Of the original Fortune 500 companies listed in 1955, only 71 remain on the list today. Companies once deemed indestructible have fallen by the wayside. Corporate titans of enormous influence have completely disappeared in the span of a few decades. Staying power has been rare atop the Fortune 500. Instead, the list has undergone a steady turnover from year to year. Reaching the top is a monumental achievement, but remaining there may be the most spectacular feat of all.
The fate of the Fortune 500 begs the question: Why haven't the best of the best been able to maintain success?
In this edition of Leadership Wired, we'll explore reasons why first place is not an easy place to stay, and we'll look at suggestions to help leaders keep hold of the top spot.
FIRST PLACE ERASERS
The biggest detriment to tomorrow's success is today's success. Winning carries with it a slate of temptations dangerous enough to topple the grandest of corporate CEO's. I call these temptations the first place erasers. Falling prey to them is a surefire ticket to the second tier.
The Momentum Myth - Leaders presiding over good times and high profits begins to relax. Comfort sets in, and the leaders lose their edge. Hard work and a sense of urgency are replaced by naive optimism and idleness. Falsely believing they can coast, leaders fall asleep at the wheel. The end of their vigilance coincides with the end of their time at the top.
The Reputation Factor - Leaders begin to place their position above their production. They live off of yesterday and their best moments. Having already notched big victories, they quit fighting to reach their potential. Consequently, they drive the organization downhill toward mediocrity.
The Entitlement Mindset - Leaders believe they have a right to be number one. Oftentimes these leaders have been given their position rather than having earned it. Expecting preferential treatment, they have an underdeveloped work ethic. As a result, they are unable or unwilling to make the sacrifices required to stay in first place.
The Revolving Door - Leaders quit attributing their success to talented performers at all levels of the organization. People tire of laboring in obscurity, and they move on to new opportunities. Leaders fail to patch the slow leak of talent leaving their teams, and they eventually sink from first place to the middle of the pack.
The Ego Issue - The ego issue trips up leaders who cannot face or admit failure. Since their identity is wrapped in their accomplishments, they do not take ownership of mistakes. To avoid taking responsibility for poor decisions, they may have remarkably high degrees of denial or self-deception. Out of touch, they cannot steer the ship to a first place finish.
Playing Not to Lose - Leaders become cautious and defensive of their perch at the top. They begin to be motivated by fear rather than purpose. Instead of playing to win, they play not to lose. Risk averse and small-minded, they are deficient of the boldness and courage necessary to command a first place team.
HOW TO STAY IN FIRST PLACE
To preserve their first place status, leaders should give extra attention to their passion, practices and people.
Passion
When passion fades, so does a leader's trustworthiness. Gallup conducted a poll in which passion ranked as the leading indicator of credibility within an organization. The results of the survey are hardly surprising. After all, if the leader isn't excited about the purpose of the organization, then why should he or she be trusted? On the flip side, when leaders passionately sacrifice, commit, and invest in their business, they earn the respect of followers and the good faith of constituents.
Passion creates energy. When a leader exudes joy and excitement, he or she magnetically pulls co-workers and customers into a shared vision. Passion is exceptionally strong when linked with a leader's values. When leaders demonstrate principled passion, they are able to appeal to the moral and emotional instincts of those around them.
Practices
Leaders don't rise to the pinnacle of success without developing the right set of attitudes and habits. Healthy habits, practiced consistently over time, will always reap dividends. On the contrary, occasional compromises of values eventually snowball into poor decisions with negative consequences. To keep hold on number one, a leader has to make every day a masterpiece.
People
The best leaders are humble enough to realize their victories depend upon their people. When finding themselves in first place, leaders recognize they are indebted to the ingenuity and talent of those they lead. To stay in first place, leaders have to hand out credit and shine the spotlight on the contributors all around them.
Rabu, Mei 07, 2008
Minggu, Mei 04, 2008
Leadership Corner by Dr. John C. Maxwell - The Challenge of Change
The history of Henry Ford and the Model T illustrates a fundamental truth about leadership: leaders never outgrow the need to change.
