Big Is The New Small

en-tre-pre-neur: a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business,
usually with considerable initiative and risk.

Many people have a desire to become a flourishing entrepreneur; however only a small percentage are successful. Successful entrepreneurs exhibit 2 key characteristics: a.) They are willing to put forth considerable initiative  b.) They understand they can’t be successful without a willingness to take considerable risk.

Do you want to be a successful entrepreneur?  Get up, Step up, Show some initiative and be ready to take some considerable risk.

Is it really that simple?  Share your thoughts!

I have lots of thoughts each and every day, as a matter of fact all of us do.  There is varying research that suggests how many thoughts a day the average human has.  Some research indicates that 100 years ago the average number of thoughts was 5,000 a day and today humans think around 55,000 thoughts per day.  I guess we have a lot more to think about in this overly stimulating age and time.

I’m not sure what the accurate number of thoughts per day is, however I’d be inclined to think that I’m more aligned with the 55,000 thoughts a day number.  I would also say that many of the thoughts that I have are ideas, dreams, visions and more ideas.

As a consultant the general deliverables for my clients primarily deal with ideas, connecting those ideas to strategy and moving that strategy into reality.  The “always on” thinking works perfect for the way that I’m wired, because I’m a thinker and thinking is how I orient my world.  I literally had 10 different business ideas, strategies, thoughts and aha’s on my drive home today.  I got home did some research and realized that a couple of them didn’t make sense and I will pursue the others further.

That’s the beauty of having many thoughts is the fact that you weed out the ones that need to be weeded out and you act on the others.  The more ideas you have the greater opportunity for some of those ideas to be great ones.

The beauty an idea is the fact that it forces you to wrestle the question of, “Is this idea good, bad or indifferent?”  Often times a bad idea has as much value and opportunities for learning as a good one.  Ideas all have potential, it’s what you do with those ideas that determines whether or not the potential of a particular idea is realized.  Potential unrealized is just potential.

What Is An Idea Worth?  The idea itself is not worth much.  The strategy, thoughts, wrestling and process of massaging that idea into something special is worth lots, maybe even million$ or gazillion$.

There are tons of success stories that simply began with an idea that was developed into something very special.   What Is An Idea Worth?  It depends on what the person that has the idea is willing to do with it?

Got Ideas?  Share your thoughts.

Leadership, Leadership, Leadership…  it seems to be the point of discussion no matter what the subject is. If you turn on SportsCenter you might hear about Tom Brady, Kevin Durant or Kobe Bryant’s Leadership.  If you turn on any national news station you might hear about the leadership or lack there of, for the Republican candidate hopefuls or President Obama.  If you look in your social media streams you will see someone sharing a leadership quote or recommending a leadership book.

Everyone is always talking about leadership, many people are writing about leadership and everyone wants to be a better leader.  Leadership expert and author John Maxwell has written countless leadership books and has sold over 19 million copies – a great illustration that people desire to become better leaders.

It doesn’t matter how many leadership books you read, how much leadership intellect you have or if you have obtained an awesome leadership role.  The Cold Hard Facts About Leadership are this:

• 1. If your actions don’t inspire those around you to be more, do more and believe in themselves more; there is a good chance that you are not leading.
• 2. If you are more focused on how you’re perceived than you are developing others and helping those around you win; you’re not leading.
• 3. If you are unwilling to change or lead from the “my way or the highway” standpoint; you’re not leading, that’s called dictating.

Delusive leadership gets delusive results.  Keep it real, care about your people and help others win.  The end result will be better team members, a better organization and an overall better product for the consumer.

Share your thoughts, opinions or experiences with these Cold Hard Facts About Leadership?

I watched the game last night and so did many of you.  LSU got beat and The Alabama Crimson Tide Are The BCS Champions.  Other than who was the better team last night, below are 7 Life & Leadership Lessons From The BCS Championship Game.

