Daily Thought Archives: January 2009

January 1
REAL POWER NEVER COMES FROM “POSITION”
The best leaders know that their real power never comes from their position, but from their personal leadership abilities. “Position” drives compliance. However, “personal” power drives commitment, and the motivation behind it to deliver no matter what circumstances or challenges are in the way.

January 2
YOUR LEVEL OF CURIOSITY
Sometimes more than anything else, it is your curiosity that makes life interesting. Being curious to learn more about others or the history behind the places you would like to visit brings “life” to your life. Be a little curious and have a more interesting life.

January 3
CREATING LEADERS AT ALL LEVELS
You see many organizations that have executive leadership programmes, but not that many that have leadership programmes at all levels of the organisation. Successful companies promote and develop leadership at all levels. Remember, it is people at the bottom, led well, that deliver the bottom line.

January 4
PRESSURE IS A WAY OF TESTING US
People don’t like pressure, but without it, we can never achieve to our full potential. Also, pressure is a way of testing us. It drives us to make the difficult choices in our lives and that’s the skill that helps us to reach our potential more than anything else. Making the right choices under pressure is when success is born.

January 5
FEEL LIKE YOU DO DESERVE IT
One of the biggest factors why come people don’t succeed is that they don’t believe that they deserve success. They focus on all the wrong things they have done and say to themselves “How can I expect more?” What you say to you has a greater impact than whatever any other person says. Begin thinking from today that “I DO DESERVE IT” and expect the best.

January 6
CONVEY A SENSE OF URGENCY & ENTHUSIASM
Two characteristics of leaders are often more important than others. There are a number of leaders who are great strategic thinkers, but struggle to get things done. Nothing generates the energy better to get it done than a leader how is constantly conveying a sense of urgency and enthusiasm. Everyone sees it in their leader with his or her behaviours and actions.

January 7
ADDING DISCIPLINE TO OUR PASSION
The secret ingredient to having great success is something that we all can add to our own lives. It is a simple concept, but difficult to do. Everything begins to happen for us when we add discipline to our passion. This creates the desire and sense of urgency to reach our success.

January 8
THERE'S NO FORMULA FOR MOTIVATING PEOPLE
Every new leader would like to have the formula for motivating their people and to get the best performance out of them. There’s no special formula, as each individual is motivated in different ways. Successful leaders are great at asking the right questions to uncover what motivates each of their people. The more they know about their people, the more they uncover the best way to motivate them.

January 9
PREPARATION CAPTURES THEIR ATTENTION
One of the best reputations you can have is to be thought of being well prepared. Preparation is always a good indicator of commitment and ownership, and this captures the attention of others. Set a goal to always be prepared and your reputation with others will always be at a high level.

January 10
AN IDEA ONLY HAS POWER WHEN SHARED
You can spot a high performing team or organisation by the way they are sharing ideas with each other. The best teams and organisations know that ideas only have power then they are shared. Share your ideas with others today.

January 11
POSITIVE PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS
A great attitude is like watching a preview of a new movie at the cinema. Your attitude is a preview of how others will react with you and how your world will look like. Create a positive preview with your positive attitude.

January 12
MAKING YOUR PEOPLE WANT IT
Every successful leader knows that their success is driven by their ability to motivate their people to make it happen. These leaders know that their goal is not only that their people do it, but want to do it. Then, their people will invest all of themselves to then make it happen and solve any problems that get in their way.

January 13
DISCOVERING THINGS YOU ALREADY KNOW
Whenever you hear a motivational speaker, you are almost always hearing things you already know. In fact, what's needed for success is quite simple, and you already know it; just don't do it. Why not make a list of what you already know and don't do. Then, take the most important item on the list and concentrate on making it a habit.

January 14
EVERYONE'S POSITIVES OUTWEIGH THEIR NEGATIVES
If everyone takes an objective view of their lives, they would see far more positives than negatives. What happens is that we take our positives for granted and invest little time in reminding ourselves of them. On the other hand, we often seem to spend all day reminding ourselves of the negatives. Invest time each day to remind yourself what you are grateful for.

January 15
THINK YOUR IDEAS ALL THE WAY THROUGH
Everyone gets many ideas each and every day. However, most people don't invest the time to think their ideas all the way through. It is often only when we think our ideas all the way through, that we see the opportunities they can bring and the actions we can take. Why not Invest the time to think your ideas all the way through, and from today.

