.

The Pareto Principle has since become one of our "laws of life" and there are many places where we can see evidence of it in our lives today:-

At work:

In society:

In life:

(although you should abandon any theories on telephone behaviour if you have a teenage daughter!)

In business, the Pareto Principle can often feel counter-intuitive as we like to think that "all customers are important" or "all employees have the same value" or "all new enquires should be treated in the same way." This is not necessarily the case.

"There is nothing so unequal as the equal treatment of unequal issues!"

We are living in challenging times and many of us are going to need help to survive and thrive. So what advice would Mr. Pareto give you if he was your business coach today? With his 80-20 thinking hat on, he would probably tell you to:-

1. Stay focused 20% of items on your things-to-list will make 80% of the difference in 2010. Identifying and staying focused on this low number of high-impact items is clearly going to have more value to your business than focusing on a high number of low-impact items. Strive for excellence in a few things rather than getting lost amongst the many things.
2. Track customer profitability. If 20% of your customers (group A) produce 80% of the profits and 80% of your customers (group B) produce 20% of your profits then group A are going to be 15-16 times more profitable than group B. Do you have processes in place to track and measure customer profitability? Don't mark-time with customers. Either manage them "up" or manage them "out."
3. Water the seeds, not the weeds! It is very easy in business to spend too much time, effort and money on poor performers. Although we sometimes feel we have a "duty" to these people remember that we also have a duty to our good performers who could become even better. So, in the words of an ex-boss of mine "Phil – you should be spending more time watering your seeds, not your weeds!"
4. Don't be a perfectionist. 80% of your work will neither be appreciated nor valued. When you have met and exceed the needs of your customer or your colleague, start doing something else. As General Patton once said "A good plan actioned today is better than a perfect plan actioned next week!"
5. Find out what customers really value. 20% of your customer offering will account for 80% of the value they receive. Do you have a process in place to proactively audit customer feedback to ensure that you, and your customer, are both on the same page of the "hymn sheet?" Do you carry out face to face audits with your top ten customers? Do you have the "intelligence" you need - it is impossible to make improvements within our businesses unless we know where we are starting from.
6. Win over the key 20% of people. If you are embarking on a culture-change programme in 2010, try and win over the 20% of people who have a dramatic influence on the remaining 80% of their peers. Some of the 20% may be militant or difficult "wild ducks who refuse to fly in formation" but if you can win them over you will achieve your cultural goals in lightning time. Sven Goran Erikson used this strategy during his time as England manager and often referred to his two key players (Michael Owen and David Beckham) as his "cultural architects."
7. Win the winnable. What is the value of the proposals, quotations and presentations building up in your business pipeline? Mr. Pareto would tell you that 20% of these proposals are going to be 80% winnable. So don't spread your resources across all prospects – identify the ones that are winnable and pile in your resources to bring them on board. To quote Napoleon "March dispersed but fight concentrated!"

The above article is just a sample of the type of practical, no nonsense session that speakers such as Phil deliver to the members of ACE. The whole community is dedicated to inspiring the leaders of businesses to change their thinking, challenge their views and help them with their decision making abilities. Leaders no longer need to feel isolated at the top. Academy Membership – find out more >>

Are you seeking to grow your business but are not sure how to go about it?

Do you need some help adapting your business offer to the current conditions in the market?

You could be eligible to receive free business support valued over £5,000.

Birmingham City Council and the Working Neighbourhoods Fund are offering free one-to-one business mentorship support to 90 small and medium sized businesses based in Birmingham.

Starting in March 2010, companies trading for six months or more will have the opportunity to work with Deloitte and the Academy for Chief Executives to build customised development plans and receive dedicated coaching and mentorship for up to 12 months. The programme is designed for entrepreneurs and management teams seeking to navigate their companies through the necessary – and often rewarding – challenges of growth.

If you are seeking to bring your company to the next level or need sustained guidance on particular business issues, you could stand to gain real benefits from participating in the Stimulating Demand High Growth Programme (SDHG).

