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Posts Tagged ‘Legacy’

As part of the growth plan I am working my way through, I have recently spent some time reflecting on my association with the John Maxwell Team and the value it’s brought to my life.
Several people have told me they wished they could do some of what I’m doing and asked me about my experience with the John Maxwell Team. After returning from Guatemala my (already great) opinion about the JMT is at a new level. What we took part of in Guatemala was “Historic.” John’s Influence and his team at Equip ( his other company) along with two other organizations ( LaRed and Guatemala Prospera) are the reason this amazing Transformation has begun in Guatemala.
Think about this: Three people trained 150 of us coaches over two-and-a-half days. We were then deployed, along with a translator, to go out and teach four-hour work shops sitting in small circles with military, city and country government officials, faculties of schools, clergy, hospital administrators, doctors and nurses, business men and women, and community leaders; we taught them how to facilitate interactive roundtable discussions on the the topics of Laws of Growth and Values, like forgiveness, listening skills, and others.
Gua Natl Civil Police June13 sm  (Me with the National Civil Police, Guatemala City, Guatemala, June 2013, at the end of our session)
In three days we reached ~19,000 people and left them trained and equipped to facilitate a 30-week follow-up using this same process in their areas of influence and with their families.
It was an amazing, life-changing experience! I don’t know if you can imagine but each one of the participants (captains & generals of armies in uniform, city mayors, doctors, clergy, etc) had to get “real” and be “transparent” rating themselves from 1-10 on how they were at, for instance, “listening” or “forgiving others. ” Then they had to say aloud what specific action steps they were going to take in the coming week to improve their performance in that area.
I’ve never seen such transparency. The stories of what happened were crazy-awesome! When people get real and want to grow, TRANSFORMATION begins.
As of mid-August, 45,000 (yes, 45,000!) others were going through this transformation process in small groups led by the people we taught in June.
I’m still on ‘cloud nine’ about the whole thing. Our own country could so benefit from this process. Third world countries don’t have the distractions we have and they want help to bring hope to their future generations. From the president down to the young people, the whole country is in pursuit of hope. Although this was not a faith-based effort per se, all the principles, laws, and values we taught come directly from the wisdom found in the pages of the Bible.
If you are looking for a personal leadership growth track (speaking, coaching, teaching, etc…), want to move toward growing a business, or be a part of a transformational, powerful organization, you can make that a reality for yourself by joining the John Maxwell Team. Give me a call. I can walk you through the process for enrolling, the investment, and the amazing benefits of joining this team.
It truly is the best thing I’ve done for myself in at least 10 years!
I look forward to hearing from you.

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How strong is your self-confidence when it comes to changing the future?

The Steve Jobs movie has just been released. Have you seen it? I have not, yet. However, I think it’s safe to say Steve Jobs is well known as a game-changer in the computing industry to be sure. In fact, he has had tremendous influence over how we work and play…personal computing, iPod, iPad, iPhone, computer animation. Regardless of what some might say about his leadership style, the man had a vision and the drive to move it to reality. And, as a result, the way we live, connect, and interact with a variety of media has been forever changed.

When he was younger, he dreamed of a creating a home computer, but didn’t know how. He persuaded a friend to help him. Together, they created the first compact personal computer. Unfortunately, no one knew about it! They were unknowns, with almost no money and not reputation or credibility in their industry. Jobs sold his Volkswagen to finance Apple Computers. It wasn’t an overnight transformation, but it was a success, and I think most of us know  a lot of the rest of the story.

Are you aware that Jobs was inspired by a calligraphy course he took, and this is why, today, we have so many fonts to choose from with our Apple computers? He didn’t want people’s creativity to be limited to the old, boring, sans-serif fonts…and we benefited from that vision, as well.

Jobs and Wozniak were pioneers in their field. They envisioned change and made it happen. As they began to have some early successes, their confidence grew and they (eventually just Jobs) moved on to bigger challenges, enacting more and more change in how we compute, connect, listen to music, view other kinds of media, and create.

It’s my opinion that Steve Jobs will forever be remembered as a world-renowned leader.

Today, spend some time in reflection — think back to a time when you successfully brought about change. What gave you the courage to move forward?

