Margret Thatcher is Leadership

“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end.  It is not a day when you lounged around doing nothing.  It’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it.”

Margaret Thatcher

No question, she had a lot of supremely satisfied days.  That quote has sat on my desk for years, and I  only wish I lived up to it more often.  Margaret Thatcher was an absolutely amazing leader.  While I will never say anyone was “the best ever”, I will say she sits squarely in any Top Ten List.

If there is one trait above all others Lady Thatcher had, it was conviction.  She had a vision, a plan, a mission, and she was absolutely committed.  Leadership means a great many things, but in the end it is the ability to inspire people to reach new heights, to take them beyond where they are and take them to a level previously unattained.  As Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher knew exactly the direction she wanted to go, she had a very specific vision of the world and her country, and she was without question committed to that vision.  She was The Iron Lady; it was a fitting moniker.

However, with that conviction went a very pragmatic side.  To her critics she was cold, unwilling to compromise, uncaring.  While she never wavered in her convictions, she was very pragmatic in meeting her goals.  She knew that relationships, working with others, bargaining and shared visions were the key to real, long-lasting change.  For all of her rhetoric and staunch committment as a “cold warrior”, when Gorbachev came onto the scene she realized she had a partner with whom she could work to truly bring about change.  Though her goals never changed, she was pragmatic in working with the Soviet leader to help bring an end to the Cold War.  Commitment without pragmatism is just being stubborn.  Not sacrificing the vision while working with others is real leadership.

Clear, concise and compelling.  Leaders are by nature great communicators, they are able to relate to an audience, to convey a message.  There is no question, Lady Thatcher was all that…just google some of her quotes…amazing.

Though there are many, many things I have always admired about Lady Thatcher, one of the most treasured leadership, and quite frankly life lessons, I have gleaned is that she never took things personally.  It seems so simple really, yet it is so terribly important.  The Falklands War put the “special” relationship with the United States and especially her friendship with President Reagan under extreme pressure.  She accepted that the United States, and even her personal friend, would not support her and the UK in their mission.  It was a bitter pill, yet she understood that it was not personal.  The Falklands War passed and the US/UK and Reagan/Thatcher relationship returned to normal.  There were no hurt feelings, no grudges, no recriminations.  It was just business.  It was not personal.  A leader has to put aside their own needs and even at times their own feelings, hurt or otherwise, and remain focused on the bigger picture.

Lastly, Lady Thatcher was just that, a lady.  She carried herself with a poise, a confidence, a grace; she had a presence that a great leader must posses.  She was clearly bright, witty and by many accounts warm.   She was able to utilize humor and direct language in such a way that made one see her as a leader first.  Obviously she was a woman in a male dominated profession, yet she never saw that as an issue.  The Lady had class…you could just tell.

In the final analysis, when you are compared to Winston Churchill, you must have done something right.  Take away the political, social, and economic policies and just look at the person, their accomplishments and their legacy; Margaret Thatcher certainly is in that category of great leaders.  She was ahead of her time in many ways, yet she was also the absolute right person, in the right place, at absolutely the right moment.  However, what made her such a great leader is truly timeless.  Her conviction, her vision, her ability to relate that vision, to give and take without ever sacrificing her convictions.  Those are the benchmarks of great leadership.

If You Build It (and advertise it)…

…they will come, or so goes the line from that classic movie Field of Dreams.  The actual quote is “if you build it, he will come”, but for many of us it is often quoted as “they”.  It is something we hear quite often in business, someone, some company, some product, or some service is absolutely perfect, yet the desired end result is unfortunately never reached.  The person does not find the job, the company does not find the right candidate, the product or service does not sell.  The issue is not that it was built, the issue is that no one came.

The closing scene of Field of Dreams shows cars lined up to the horizon, coming to the baseball diamond in the corn fields of Iowa.  Not only did “he come”, but “they came”.  The main character and his father are re-united for that game of catch, and the struggling farm is saved thanks to all the people coming to visit what was built.  It is pure hollywood and pure fantasy.  A great movie, but pure fiction.  Yet we have all heard “if you build it, they will come” not just as a cliché, but pointed to as a strategy for success.

