Small Business Saturday Suggestions in Los Angeles

Here are a few suggestions for shopping on Small Business Saturday on 30 November in and around Los Angeles.

Artisan Fair
URBAN RADISH www.urban-radish.com, a farm-fresh neighborhood grocery store, Art Share LA, and the Academy of Handmade Artists and Supporters have combined forces to bring an Open-Air Market to the Arts District featuring talented artists/craftsman from our neighborhood. 

Join us on Saturday, November 30th from 9-2PM in the URBAN RADISH parking lot at 661 Imperial Street, Los Angeles, CA 90021.

https://www.facebook.com/events/252476958237358/


Book Stores

Last Book Store
http://lastbookstorela.com/
453 S. Spring St., Downtown Los Angeles

Skylight Books
http://www.skylightbooks.com/
1818 North Vermont Avenue, Los Feliz

Iliad Books
http://www.iliadbooks.com/zencart/
5400 Cahuenga Boulevard, North Hollywood

Book Soup
http://www.booksoup.com/
8818 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood

Books on the Boulevard
http://www.booksontheblvd.com/
13551 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks


Other Stores

Angel City Brewery
http://angelcitybrewery.com/
216 South Alameda St., Downtown Los Angeles

My Fair Lady Women's Fashion
http://www.shopmyfairlady.com/
6000 Reseda Blvd., Tarzana

Marie et Cie
http://www.marieetcie.com/
11704 Riverside Dr, Valley Village

Gopnik on perfect writing versus sincere storytelling: Moth

Adam Gopnik is a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine.  He has also given several talks at Moth events.  One story was recently featured on the Moth Radio Hour.

In the introduction to the story, Gopnik reflects about how telling stories on stage has affected his writing:

"I sensed in myself that I had become in some ways, and doubtless still am in every way, an unduly fancy writer. That the curlicues and ornamentation of erudition had begun to drown out my ability to simply tell a tale about what had happened. But I think writing is a business of perfection. You want every sentence to be as perfectly polished as you can possibly make it. Every sentence should glow and shine, have its own little balance and structure and charm. A story is not like that. A story can tolerate a lot of rough stuff in the course of it being related as long as what is being related is significant. You can’t write that way. Readers are unforgiving of imperfection. But don’t you think listeners are totally unforgiving of insincerity."

A link to the story:  http://www.prx.org/pieces/103186-1107-freddy-hubbard-charlie-ravioli-and-the-monk

Find Opportunities: Simple Cases

"Opportunity often comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat."
Napoleon Hill

Leaders often focus on the opportunity side of challenges.  Not all these cases are a major challenge or  major crisis.

Today, I missed my usual subway stop.  My first thought was to get off at the next stop, move to the opposite platform, and come back one stop.

Then I thought about which stop was next.  It was along the bus line that I transferred to, so I could still catch my usual bus, just one stop earlier.

Also, this was one of the only stops along the subway line that I have never used.  So, this small misfortune gave me a chance to explore a new transfer point.  Find the subway exit. Find the bus stop.  Look around the area.  

Leaders should look for the simple cases to practice finding the opportunities in a misfortune.  Travelling provides a lot of these, whether construction, traffic, detour, flight delay, wrong turn, wrong exit, or wrong stop.

LinkedIn Discussion: Leadership Book List

On th LinkedIn group Linked 2 Leadership, Michael Barker had a discussion "What's the best book on Leadership you've ever read?"

Here is a list of the books mentioned, in order of mention.