On his way to dominating the automotive market with the Model T, Henry Ford embodied innovation and progress. By pioneering the assembly line, Ford slashed the amount of time needed to manufacture an automobile. He installed large conveyor belts in his factory, allowing workers to stay in one place rather than roaming around the factory floor. He also shortened the workday of his employees from nine hours to eight hours so that his factories could operate around the clock.
The efficiencies Ford introduced allowed cars to be manufactured at a fraction of their previous costs. In under a decade, automobiles went from being luxuries affordable only to the wealthiest Americans, to being standard possessions of the average American family. Ford profited handily from the popularity of the Model T, and Ford Motor Company grew into an empire.
However, the dominance of Ford Motor Company was short-lived. As competitors changed their operations to copy Ford's concepts mass production, Henry Ford made a tremendous leadership blunder. With cars rolling off assembly lines like never before, consumers began to demand a variety of colors. However, Ford stubbornly refused, uttering the famous line, "The customer can have any color he wants so long as it's black."
In Ford's mind, producing multiple colors was foolhardy since black paint dried the fastest and could be used most efficiently. Amazingly, Ford did not comprehend the human preference for variety. Customers flocked en masse to other producers who catered to their color preferences, and Ford Motor Company never regained its grip on the market.
For so long, Henry Ford had focused on moving from inefficiency to efficiency that he refused to move in the opposite direction - from efficiency to inefficiency - even when doing so would have been wise and profitable. Ford's genius in sparking change had catapulted him to the pinnacle of American commerce, but later, his inability to change cost him dearly.
In this edition of Leadership Wired, I'd like to overview the central challenges faced by leaders when they try to make changes in their lives. In doing so, I have drawn upon the wisdom of my friend, Sam Chand, author of the book LADDERShifts, and a prominent thinker in the field of leadership and change.
Issues That Make Change A Challenge
Critics
Along the journey of leadership, you'll meet all sorts of people, and I guarantee you'll bump into a few critics. Early in my career, I didn't know how to handle disapproval, and I bent over backward to keep everyone happy. In spite of my best efforts, I failed. Some of my people still didn't like me.
Trying to appease everybody invites trouble. Appeasers end up being average because they always gravitate to the middle of the road. They're afraid to make waves, and therefore, they avoid changes. My leadership began to take flight when I allowed myself to press people to change - whether they thanked me or cursed me.
People You Have Outgrown
As we climb the levels of leadership, we come to the sad realization that most people aren't committed to personal growth. Friends who once shared our dreams begin to settle for second best. Members of our inner circle quit when the journey gets hard. If we are to change ourselves for the better, then we need to change the company we keep.
Eventually, we must change our relationships by disengaging from the people we've outgrown. Disassociating from colleagues can be especially painful given your history together, the contributions they have made in your life, and your personal feelings toward them. Disengaging is painful because you care about them. It's painful because they may not understand why you've drifted away from them. It's painful all the way around, but remember, unless you are willing to endure these pains, your own growth as a leader will be limited. Leaders only grow to the threshold of their pain.
The Weight of Responsibility
When we're young, leadership has an idealistic appeal. We yearn to be in charge and out front, making the decisions. However, the reality of leadership involves the heavy burden of responsibility. Missteps by a leader can affect people's livelihoods or an organization's sustainability. The fear of getting it wrong can paralyze a leader.
If we, as leaders, want to make significant changes to increase our impact, then we must be willing to shoulder progressively greater loads. Although added responsibility gives us a greater opportunity to exercise leadership, it also magnifies the consequences of our mistakes. To be a change agent, a leader must be willing to take ownership of key projects and pivotal decisions.
Personal Inadequacies
As we grow in our leadership, we advance into uncharted territory - areas beyond our comfort zones. Such occasions give us growing pains by confronting us with our inadequacies. Our wisdom fails to solve a problem, or we stumble into a situation requiring more wisdom than we possess.