As part of this free service you are invited to find out more by joining us at an introductory half day event on either 23 March 2010 or 22 April 2010 at the Deloitte office, 4 Brindleyplace, Birmingham B1 2HZ.

If you would like to attend either of these events or simply wish to find out more, please email birminghamSDHG@deloitte.co.uk or call 0121 695 5580.

The SDHG programme is free to all participants thanks to grant support from the Working Neighbourhoods Fund. The programme is delivered by Birmingham City Council and Deloitte with the Academy for Chief Executives.

Please refer this programme to other eligible Birmingham based businesses.

I'm not fond of the idea that a good leader needs to be cold or aloof from his or her people. In fact, I believe that the opposite is much better. A good leader should want everyone in their team to do well and encourage good performance. They recognise that when their people do well, so does their business.

I believe that there are a number of linked approaches that make for a good leader who is also a human being. I've chosen five here to talk about –

• understanding
• encouraging
• coaching
• mentoring
• developing

Understanding

Encouraging

Coaching

Mentoring

Developing

As the business grows, you will find that this approach requires time and effort to maintain. It will require you to become a leader of leaders and to delegate to others these approaches. Ensure the approach is embedded into the organisation at all levels and that you, as the leader of leaders, are seen to be supporting the approach and building into everything you do.

People respond better when they feel they are known and trusted. Make sure that they are and you will begin to see performance improvements in places and ways you could never have expected.

Brian Chernett is founder of The Academy for Chief Executives (ACE) - He has 43 years' experience as managing director of private and public companies, including subsidiaries of Booker Bros McConnell, the Landmark Group, and several other major companies. Find out more at our membership page.

Let me start with some ego. I was recently the sole 2009 inductee into the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) Hall of Fame. Although I was made aware of my nomination ahead of time (it really is an honour to even be nominated), when they called my name at the President's Ball on closing night of Canada's national convention, I was seriously shocked. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't as shocked as I'd be if I made Canada's Olympic Hockey Team! Plus, I am a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) which puts me in pretty elite company in the speaking profession around the world and gave me my first "letters" behind my name. Being able to add the second set, "HoF", has predictably both humbled me and made me very proud. I have, it seems, done a few things right.

One of the smartest moves I made was who I chose to mentor me. The night I was called to the stage of the Calgary Westin to accept my award (I live in Calgary so what a bonus), I was overwhelmed by another emotion; four of my mentors were on the stage to welcome me as they were already in the Hall of Fame. But more important than choosing who I did was my personal promise to ask these people good questions, listen to their answers and then act on their advice.

There was one more revelation as the delegates humbled me with their lengthy standing ovation; what a profound decision it was to join my peer group of professional speakers in the first place. I was already pretty successful and I really didn't need new friends but that my career skyrocketed in the ten years since I paid my first membership dues is no surprise to me at all.

Clearly, this personal event put me in a pretty reflective mood and I got to thinking about the rather obvious question, "How did I get to this wonderful place in the human drama called life?" With that in my head and the ever-evolving subject of "Leadership", what new and enlightening discovery might I impart to shoot you on the fast track to success? Nothing! I have nothing...new.

Just imagine the list of books I have in my pile. I am not a voracious reader like my wife Darlene is but I do enjoy reading, especially when I am travelling, which I do a lot. I prefer mind-numbing novels by highly acclaimed authors like John Grisham and Tom Clancy but realize that if I take the time to read books about personal development, I can better serve my clients. Plus, Darlene is, amongst other descriptors, a Feng Shui master practitioner and is constantly studying what may be described as "new age" spirituality. Her list didn't match mine at first since I was focused more on traditional "business" minded approaches to leadership. One day, it dawned on me; I am not a business minded person!

When I started listening to Darlene's take on her reading, I was fascinated. Authors like Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Eckhart Tolle and the like spoke to me. One of my personal favourites is Canada's own Malcolm Gladwell. In his third book, Outliers, he discusses the idea that the most successful achievers like Bill Gates, Wayne Gretzky, etc., all have two things in common; they have practiced an activity at least 10,000 times and they grew up in a culture of support and belief.

