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by Rick Baker
On Sep 8, 2016
Small business is fascinating territory...small businesses capture the full range of people, personalities and business thinking. When it comes to leadership at small businesses, again, that is fascinating territory covering the full range.
But, this note will focus on just one type of small-business leader.
That small-business leader can be described using words like:
These impressive qualities define that small-business leader’s mindset.
You know this type of small-business leader. You meet this type of small-business leader frequently, probably every day. You meet this type of small-business leader in the restaurants where you eat, in the offices you visit during your workday, in the factories where you work, in the theaters where you wind down, in the convenience stores where you make small purchases...these small-business leaders are almost everywhere you look.
Perhaps, you know one of these small-business leaders as your boss?
Perhaps, you never thought of your boss that way? - as being a small-business leader? as possessing those impressive qualities?
Perhaps, you have had a much harsher view of your boss? - as being a rather flawed individual? as being too demanding or money-hungry?
Perhaps, you have the ability to set aside your present thinking and open your mind to the possibility that your boss is 'that small-business leader'? - creating value for others, clients and suppliers? - bearing risks and creating opportunities for you and your coworkers?
Yes - you can see the tremendous value embedded in that small-business leader's mindset.
by Rick Baker
On Aug 29, 2016
William MacDonald described Benjamin Franklin as a man who could control the common littleness of human nature1. It is clear MacDonald had tremendous respect for the special gifts Benjamin Franklin brought to Mankind, as a citizen of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the United States of America…and the rest of the world.
When MacDonald talked of Franklin controlling the littlenesses of human nature, he was describing Franklin’s innate ability to understand the littlenesses housed in himself and other people and adjust himself in order to get around those littlenesses so he and others could accomplish great things.
By the mid-1700’s, when he was less than 50 years old, Benjamin Franklin had become a worldwide phenomenon…a true polymath…a true leader of men…a true leader of thought...a leader in scientific thought...a true hero.
Franklin’s accomplishments are mind-boggling.
As examples:
By his early 20’s Franklin was a self-made business success.
By his late 40’s Franklin was recognized [worldwide] as a gifted scientist.
Between those milestones he had:
- created a mastermind, gathering intelligent friends to philosophize, share ideas and create practical solutions to Philadelphia's problems [his Junto, also known as the Leather Apron Club]
- created time-management/personal-organization tools and decision-making tools...his pioneer work in this area lives on in legacy, for example - 'Franklin Covey'
- co-founded an early [if not America’s first] subscription library
- co-founded an academy that became the University of Pennsylvania
- led the community movement that funded the first paving of roads in Philadelphia
- built an international printing empire by creating partnerships, funding & franchising a series of strategically-located print shops
- built a successful newspaper - the Pennsylvania Gazette
- created a bestseller – 'Poor Richard’s Almanack'
- created Philadelphia’s first volunteer fire brigade
- taught himself French, Italian and Spanish languages
- served as Philadelphia's postmaster
- invented the Franklin Stove, an energy-efficient heating system still in use today…then refused to patent it because he felt he had benefited from others’ inventions so others should benefit from his
Of course, Franklin was a well-respected civic and provincial politician…long before he became America’s political representative to other nations prior to, during, and after the American Revolution.
Yes – Franklin was one of the 56 who risked the gallows2 by signing the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
And, of course, Ben Franklin did that experiment with a storm, lightning, a kite and a key…and he invented the lighting rod and the best methods of installing it. This invention illustrated to the world that electricity could be controlled, to a degree, by Mankind. That illustration helped introduce a new era of scientific thought and experimentation that is still advancing today. And the lightning rod saved countless lives and reduced, on a world-wide basis, damage and loss of property caused by lighting fires.
On top of these things, Franklin was a commissioned Colonel who built a series of fortresses to protect Pennsylvanians from the French and Indian invasions in the mid-1700's, He personally led Pennsylvanians into battle against these invading forces...he led peace talks with the native Indians and, after the war had ended, he ensured the protection of peaceful Indians from unruly Pennsylvanian mobs.
Benjamin Franklin did much more than these things.
Here's another sampling...
Franklin left Boston at the age of 16, venturing out on his own to Philadelphia. He was a vegetarian during his teenage years. He understood the value of character and he practiced character-building ‘virtues’ throughout his life. This practice started when Franklin was about 20 years old. Somehow, he was wise well beyond his years. Somehow, he understood his ‘littlenesses of human nature’ and he committed to removing his own to full extent he could accomplish that goal. Benjamin Franklin worked on that throughout his life, for over 60 years. Franklin's desire to design and build his character along strict guidelines allowed him to control many, but not all, his ‘littlenesses’. He was candid about his shortcomings and he took a humble stance on his amazing accomplishments.
