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Leadership In The News: No Confidence, Lack of Leadership & Lots of Trouble In Missouri (or in Your Business) by David Guerra

What happens when your employees, your customers, your clients, your stakeholders have no confidence in your leadership or in your ability to lead?

Leadership In The News: No Confidence, Lack of Leadership & Lots of Trouble In Missouri (or in Your Business) by David Guerra

What happens when leaders fail to lead? Now, it is quickly becoming the norm to remove those that are failing not only themselves but also the people they are directly responsible for. Those key stakeholders that are critical to the existence of the position of leadership they have been charged with filling, maintaining, and grow.

On Monday, November 9, 2015, the University of Missouri president vacated his position of authority and leadership after failing to properly address, handle, and get out in front of the controversy over “race relations at the school’s main campus”.

The ability to address the good, bad, and ugly is what every leader must do as a leader. While everyone, loves addressing the good, it is the bad and ugly that must be addressed. It is what leaders wanted to do and what they are expected to do. There is no shirking the responsibility of deal with ALL issues whether they go against what they believe or not. By dealing with a bad issue is no way means a leader has failed. It is when that leader fails to address the bad issues that he has failed as a leader.

In most cases, such as the case of the University of Missouri President, his followers and primary stakeholders (the Students) have lost confidence in his leadership and in his ability to do the right thing. The right thing in this case, was getting out in front of the matter at hand.

Now while it may be too late for the U of Missouri President, but it might not be too late for you. If you are not getting out in front of problems, you are most certainly heading in the direction of the dinosaurs, University Presidents that believe the only way to deal with real issues is to deal with them by sticking your head in the ground, and hoping it all goes away.

Real Leaders don’t have time for that kind of nonsense.

Real Leaders KNOW the only way to save time, energy, and manpower is to face the issues head on as quickly, as concisely, and out in front as much as possible.

However, if that is the only way you know how to do business then please don’t even consider yourself a leader. Heck, don’t even call yourself a manager. Call for someone to come pick you up because you are done here.

How do you tackle the hard and soft issues?

reference: http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/09/us/missouri-football-players-protest-president-resigns/index.html

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blog Current Events Leadership Motivation

Leadership in the News: Don’t Do The Crime If You Can’t Do The Time (an Ashley Madison Hack Tragedy)

A Father, Professor, and Pastor took his own life. It seems that this man was a member of the Ashley Madison website (if you don’t know what it is please look it up on your own). Recently, the website was hacked and ALL the info of members of that website were posted on several locations throughout the Internet. Some prominent names appeared on the AM membership rolls as did plain, old everyday people.

However, it seems that the Pastor felt that he could not deal with the potential of being found out as an individual that wanted a little something that the website could give him (or offered). Was it shame or that he felt he let his family down or those that looked up to him? He must have been in a dark place? Thus, the only solution he saw for himself was to take his own life.

Folks, LIFE IS NEVER THAT BAD. Everything can be fixed. Of all the people on that hacked list, he was probably one of the few that truly knew this and more than likely said the exact same thing to others, living in their own dark place, throughout his career as a Pastor.

THIS GOES OUT TO ALL LEADERS:
What you do on your own time is your business. However, when that starts to affect your profession then it might be time to reconsider your actions. Change your ways and get yourself back on track.

The point I am making is if you do the crime you better be prepared to do the time. Thus if you can’t do the time don’t do the crime. Be strong, face it head on and deal with it.

Personally, I believe that if the individual had stepped up and admitted the issue it would have made him a stronger person and a stronger leader. He could have turned this perceived negative into very much a positive. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

When adversity (real or perceived) strikes, it becomes the time for real leaders to step up and shine. Of course, if the adversity is of their own doing then it only serves to show her followers that the leader is human and will make mistakes. It is NOT the time to fall and refuse to get up one more time.

A leader that believes himself to be a true leader will get back up each and every time.
Please don’t be the next one to stay down. You must to stand up.

reference: http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/08/technology/ashley-madison-suicide/index.html
twitter tag: (10 SEPT 15)

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blog Leadership Motivation Tips

Making A Weekly Contact List

When was the last time you made a contact list?

You know what I’m talking about. A contact list. A list of people you need to make contact with this week, next week, every week, ad infinitum.

No! I am not talking about the contact list you get from a Cold Call list. Those are nonsensical. This contact list is NOT about making cold calls. I am most definitely NOT talking about making warm calls either. I am talking about YOU making contact with people and talking to them. Just TALK! No sales, none of that nonsense. Just TALK!

You remember talking don’t you?

You dial up someone from your list, they answer, you say Hello, they say Hello, you ask “How are you doing?”, they answer you and a conversation is born.

Don’t talk about work unless they bring it up first. Of course, once they bring it up all bets are off. However, do not bait them into talking about work.

Just remember, that is NOT what the call was about. The call is ABOUT making contact. It is chiefly about calling and just talking about the weather, the family, next vacation or whatever other than work. That way the person you are calling does not always think you are only calling to make a sale. Also just checking in on people will make it easier for them to answer the phone the next time your name and number pops up on their caller ID screen.

They will want to talk to you (and that’s a good thing).

Who is on the CONTACT LIST?

Well, that is probably the simplest thing. EVERYONE!

OK, maybe not everyone in one sitting but do be selective.

SELECTIVE?

Well kind of selective. It is easy. Do the following make a list of 20 people you will call this week. Next select 11 people that are NOT on your business contact list. Then fill in the remaining 9 with business contacts.Next week, repeat the process. Making absolutely certain that over 50% of your weekly contacts are NOT business related.

Now is the perfect time to make the contact list for this week. Do it and start making those calls!

 

P.S. Don’t be a chicken and send an email instead of making a phone call.