All of these story-tellers resonated for me and gave me countless "ah-ha" moments but one that spoke to me over and over is that the most common denominator of truly effective leaders is who they surround themselves with and the profound impact of a positive, nurturing environment of development.

In Canada recently, I had members of the press contacting me about a somewhat controversial article in a national newspaper. It seems Canada's surviving "Thalidomide Babies" are asking for an official apology from our federal parliament for allowing the drug, infamous for treating morning sickness and deforming babies in the early 1960's, into the country. The British parliament recently apologized to its citizens, so what about Canada? You might be wondering why my opinion mattered. Well, I was one of Canada's first "thalidomiders" and I was born without arms. I probably should have mentioned that earlier but this article isn't just about me.

I surprised the press a bit in that I am one of a minority who isn't bitter about my life. I'm not trying to be insensitive, but I have a problem with people who dwell on past perceived injustice every day of their life. Yet, I agree with our group of Canada's thalidomide "victims" about one issue; if they can't look after themselves, the government has a moral responsibility for their welfare. I just don't get what saying "oops" officially would do.

But you see, I am called one of the lucky ones since I am completely independent, married, a dad and a very successful professional speaker. Well, I am lucky, that's for sure. I am lucky that three days after being born severely handicapped, I was given up for adoption. I am lucky that foster parents, Hilda & Jack Law took me home. I am lucky they were 55 and 53 years old and had an older person's perspective on life. I am lucky I was able to use my feet for hands to offset the theoretical crippling condition of my birth. And I was most lucky to be raised in a home whose fundamental belief was, "So you were born without arms, so what? What are you going to do about it?"

Is it just me or is all of this really simple and centers on one word; Attitude! That's definitely not "new" but how about if we take brilliant ideas that have always worked and couple them with our new understanding of human dynamics? We then have the potential to not only be recognized for our awesome leadership skills, but we ultimately have an impact on all those we love, work with and meet every single day. Who says we can't change the world? It truly is amazing how far we can go if we surround ourselves with excellence!

As part of the Academy Speaker Community, Alvin has helped to inspire a growing number of business leaders in the UK. "Alvin Law guarantees one thing. After hearing him, you will never see things the same way and you will never forget his incredible, true-life story" For more information visit Alvin's speaker page. Academy Membership – find out more >>

You never know when the stuff you use in your day job may be useful elsewhere.

I was in town collecting a meal on Saturday evening but they were running late.

There were two disruptive couples aged about thirty already waiting on the sofas. They were shouting, singing and one woman was climbing on top of, presumably her partner. The second female said she wanted me to sit next to her and she pulled me down to announce that they were all from Leicester. I said what a nice place it is and that I was working there next week. Her male partner asked what I did.

I replied that I speak on helping businesses so he advised that if I got a proper trade I wouldn't have to travel round "spouting bullshit". He started wagging his finger at me and invited me to say just one thing that would help his business.

So I asked his name and what he did. "Painter and decorator." His wife added that everyone is always very complimentary about his work. I congratulated Nick on this and by now the other couple had calmed down and were listening to the conversation. I asked if he had a card and the second lady said he wouldn't do anything like that. I asked about a website and the men laughed but one of the females said she had tried to do one for him.

I gave Nick my business card and said that he needed to be able to do the same in this world. They all went quiet and one woman asked "How do you get someone to have the confidence to believe in themselves?"

I said that this was a great question. But just then Sharif arrived with my food.

So I turned to Nick and reminded him that he had asked for one piece of advice. "I want you to listen to what your customers are saying to you, but above all I want you to listen to people that love you and start to take some of their advice."

I wished them luck and started home. After a few yards someone came running up behind me. It was Nick who put his arms round my shoulders, hugged me to him and said "Thank you."

Discipline is described in the Oxford Dictionary as ...

"Mental or moral training; orderly behaviour..."