Benjamin Franking is a man worth studying…and his practices - his good habits - are certainly worth emulating.
It is never too late to start emulating heroes.
Footnotes
- 'The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin: Now First Printed in England from the Full and Authentic Text', (1905)
- These are words Napoleon Hill used to describe the ‘founding fathers’ of what is now the U.S.A.
by Rick Baker
On Jun 1, 2016
During the last 15 years [perhaps, triggered by Stephen R. Covey?] much advice from the leadership experts/gurus is in the zone of altruism, often described as touchy/feely.
The more I think about this trend of touchy/feely/altruistic advice the more I think it is missing the mark. Sure, advice recommending compassion/kindness/empathy/righteousness and greater-causes-than-self contains some value. I am not questioning that fact. I am questioning (1) the merit tied to that being the lion’s share of the advice and (2) whether or not that even half-fits “Western Culture” human beings who do business for a living.
For example, Simon Sinek recently wrote:
“Anyone could be a leader if there was no cost. True leaders willingly pay a price, to sacrifice self-interest, to have the honor to lead.”
Simon is writing about sacrificing self-interest…and teaching that sacrificing self-interest is a good thing for leaders to do.
I think human beings are pre-disposed to attend to and to serve their self-interests. That’s not a bad thing. It’s a good thing. First, serving self-interest keeps us alive. We need food, shelter, etc. and sooner or later we must serve these basic self-interests or we die.
One question I’m asking: When do self-interests become problems that require a sacrifice-fix? As we work our way through Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’…do self-interests become problems after they go beyond Safety and Security…say, when they become ‘Self-actualisation’ interests? Are people like Simon Sinek [and other self-help gurus] trying to tell us self-actualisation is a bad thing?
If so, I think the gurus are ahead of their time. They are sending messages to “Humans 1.0” that will not fit until many of us evolve into “Humans 2.0”…maybe not even until we evolve into “Humans 3.0”.
Putting it another way – we [Humans 1.0] are predisposed to serving our basic self-interests, including safety needs and security needs, and we are also predisposed to serve our higher-interests, including self-actualisation. When gurus tell us we should sacrifice these self-interests they are speaking in a language that will not make sense to us until we evolve into Humans 2.0 [or, perhaps, Humans 3.0].
PS: Bakespeare asked me to add, “It’s a flawed leap of logic that feels true leaders sacrifice self-interest and false leaders do not. Never, in the history of Mankind, has a leader succeeded by not serving self-interests.”
PPS: My suggestions about Gandhi swayed Bakespeare just a tiny bit…he agreed people like Gandhi and Mother Theresa exemplify altruism…if they were alive today maybe they would support the self-sacrifice arguments presented by the business-leadership gurus. On the other hand, if they were alive today they probably would not be running businesses. We ought not to compare business leaders with people like Gandhi and Mother Theresa.
by Rick Baker
On May 31, 2016
Sometimes the business-leadership gurus go too far.
Love Your Clients
When you stop to think about it, isn't the word "love" just a bit too strong for supplier-client relationships? There are plenty of poignant history and romance stories about dying for loved ones – people making the ultimate sacrifice for lovers, family and loved friends. However, I've never seen one movie or read one book where a supplier loves a client to death. And, what about sending Valentines love notes, roses, and chocolates to clients - does that make sense?
Let's set aside the hyperbolic ideas promoting love for clients and let's commit more brainpower to figuring out how to deliver value to them, on time, at a fair price.
Fail Fast & Fail Often
Fail fast and fail often...there's another troubling concept. Frenetic action aimed toward frenzied failure - what good can come of that! Sure, no argument – taking baby steps toward small goals is a great strategy. But, let's not forget the goal of each baby step is success not failure. Sure, we need to be able to differentiate between successes and failures and learn from our errors. But, let’s not forget haste makes waste or the wonderful story of the tortoise beating the hare.
Let’s set aside the trendy but fuzzy logic that encourages fast-paced dominoes of failure and let’s think a bit more before taking action, i.e., so we can enjoy the benefits of planning our work and working our plan.
Other Fuzzy Fads for Success
I’m not suggesting we should ignore the advice of business and success gurus. Quite the opposite. We should consume the advice of the gurus. We should observe it ‘in real time’, using our wonderful brains, picking out the good pieces and formulating our own business and success philosophies. And we should spit out the pieces that we simply cannot digest.
by Rick Baker
On May 30, 2016
1. Over all other traits of leadership character, Courage reigns supreme. [Link to over 130 thoughts about Courage]
2. In the absence of Courage, bad things happen; in the presence of Courage, good things happen.
3. People Do Only 3 Things: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things. From this premise we quickly see how our bad habits survive and thrive in the absence of Courage.
