Blue Collar Leadership

Ria and I are excited to be heading to San Diego today to serve those who are serving us. We'll be conducting 10 1/2 day workshops for the U.S. Navy. When leaders are willing to invest in their team, we are willing to invest in their team. We pay all of our travel expenses and offer up to 4 hours on site, complimentary leadership development speaking/training in any of the 50 states with each 200...

There's something far greater than success. What is it? It's significance. Success is about me. Significance is about we. Only successful people can choose to be significant people. In this episode, I share about the "Value of Significance" from my book, 10 Values of High Impact Leaders" (It's available as an audio book, paperback, and eBook.)

When it comes to climbing to the next level and beyond, you should focus on developing your strengths in the area of competency and developing your weaknesses in the area of character. You will always excel in the areas where you are naturally talented and gifted relative to skills and abilities. Your character will play a key role by launching you or limiting you.

Knowing the difference between a practice and a principle is critical to personal development and to process improvement. When you hear someone say, "That won't work here," you know they're talking about the practice and are overlooking the principle. A practice only works in certain situations. However, a principle works in all situations.

Wake up! The world isn't holding you back. You are. The sooner you figure this out, the sooner you'll reach the next level. 3 simple tips that will help you advance to the next level and beyond.

I've heard it said many times, "Luck is where preparation intersects opportunity." I agree. If you want to be lucky, prepare yourself for the opportunities you want. We make our own luck by being prepared.

Who is going to get the job you want? The person with the most influence. Not sometime, every time. Learn how to get someone to actually look at your resume/application when applying for a job internally or externally.

When it comes to launching yourself and your career, what you do at work is important; but what you do after work is more important.

Too often, people who want a promotion, a better job, a different job, a better paying job, are simply going through the motions waiting for it to suddenly be given to them. That's not how it works. Someone will be hired tomorrow for the exact job you want. HR is filling that position somewhere everyday. The person who is best prepared relative to character and competency will get it. Will it be y...

Too many people are frustrated because they feel they are being controlled by others. However, we determine if others control us. It's pretty simple: If you don't develop your mind, you'll be controlled by those who do. You won't get to where you want to be accidentally. You must be intentional.

What I learned from the 7 Habits. (Part 7) Are you intentionally focused on developing your character and your competency? I hope so because no one else is or ever will be. Personal development is an inside job...between you and you. High impact players and high impact leaders are always focused on continuous improvement. If you're not, you'll get passed up by those who are.

What I learned from the 7 Habits. (Part 6) When there are differing opinions, too many people focus on compromising when they should be synergizing. Synergy means the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

What I learned from the 7 Habits. (Part 5) The key to influencing others is to first allow them to influence you. As Stephen R. Covey said, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." It's okay to let others go first. When they feel like you understand, it's much more likely they'll listen to what you have to say. However, if they don't feel understood, it's much more likely they'll be focu...

What I learned from the 7 Habits. (Part 4) Think Win-Win. Zig Ziglar said it best, "If you'll help people get what they want, they'll help you get what you want." The key is valuing helping other people win. Instead of focusing on ourselves, we must learn to focus on others. Peyton Manning said it a different way, "The most valuable player is the player that makes the most players valuable."

What I learned from the 7 Habits (Part 3 of 7). Once you know who you want to be and where you want to be, you must "Put First Things First" and manage yourself within time toward your goal. There's no such thing as time management. You can't manage time and neither can anyone else. Time just is. There's only personal leadership and personal management within time.

What I learned from the 7 Habits (Part 2 of 7). Who are you? Where are you? Who do you want to be? Where do you want to be? If you know the answer to these questions, you'll discover there's a gap between the first two and the second two. I call that the "Success Gap." How do you close the gap? You "Begin with the End in Mind."

What I learned from the 7 Habits (Part 1 of 7). In this episode, I share the most important leadership principle I've ever learned. Learn what it means to "Be Proactive" instead of being reactive. Learn how and why you should focus on your "circle of influence" and why you should avoid your "circle of concern."

What I learned from the 7 Habits (Intro). The first leadership development/personal growth book I was introduced to happened to be the one that inspired me to transform myself and my life. 10 years later, I've read hundreds of books. However, this one is still #1 on my list. Today, I've also published 12 books of my own and speak and train full-time all across the USA, and sometimes internationall...

Want to learn what made a front line factory worker I had never met say to me, "I want to cut your damn throat!" If so, take a listen. The short answer: poor leadership from above.

Intention is the foundation of trust. Just as we decide how we feel about others, they decide how they feel about us. If they feel we are attempting to use and manipulate them only for our benefit, we create distrust. If they feel we are trying to help and motivate them for mutual benefit, we build trust.

What is trust? Most people haven't really thought about it. When I ask my audiences this question, most often I get silence. Then, a few people will say things like honesty, dependability, confidence in others. That's all true. But, there's a lot more to trust than that. Today, I'll explore the two pillars of trust briefly: character and competency.

The key to establishing authentic influence it to first establish trust. The more trust you have with others, the more influence you will have with them.

Authentic influence is always better than artificial influence. Here's a story from the shop floor to illustrate just how important establishing authentic influence can be. The boss told me I would need an interpreter to speak to the people in one of his departments because none spoke English. However, they always spoke English to me.

Authentic influence is based on moral authority, your character. Artificial influence is based on formal authority, your position, title, rank, etc. Authentic influence is always better than artificial influence.

John C. Maxwell said it best, "Leadership is influence. Nothing more. Nothing less. Everything rises and falls on leadership." A few thoughts on one of the most important things I learned from John Maxwell.