In our early lives discipline is something that is done to us by parents, teachers and the like. As we grow both physically and emotionally we are able to think and act for ourselves although for the most part the rules are still set for us by our 'leaders.' However, when you think about it we are all leaders of some sort and so have some responsibility for some of the discipline that is handed out to others. Kids are leaders in the playground; they have their rules and are happy to dish out their own version of discipline when those rules are broken. Parents have a responsibility to lead their off spring by setting rules and boundaries and ensuring that those rules are adhered to. And in our work lives most of us have some sort of leadership role to play. Even I as a professional speaker with only myself on the payroll have a responsibility to lead by example. In the end though it doesn't matter who sets the rules, how they are enforced or whether we agree with them or not, as leaders we have a responsibility to set an example and at least be seen to be following them.

When it comes down to it the only discipline that we have absolute control over is self discipline. It doesn't matter who you are or what you do you still have your own understanding of what right and wrong is and this is where you should start when you set your own rules. Because to be absolutely frank with you if you can't lead yourself what are you doing even trying to lead others. So what are the rules that you have set yourself that you aspire to in order to remain true to what you believe is right and wrong? What I am really asking you here is what your personal values are? I don't mean what is your company mission statement; most people even if they knew what that was probably weren't involved in its creation. The same probably applies to the values of your organisation. What I am asking here is what your PERSONAL values are?

My truth is that a value is one of those impudent little things that pop up in your life when you are trying to decide between what you WANT to do and what you know that you SHOULD do. Allow me to give you a personal example. I have six major values that I aspire to live day in and day out one of which is Integrity. During the first quarter of 2009 I accepted an Invitation to speak in Manchester six months later in October for a fee that was exactly 25% of my 'full' fee. About six weeks prior to the engagement I was contacted by a Pharmaceutical company who I have worked extensively for in the past for my full fee. They asked me to speak at their National conference in London on the same date. You can see my dilemma here, accept the Pharma invitation that would pay me 75% more for two hours less work and give back word to the other client or remain true to my value of integrity and tell them that I was already booked. Of course I explored the possibility of doing both which would have been possible had they not both been morning events. But when it became obvious that doing both was not an option my decision was a no-brainer and I kept my agreement in Manchester. I saw this as a brilliant test of my commitment to my values, something that happens regularly when you know what your rules are.

The main challenge with adhering to personal values is that you are the only one who can truly hold you responsible for doing so and only you know if you really are true to them. There are no parents or teachers around to chastise or praise you. Likewise the government were not responsible for determining your personal values so there are no police to check on whether what you are thinking or doing is legal or not. And so we come full circle because if you are the only one who can determine your adherence to your values then the only discipline that we have absolute control over is self-discipline. Thank you and goodnight.

As part of the Academy Community, professional speakers, such as Clive, witness first hand the power of leaders learning with leaders. The Academy process, experiential business learning, provides a unique environment for CEOs and MDs to hear how other leaders are developing their businesses and themselves, and how they are motivating their own people. Academy Membership – find out more >>

If cash is burning a hole in your pocket and you can't find, or indeed have no inclination to place it in, a secure home then acquiring a business may be just what the doctor ordered.

Indeed, and this comes with a big 'assume', provided you have done your due diligence with as much vigour as in a more competitive environment there will undoubtedly be some bargains to be had for the shrewd, cash rich investor.

2009 saw 40,000 businesses go to the wall, with speculation that 2010 could see an even greater number fall. Those that survived, and continue to do so, are leaner and fitter. Although undoubtedly lots of worthy people lost their jobs, through no fault of their own, I suspect that a large number of executives had in fact just been treading water for some time.

Those that survived the corporate culling, although some may be a little battle scarred, are generally, as is the norm, the fittest and sharpest and ready to embrace the new decade.

However a word from the wise; for many such people, ownership is the name of the game. Being hired hands has exposed them to insecurities they had possibly not encountered before. As a result the management of a target business, always paramount in a successful acquisition, will be looking for a stake in the 'Newco'. The savvy acquirer should see this not as a hurdle to overcome but an opportunity to embrace.

However the problems for the foreseeable future are not so much about your new management but rather getting to a deal in the first place, particularly so for those acquirers looking to gear up the transaction on debt secured either against the target or its own assets.