4. Discomfort signals the need for Courage. Facing discomfort, our minds determine whether or not Courage arrives. Our minds can welcome and embrace Courage or cause our backs to shy away from Courage. The fact is, Courage is a choice.
5. When it comes to building personal character, Courage is the father of many children. It seems Self-confidence may be the first born. Self-confidence is 'born pure'. It arrives fearless, obliviously fearless. (Just watch any toddler.) Early in life external factors, people and environment, work to weaken Self-confidence. Father Courage must step in to help Self-confidence gain and maintain a solid footing. Over time, Self-confidence is able to stand steady and hold fast on its own...needing only occasional support from Courage, who remains always close by. When Courage and Self-confidence walk together through life...good leadership has a good chance to flourish.
6. Courage paves the path for peace of mind. "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." That's a slogan Franklin Delano Roosevelt used when he was US President, during the Great Depression. (I wonder if his advisor, my inspirational hero Napoleon Hill, actually wrote that famous phrase.) For me, the slogan "We have nothing to fear but fear itself" means Roosevelt saw fear as the enemy, an enemy that must be resisted and fought on every front and at every opportunity. When fear prevails in people's minds they are severely weakened. When minds are weakened by fear, little of value can be accomplished. Having personally fought and limited the damage of the dreaded polio disease, Roosevelt knew these things. He knew Courage was the only antidote and he injected it into people's minds with that famous slogan...and clear, decisive action. With the help of a team of inspired/confident followers, Roosevelt led the series of actions that [with concerted and persistent effort] broke the back of the Great Depression.
7. Over all other traits of leadership character, Courage reigns supreme!
by Rick Baker
On May 24, 2016
I’m thinking quite a bit about advice that helps leaders...i.e., When we want to provide advice to leaders, how do we hit the mark?
How do we provide valuable advice to true leaders?
During the last 15 years [perhaps, triggered by Stephen R. Covey?] much advice from the leadership experts/gurus is in the zone of touchy/feely altruism.
The more I think about this trend of touchy/feely/altruistic advice the more I think it is missing the mark. Sure, compassion/kindness/empathy/righteousness and greater-causes-than-self advice contains some value. I am not questioning that fact. I am questioning (1) the merit tied to that being the lion’s share of the advice and (2) whether or not that even half-fits “Western Culture” human beings who do business for a living.
For example, Simon Sinek wrote:
“Anyone could be a leader if there was no cost. True leaders willingly pay a price, to sacrifice self interest, to have the honor to lead.”
Simon is writing about sacrificing self-interest…and the message I am reading is – Sacrificing self-interest is a good thing for leaders to do.
I think human beings are pre-disposed to attend to and to serve their self-interests. That’s not a bad thing. It’s a good thing. First, serving self-interest keeps us alive. We need food, shelter, etc. and sooner or later we must serve these basic self-interests or we die.
One question I’m asking: When do self-interests become problems that require a sacrifice-fix? As we work our way through Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’…do self-interests become problems after they go beyond Safety and Security…say, when they become ‘Self-actualisation’ interests? Are people like Simon Sinek [and other self-help gurus] trying to tell us self-actualisation is a bad thing?
If so, I think many of the business-leadership gurus are ahead of their time. They are sending messages to “Humans 1.0” that will not fit until many of us evolve into “Humans 2.0”…maybe not until we evolve into “Humans 3.0”.
Putting it another way – we [Humans 1.0] are predisposed to serve our basic self-interests, including safety needs and security needs, and we are also predisposed to serve our higher-interests, including self-actualisation. When self-help gurus tell us we should sacrifice any of these self-interests they are speaking in a language that will not make sense to us until we evolve into Humans 2.0 [or, perhaps, Humans 3.0].
PS: Bakespeare asked me to add, “It’s a flawed leap of logic that claims leaders who serve their self-interests are not true leaders. Never, in the history of Mankind, has a leader succeeded by not serving self-interests.”
PPS: My suggestions about Gandhi swayed Bakespeare just a tiny bit…he agreed people like Gandhi and Mother Theresa exemplify altruism and if they were alive today maybe they would support the self-sacrifice arguments presented by the business-leadership gurus. On the other hand, if they were alive today they probably would not be running businesses. We ought not compare business leaders with leaders like Gandhi and Mother Theresa.
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