Culture Making by Andy Crouch
Launching a Leadership Revolution by Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady
Leadership is an Art by Max De Pree
An Integrative Approach to Leader Development: Connecting Adult Development, Identity, and Expertise by David Day, Michelle Harrison, and Stanley Halpin
Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Chamine
Leading At A Higher Level by Ken Blanchard
The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner
Developing the Leaders Around You by John Maxwell
On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis
Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun by Wess Roberts
The Functions of the Executive by Chester Barnard
How to Grow Leaders by John Adair
Oxford Leadership Handbook by Michael G. Rumsey
Christian Reflections on the Leadership Challenge edited by John Kouzes, Barry Posner, and John Maxwell
Leadership From the Inside Out by Kevin Cashman
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell
Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in A Chaotic World by Margaret Wheatley
The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley
Appreciative Leadership by Diana Whitney
Be My Best Boss - 11 management tips from your employees by Florian Borgeat
The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership by Steven Sample
Leadershift by Orrin Woodward & Oliver DeMille
Wild at Heart by John Eldredge
10 Must Reads on Leadership edited by Harvard Business Review
Five Levels of Leadership by John Maxwell
The Power of Now by Eckart Tolle Why We Make Mistakes by Joseph T. Hallinan
Blunder, Why Smart People Make Bad Decisions b Zachary Shore
Transforming Leadership by James MacGregor Burns
Linchpin by Seth Godin
Making Yourself Indispensable: The power of personal accountability by Mark Samuel
The Maverick Way by Bill Wilson and Richard Cheverton
Leadership Practices Inventory by John Kouzes
The 360 Degree Leader by John Maxwell
Cyropadeia by Xenophon
Maxims by Ptah-Hotep
The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli
The Missing Piece in Leadership by Doug Krug
1776 by David McCullouth
Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
The Radical Leap by Steve Farber
Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Employees First Customers Second by Vineet Nayar
Winning by Jack Welch
The Bible
Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman
Execution by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan
The Art of Captaincy by Mike Brierley
Management of Organizational Behavior Leading Human Resources by Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey What It Takes To Be Number One by Vince Lombardi Jr.
Up The Organization by Robert Townsend
Change The World by Robert Quinn
The PAUSE Principle by Kevin Cashman


Link to the LinkedIn discussion: http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=77155&type=member&item=265443960&qid=24b45637-dc68-4840-b058-478eb7358638&trk=groups_search_item_list-0-b-ttl

Striving to Get Better: Stephen King and Larry Winget

I heard a good interview with Stephen King this morning on public radio.. There are a lot of connections between what King says in the interview and Larry Winget’s book, It's Called Work for a Reason!: Your Success Is Your Own Damn Fault. In particular, Winget talks about being good at your job and striving to get better.

In King’s interview
On his prolific production in writing: 
"There are plenty of people who have got lots of talent. This world is lousy with talent. The idea is to work that talent and try to get to be the best person that you can, given the limits of the talent that God gave you — or fate, or genetics or whatever name you want to put on it. A lot of people have suggested that the stuff that I do may be second-class because there's so much of it. My response to that is: I'm going to quit and be dead for a long time. This is the time that I've got, and I want to use it to the max. I really want to try and mine everything that I've got."

On blaming your situation and past:
(On why alcoholism plays such an important role in Doctor Sleep) "I was interested in [alcoholism] for a lot of different reasons. There does seem to be a genetic predisposition to alcoholism — that's the nature part. The nurture part is that if you grow up in a household where there's a lot of drinking, you have a tendency to become a drinker yourself. I wanted to see if it was possible to escape those things."

Link to radio story: http://www.npr.org/2013/09/24/223105565/stephen-king-on-getting-scared-nothing-like-your-first-time

Football Player Sherman on work ethic from father

During an interview, Seattle Seahawks Player Richard Sherman talked about learn about the value of hard work from his father.

From NBC Sports:
On his father, who gets up at 3:45 a.m. to work as a garbage man: “He’s shown me work, what it is to have a work ethic, a blue collar mentality. He’ll go to work, work for the eight or nine hours, and then he’ll come home and mow the lawn. He’ll miss some games before he’ll miss work because he works every holiday. He works every chance he has to put more food on the table. He does it. Those kinds of sacrifices you see throughout your whole life. It builds a certain rapport with you.”

Link to interview highlights on NBC Sports:  http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2013/09/15/notes-quotes-from-football-night-in-america-week-2/

Dedication: Third Parent and Fourth Child

In the first episode of Season One of Downton Abbey, the patriarch Lord Grantham is challenged by his mother about his dedication to the Downton Estate.  He gives a compelling answer.

"What do you think? I've given my life to Downton. I was born here, and I hope to die here. I claim no career beyond the nurture of this house and the estate. It is my third parent and my fourth child. Do I care about it? Yes, I do care!"

"Third Parent and Fourth Child" is a powerful way to explain one's dedication.

"Downton Abbey"
Produced by PBS Masterpiece Classics
Created by Julian Fellows
Episode Directed by Brian Percival
Air date 9 January 2011

Downton Abbey website:  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/downtonabbey/

Dickinson poem with great sunset images

This poem was published in 1864 with the title "Sunset" and in 1891 with the title "The Juggler of Day."