Creating something is half the battle, the other half is advertising and marketing, sales and messaging.  The world’s greatest mouse trap is useless if no one knows of it.  Yet, so often all the efforts are placed on the front end, the creation phase.  Though some businesses drop the ball on the marketing front, where we do see the disconnect quite often is with those folks who are in transition.

“My LinkedIn profile is updated”, “I have applied online”, “I created an online profile”, “I have a great social media page”, “I am on The Ladders”, or whatever the website du jour might be, are refrains we hear often.  Are those actions appropriate – sure.  However, they are all, to one degree or another, passive behaviors.  Real success is much more likely if one actively markets what they have created.  Relying on the fortunes of luck, of someone “finding you” is completely passive and completely arbitrary.  Yes, it can work, but the odds are certainly improved if one is actively promoting what they have created.

Opening Day, well at this point Opening Week, always has my mind turning back to baseball.  It is another of those baseball related sayings “hope springs eternal” that tends to get batted around during this week.  It is ironic in a way, the classic baseball related quotes: “if you build it, he/they will come” and “hope springs eternal” are both passive phrases.  They are wonderful and make you feel all warm and fuzzy, but they are completely built on faith and hope of what might happen to or for you.  They do not reflect the reality – playoff baseball teams and World Series winners are not created by hope, they are created through work, planning, practice and grinding through the season, along with a bit of luck.  Just like successful business and just like successfully finding opportunities.

Bull Durham, Major League and Field of Dreams.  Three movies I can, and certainly have, watched over and over.  With it being opening week, or weekend, I can hope they will be on TV at some point, or I can take positive action and ensure I see them.

I Wanna be Like Mike…at least in this respect

 

It might not be the single easiest thing to do, but it ranks in the top ten: Telling someone else what to do. Not when or how, that is hard. But what, that is super easy.  Seems only fitting to “remind” us all of what to do…be like Mike, and Wayne too.

Last weekend it was all about Michael Jordan turning 50 – highlights, stories, interviews and just reminders of how great a player he was, as well as reminders of what a person he is and was, warts and all.  Yet it was seeing one of his quotes that struck a chord:

I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

~Michael Jordan

For all that has been said about MJ, good and bad, past and present, it is that quote that has stayed with me.  Personally and professionally, I wish I heeded his words more often.  It is a great reminder that in the end it is all about taking action.  There are literally thousands of clichés and quotes on the topic, but coming from MJ, well it just seems to resonate a bit more.

And that of course leads to the reminder from “The Great One”:

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

~Wayne Gretzky

So in the spirit of taking the easy way, it seems only fair to remind myself of what to do, or in the vernacular of Nike, to “Just Do It”.  MJ and Gretzky transcended their sport, and sports in general.  They are quite literally icons.  They became what and who they are by doing.  They did not worry about missing shots, failure in general, or what others might think.  They took action, over and over again.  Sometimes they failed, but sometimes they were successful.  There is a reason they are not anonymous 50+ year olds living in North Carolina or Ontario.  Physical gifts aside, they took risks, and that made all the difference.

 

On a personal note, I was fortunate to see Michael Jordan play live just once, and yes he was that good.  Though he had his comeback, this is the way I will always think of and remember Michael Jordan, leaving the game on top…what a moment.

No “Rest of the Story” Needed

It was the voice. For many that grew up in certain times and in certain areas, it is unmistakable. And at some point after the “power outage” but before the end of the game, I was stopped dead in my tracks as I was walking out of the room so I could watch a commercial.  It was all because I heard that voice.  However it was the message that made us all stop and think.

I grew up on Paul Harvey, 4H, FFA and the family farm culture of the Midwest. For me radio consisted of classic rock, Jack Buck calling Cardinal games and Paul Harvey doing his folksy news thing.  We would laugh at our parents for listening to “those stations”, yet you could not walk away when he was doing the news.  There was just something special there that worked…even for a kid.  Dodge tapped into that yesterday, and it was brilliant.

