Big Is The New Small

I have always appreciated the responsibility and opportunity to be a part of developing leaders. Not only do I get the opportunity to raise my boys to be leaders, but I’ve had the opportunity to have leadership responsibility for many, many people in my lifetime. When thinking about leadership, I’ve always pondered this difficultly-simple question: “Are Leaders Born or Made?”

I know that God has uniquely wired each of us with specific DNA; however I find myself instilling things into my sons that will prepare them to be the next generation of leaders and world changers. At the same time, I find myself reflecting on my life and those God moments that sculpted me into who that I am today. Take a look at the lives of Jesus’ 12 disciples and ask yourself the question: “Were they born leaders?” I would say, probably not! A better question is: “Were they born for leadership?” Absolutely, but not without being molded and shaped into the instruments that Jesus had in mind for them to be.

There is a lot of empirical research that supports several answers to this question; those answers conclude that leaders are: Born, Made and Both. I don’t know if it’s that obvious; but I do know that I like molding and shaping, in addition to being molded and shaped.

I read a quote in an article that said: “Some people are born to move and shake the world. Their blessings include: high energy, exceptional intelligence, self confidence and a yearning to influence others.”

What do you think; are leaders born or made? Discuss!

I was recently re-reading an old Business Week article entitled The Great Communicators; which outlined some secrets of the worlds greatest business communicators.  Effective communication is skill that we can all learn and polish; it’s about the ability to be persuasive, believable, inspirational, charismatic, authentic and overall magnetic. 

We are all drawn to different styles of communicators; however the end result to effective communication is the same, the communicators were able to take us on a journey and make us like it.  It doesn’t matter if you are a: SAHM, Pastor, CEO, Teacher, Politician, Worship Leader, Customer Service Rep., Leader, Coach… we can all learn from effective communicators.  Here are 12 Tips from some of the world’s best business communicators and a bonus one from me:

1. Jack Welch (Former CEO of General Electric)-  Best communication asset: Simplicity   Tip: Eliminate jargon
2. Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple)- Best communication asset: Charisma  Tip: Create and articulate a bold vision
3. Meg Whitman (CEO of Ebay)- Best communication asset: Penchant for listening  Tip: Seek feedback
4. John Chambers (CEO of Cisco Systems)- Best communication asset: Preparedness  Tip: Review and rehearse your presentation
5. David Neeleman (CEO of JetBlue Airways)- Best communication asset: Talent for storytelling  Tip: Tell tales that inspire
6. Howard Schultz (CEO of Starbucks)- Best communication asset: Passion  Tip: Identify and share what you’re passionate about
7. Suze Orman (Author, TV Host)- Best communication asset: Clarity of expression  Tip: Break down complex information into easy parts
8. Rudy Giuliani (Former NYC Mayor)- Best communication asset: Ability to make eye contact  Tip: Spend 90% of the time looking at your audience
9. John Thompson(CEO of Symantec)- Best communication asset: Facileness with optimistic language  Tip: Employ powerful and positive words
10. Klaus Kleinfeld (CEO of Siemens)- Best communication asset: Ability to reinvent  Tip: Stay fresh, remain current
11. Larry Ellison (CEO of Oracle)- Best communication asset: Looking like a leader  Tip: Pay attention to what your wardrobe says about you
12. Richard Branson (CEO of Virgin Group)- Best communication asset: Generosity with praise  Tip: Lavish appropriate praise on employees, customers, and colleagues
13. Scott Williams (Just a Guy)- Best communication asset: Being yourself   Tip: Don’t try to emulate or be someonelse, people recognize a phony from a mile away.  Do You!  It’s a Statement… Not a Question!

Who are some of your favorite communicators and why?  Do you have any additional tips to add?

After spending about a week at Walt Disney World; let me tell you I don’t want to see another chicken finger, cartoon character, $8.00 bottle of water, long line, Disney Bus…  Although we had a lot of fun and it was a truly magical experience for the kids, we are ready to go. 

During our time at Disney there was one thing that caught my attention as being memorable.  Believe it or not one of the more memorable experiences was one of the 15 Disney bus rides,  from our Disney Resort to Magic Kingdom.  The bus driver had figured it out; he cracked jokes, got people engaged in their 15 minute ride, knew his audience and set himself apart from the rest of the drivers.  He was memorable, he was the best and most memorable Disney staff, because of his commitment to be the best.

We had a similar experiences during different aspects of our vacation; whether it be mall kiosk worker who spent time showing my son how to do magic tricks, my buddy who took my boys fishing (catching their first fish), the American Idol Experience crew at Hollywood Studios who did a great job of replicating the real show (especially the Seacrest Wannabe)… 

Memorable is defined as- Noteworthy, impressive, worth remembering.

Being memorable is about ordinary people doing the little extraordinary things.  We all have the opportunity to be memorable as parents, coaches, leaders, followers, writers, fast food workers, pastors, Christ Followers…  The question is are you…  Are you worth remembering?  Are You Memorable?

What memorable experiences have you contributed to or experienced in the last week?  Share any thoughts on the concept of being memorable!

My family and I are on vacation at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. I will be updating my blog with some videos and stuff over the next week or so. Stay tuned and check back at BigIsTheNewSmall.com for updates. I am going to enjoy the Magic with my family. Follow @scottwilliams or @lakendria on Twitter for updates.