Blazing in Gold and quenching in Purple
Leaping like Leopards to the Sky
Then at the feet of the old Horizon
Laying her spotting Face to die
Stooping as low as the Otter's Window
Touching the Roof and tinting the Barn
Kissing her Bonnet to the Meadow
And the Juggler is gone

Tony Zinni: excerpts from Battle Ready

General Tony Zinni is a retired Marine Corps officer who commanded US Central Command and was a special envoy involved in the Israel-Palestine peace negotiations.  Tom Clancy co-wrote a biography of Zinni in Battle Ready (2004).

Here are two excerpts with valuable leadership insights.

Zinni set up several novel training programs within the Marine Corps.  During one program, he had an unique assessment system.

"First, the assessments were only given to the commanders training there and never to their superiors. So they could test their limits and work on their weaknesses without fear of report cards.  This allowed me to be brutally honest about their shortfalls and it allowed them to fail and improve."

When Zinni was selected to be the Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command, he received some good advice from Ed Fugit, an adviser for the previous commander.

"Connect personally with both the leaders and the people.  'But you can take that even farther," he continued, "by showing interest in their culture and society.  Do that and you build trust and confidence.'  I warmed to this approach.  Too often we get caught up in the crises, rushing around with requests, programs, and policy positions, without taking the time to listen to the concerns of the people who have to live with our decisions."


Reference:  Tom Clancy with General Tony Zinni (Ret.) and Tony Koltz, Battle Ready (New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2004).

P&G's Lafley on Leadership: transformation

Recently, Procter and Gamble selected a former CEO, Alan "A.G." Lafley, to become the new CEO. On Nightly Business Report on 24 May, Lafley made a comment that included a good quote on leadership.

"One of the definitions that I use of leadership is the ability to continually transform the mission, the strategy, the organization, whatever needs to be transformed to keep pace with and stay ahead of the unrelenting change that I believe is the reality in a global and incredibility competitive marketplace."






An article on the new CEO can be found on the Motley Fool Website:  http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/05/23/procter-gamble-gets-new-ceo.aspx

If you have to prove it . . .

In discussing the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis, author William Cohan wrote about an interview that Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz had on March 12.  During the interview, Schwartz said "We put out a statement that our liquidity and balance sheet are strong, and maybe I should expand on that a little."

Cohan reflected on this statement with a reference to Walter Bagehot's comment in 1873:  "Every banker knows that if he has to prove that he is worthy of credit, however good may be his arguements, in fact his credit it gone."

Many people rely on statements of quality in lieu of demonstrated, consistent performance.  

Reference:  William D. Cohan, House of Cards:  A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street (New York, Doubleday, 2009), p. 35.

Reviewing Goal Setting; Kinder and Kinder

It is good for leaders to review the basics on Goal Setting.  One of the best discussions I know about goals setting is Kinder and Kinder.  They list four simple principles.

• Goals Must Be Achievable 
• Goals Must Be Believable 
• Goals Must Be Measurable 
• Goals Must Have Deadline

We constantly set goals, however, sometime we violate these basic principles.  Review these principles from time to time and confirm that goals meet these criteria.


Reference:  Jack Kinder, Garry Kinder, and Val Ivanov, Building the Master Agency (Cincinnati, National Underwriting Company, 2002), Chapter One: Planning, pp. 1-21.

Grit for Success: Duckworth at TED

Great TED Talk recently posted on their website.

 “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint.”

 

Link to TED page:  http://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit.html

Sources for Poetry: Le Guin, Endrezze

April is National Poetry Month.

Two poem recently caught my attention because they came from unique sources.

The first is "Anonymous Is Coyote Girl" (2000) by Anita Endrezze.  It uses a newspaper article to provide the background for her poem.

(Excerpt)
From a newspaper photo and article about my godfather, James Moreno, East Los Angeles, 1950. 

 (Three police officers took a brutal beating in a wild free-for-all with a family, including three young girls.
 From left, James, 19, and Alex, 22, in jail after the fracas 
on the porch of their home at 3307 Hunter.) 