Put simply; no matter what they say, the banking community is closed for new business and if they do open their doors even a sliver then the deals that are to be done will come laden with penal interest rates, punishing covenants and onerous personal guarantees.

Security, and lots (and lots, and lots) of it, is the name of the game and that assumes you can get your relationship manager to even take the possible deal to the bank credit committee in the first place.

Our company is running a conference at the Landmark Hotel, March 23rd, called Buying and Selling a Business, an entrepreneurs Guide. This event, aimed at owner managers, will contain specifics on business valuations, investments and tax advice along with expert legal opinion on protecting what you buy and keeping safe the proceeds from a sale.

We invited representatives of every major high street bank to present on their lending criteria as part of our panel of experts. Not one, not a single one was prepared to make a presentation, telling indeed. Well, we thought so!!

So, who will fund those highly geared deals if they are to fly? Why the vendor of course, for it is such a person who will take us through this economic crisis. The entrepreneurs who will take a risk or even a small gamble on a successful transaction and often without any sort of sound security, only trust and faith in their business and the acumen of those that acquired it.

Flawed? Possibly.

Essential? Definitely!

Jo Haigh
Head of Corporate Finance for MGR

www.mgr.co.uk
www.jo-haigh.com

At emotional intelligence at work, we believe that leadership is an attitude – not a job, not a set of behaviours, not stuff you can learn on a training course.

We're proud of the fact that nothing we say is original, and one of our starting points in discussing leadership is Serve to lead, which is the motto for the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. What this is saying is: "if you, Mr or Ms Trainee Officer, expect to lead that squad of trained soldiers, you had better be in service to them first".

This immediately raises issues for many British people who equate service with servitude and servility. You only have to go into most shops, or contact most call centres, to experience that first hand. You can cut the resentment the person is feeling that they have to do the job with a knife.

Yet being in service describes an approach, it isn't a value judgement, and it's an approach which turns out to be useful if you want to sell people something or lead them.

Is not Serve to lead an expression of that approach? It results in behaviours, such as "officers eat last", but the behaviours do not define leadership. They are what leaders do.

Serve to lead is a good motto. Arguably it is a little too concise, though, and instead we use the precept Make the other person more important than you. I love this as a definition of leadership because it seems so meek and mild, it couldn't possibly have any real effect. But try it. For 24 hours, make everyone you meet, not just the people in your business, but everyone (and not just the ones you select, but everyone), more important than you. You do this by using this precept to continually inform the question "what is the most useful thing I can do [or say] now which makes them more important than me?" and you then do, or say, that thing.

Whether or not leadership is an attitude is, at one level, not the point. The point is that you will find it useful and helpful if you do think of it in this way. Someone who wants to become a leader doesn't have to learn how to do all the things a leader does (which are arguably infinite in number). They need only learn a small number of ways of being which can them inform every situation in which they are called to act.

Even more important, by defining leadership as an attitude, we are empowering everyone to show leadership abilities. By this, I'm not saying everyone has to drive the bus. One person needs to be in charge, but being in charge isn't a leadership role – it's a management task. Sorry. (More accurately, it's a management task with a specific responsibility.)

We have twelve precepts of leadership, and another important one is Be the change you want to see in the world. This, of course, was said by Gandhi, and it encapsulates the idea of responsibility. If, as a leader, we see that something is needed in our business or on our team, and we do nothing to bring it about, surely we are failing our colleagues. By a leader "being the change", we interpret Gandhi's words both literally – if you want people to be peaceful and live together in harmony, then you have to do that first – and metaphorically as saying "bring about the change". If it is beyond your powers, empower others to do it.

Unless, as a leader, you embody the things you want other people to do/feel/believe, you haven't a hope in bringing about such changes in them.

Feel the fear and do it anyway. This is the title of a book by Susan Jeffers. For us it sums up the idea that leaders have to be willing not only to show their people the way, but also to go there themselves first. Although it conjures up images of leaders valiantly leading their people to the promised land, whatever the dangers, for us it has a much more important significance in the real world.