It was an interesting contrast, the personalities and characteristics of the celebrities, entertainers and athletes the entire event provided, and the message of that one simple commercial.  Actually it was nothing more than an edited speech from the late 1970′s layered over still photos.   All the flash and hype, hip vibe and cutting edge technology came to a halt for two minutes…it was an amazing contrast.

There really is nothing to expand upon. The message stands alone. That is the best example there is really…just a timeless message of fundamental behaviours and core character traits, delivered in a classic, timeless style.  No flashy production, no actors or celebrities, nothing but a message of values and traits.  Great reminder and brilliant marketing.

Super Bowl, Super Irony and Super Clarity

Super Bowl week, a week of unrelenting media bombardment and hype. Stories of what might happen, what should happen, and commercials.  Blows my mind that as a society we get wound-up over the idea of how well something is going to be pitched to us for our consumption.  Then again, the commercials are sometimes more entertaining than the game.   Super Bowl Sunday has become a part of our national fabric.  And this year is no different, except for a story that broke on Tuesday regarding Performance Enhancing Drugs. Sort of makes me feel like it is cycling season. However, this time names like Alex Rodriguez and Ray Lewis, and a bunch of other “mainstream” athletes are tied to the story.

Here we sit on Friday, and not a word of the story.  It was a story for 24 hours, then it was simply swept away or ignored…48 hours later hardly a peep.  And the response from Ray Lewis to the media in New Orleans, well it sounded a lot like other comments we have heard from other high-profile athletes over the years.  It was all a bit ironic, the face of the sport, on the sports biggest stage, with a world-wide audience, denying, minimizing the story and ultimately turning the spot-light onto the accusers, their motivations and their credibility.  Love irony, just love it.

As we reach the end of the week, irony has brought clarity – the NFL is too big to fail.  Same goes for MLB.  A-Rod and Ray Lewis are marquee players, faces of their sport, and no one cares about what they did or did not do when it comes to PEDs.  It is so clear what is valued and what is not.  Marion Jones cheated and lied; she went to prison.  Lance cheated and is literally and figuratively only beginning to paying the price.  Ray Lewis, A-Rod, Bonds, Clemens, or any of the others in the NFL or MLB…not a dime.  Nothing.  It is another moment of clarity.

Now the real irony is the fact that one of the government’s reasons for going after Lance is because of the US Postal Service sponsorship of the cycling team.  The positive press the US Postal Service received for those years was absolutely massive.  It was a marketing coup and might represent one of the best advertising investments in the history of marketing, yet the government feels they were a victim of fraud.  The US Postal Service has had two other positive moments in its entire history before the cycling team, the Pony Express and “neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow”.  Gotta love irony.

Clearly, like everyone else in the country, I will be watching the Super Bowl Sunday.  Well, after I get back from my bike ride that is…

Lincoln, Leadership and Another of the “Little Things”

President Abraham Lincoln is in fashion. Kind of humorous to think of it that way, but it is certainly the case. Actually Lincoln tends to ebb and flow…he never really falls out of favor, and that is a good thing. However there is no denying that thanks to Lincoln the movie, he is at the forefront of our consciousness.  Yes, it is a very, very good film.

I have always had a huge bias towards President Lincoln.  Part of it obviously comes from growing up in Central Illinois, part of it comes from having quite a few undergrad classes at Lincoln Hall, and part of it comes from just years of reading and study.  There is so much to learn from the man and his story.  Lincoln on Leadership is still one of my all-time favorites, and Team of Rivals is an excellent read.  Though there are no absolute right answers when it comes to leadership, so much can be learned from Lincoln.  His story, his actions, his example; he is easily at the top of the list when it comes to standards of leadership excellence.

