“The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.” ~John Maxwell Defining an Extraordinary Leader The question of what defines an extraordinary leader has been argued back and forth for centuries. In some ways what determined the greatness of a leader was determined by the culture…
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” ~John Quincy Adams Follow the leader is a game many of us played when we were children. The rules were simple: do what the leader does or get kicked out of the game and the…
In today’s world there is quite a bit of discussion about the word authority, and for the most part it has a tendency to be spoken of in a negative context. We too easily associate it with force, brutality, and manipulation, which is far from its original meaning. Force is about control and is the…
*An excerpt from Joe’s book, EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS FOR LIFE: Discover Your Path to Be UN-ordinary (Chapter 27) AN EPIPHANY One day as I sat in my chair reading, writing, and meditating, I had an epiphany of sorts. I finally learned what all those years of avoiding solitude was wanting to teach me: “The reason I…
“Leadership is a privilege to better the lives of others. It is not an opportunity to satisfy personal greed.” ~Mwai Kibaki I am often asked about whether leaders are born or trained. I personally dislike the use of the word training when it comes to developing leaders. I believe we train animals…we educate leaders.…
“Be curious, not judgmental.” ~Walt Whitman Curiosity may have killed the cat, but a lack of curiosity could be killing your ability to lead your people. Why? Because in order to be a great leader you must have a general curiosity about the people you lead. You have to understand what makes them tick,…
“A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr (This is Chapter 19 in its entirety from my most recent book, Extraordinary Results For Life, it will guide you on how to get extraordinary insight in yourself! GO TO THE MIRROR, BOY! I might be dating myself here, and yet…
“Excellence is a better teacher than mediocrity.” ~Warren Bennis At different times and with different clients when I ask them if they believe they are achieving excellence, too often I hear… No, I wouldn’t say excellence, BUT we’re better than we were 2 years ago! Each time I hear this my first thought is this,…
“The most difficult matter is not so much to change the world as yourself.” ~ Nelson Mandela It is amazing to me, that in this time where there are countless videos, seminars, workshops, books, and podcasts on how to be an extraordinary leader, we continue to hear story after story and see example after…
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” ~Lao Tzu These words spoken by the 6th Century Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu, really captures the heart of leadership for me. Unlike many of the current leaders of today…