This recognises that people can be resistant to moving forward. Sometimes they don't want to be led. Simplistically, they don't want to be shifted from their comfort zone. More deeply, they are being asked to show up, take responsibility or go somewhere new, any and all of which can be frightening, just because they're unknown.

On the whole, if a business is stuck, the people in it are stuck and they are more or less showing up where the leader is stuck. This paper isn't long enough to explain why, so please go with this idea. If the business is to move forward, the leader has to deal with his/her stuff and this can be a fearful proposition. But unless the leader is willing to confront their issues, and resolve them, their business ain't going anywhere.

We believe it is a fundamental leadership quality to be willing to go for it. To deal with whatever is blocking progress and move the business forward.

And what happens when you've felt the fear and done it anyway? Jeffers explains that there is something else to feel the fear about and do that any way… And something else, and something else… Such is life. Such is being a leader.

©2010 Jeremy Marchant

www.emotionalintelligenceatwork.com

Beyond vision and performance to build truly great companies

Jim Collins in his ground breaking study, 'Good to Great', was determined to avoid the simplistic trap of attributing the success of 'Great' companies and organisations to the mythical qualities of leadership. The 'Good' was the enemy of the 'Great': the 'Great' companies outperformed their peers consistently by four or five times over a 15 year period.

However, as he and his team examined the data of the 11 'Good to Great' companies identified from the Fortune 500, the persistence presence of an extra-ordinary leader at the point of transition from 'Good to Great' became clear. But these extra-ordinary leaders did not match the normal expectations we might have of celebrity, charismatic, egocentric leaders presented as the measure of success in so much of the media today. These leaders exhibited a set of common characteristics that, for Jim Collins and his team, contained an intrinsic paradox that defied a single adjective and so they simply designated them as Level 5 Leaders.

For us, as leaders in the businesses we have responsibility for, we may believe that the world of the Fortune 500 company is so far distant that the findings on Level 5 leaders have no relevance to what we seek to achieve. But Jim Collins has extended his study to look at a variety of other organisations – a world class orchestra, a leading high school, a powerful church ministry – and he believes that the Level 5 leadership can bring transformation to any organisation. He also believes that Level 5 leadership is within the grasp of all of those who can move beyond the ambition for personal success, to focus on their ambition for the organisation they lead.

The paradox of Level 5 Leaders is summed up in this table from Jim Collins book 'Good to Great' subtitled "Why some companies make the leap…and others don't."

So how do I become a Level 5 leader?

So much of what Jim Collins expresses in this simple table is about character. But Jim's encouragement to us is that we can build that character by:

-> Being intentional about following the 'Good to Great' principles of

1. First Who…Then What
2. Confront the Brutal Facts
3. The Hedgehog Concept
4. The Culture of Discipline
5. Technology Accelerators

-> Continually checking those impulses that undermine the commitment of personal will and personal humility to bring Level 5 Leadership to focus of your ambition.

But the promise of the study is that adopting this approach will bring your organisation through a process of build-up to breakthrough in a self reinforcing flywheel effect.

For this year, start out to become a Level 5 leader by looking in the mirror for poor results and looking out of the window for the source of success. For as Napoleon said, "It is not good generals I need, not even great generals – but lucky generals".

© 2010 Charles McLachlan, The Academy for Chief Executives

There's an old saying – the road to hell is paved with good intentions. So if you don't want to lead your company to hell what do you need – bad intentions?

No, of course not. Bad intentions are the other side of the same coin as good ones. Both equally ineffective.

What you really need are - CLEAR intentions.

So what's the difference? Massive.

A good intention comes from a place of fear – I'm afraid I'm not good enough, how can I prove I'm OK?

A clear intention comes from a place of authentic confidence – I know I'm OK at heart, how can I express myself more fully and strengthen my weak areas?