While watching the movie, another one of those little aspects of great leadership was illustrated time and again by Daniel Day-Lewis as he portrayed Lincoln.  It was such a small thing, and something that is sometimes lost in our modern world – the personal touch.  Throughout the film there were numerous examples of Lincoln’s personal touch, both figuratively and literally.  It was clear that he listened, that he would build a connection by focusing on a person, that he would engage people on a core level; he would touch them in a figurative sense.  There was also a literal piece to the personal touch – a pat on a shoulder, a hand shake, a grasping of hands – literally reaching out to a person.  Obviously our PC (both politically correct and personal computer) world does not allow for such things as often, but dare I say there is a time and a place for both the figurative and literal personal touch in leadership.

Granted, it is a movie.  A well written and exceptionally well acted movie, but still a fictional portrayal.  Yet it was seeing these small gestures, and the impact it had on others, that drove home the point that leadership is about personal connections.  Lincoln teaches so many lessons in perserverance, focus, committment, caring, and on and on, but it was great to be reminded of another of the small things that can and do make such a huge difference.

Lance…On Leadership…On Oprah?

“Do as I say, not as I do” or “do as I do, not as I say”.  Two of the classic, cynical expressions of leadership philosophy.  Neither are flattering of course, yet both are rooted in one of the fundamental truths of leadership…there is saying and there is doing.  And thanks to a quick 30 second exchange between Lance and Oprah (that whole “one name only” theory), we are reminded of that reality that confronts all leaders…you are always setting an example.  You are always leading.

There was a brief period during last nights interview where the topic of leadership came up, and regardless of what one thinks of the entire Lance/doping/cycling/deceit issue, his statements were a huge reminder and caution to everyone in a leadership role.

“…I was the leader of the team and the leader leads by example. There was never a direct order. That never happened. We were all grown men and made our choices. There were team-mates who didn’t dope.”

“…There was a level of expectation. We expected guys to be fit to be able to compete. I’m not the most believable guy in the world right now. If I do it I’m leading by example so that’s a problem.

“I view one as a verbal directive and that didn’t exist. I take that. The leader of the team, the guy that my team-mates looked up to, I accept that 100%.

What is not important is how believable Lance might be.  What is incredibly important is what he said about leadership.  His example set the tone.  He was very clear in what was expected – the team was 100% committed to ensuing Lance won the Tour de France.  He was also very clear in how that would be done – the team would be the most fit.  How each individual rider achieved that level of fitness – well…who knows the full truth.  And that is the leadership lesson, the message does not have to be spoken to be received.

Leadership is obviously about what you say…the vision you communicate, the positive reinforcement and encouragement, the directing and correcting, and all the other spoken, written and even tweeted parts of the verbal message.  ”Just get it done”, “We have to reach our goal”, “I can always count on you to make it happen”, “I don’t want to know”, “We have never failed”.   Maybe some version has been said to you, maybe you have used some version of the phrases in a harmless attempt to motivate, inspire or convey a sense of urgency.  Regardless, there is a message there.

Leadership is also about what you do, the example you set and the environment you create.  There is the praise and reward issue…who is being singled out…for good or bad?  Are you turning a blind eye to what had to be done for the result to be achieved?  Is cutting corners okay when it is busy?  Do the ends justify the means?  Who are you adding to the team (hiring)?  Who is leaving the team, and why?  What is the vibe, the environment, the culture?

Leadership is hard.  Even when done poorly, it is not easy.  The phrase “the burden of leadership” is real.  It is real on a host of levels, but one of the very real burdens is that it is a 24/7/365 role.  What you say, what you do, how you do it, with whom you surround yourself, those you praise, the behaviours you reward; it all matters and it is all evaluated by others.  There is no perfect, all-encompassing, easy answer to how one leads.  However, there is no escaping that every aspect of a leaders behaviour and actions, and their message, spoken or implied, are all constantly being evaluated.

So, for the second night in a row, and the second time in my life, I will be purposely tuning in to watch Oprah.  Well, going to the website and streaming it.  Who would have ever imagined, leadership lessons from Lance and logging onto Oprah.com on a Friday evening.  Strange world sometimes…