• 1. Don’t live off of yesterday’s successes.
• 2. Nerves can positively and negatively affect your performance. (don’t get too nervous)
• 3. There is an advantage of being the hunter as opposed to the hunted.
• 4. Just because you get defeated doesn’t always mean your opponent is better.
• 5. There is always room for improvement in both coaches and players.
• 6. It’s not about X’s & O’s, it’s about Jim’s & Joe’s. (Coaches coach & Players play)
• 7. Sometimes your opponent is just downright better than you.

There is an old saying that defense wins championships…  Alabama confirmed that last night.

There is a new saying that I’m making up right now: bad offenses lose championships…  LSU confirmed that last night.

Share your thoughts on these 7 lessons.  Add some to the list or share your thoughts on the game.

As coach Les Miles was interviewed by Erin Andrews on his way off the field at halftime.  He was asked, what he’s going to do get his offense that’s not clicking going in the second half.  Les responded with the quote below:

“We had cadence issues, fumbled snaps, every possible mistake was made… What’s gotta happen at this point is we have gotta chunk that and do things that we came here to do.” ~Les Miles

I’m writing this post during half-time of the game where Alabama has just hit it’s 3rd field goal and lead Les Miles’ Bayou Bengals 9-0.  I don’t have any idea what the outcome will be; however I do know that Coach Miles’ advice doesn’t only apply to football, it’s the story of life.

When things are going wrong and every possible mistake is happening, you gotta chunk that stuff, get focused and do what you came to do.  A key element is during the interview Les Miles didn’t seemed to be worried and was as cool as the other side of the pillow.

Chunk it and do what you were created to do!

Have you ever found yourself in a group, on a team, in an organization or in a situation where “Everyone Is Thinking It, but No One Is Willing To Say It.”  Most of us have been in those situations and sometimes there’s even a little internal chuckling that goes along with the thoughts.  The internal chuckling, rolling of eyes and secret non-verbal codes are the beginning of more serious and detrimental behaviors.

These types of environments will always impede individual and organizational growth.  The bottom line is this: “Mr. & Mrs. Autocratic Leader, You Are Killing Your Team.”

On the contrary, some of the most thriving organizations in the world have cultures where everyone is thinking and saying the same thing.  Creating this open, honest and safe culture always begins and ends with the CEO, Senior Leader and or Executive Leadership Team.

If you want to know if you have one of these “can’t speak” environments, simply ask.  If you find yourself in a culture where people can’t or don’t speak up, it’s time for you to do something about it.  It’s time to speak up, lead up and be a catalyst for fostering a culture of mutual thinking and speaking — a culture of success.  If you’re a senior executive, work hard to ask the right questions, to create an environment of openness and a culture where people don’t have to hold their tongues.

Of those who say nothing, few are silent.  ~Thomas Neiel

Share your thoughts and experiences with these types of environments.

Individuals and businesses are always trying to find ways to increase their level of success.  This drive and will to succeed leaves folks scouring around trying to find advanced methods to foster success. This search for success leads to trying many of the latest greatest ideas from their industry.

Some will try a new idea a month, others will come back from a conference and implement ten new ideas and some may make drastic changes as a result of an article or book they’ve read.

Some of the greatest success stories and brands that other’s are trying to mimic are built on a couple of good ideas.  Not 5, 10 or 20, but rather a couple of good ideas. As a consultant I’ve had the opportunity to work with organizations ranging from Fortune 100 Corporations to Personal Brands.  No matter who I’m working with, my goal is to help organizations and individuals come up with and implement couple of good ideas.

If you want to succeed and you want your brand to be successful, stop trying to come up with a million ideas and simply devise and implement a couple good ideas.

You Only Need A Couple Good Ideas. 

Great TED Talk by Cameron Herold about teaching our kids to be entrepreneurs.  It goes with this verse and it’s really a new way to think about raining kids, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for life.”  Talks about traits of CEO’s like Steve Jobs, Ted Turner and more.

