Every piece of a watch counts (Gordon Bethune, Continental Airlines)
We stopped listening to what the market was telling us. (Ian MacLaurin. Tesco )
The world needs better leaders
Are you ambitious in the traditional sense or more driven by doing the right thing than any focus on achieving status or personal reward?
Would you prefer to be judged by your legacy rather than your current position.
The vision should break the existing mould. It should not merely tinker with the present but rather envisaged a much more radical future quite removed from the status quo.
Simply blue sky the art of the possible.
Believe in other people particularly those closer to the customer.
Do you trust in others and delegate to them?
You should not be over concerned with personal power and openly acknowledge what you DON'T know.
Don't feel the need to have all the answers.
Can you change your behavior and approach when circumstances point to the need to do something differently?
Is there a strong congruence between personal values and business values resulting in the minimum of role play at work.
Good leaders are driven more by doing the right thing than any focus on achieving status or personal reward. Personal ego is much less important and therefore much less fragile than a belief in making things better and a commitment to making a difference.
Few of them felt they had the right answer at the outset. They trusted they would know the right answer when they saw it and consequently were able to live with considerable ambiguity.
They instinctively demonstrated a strong belief in people, particularly those lower down the organisation 'those closest to the customer' Many had strong communication skills and consequently were good at gaining support.
I am not about to inherit your problem (Building good teams - Peter J Brown)
As a result they often had a strong and personal relationship with those who worked for them and were often able to inspire unusual loyalty.
If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you will be amazed at the results (General Paton)
A bias for action (not analysis) a belief in the need to stick close to the customer, a belief in delivery and progress through people, the belief in helping everyone to know their place and role (Peters and Waterman concept)
Focus on being human
Outstanding leaders go out of their way to help to boost the self esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves and are developed, it's amazing what they can accomplish. (Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart)
We are conditioned to react to change as a potential threat and our instinct is to opt for the status quo, which is safer.
Many companies say 'people are our greatest asset'. But does it feel like that for those employed in the company
The secret of running a team is to keep the six guys who hate your guts away from the seven who aren�t yet sure. (Mike Brearley, OBE)
AND some HUMOUR
"It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both incisive and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper."--Rod Serling
"The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it."--Franklin P. Jones
Finally, on a Southwest flight that was delayed at the gate after everyone boarded. The flight attendant said over the intercom: "We're sorry for the delay. The machine that normally rips the handles off your luggage is broken, so we're having to do it by hand. We should be finished and on our way shortly