Dr. Blue Man

The Swiss Army Knife and life

Over the past eighteen months, we have all been on our own very unique journey.  Declining revenues, trimmed budgets, shrinking markets, increased receivables, canceled projects, and the like have all smacked many of our businesses squarely in the face. 

I was in a meeting the other day where the facilitator talked about the challenges we face today are like having a Swiss Army Knife, where we have to discover tools we have never had to use before.  What a great analogy.  As we move through this "new economy" with our Swiss Army Knife in tow, remember that we are on a journey.  This is uncharted territory.  There are no road maps.  There are no compass points.  There are no historical references.  What we have experienced and are experiencing is all new to everyone.  So, you will need to explore thoughts, ideas, connections, relationships, partners, and strategies that you never thought about before.  And, despite the unavoidable stress, this is actually quite good for us.
 
Remember the lessons learned from the Swiss Army Knife and listen for the opportunities, look for the possibilities, and be receptive to the discussion.  You will be quite surprised at what you discover.  And you will have some great stories-good ones, interesting ones, and funny ones-to share when you celebrate your success on the other side of this unique educational period.

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Leaders are made not born

It is often said that leaders are made not born; I believe this to be true.

The topic of leadership has been and continues to be one of the most vital topics. From ancient civilizations to modern-day multinational corporations, men and women of passion, fervor and zeal have sought to discover the secrets of moving others beyond the gray of their mundane reality to the extraordinary life that can and does exist.

Every organization or collection of people, from large to small, requires ardent and skilled leaders. It has been said that everything rises and falls on leadership, and it is true. Every group—families, cities, churches, associations, and yes, even nations—fulfills its purposes and potential based on the leadership it is shown.

Be assured that there will be a leader of every group. There will be those who influence others, even if you don’t. There may even be unscrupulous people who use their abilities to lead others astray. The quote “All it takes for evil to prevail is for the good man to do nothing,” remains true today as it has through the annals of time. This is the compelling motive for you to rise up and lead the way for others.

Our families depend on it.

Our community groups depend on it.

Our nations depend on it.

People will follow you for two reasons: They follow you because of your character, for who you are. They also follow you for your skills, for what you can do. The best leaders challenge us to be better than we think we can be.  They challenge us to do more than we think we can do. 

Make every effort to impart skillful and honorable leadership to those who would look to you for your wisdom, your guidance and your belief in the promise of the human spirit.

Someone will lead. Will it be you? If not you, then who will lead?  If you will not lead now; then when?

Today, more than ever, you are needed. Your strong character is needed. Your finely honed skills are needed. I hope you will rise to the challenge.

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4 I’s- Lessons Learned from Mr. Demond Crump

What a weekend!  I am overwhelmed with thoughts and lessons learned this weekend by Demond who exceeded every expectation that any of us had.  For those of you that had the opportunity to spend some time with him you realize what a gift we had.  For those of you that didn’t, I will inadequately try to share some of the lessons that we learned from him.

 

The first lesson is the lesson of industriousness which has two components- hard work and planning. In terms of hard work, Demond demands more of himself than he does anyone else and he leads by demonstrating that on a daily basis not just talking about it.  The second component is planning.  In this respect, he had become a true student of the business.  Hard work without a plan is where most people in America are right now.  Coach Wooden always taught us “undirected diligence” is not very efficient”.                    

 

The second lesson is initiative.  Initiative is having the courage to make decisions and take action.  Again, Demond is a demonstration of a principle coming to life.  He shared that the first 40 people he spoke to about the business told him “no”.  But he overcame with his initiative, his courage, and his action.  He KNEW that he had the answer for him and his family and was undeterred by those who thought he didn’t.

 

Thirdly, intentness.  This is the combination of perseverance, tenacity and focus.  Intentness is the ability to avoid distractions and ignoring the good in favor of going for the best.  Our world is full of immediate gratifications and mediocrity.  Demond demonstrated and shared that we need not settle for that life.

 

Finally, integrity.  For all of us this should be the glue.  The glue for family life.  The glue for our business.  Integrity is the combination of truth, honesty, sincerity, and reliability.  Demond shared you have to strive to have integrity all the time because there are no “big and little” items.  Some define “Little” items like returning phone calls, calling back when you say you will, and being on time for meeting; to Demond they are all “big” items. 

 

In closing, I would encourage all of you to go to his website- www.spiritofteamvision.com and click on his training tab- it will take your business and your life to the next level. 

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Leadership Thoughts

I recently spoke at a local university and I closed by asking the students how they would differentiate themselves from the rest of their classmates, from the students at the next university, from the students all over the country. I believe that part of the answer is leadership, so I decided to put down a couple of thoughts on the subject from various sources.  Some of these thoughts I have heard, some are observations.  Let me know what you think.

Leaders, whether in the family, in business, in government, or in education, must not allow themselves to mistake intentions for accomplishments.

Managers help people to see themselves as they are. Leaders help people to see themselves better than they are.

Leaders must not be naive. I used to say, “Liars shouldn’t lie.” What a sad waste of words that is! I found out liars are supposed to lie. That’s why we call them liars—they lie! What else would you expect them to do?

We must learn to help those who deserve it, not just those who need it. Life responds to deserve, not need.

My mentor said, “Let’s go do it,” not “You go do it.” How powerful when someone says, “Let’s”!

Leaders must understand that some people will inevitably sell out to the evil side. Don’t waste your time wondering why; spend your time discovering who.

When dealing with people, I generally take the obvious approach. When someone says, “This always happens to me and that always happens to me. Why do these things always happen to me?” I simply say, “Beats me. I don’t know. All I know is that those kinds of things seem to happen to people like you.”

We could all use a little coaching. When you’re playing the game, it’s hard to think of everything.

A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.

As a leader you should always start with where people are before you try to take them to where you want them to go.

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