    Jimmy is staring off the page, hands in his pockets. 
    A four-button dark shirt. No bruises, 
    but he looks dazed. 
   Alex wears a leather coat and a polka-dot shirt, 
   which is in itself a crime. 
   Nowhere is there a photo of a young girl 
   with a face carved like a racetrack saint, 
   eyes with all bets called off, 
   grinning like a coyote.


The second is "The Hill Yoncalla" (1999) by Ursula K. Le Guin.  It uses letters from a pioneer who was on the trail to Oregon in 1843.  The footnote for the poem states:  "All word of this poem are take from 'The Letters of Roselle Putnam,' edited by Sheba Hargreave, Oregon Historical Quarterly 24, no. 3 (1928)."

(Excerpt)
   Yoncalla is not a town nor a place of man's creation
   nor of white man's naming
   but it is a hill round and high and beautiful

   I can get five pounds of dried peaches
   for one pound of butter

   the nearest neighbor is three miles off

   our little cabin quite a comfortable little place


Link to "Anonymous Is Coyote Girl":  http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/238976

Reference for "The Hill Yoncalla":   Ursula K. Le Guin, Sixty Odd:  New Poems (Boston, Shambhalal Publications, 1999), pp. 39-41.

Jackie Robinson: courage, team unity; Public Radio Interviews

With the release of the movie "42", there are many interviews connected to the movie as well as Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball.  There were two great interviews on Public Radio discussing the movie and the event.

Actor Chadwick Boseman plays Jackie Robinson in the film.  On 6 April 2013, Scott Simon interviewed Boseman on National Public Radio.  In that interview, Boseman talks about reflecting on a character when portraying him on the screen.

"And I think you learn something from every character, every character you play. As you do that, you find parts of yourself that you didn't know. So, in order to find those characters, you dig into yourself and say Jackie Robinson was a courageous man. So, what is courage to me and what is discipline to me?"

Looking at the initial weeks when Robinson played baseball, KPCC's John Rabe interviewed Jim Becker on 9 Aptil 2013.  Becker is the last surviving newsman at Jackie Robinson's Major League debut.

"The day sent chills up my spine, and 66 years later it still does. I always said his failure would have been our failure, but the victory was his."

Becker also talked about how later in the season, the Philadelphia team was particularly hostile towards Robinson.  It was that hostility that helped unify the Dodgers to support Robinson.  Initially, half the Dodgers signed a petition against Robinson being on the team.  When an opponent attacked one of them, that caused the team to unite.


The Chadwick Boseman radio interview can be found here:  http://www.npr.org/2013/04/06/176357603/learning-how-to-steal-bases-like-jackie-robinsonay

The Jim Becker radio inteview can be found here:  http://www.scpr.org/programs/offramp/2013/04/09/31264/photos-jim-becker-last-surviving-newsman-at-jackie/

Buffett on Business Management

In The Warren Buffett Way, Robert Hagstrom lists the three management tenets that Buffett uses to evaluate companies.

1. Is management rational?
2. Is management candid with the shareholders?
3. Does management resist the institutional imperative?

In the case of institutional imperative, there are a few more details which Buffett looks for.

• The organization resists any change in its current direction.
• Just as work expands to fill available time, corporate projects or acquisitions  will materialize to soak up available funds.
• Any business cravings of the leader, however foolish, will quickly be supported by detailed rate-of-return and stategic studies prepared by his troops.
• The behavior of peer companies, whether they are expanding, acquiring, setting executive compensation or whatever, will be mindlessly imitated.

 Robert G. Hagstrom, The Warren Buffet Way, Second Edition, (Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2005), pp. 81-96.

Thinking Long Term as a Leader

In The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner, they give a few great examples on how leaders should look at the long term.  Significant changes happen in the long term.

Visions are future-oriented and made real over different spans of time.

• It may take three years from the time you decide to climb a mountain until you actually reach the summit.
• It may take a decade to build a company that is one of the best places to work.
• It may take a lifetime to make neighborhoods safe again for little children to walk alone to the corner store.
• It may take a century to restore a forest destroyed by a wildfire.
• It may take generations to set a people free.

Leaders should share their long term vision and commit to the short term struggles to reach that vision.

Joy and Ease: Approach to Travel and Life--Brody

Dylan Brody had a good radio essay on KPCC from Pasadena about approaching travel with a positive view.