Facing our limitations can be daunting. At times, we'd rather stick to familiar roads than blaze a new trail and risk failure. Ultimately, pushing our personal boundaries is the surest way to grow, improve, and expand the scope of our influence.
Review
Issues That Make Change A Challenge:
On his way to dominating the automotive market with the Model T, Henry Ford embodied innovation and progress. By pioneering the assembly line, Ford slashed the amount of time needed to manufacture an automobile. He installed large conveyor belts in his factory, allowing workers to stay in one place rather than roaming around the factory floor. He also shortened the workday of his employees from nine hours to eight hours so that his factories could operate around the clock.
The efficiencies Ford introduced allowed cars to be manufactured at a fraction of their previous costs. In under a decade, automobiles went from being luxuries affordable only to the wealthiest Americans, to being standard possessions of the average American family. Ford profited handily from the popularity of the Model T, and Ford Motor Company grew into an empire.
However, the dominance of Ford Motor Company was short-lived. As competitors changed their operations to copy Ford's concepts mass production, Henry Ford made a tremendous leadership blunder. With cars rolling off assembly lines like never before, consumers began to demand a variety of colors. However, Ford stubbornly refused, uttering the famous line, "The customer can have any color he wants so long as it's black."
In Ford's mind, producing multiple colors was foolhardy since black paint dried the fastest and could be used most efficiently. Amazingly, Ford did not comprehend the human preference for variety. Customers flocked en masse to other producers who catered to their color preferences, and Ford Motor Company never regained its grip on the market.
For so long, Henry Ford had focused on moving from inefficiency to efficiency that he refused to move in the opposite direction - from efficiency to inefficiency - even when doing so would have been wise and profitable. Ford's genius in sparking change had catapulted him to the pinnacle of American commerce, but later, his inability to change cost him dearly.
In this edition of Leadership Wired, I'd like to overview the central challenges faced by leaders when they try to make changes in their lives. In doing so, I have drawn upon the wisdom of my friend, Sam Chand, author of the book LADDERShifts, and a prominent thinker in the field of leadership and change.
Issues That Make Change A Challenge
Critics
Along the journey of leadership, you'll meet all sorts of people, and I guarantee you'll bump into a few critics. Early in my career, I didn't know how to handle disapproval, and I bent over backward to keep everyone happy. In spite of my best efforts, I failed. Some of my people still didn't like me.
Trying to appease everybody invites trouble. Appeasers end up being average because they always gravitate to the middle of the road. They're afraid to make waves, and therefore, they avoid changes. My leadership began to take flight when I allowed myself to press people to change - whether they thanked me or cursed me.
People You Have Outgrown
As we climb the levels of leadership, we come to the sad realization that most people aren't committed to personal growth. Friends who once shared our dreams begin to settle for second best. Members of our inner circle quit when the journey gets hard. If we are to change ourselves for the better, then we need to change the company we keep.
Eventually, we must change our relationships by disengaging from the people we've outgrown. Disassociating from colleagues can be especially painful given your history together, the contributions they have made in your life, and your personal feelings toward them. Disengaging is painful because you care about them. It's painful because they may not understand why you've drifted away from them. It's painful all the way around, but remember, unless you are willing to endure these pains, your own growth as a leader will be limited. Leaders only grow to the threshold of their pain.
The Weight of Responsibility
When we're young, leadership has an idealistic appeal. We yearn to be in charge and out front, making the decisions. However, the reality of leadership involves the heavy burden of responsibility. Missteps by a leader can affect people's livelihoods or an organization's sustainability. The fear of getting it wrong can paralyze a leader.
If we, as leaders, want to make significant changes to increase our impact, then we must be willing to shoulder progressively greater loads. Although added responsibility gives us a greater opportunity to exercise leadership, it also magnifies the consequences of our mistakes. To be a change agent, a leader must be willing to take ownership of key projects and pivotal decisions.
Personal Inadequacies
As we grow in our leadership, we advance into uncharted territory - areas beyond our comfort zones. Such occasions give us growing pains by confronting us with our inadequacies. Our wisdom fails to solve a problem, or we stumble into a situation requiring more wisdom than we possess.
