Question:  
What person has had the biggest impact on your leadership ideas?

Answer:
There are so many leaders who have influenced me over the years.  However, there is one that has made an impact to the very core of my leadership approach.  That was General Bill Creech.  I had read an article on his leadership in Inc. Magazine years ago while living in Japan, and then even travelled to the USA to hear him speak.  His focus on creating pride in people’s work and getting people to own outcomes has been key to me becoming a successful leader.

Question:
Why is leadership even more important in today’s uncertain times?

Answer:
Leadership is about setting the direction and goals, and then motivating people to achieve them.  When times are uncertain, people have a tendency to stop taking action; and this can be the beginning of trouble for a company.  I think one of the most significant strengths of leaders such as Jack Welch is that he instilled confidence in his leaders.  People who have confidence take risks, and taking risks means taking action.  Leadership is what promotes action through uncertain times.

Question:
Your books talk a great deal about focus.  Why is focus so important?

Answer:
Your focus, meaning what has your attention, is what drives what you do and what you achieve.  Also, you will always have a stronger focus, if you have clearly defined what you want to achieve – your goals.  Therefore, your focus is sort of your “criteria” that you use to decide what to say “yes” to and what you say “no” to.  Most people go through life without goals and without a focus.  Without a “criteria” for deciding “yes” or “no”, they usually say “yes” to what other people want, because they are not clear (no focus) on what they want.  In this situation, life is being driven around all day by others, versus being in the driver’s seat of your life.  A focus puts you in the driver’s seat of your life, which is the right place to be.

I invest the time to create and keep my focus.  Why?  To stay in the driver’s seat of my life.

Question:
You have lived in seven countries around the world and enjoy the international life.  What has helped you to be both successful and happy in living in all the different countries?

Answer:
I think you could summarise what has helped the most in one word – Adaptability.  When you live in other countries, almost everything is new, and that means even the most basic things such as what you need to do to buy food, etc.  Anyone who has been both successful and happy living outside their home country has always learned to adapt.  You can never replicate the life you had elsewhere.  Therefore, the best approach is to take the best that each country offers, and build a life around that.  It is all about understanding what creates your “buzz” and finding other ways to get it.  If you are adaptable, you will always find the way to be both successful and happy anywhere you live.

Question:
Your Daily Thoughts Project sounds interesting.  How do you both think of and create the thoughts for each day?

Answer:
I invest (on average) 60 to 90 minutes a day in self-development, and usually by listening to podcasts or audio books via my iphone...and, almost always on the move, while moving around a city or travelling between cities.  Therefore, I am constantly learning new things and getting new ideas for future daily thoughts. 

Here’s the process I use to create the thoughts:

If I get an idea for a daily thought title while listening to the iphone (or at any time), I write it down as a note on my phone.  Then, I later transfer the thought into the a database and often don't write the text for that thought until even two to three years later.  If you read about the daily thoughts project, my lifetime goal is to write 18,000 of them.

So you can see, I create these thoughts in advance.

Question:
People are driven by their passion.  What gives you the greatest “Buzz”?

Answer:
What gives me the “buzz” is making a difference in other people’s lives.  When I get comments back that one of my talks or my daily thoughts have inspired action, it is like a powerful FUEL for me.  It is all about serving, and they say leadership is also all about serving.  I make it a goal to always try and provide something of value to others in every communication and every interaction.  It helps me to put “Making a Difference” into everything I do.  The more value I provide to others, the more appreciation (fuel) I receive, and the more “buzz” I get.