Cameron asks the question is your kid bored in school, failing classes, at odds with peers: This child might be an entrepreneur. At TEDxEdmonton, he makes the case for parenting and education that helps would-be entrepreneurs flourish — as kids and as adults.

This is a brilliant, candid and honest talk. Very reminiscent of the way I thought and operated as a child.

Watch this video and share your thoughts.

Don’t you just love the lists of how to do this and how to do that.  Well as 2012 rapidly approaches, our love for the “Top 10 Ways” types of lists only increases.  We develop a mindset that says lay out the path, show me the tools and give me some new ways to think.

The driving force behind our interest in these types of lists is an inner desire to grow.  We want to do things different, we want to think different and we want to be different, as long as the end result means growth.  Growth is a critical component of the vehicle that drives you down the road of success.

Below is a straight to the point list of how leaders can increase their leadership in 2012.

12 Ways Leaders Can Increase Their Leadership In 2012

• 1. Truly Embrace The Team Concept: There is no “I” in team and teamwork makes the dream work.
• 2. Don’t Play It Safe: Be willing to take some risks.  Your risks can be calculated or not, either way you need to get off the shores of playing it safe.
• 3. Give Credit & Take Blame:  Give credit where credit is due and be willing to look in the mirror and say, “My Bad” or “It’s My Fault!”
• 4. Don’t Be A Yes Man or Yes Woman:  Be willing to step up and challenge things when they need to be challenged.  This can be the process of leading-up or leading-down.
• 5. Don’t Lose Your Cool:  Remember the 3C’s in all situations – Cool, Calm & Collected.
• 6. Empower Your Team:  Release your team to do their job.  Don’t be a micro-manager.
• 7. Minimize Meetings:  Reduce the number of meetings, the length of meetings, the necessity of meetings and the list of who needs to attend the meetings.
• 8. Get To Know Your Team Members On A Personal Level:  Know what’s going on in the lives of your team members outside of work.  Know their interests, their children’s interests… To know is to care.
• 9. Take Time To Develop Your Team Members: Leadership development isn’t a system but rather an on-going act of moving people from where they are to where they need to be. If you want your overall leadership capacity to increase, you must increase the capacity of those around you.  Leadership development isn’t optional, it’s a necessity.
• 10. Surround Yourself With The Best: Be willing to hire people that may be smarter, sharper, more opinionated and maybe even all around better leaders than you are. Empower and release those people to strengthen your team and compliment your leadership.
• 11. Shh Listen For A Change:  Don’t be the person who is always talking – Shh, Be Quiet and Listen for a change.
• 12. Ask The Difficult Questions:  This is where candid evaluation/assessment of everything will make the leader and the team better.  Ask questions like:  Are the individuals that I have on my team making me better?  Am I a my way or the highway leader?  Are we going in the right direction?  Who on my team got us here, but won’t get us there?  Am I making those around me better personally and professionally?  Am I open to receive candid feedback?  If my position, role, title or formal authority was removed would those around me still be willing to follow?  The list of questions goes on and on.  Ask the tough questions and embrace the tough answers.

Do any of these 12 ways resonate with you?  What ways are you going to increase your leadership in 2012?

Success is one of those things that many want to achieve but only a few are willing to put in the work necessary to achieve it.  Success is a journey, it’s a road traveled and if you want it, you must go after it.  If you want to succeed you must have an unwavering determination.

We have all heard the sayings, the quotes, the inspirational speeches etc.  In a nutshell, “If you want to succeed, you have to stop talking about it and be about it.  Talk is cheap.  Hard work pays off and there is no substitute for determination.”

In the words of our 30th President Mr. Calvin Coolidge: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”

There is power in pressing on…  Be determined, be someone who presses on.

Why are so many people unwilling to press on?  Why do so many people quit before they succeed?  Why are more people not willing to do what the mouse is doing in the above picture?