January 16
TAKING THE ACTION TO BEGIN
We often give recognition to the person who succeeds on the project or goal, but it is also good to recognise or applaud the person who takes the action to begin (to get started). Many times it is this type of recognition or applause that gives the person to energy to keep going.

January 16
GIVE PEOPLE AN INPUT INTO DECISIONS
People don't always agree with all the decisions that impact them, but always appreciate the opportunity to provide their own input and opinions ahead of time. Confident leaders always ask their people for their input, and understand that their people will not always agree with the resulting decisions.

January 17
WORK TO BECOME, NOT TO ACQUIRE
Think about it and you will agree. Your life is rich, not by the things you acquire, but from who you become and the people you surround yourself with. Sometimes people forget this. They work so hard to acquire things and forget that life is really about who they become.

January 18
HAVING INTELLECTUAL HUMILITY
Your power today as a leader comes from your questions. It is about asking your people for their thoughts and ideas even when you already have the answer. Today's leaders need intellectual humility and to understand when to simply ask questions and listen.

January 19
ALWAYS HAVE A GREAT OPENING
Whether you are a speaker or just running your weekly meeting at work, always have a great opening. Why! A great opening grabs the attention of everyone and also creates an expectation and some enthusiasm for what's next. Invest the time to prepare a great opening.

January 20
BEING A PLEASANT SURPRISE
If you really want to create great relationships with others, then there's nothing better than being a pleasant surprise. Why not do something different than others or above what was asked for. People will always remember this and you, and always in a positive way.

January 21
THE GAP TO WHAT?
Success in business and life is really about gap closure. In business, it is the gap to the company goals. In life, it is about the gap to our potential. How you define your potential answers the question: The Gap to What? The people who know the "What" (their potential) will always have a more fulfilling life closing the gap.

January 22
PROVIDING DIRECTION AND BOUNDARIES
For a leader, motivating the people to take action is the key to driving success for their organisation. The best leaders channel that action by constantly communicating the direction and clearly defining the boundaries as well. Many leaders are good at communicating direction, but only the best leaders are equally good at establishing the culture (the boundaries).

January 23
WHAT WILL OPEN THE LOCK FOR YOU?
Look at combination locks and you will see that it doesn't open until the last number matches. Success often works the same way. You can do so much to reach your goals, and there's that one key habit (that last number) that is missing to open the lock to your success. What key habit is your last number?

January 24
ASKING THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR ADVICE
There's always a time in our lives when we could really use some advice. However, most of us ask for advice from the wrong people. When you have a problem, don't always go the easy route and ask someone close to you. Seek out an experienced person related to your problem and get the best advice possible. Great advice drives great actions.

January 25
HOW WE ACT WHEN THINGS DON'T GO WELL
Character is revealed to others when things are not going well for us. It is sometimes so easy to let circumstances impact the way we behave. However, we all should strive to show the world the best "us" even when we find ourselves having a challenging day.

January 26
YOU THINK IT INTO REALITY
Your life begins in your thoughts first. That being so, you think what you create into reality each and every day, and powerful thoughts can create a powerful reality. However, the opposite is true as well. So remember, your thinking is a preview to the reality you will create for yourself.

January 27
YOUR REASONS DRIVE YOU
Look at anything you want to accomplish, and the pace at which you achieve it is often based on the reasons you want to accomplish it. That's the WHY! If you are not achieving at the pace you would like, then look at your "reasons" first. Your reasons are what drives you and your behaviours.

January 28
GAINING KNOWLEDGE AND CONFIDENCE
There's two key factors in creating success and maintaining it. One is knowledge. The more you know, the more options you have to take action on. Second is confidence. It is your confidence that helps you take action with the knowledge you have gained. These two factors, when together, power your success.

January 29
ENCOURAGE VERSUS THREATEN
You see two strategies used to create success in today's organisations. Both can work, but only one works for the long-term. Leaders who threaten their people do drive action, but often at the expense of building teamwork. Leaders who encourage their people get both the action, as well as the teamwork that drives further growth of the business.

January 30
EVERYTHING IS A STEPPING STONE
As we go through life we often run into obstacles, and at first, we often don't know how to deal with them. The people who successfully deal with obstacles treat them as stepping stones. They know that obstacles are just learning steps that help take them to the next level. Now that's a positive view on something many consider a problem.

January 31
WHAT'S KEY IS WHO YOU PROMOTE
As a leader, nothing sends a signal as strong to the organisation as who you promote. Who you promote needs to be great at delivering results, but also embracing the company's values too. Leaders often get in trouble for the long-term when they promote someone who delivers, but doesn't live the values. It's key who you promote.