What did you need to do to stay on track?

How did it give you confidence for other changes in your future?

What can you learn from the experience that will propel you even further in the days, months, and years ahead?

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Well, we’ve spent the last four weeks focused on Legacy…what you leave behind, how people think and talk about you, when you are gone. Now, this may simply be because you’ve taken on a new role, left the organization for a new position with another company, or have passed away.

We’ve learned, by example, that you have the power and ability to design your legacy; you can influence what you want it to be.

What if you had the opportunity to know what it would be…would you be likely to make changes in your direction or behavior?

Let’s look into the story of a man who unexpectedly had just such an experience!

In 1888, an infamous Swedish industrialist received news that his brother, Ludvig, had died in France. You can imagine his dismay when he read the obituary and discovered the editor of the paper had mistaken his brother’s identity for his own!

The headline read, “Merchant of Death is Dead.” The obit went on to explain how the man had built his wealth through the invention, manufacture, and sales of dynamite. He was considered a heartless profiteer for having introduced the world to such a devastating innovation.

To be sure, reading one’s own obituary is a rare occurrence, indeed; but what an opportunity! Profoundly affected by this experience, Alfred Nobel determined to make a change, resolving to put his wealth to to work in hopes of reviving his legacy. In the eight years before his death, Nobel created an endowment worth more than $9 million to reward exceptional humanitarian effort. Today, the Nobel Peace Prize is one of the world’s best known and most coveted awards, bestowed annually to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to humanity. *

While it’s not likely any of us will have this same experience, but we do have the opportunity to increase our self-awareness and become aware of the legacy we are building. If we choose to do it now, we have time to make changes if what we learn is not in tune with what we desire.

What do you know about how you are perceived, about what people think and say about you when you are not there?

Is it in line with how you wish to be remembered and talked about?

If not, it’s not too late to make a difference.

*From the Intentional Leadership booklet, by Giant Impact. 

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Here we are at Friday, again! It was another fast, but busy and productive, week for me!

I am ready for the weekend, and mine will be all about relationships. My husband and son have been in Washington State since mid-June, helping a family member. After a week-long drive across country, they arrived home last night. So, I will spend the day with them, and get ready to fly to Colorado on Saturday to spend some time with my mom and two of my sisters. It will be great to catch up with all of them; it’s been a while.

I will also spend some time writing and preparing for my Empowerment Mentoring lesson on Tuesday evening. The next lesson is Harmony, and it’s a really good one! Ok, so they are all really powerful lessons, and each week as I teach the next lesson, I’m amazed all over again at how relevant the content is to my life and to those of the EM Program participants.

As usual, I have some writing to do, and some other people to connect with.

What are you doing with your weekend?

As we are just ending four weeks of focus on Legacy, what are you doing now to design yours?

Whatever it is, I hope you are intentional about it and setting yourself up for success in the coming days and weeks.

“See” you soon!

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As we near the end of this month’s focus on Legacy, let’s just get crystal clear for a few minutes.

Every one of us will leave a legacy. It may be last a lifetime or only a moment. You get to decide.

Because you are the person I believe you to be — someone who wants to grow and be an effective leader (you wouldn’t be reading this blog if you weren’t on this kind of journey) — I encourage you to reaffirm your commitment to leaving a lasting, positive legacy in the lives of others.

Write it out…

My Commitment to Leaving a Lasting Legacy…

Now print it out and put it somewhere you will see it daily; it will help you stay focused.

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John Maxwell reinforces the need to ensure you have a values match when you join an organization. This is worth serious consideration, because is you don’t heed his advice and join an organization with which you don’t share values, you will soon find yourself in an uncomfortable position, having to decide whether to stay true to who you are and what you value or take actions that are contrary to your convictions in order to be considered a “team player” and move forward with a direction you don’t necessarily believe in our support.

This is also true when you are choosing people to carry on your legacy. When you have a values match, it’s easier to commit and what you’ve built has a much better chance of lasting.

So what do you value?

Take some time to write down your tip five values. Keep in mind, these are the things you would not trade or compromise for anything…including the last seat on the last lifeboat off the Titanic!