"When we travel, we strive to project a sense of joy and ease so that we do not add to the general level of stressed negativity in the world around us."

Joy and ease are good watch words for approach stressful situations:  travel, traffic, work challenges, family tension.

A link to the story can be found here:  http://www.scpr.org/programs/offramp/2013/03/28/31090/dylan-brody-fight-the-malaise-and-turn-your-life-a/

Be the Top in Your Field

Often when someone starts to stagnant in a particular field or business, he starts to consider moving to another field.  Harvard Business Review recently had an article discussing this misperception.

In the article entitled "The Grass Isn't Greener", Evan Hirsh and Kastui Rangan state:

Your chance of getting superior returns is far better if you stay in your own industry and improve your performance than if you move into a new one.  It's a bit like having faith, when darkness falls, that the sun will return tomorrow.  You can pretty much count on it.

There are numerous situations where the initial tendency is to look externally, when the best approach is to look internally.  Focus within your organization and make improvements.  Focus within yourself and make improvements. 

Article:  Evan Hirsh and Kasturi Rangan, "The Grass Isn't Green," Harvard Business Review , volume 91, issue 1/2 (January-February 2013), pp 21-24. 

Good Quotes 2013

"As Sun Tzu said, 'Every battle is won before it's ever fought.'  It starts in the mind."
Jon Gordon in Training Camp

"Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership."
Colin Powell

"I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion."
Muhammad Ali

"The world is not in your books and maps. It's out there."
Gandalf in The Hobbit.

"There did not seem to be brains enough in the entire group to bait a fishhook with."
Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

"A King may move a man, a father may claim a son, but remember that even when those who move you be Kings, or men of power, your soul is in your keeping alone. When you stand before God, you cannot say, "But I was told by others to do thus." Or that, "Virtue was not convenient at the time." This will not suffice. Remember that."
From the movie "Kingdom of Heaven (2005) by Ridley Scott (IMDB link:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0320661/)

Changing Culture

One of the biggest challenges leaders have is changing culture. All organizations have inertia. Change is always needed, but there is natural resistance.

 A recent post on LeadershipFreak lists some ways leaders can help implement cultural change in an organization. Two steps in particular stand out..

• Concentrate on the success of others.
• Tell people what needs to be done not what to do.

These are two simple mindsets, but they can make a big difference.  Many organizations have superstars who are always on the top of the list.  Often we stop recognizing these top performers.  "They are on the list, again."  Recognition is important to everyone.

The is much discussion on empowering.  Remembering to give the goals and let people is one simple step in empowerment.  This also help people embrace the change more.

The LeadershipFreak blog post can be found here: http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/how-to-become-a-culture-building-leader/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=linkedin&goback=%2Egde_39683_member_220107464

Building Relationships as a Leaders--Maxwell

In a recently blog post, John Maxwell listed a few reminders on important steps for leaders in building relationships.

• Walk slowly through the crowd
• Remember people's names
• Smile at everyone
• Be quick to offer help

He quotes Helen Keller, "Life is an exciting business and most exciting when lived for others."

Often in the day to day scramble, it is hard to set aside the time needed to invest in relationships.  For a leader, these are often the most important times of the day.

Maxwell's  blog post can be found at this link:  http://johnmaxwellonleadership.com/2013/02/19/managing-the-disciplines-of-relationship-building/

Leadership Poem: searching for talent, Robert Morgan

There are a few lines in Robert Morgan's poem, "The Grain of Sound," that connect closely to the challenge of finding good leaders.

A banjo maker in the mountains, 
when looking our for wood to carve an instrument, 
will walk among the trees and knock on trucks. He'll hit 
the bark and listen for a note. 
A hickory make the brightest sound, 
the popular has a mellow ease. 
But only straightest grain 
will keep the purity of tone, the sought- 
for depth that make the licks sparkle.

This poems touches on two key aspects of leadership development.

Walk Among the Trees:  Leaders interested in developing other people need to get to know potential leads.  Talk to a wide range of people in the organization.  Connect with colleges and non-profits where untapped leaders can be found.

Only the Straightest Grains will Keep the Purity of Tone:  There are a few character traits that all leaders should have.  Stephen Covey lists integrity, maturity, and abundance mentality.  Without integrity, no matter what other strengths, the potential leader will be flawed.