Facing our limitations can be daunting. At times, we'd rather stick to familiar roads than blaze a new trail and risk failure. Ultimately, pushing our personal boundaries is the surest way to grow, improve, and expand the scope of our influence.
Review
Issues That Make Change A Challenge:
- Critics
- People We've Outgrown
- The Weight of Responsibility
- Personal Inadequacies
Relationship Corner by DR. Gary Chapman - Discovering Your Love Language
Do you really feel loved by your spouse? Does your spouse feel loved by you? If not, then perhaps it is because you've never learned to speak each others' primary love language. There are only five, and each of us has one that speaks to us more deeply than the others. What are these five love languages and how do you discover your primary language? Which of these makes you feel most loved?
Words of affirmation - using words that express appreciation.
Quality time - giving the person your undivided attention.
Receiving Gifts - a gift says, “They were thinking of me.”
Acts of Service - doing something that you know the person would like for you to do.
Physical touch - tender, loving touch.
What Hurts?
What makes you feel most loved by your spouse? What do you desire above all else? If the answer to these questions does not leap to your mind, perhaps it will help to look at the negative use of the love languages. What does your spouse do or say that hurts you deeply? If your deepest pain is the critical words of your spouse, then perhaps your love language is 'Words of Affirmation.'
What Do I Request?
Another approach to discovering your primary love language is to ask, “What have I most often requested of my spouse?” One wife said, “When I asked that question, my love language became obvious. I have requested 'Quality Time'. Over and over again, I have asked him if we could take a walk together, or just turn the TV off for one hour and talk. I have felt neglected and unloved because seldom did he ever respond to my request.”
Keep Learning!
What do I complain about the most? What do I request most often? How do I normally show my love to others? Answer these three questions and you will know your love language. Turn them around and you can discover the love language of your spouse.
One of our deepest desires is to feel that we are genuinely loved by our spouse. The key to meeting each others' need for love is to learn what really makes the other person feel loved, and do it regularly. If you don’t speak each others' primary love language, you may be sincere in speaking the others, but your spouse will not feel loved. Review the five love languages listed above.
Excerpt taken from The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate by Gary Chapman. To find out more about Gary Chapman's resources, visit www.fivelovelanguages.com.
submitted by
Anton Karya
SalesForce Motivator
http://www.antonkarya.co.cc
0818922388 / 021-32122188
Words of affirmation - using words that express appreciation.
Quality time - giving the person your undivided attention.
Receiving Gifts - a gift says, “They were thinking of me.”
Acts of Service - doing something that you know the person would like for you to do.
Physical touch - tender, loving touch.
What Hurts?
What makes you feel most loved by your spouse? What do you desire above all else? If the answer to these questions does not leap to your mind, perhaps it will help to look at the negative use of the love languages. What does your spouse do or say that hurts you deeply? If your deepest pain is the critical words of your spouse, then perhaps your love language is 'Words of Affirmation.'
What Do I Request?
Another approach to discovering your primary love language is to ask, “What have I most often requested of my spouse?” One wife said, “When I asked that question, my love language became obvious. I have requested 'Quality Time'. Over and over again, I have asked him if we could take a walk together, or just turn the TV off for one hour and talk. I have felt neglected and unloved because seldom did he ever respond to my request.”
Keep Learning!
What do I complain about the most? What do I request most often? How do I normally show my love to others? Answer these three questions and you will know your love language. Turn them around and you can discover the love language of your spouse.
One of our deepest desires is to feel that we are genuinely loved by our spouse. The key to meeting each others' need for love is to learn what really makes the other person feel loved, and do it regularly. If you don’t speak each others' primary love language, you may be sincere in speaking the others, but your spouse will not feel loved. Review the five love languages listed above.
Excerpt taken from The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate by Gary Chapman. To find out more about Gary Chapman's resources, visit www.fivelovelanguages.com.
submitted by
Anton Karya
SalesForce Motivator
http://www.antonkarya.co.cc
0818922388 / 021-32122188
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