1. The Numbers- (Measurables) Profit/Loss, Attendance, Results, Wins/Losses, ROI…
2. The Trust- (Mutual Trust) Leader Trusts Team and Team Trusts Leader.
3. The Culture- (Positive Environment) A culture that creates opportunities to live, learn, play and win.
4. The Fruit- (Leaders are Developed) Next-Level Leaders are consistently being grown and developed.
5. The Retention- (Lack of Turnover) Team members are not constantly jumping ship; unless it’s a result of #4; they are being developed as Next-Level leaders and go on to make that Next-Level impact. 

Any resonate with you? Share any overall thoughts or additional ways that leaders should measure success?

Love To Lead, Lead To Love…

If you love to lead, you must truly learn to love those you lead; Love them through their inadequacies, strengths, insecurities and dreams.

If you love to lead, don’t view those you lead as a finished product, but rather as a work in progress; you are the geologist that gets to survey the soil, while shaping and molding the clay.

If you love to lead, be patient and kind; do not be envious or get easily angered.

If you love to lead, you must truly trust those you lead; love them through your expectations and belief that they will achieve greatness, while embracing their inevitable failures.

Love those that you lead as though they are an extension of who you are.

If you love to lead, you will lead people to love themselves… You will lead them to love “Not You” but rather their environment and “What They Do!”

Love To Lead… 

~Scott Williams

Taking #FollowFriday to a Whole Nuva Level! (Week 2)

#FollowFriday is currently one of the most popular trends on Twitter.  The concept is basically showing TwitterLuv by recommending Tweeps to follow each and every Friday; using the hashtag #FollowFriday.  You basically go to searchtwitter use the keyword FollowFriday and watch the stream of FollowFriday lists come through by the second.  Because of the popularity of FollowFriday, it’s hard to keep up with all the lists or get any detailed information on the followers.

We are about to take #FollowFriday to a whole nuva level.  BigIsTheNewSmall.com is going to dedicate Friday’s blog post to the #FollowFriday community.  In other-words you can pimp your #FollowFriday lists right here.  The whole nuva level part is that in addition to the regular #FollowFriday concept, you will be able to: look at the stream of #FollowFriday lists in one place, get more detailed information, get aggregate lists before you tweet them, recommend yourself, copy and paste from lists…

I’ll go first: #FollowFriday @scottwilliams that would be me!  If you like the concept re-tweet this post!

Life is about people, leadership is about people, parenting is about people, relationships are about people… people people people!   In order to be successful in this world we live in and especially as a leader you must truly understand and know people.  Not the H&R Block “I know people” but rather know what truly makes people tick. 

Years ago a read this little Quote/Leadership book by John Maxwell entitled “The Choice is Yours.”  In that book there was one ”Top 10 List” that really put into words what I’d always thought about people and highlighted the approach I try to take as a leader.   The list was titled “10 Things You Must Know About People” check it out below:

1. People are insecure… Give them confidence
2. People like to feel special… Sincerely compliment them
3. People look for a better tomorrow… Show them hope
4. People need to be understood… Listen to them
5. People lack direction… Navigate for them
6. People are selfish… Speak to their needs first
7. People get emotionally low… Encourage them
8. People want to be associated with success… Help them win
9. People desire meaningful relationships… Provide community
10. People seek models to follow… Be an example

Do you have any additional thoughts?  Do any of these 10 resonate with you?

I was recently visiting with an old friend of mine whom would appear to be as far from God as anyone.  As we were talking, I would find myself not paying attention to the details of our conversation, but rather pondering the current ”Big Picture” state of his life.  Throughout our conversation, he was dropping f-bombs without giving his normal courtesy, “My Fault Pastor” disclaimer afterwards.

The bottom line is that I could feel the hurt and pain that my friend was experiencing, some of which he didn’t even recognize as being hurt and pain.  Anyways, the only thing that I could say to my friend was an out of the blue; “You’re Closer To God, Than You Think!”   Unfortunately, I don’t have this white picket fence, all-out surrender ending to our conversation. 

Here is what I do know, there are people all around who are hurting and appear very far from God… that need someone that lives for Jesus to meet them right where they are and simply say: “You’re Closer To God, Than You Think!”

• Do you know someone far from God?  If not, go find someone!
• Are you far from God? If so, find and spend time with someone who lives for Jesus!

An Expert is defined as: A person with a high degree of skill in or knowledge of a certain subject.

Many times people give too much credit to the ”Experts” that write the books, that are on television, that are in the CEO roles, that have the degrees, that have been doing (blank) for fifty years, that got the big break by being featured on Oprah…  If you have a desire to learn and determination to be the best; over-time you should be an expert in whatever it is that you do.  Remember, an expert is an individual that has a high degree of skill or knowledge of a certain subject.

Many of you are  already experts in areas such as: parenting, SAHM, leadership, social media, church planting, pastor, customer service, 10-key, coaching, writing, counseling, public speaking, restaurant management, budgeting, home-schooling, youth ministry, music, fashion, Biblical knowledge, small groups, motivational speaking…  you just need to realize it.

Here are 3 Steps to becoming an expert:

1. Have a desire to learn (Sharpen your skills, learn from different sources, do research, go through a season of having your mind on learning mode…)
2. Apply what you’ve learned (Put your skills into practical application, refine your skills as you go, become one of the best at what you do, demonstrate proven results…)
3. Share what you’ve learned  (Realize that  through your up’s/down’s and success; you now have some valuable expertise to share with others, share and share often…)

Remember all of the “Experts” have went through these same three steps.   Many times the author “Experts” learn from people like you and I; in addition to sharing stories like mine and yours.  Believe in yourself, because God Believes in You… Go ahead, Be An Expert! 

Are you an expert?  Share your thoughts on being an expert, becoming an expert or this post in general!