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Now, who do you know who shares your values and in whom you can invest to carry on your legacy? Keep in mind, they don’t have to do it all exactly as you would, and ideally will think different thoughts than you (this is why diversity in healthy teams is so critical…otherwise, you end up with tunnel vision and miss all kinds of opportunities and don’t see obstacles before you hit them!). List at least three people you need to start investing in on a regular basis to give your legacy a longer life.

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2.

3.

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As this is our fourth, and last week focused on Legacy, it’s time to get serious about what we can be doing to ensure we are developing a sustainable legacy.

Yes, I’m talking about not just developing a positive, long-lasting legacy in terms of what people remember and say about you when you are gone. I’m talking about developing successors who will carry on the work and culture you put in place while you were the leader.

John Maxwell talks about this in the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, when he talks about leaders developing leaders rather than developing followers. It’s about helping others grow, along with your business.

You can see this in real life when you study businesses or other organizations after a particularly effective leader moves on. One example you might read up on is Southwest Airlines. Beyond building a successful airline, Herb Kelleher left a legacy of developing leaders within his organization. He had a unique style and developed a unique culture within the organization, and he didn’t want it to just be a cult. He wanted it to survive him and continue to thrive.

To make that happen, he brought in strong, talented people and helped develop their skills and leadership abilities. You see, it wasn’t all about Herb; he wasn’t doing what he did just so he could stand in the spotlight alone; he enjoyed training others so they could shine, too. It was intentional on his part.

The technical training is important, but it’s not what will allow people to step confidently into their potential. It takes much, much more than that.

To build the foundation for a lasting legacy, one must embed mission and culture in the lives of their successors.

Your action for today: What can you do to convey the mission and culture of your organization to its future leaders?

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Good morning and Happy Friday! It’s been another fast and busy week and I can’t believe we are in week three of month seven! It’s been a full week. Had a few coaching sessions, participated in a day-long off-site meeting related to a major project I’ve been involved with over the last 18 months — lots of examples of growth over time, increased awareness, and still opportunities for growth in the future. Taught a really powerful lesson on the Terror Barrier for my Empowerment Mentoring participants — along with a few guests. I have to say, that group of people are so often the highlight of my week because they are so open to and hungry for growth. And had a really good call with my coach, Maureen McIntosh, — working on focus, scheduling, and productivity; this process is so powerful and I’m thankful for the opportunity to work with her. I’ve also had some really good work-outs with a new fitness program I’ve committed to (who knew I’d be stretching myself emotionally, spiritually, and literally physically all at the same time?!).

As I said last Friday, I’ve been working hard to be more focused to ensure my time is spent productively, and not just busily. It’s paying off! It truly is a process and will not change completely overnight, but I see progress and it feels good. As with each week, I have some writing to do, preparation for next week’s Empowerment Mentoring lesson on Gratitude . Still have some preparation for some trips coming up in a few weeks. And clean up my house!

With respect to building my legacy, I can honestly say I think about this every day and do my best to be mindful of the short- and long-term effects of my words and actions. I want them to be positive effects; I want to be a + in other people’s lives, not a -.

What about you? What do you have planned for this weekend?

Who will you spend it with?

What do you need to do to set yourself up for success on Monday?

What’s going on in your life in the coming weeks and months that you need to spend some time thinking about and planning for?

However you spend it, make it intentional!

Remember…whatever it is you’re doing, it’s building your legacy!

“See” you on Monday!

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As you move toward your desired team legacy, what costs might there be in pursuit of it? Make a list…

What challenges might you encounter on your journey?

What capital (personal or corporate) do you have that you can use to achieve your goal?

What could the impact be on your team / organization if you do not pursue your goals?

If you don’t move forward, how would you look upon your life?

How would not moving forward impact the legacy you are hoping to leave?

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Let’s take this week’s discussion to our teams / organizations. Gather your team together, and share the PepsiCo story with them. Then, ask them what they’d like the team’s legacy to be.

As a team, discuss your desired legacy and what you need to do together to pursue and achieve it. Know that you may need to reallocate your time, energy, and resources in order to accomplish your dreams.

Take some time to put together a list of the ideas you have for how you will hold this meeting. The more prepared you are, the more successful you will be.

I look forward to hearing what you come up with.

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