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Why Baking A Cake Is Leadership in its Purest, Most Delicious Form by David Guerra

Have you ever baked a cake? Most people have at one point or another in their lives have baked a cake. I have baked cakes for as long as I can remember. While cake baking/making is not my vocation (and for good reason) I have baked cakes for many reasons and while all have been tasty, none of them have caused me to quit my day job. All that cake baking has failed to land me a private jet. However, it has done so much for my leadership skills. There are at least three leadership skills that are put into play every time anyone bakes a cake: planning, patience, and doing what you say.

Planning

I would be hard pressed to say that people are ever ready to bake a cake, even bakers. They have to plan for the cake they want to make. They have to know things like flavor, type, number of slices, frosting, frosting type, and any extras. No one just happens to have the flour they need. They plan and prepare for it. Any experience baker will know that you just have a “magical” supply of flour. You have to have an inventory of flour and all the other ingredients to make the cakes you make. Every leader, worth his or her weight in Almond Flour knows before beginning any new project or mission planning must take place. Planning to prepare for the people, resources, and time needed is key to becoming a successful leader.

Patience

Every baker, knows if they do not wait the minimum time to bake a cake the cake will not be done. No one likes a mushy cake, especially when you take it out the oven too soon. On the other side of the coin, no one truly likes a dry  cake. By dry I mean, the Sahara Desert has nothing on how dry the cake is because it sat in the oven for too long. Whether it is baking a cake or leading a group of individuals you have got to have patience to know when to start and the patience to know when to stop.

Doing What You Say

Those that eat the cake know first hand if that baker is worth the investment or not. The baker knows he/she is only as good as the cake that is eaten. If people are not eating the cake then he isn’t putting his money where is mouth is (literally). If the baker is not delivering a quality product then it should come as no surprise that he is not doing what he says he can do which in this case, bake a delicious cake.  Doing and delivering on what you say is essential as a leader, as intent (intending to do something) is not what is going to make you a great leader. Doing things makes you a great leader.

When it comes to being a leader there are so many things that go into becoming the individual that others will follow. However, when it comes to planning, patience, and doing what you say are the top three elements that all future and current leaders must master. To master the top three and just like the cake maker, you have to practice. Practice every day, all day giving no quarter to slacking off. Those that follow you expect nothing less.
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The Hustle. The Grind. And Words of Motivation by David Guerra

Hustle. Grind. Those two words have recently got so much play. So much play in that they are now common place.
 
It seems that Hustling and Grinding has become the norm. Everyone is saying it and everyone believes it. They not only believe it but they are living it, as well.
 
So what’s the problem?
 
The only problem I see is sooner rather than later, as is in most cases, words like Hustle and Grind will lose their punch. They will fade into the background and join the words and phrases like; “go for it”, “kick it up a notch”, “awesome” and so on.
 
Once they fade away, what will replace them? What will be the new “Hustle” and “Grind”? Does it matter?
 
Does it matter?
 
Of course, it matters. I need motivation, you need motivation, we all need motivation. So long as people need motivation, there will be words to motivate them. There will be people to say those words to motivate others (and themselves).
 
As leaders, we have to do and say what it takes to motivate those we are responsible for and lead. Those that follow need to feel inspired, especially from those that voluntarily follow. When those words of motivation start to become commonplace, leaders must remain vigilant to not become someone spouting words that have become tired and old. Any leader that values his followers will ensure that what he or she has to say is fresh and most of all; relevant.
 
After all, that’s all that followers want.
 
A leader that is not only motivated but relevant 100% of the time and that’s non-negotiable.

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What did you think of this blog entry / post?
Let me know by email [email protected] on on Twitter @daveguerra

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Fine Tuning Your Focus by David Guerra

Fine Tuning Your Focus – 16 MARCH 2017

There comes a time when all leaders, novice or masters, start to lose focus either by life becoming cumbersome or intentional. When leaders start to lose their focus is when they start to get sloppy and make mistakes.

While making mistakes is part of being a great leader, making preventable or avoidable mistakes is not the making of a great leader. It is carelessness. Being careless is something that while tolerated at first but is not something that is going to be good for follower retention or acquisition. However, as someone who seeks self-improvement and creating a solution to losing focus there are three things you can work on right now to make that happen.

By restoring your concentration, practicing patience and being consistent you can get your focus back to the level you had (if not better than) before you started noticing you were losing focus on not the little stuff but the big stuff as well. Remember, how you deal with the big and the small stuff contributes to shaping who you are as a leader.

Before I continue, I should explain that when I write leader I mean any leader at any level in any position in the organization. This includes those “recognized leaders” that are NOT in management positions but are individuals that others turn to for guidance or advice. “Recognized leaders” are those staff members that have been around the longest, the tenured staff. To be clear, I am referring to all leaders within the organization.

The individual’s ability to concentrate is key to remaining focused. When your concentration is on point, you are on point. However, with all the bells, whistles, and shiny objects in the modern age concentration is a commodity that is going the way of the Dodo. I know, I sound like I am over exaggerating but have you ever sat down and tried to write an 866 word article with Facebook, Twitter, and Email running in the background? Just three? Yes, as I am writing this after hours I do not have to deal with phone calls or text messages.

How we deal with maintaining concentration varies from person to person. No matter what works for you, remember to avoid what does not work. Of course, what works for me might not work for you. Personally, I prefer two things to help get my concentration back. Over the years, I have tried others but I have found that creating a quiet environment, my room/office, with the door closed is a starting point. Then when I am ready, the music comes on. It will either be classical music (Mozart, Chopin, etc.) or 80s music (Duran Duran, Talking Heads, The Police, etc.) and it is not at a low level. Actually, the level the volume is set is not important as the music acts like white noise. I listen to it, I like it and it works for me. Music as white noise did not always work for me.

I tried many things to help with my focus. Some worked, most did not. Those that worked for me did not work for very long. However, that did not stop me from trying again. To find your way to keep and maintain your focus with no matter what you do, patience is the only constant.

Patience in the sense that it will take time to master getting your focus. Keep working at it and keep trying until you find what works. Most of all do not give up but remain patient. Patient, especially when interruptions occur. When they do happen, address them. Depending on the scope or size of the issue you can either address the issue immediately or request to talk about it later. This decision must be made immediately otherwise why bother attempting to remain focused. The sooner you can get back to work the better off you will be in completing your assigned task.

Through all of this and along with patience you must be consistence. Consistency is key when it comes to making you attempts at finding what works for you a success. You remain consistent by scheduling quiet time daily, schedule open door time daily. Do this every day. Avoid the occasional observance of the quiet time. Remember you have work to do that is non-negotiable, aside from leading people or reporting to managers or directors you have to do work that involves you. Usually this involves paperwork and other administrative activities. That is why it is imperative you stick to finding what works for you to get you focus but to also get that focus fine-tuned.

Finding your focus is not something that only you can do but by encouraging others to do the same, you are creating an environment of focused individuals that are not above doing the impossible but doing the impossible on a consistent basis. However, it will take time so be patient. Most of all, remember that finding what works for you will not be what will work for others. That is why it is important for everyone to remember that all good things take time to achieve but once achieved, the success behind having fine-tuned focus is awesome.

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What did you think of this blog entry / post? Let me know by email [email protected] on on Twitter @daveguerra

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