Any personal or corporate mission statement that has built in even a scent of the 'need to be recognised' or the 'need to be seen as the best' is on the road to hell – it's doomed. These phrases look so good, get people all juiced up, but are never truly sustainable. The thing is, hell is not a destination – it's the journey. The inertia of a large organisation means that a culture of false confidence can drag on slowly decaying for decades before going toes up. The veneer of 'we're so good – honest!' masks the symptoms of terminal decline until the rotting foundations collapse and everyone is taken by surprise.

It's not fair. We had such good intentions and great expectations.
What went wrong?

The other giveaway of a good intention is that it is not grounded in truth. It is certain to based on 'superstition'. But I'm not superstitious, you say. Oh really?

Do you ever feel responsible for how someone feels or performs? Do you ever feel guilty or resentful? Do you ever think you don't deserve people's respect? Do you ever feel as if you can make someone do something? Do you ever feel afraid of losing control?

All these 'normal' human responses are based on erroneous beliefs about effects and their cause, in other words - superstition.

All these good intentions, perfect reasons and sound rationalisations are the currency of normal leadership. And the price of exchanging this currency is not only our current recession but the long-term global meltdown that seems to be hurtling towards us at warp speed.

So how do I transform good intentions into clear ones? Not through 'change' -but transformation.

Meaning? Transform the foundations of who you believe yourself and your organisation to be. Transform the ego's need for validation through projecting false images, to a deep inner knowing that this is unnecessary. Stop waiting for 'results and acknowledgment to make you feel good' – feel good regardless!

Think of yourself and your company as an apple. The outer skin is bright and attractive. It's how you want to be perceived. The middle layer is juicy and sweet. It's the part that gets devoured. The inner layer is tough and chewy. It gets thrown away. The thing is, the tough old core, the part we tend to ignore, is actually the most important – it's the part with the seeds and hence the potential for new life. The part we don't want to eat actually has the greatest value!

The core represents the true self. The true self of you as a leader and the true selves of those that follow you. The true self is truly confident. It knows it is unequivocally OK. It has nothing to prove – but masses to express. The skin and the flesh represent the false self. This always doubts it's OK and pretends it is because it's pretending it isn't. It's a totally convoluted strategy.

Authentic, effective leadership can ONLY come from the true self. It is impossible to define. Impossible to fool. Impossible to predict. Impossible to stop. Impossible to limit.

For many people, becoming an authentic, natural leader is scary as hell. It involves letting go the things in your life and belief system that have been your (false) security for a very long time. Our greatest fear is that those doubts about ourselves that we try to hide are really true.

Becoming an authentic, natural leader requires a risk. We must risk letting go of self-images, expectations and behaviours that are not working. This is why most leaders are not willing to become who they really are. This is why those that take this risk become successful way beyond their dreams.

Authentic, natural leaders have clear intentions that are grounded in a truth.

The result we are going for is not an opportunity to prove I'm the best, I already know I am the best I can be! The goal is an opportunity to risk, stretch, play, grow, expand, enjoy and learn through being thoroughly 'un-reasonable' and building effective, empowering relationships.

If this is not the starting point for your business strategy then maybe it's time to go within rather than go without.

As part of the Academy Community, professional speakers such as Paul provide excellent, practical and, in many cases, hard-hitting topics for Managing Directors and CEOs. They know that by inspiring the leader of a business to change his or her thinking and to help them motivate themselves and their people for the future, they will develop and grow their companies

'It's not funny and it's not clever' was a phrase often directed at me by my clearly aggrieved parents and teachers alike as I grew up.

Of course I wasn't selling, or at least not a product, though I was undoubtedly showing off. Which some, if done in an improper manner, may possible regard as a form of selling!

I enjoy selling, the thrill of the kill if you like . I can even admit to saying that each and every 'no' makes me more determined to get a 'yes'!

Sales skills as such are applauded in many industries and many countries, no more so than the US but there are some businesses where selling is seen as rather vulgar, to put it mildly, smacking, as it does, of 'trade'. Ok, that sounds somewhat Dickension but the professional sector still remains rather aloof from industry, in my experience, and for no good reason.

Never before has a buyer of 'whatever' had more choice and more sales messages from an ever increasing media angle.. Be it mobile phones / Iphones, Blackberries, web or TV, thousands of sales messages cross our paths every day.