"The Grain of Sound," by Robert Morgan, as found in Good Poems, edited by Garrison Keillor (New York, Penguin Press, 2002).

Donald E. Graham: learning the business from all angles

Donald E. Graham is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Washington Post Company.  He is highlighted in the Warren Buffett biography, The Warren Buffett Way by Robert Hagstrom (Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons, 2005).  Donald Graham is the son of Katherine and Philip Graham, the long time and well established publishers of the Washington Post.  Even though Donald had a future in senior management at the family run company, he still gained a broad range of experience before going into senior management.

• Drafted in the Army during Vietnam
• Joined the Washington Metropolitan Police and walked a beat
• Worked as a Metro reports in Washington
• Worked as reports for Newsweek in the Los Angeles Bureau (Newsweek is owned by the Washington Post)
• Worked as assistant managing sports editor at the Washington Post

Many companies that Warren Buffett invests in have company cultures where senior management works day to day and often started from the bottom.  This often is a great way for managers and leaders to develop.

Donald E. Graham biography at the Washington Post Company Website:  http://www.washpostco.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=62487&p=irol-govHistBio&ID=27428

Environment and Introverts--Cain

Susan Cain wrote a excellent book entitled Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking (New York, Crown Publisher, 2012).  She examines the difference between introverts and extroverts, in terms of physiology, behavior, and preferences.

Here is an except about how acknowledging your tendencies can be used to develop your environment..

"Imagine how much better you'll be at this sweet-spot game once you're aware of playing it.  You can set up your work, your hobbies, and your social life so that you spend as much time inside your sweet spot as possible.  People who are aware of their sweet spots have the power to leave jobs that exhaust them and start new and satisfying businesses.  They can hunt  for homes based on the temperaments of their family members--with cozy window seats and other nooks and crannies for the introverts, and large, open living-dining  space for extroverts."

Character Outweighs Statements--Emerson

In discussing the importance of character Principle-Centered Leadership, Stephen Covey uses a great quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson

"What you are shouts so loud in my ears I cannot hear what you say."

This is so true.  Many followers become skeptical about their leaders because of the character traits they exhibit.

The statement "lead by example" is over used.  It is useful, however, for leaders to self-examine their character and their actions.  When you ask your team to push for a goal, are you pushing with them and supporting them.  Do you have the same high standard of ethics in the office and at home as you expect your team members to have.

Leadership and Service--Quotes

Many feel that the key to leadership is service to others.  In his leadership blog, John Maxwell provided a list of outstanding quotes on service.

Here is the link to the posting:  http://johnmaxwellonleadership.com/2013/01/08/quotes-on-service/

Two quotes really stood out for me.

“Service is the measure of greatness; it always has been true; it is true today, and it always will be true, that he is greatest who does the most of good. Nearly all of our controversies and combats grow out of the fact that we are trying to get something from each other–there will be peace when our aim is to do something for each other. The human measure of a human life is its income; the divine measure of a life is its outgo, its overflow–its contribution to the welfare of all.” ~ William Jennings Bryan

“The purpose of life is not to win. The purpose of life is to grow and to share. When you come to look back on all that you have done in life, you will get more satisfaction from the pleasure you have brought into other people’s lives than you will from the times that you outdid and defeated them.” ~ Harold Kushner

In particular, I like the comment by Bryan that "nearly all of our controversies and combats grow out of the fact that we are trying to get something from each other."  Many leaders and projects are severely hampered by the mindset of "what is in it for me."

Mixing Personal Money with Company Money--Finkelstein

When one starts studying insurance, real estate, or other financial fields, one concept that is stressed is do not co-mingle funds.  Company money, client money, and personal money stays separate.

Looking at bad judgement by leaders is often a way to consider what Leadership Principles should lead to alternate decisions.  Recently on the Nightly Business Report, Professor Sydney Finkelstein of Dartmouth reviewed the worst four CEO's of 2012.

One CEO who stands out is Aubrey McClendon of Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK). He had a large personal loan from the company as well as he was running a hedge fund in addition to being the head of Chesapeake. 

Tracking the Nation’s Top Four Worst CEOs | Dec 26, 2012 - NBR | Nightly Business Report

One of John Maxwell's Laws of Leadership deals with Sacrifice.  A leader should give up as they rise in the organization.  A top level leaders should not be about perks.  It should be about how to serve.