CEO, Jean-Sébastien Dominique Francois Jacques, has a saying: “The markets won’t save you. Commodity prices won’t save you.” His point is that high prices and great markets have the potential to hide a multitude of evils. Your customers won’t save you either. So think about this for a moment: your customers default to price when you don’t or can’t demonstrate value! If they complain about your price, it’s because you don’t demonstrate sufficient value! And your competitors aren’t going to feel bad for you or cut you a break. You have to bring your best every day and that’s difficult to do, but you have no choice. It’s why for leaders, there are no excuses and it’s why you should never count out a great leader.
Today’s episode is awesome. The message is positive, inspiring and will uplift you. It has a bit of a sports emphasis. If you aren’t a sports fan, please don’t tune out. There’s something here for everyone today. How do you respond to crushing or devastating news? Do you make excuses or blame others?
If you are human, there are two responses to this news: the initial response that can last for a few minutes to a day or so and then the response that should come directly after that. This second response is reasoned and thoughtful. Eventually, you are going to come to the conclusion that you must get over it. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Yes, it’s hard. No, it won’t always be fair. There are going to be times when others will treat you badly.
Are you going to give up? Are you going to allow others to dictate your future? So how do you be a positive leader when the cards seem to be stacked against you? Well, I’m glad you asked. Remember, you never count out a great leader!
Ken Blanchard’s 3 Things Positive Leaders Remember:
- Be a servant leader
- Your number one customer is your people
- Wander around and catch people doing things right
It’s all about your people, not about you. It’s like playing tennis, if you’ve got a great serve, you’re going to win. You MUST be with your people and doing everything you can to make them successful.
If you take care of your people, motivate them, train them, and love on them, then they are going to go out and take care of your number two customer: those that consume your products and services. When they do that, those customers are going to become raving fans of your organization. That will take care of the owners, the shareholders and impact your stakeholders.
Finally, and most importantly, accent the positive. People love for you to praise them. They love for you to notice what they have done. When you praise someone, be specific! “Nice job.” “Appreciate your efforts.” That’s not exactly what you are shooting for here. You want them to know that you saw what they did, how they did it, why it mattered and how it made YOU feel.
Great quotes from this episode:
“Next play.” – Coach Mike Jones of Dematha Catholic High School
“Frustration is an energy killer.” – DeVon Franklin
“Perspective affects performance.” – Inky Johnson
Resources mentioned in this episode:
The Energy Edge Podcast Episode #40 with Alan Stein, Jr.
The Hollywood Commandments: A Spiritual Guide to Secular Success by DeVon Franklin
Thanks for Listening!
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Now, go lead like someone you would want to follow!
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