Choice creates competition and competition requires management and differentiation to gain, or maintain position, be it price, service or even availability.

More than ever before then, being able to sell, be it overtly or covertly , must be embraced by all, even, dare I say it, those who assume business would always come through the doors.

Those who are afraid of the rejection which inevitably comes with some sales or are just not savvy enough have yet to see that if they don't sell their product and services there are 1001 other competitors more than ready to step into their shoes.

Can selling skills be taught, the answer, of course, is yes , most people can be taught anything.

I learnt the piano at 45! Ok, I will never be a concert pianist but I get by and can entertain family and friends. In other words, I don't have the gift that the truly accomplished pianists has but I can bang out a recognisable tune if I'm of the mind to!

Those business people in the know understand every single person in their business is a sales person, EVERYONE! So why don't you train then instead of blaming them.

Some will be better than others undoubtedly, but if you accept that is the natural way then you will win, and loose, some opportunities but by and large you should win more!

Jo Haigh
Head of Corporate Finance for MGR

www.mgr.co.uk
www.jo-haigh.com

It must be every business leader's worst nightmare. Your company name plastered all over the world's press in association with actions or company policy that has led to a major problem – possibly to injury or death.

In those circumstances do you

1. deny and fight the allegations, using every loophole you can find?
2. accept responsibility and do your best to react positively and quickly?
3. deny and fight until it is impossible to do so and then accept responsbility?

This is not a comprehensive set of options – there are others. Accept responsibility and limit the cost being one whilst going into liquidation has also been tried in the past.

The automotive giant, Toyota, have been facing up to just such a situation and, though some commentators feel they could have done it more quickly, they appear to be accepting responsibility in what could be a company threatening situation.

BBC News reported lastweek that Toyota President Akio Toyoda announced a recall of about 436,000 hybrid vehicles worldwide, including its latest Prius model, to fix brake problems. At a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday afternoon, he said, "we will do everything in our power to regain the confidence of our customers".

The company had already recalled eight million vehicles because of accelerator and floor mat problems, the BBC reported. "We have decided to recall as we regard safety for our customers as our foremost priority," the firm said.

You may have Liability Insurance but a poor or botched response to a situation can result in a severe or permanent loss of reputation. I believe that it isimportant to take responsibility in such a situation and take action to ensure that it is dealt with effectively. I believe that a staged response is needed.

First stage is to acknowledge that there is a problem but at this stage this does not necessarily mean accepting blame. Taking responsibility simply implies thatyou will take some action to deal with the issue that has been presented.

The next stage is an assessment of the problem, of the implications of the problem and the best options for resolving or working around it.

You can then plan the process of rectifying or applying a workaround. Recalling 8 million vehicles is an unusually large and expensive example of this stage in action. It may be that you can fix the problem the next time there is a service call – or it may just be that you need to make an apology. Your speed of reaction depends on the severity of the problem. Any undue delay could leave you open to accusations of 'dragging your feet' and, of course, if you choose to deny and subsequently have to accept responsibility, that will have an adverse effect on your reputation.

Once you have action underway, you can investigate further. Just what is the cause, was it avoidable and are there lessons to be learnt?

Finally, you can put in place revised processes, materials and/or policies thatwill ensure that the lessons learnt are built back into the business.

It may not have been your fault, but if you are responsible in the customer's eyes, it is often best to be seen to be on their side. If your investigation finds someone else to blame, make sure that they know where they fell short, recruit them into the response team and pursue recompense once the initial issue has been fixed.

I appreciate that it is not always possible to follow this approach and that, in some cases it will be necessary to take professional advice. Third parties such as liability insurers may have their own processes that require you to clear your actions with them first. However, where it is possible, I would suggest that putting yourself in the shoes of the customer will help you to understand the best approach to take.

To err is human. What separates the really good customer service providers is their response to error. We'll remember the good ones but, more importantly, we'll never forget bad service – and we'll tell our friends about it, too.

Brian Chernett is founder of The Academy for Chief Executives