Today's post is an excerpt from the draft of my upcoming book One Piece of Paper: The Personal Maxims Approach to No-B.S. Leadership. Sure, publication is a ways off (target is fall of '11) but I want to share a taste of what will be in the book.
Please become a fan of One Piece of Paper on Facebook (and invite your friends/colleagues to do the same). By becoming a fan you'll have the latest updates on the book's release and also get to see samples of it before it lands in stores. Some of you will even win a free copy of the book.
All that said, here's a sample about how to think about leading your people:
People “situations” can be frustrating and confusing. We have a hard time having difficult conversations. Those conversations are difficult because we are the bearers of bad news, corrective actions, and feedback. That feedback generally causes people to feel like they do not measure up as a person when in fact our assessments should be focused on the actions, not the person.
We need something to lean on to help us through those tough situations. Creating personal leadership maxims for how you want to lead your people helps you manage those difficult situations and conversations. A maxim is nothing more than a rule of behavior or conduct you want to follow. You can write your own set of maxims and use them in a variety of situations. Today I’ll share an example of one of my maxims and how it helped out with a difficult conversation.
Maxims set expectations with your team members for how you will treat them. They provide you a solid foundation for building consistency into your behaviors and reactions to unpleasant situations. If you have written your maxim well and communicated it clearly to your team, there are no surprises when those unpleasant situations arise. Here's an example of how maxims can help you through a tough spot:
When I was a young platoon leader I had two maxims that I shared with my soldiers: “Work hard. Be honest.” It could not have been any simpler. One day one of my soldiers violated my “work hard and be honest” maxims. When I called him on the carpet for his egregious transgression I asked him “what am I going to say?”
“You’re going to remind me we all agreed to work hard and be honest sir.”
“Then what?”
“You’re going to point out I failed to do that sir and I’ll tell you you’re right. Then you’re going to tell me I’m subject to disciplinary action. Next you’re going to recommend I get busted down a rank.”
“And what do you think about all that?”
“I think it’s fair and it’s the right thing to do sir.”
The maxim was so simple, clear, and well-communicated this soldier was able to accurately predict my reaction because he knew my standards and had bought into them. If I had not shared those maxims with him prior to the lapse in behavior I would have had to explain my standards, his failure to meet them, and the fairness of his punishment all in that moment. That would have been a much tougher conversation to have than the one above where he took care of the discipline himself. Providing transparency and consistency to your team does wonders for making interactions smooth and peaceful.
To create your maxims, you need to explore how you want to interact with those individuals. This self-examination requires you to figure out what you want to stand for and what your team should expect from you in every interaction. You must also think about how you will build their skills and capabilities. Yes, that is a lot to think about. It is even harder to articulate. This is where I have seen many leadership philosophies turn into a mush of flowery crap that has no meaning. You are striving for clarity. You need simplicity to achieve that.
Answering four straightforward questions can help you define a powerful set of maxims for leading your people. Those questions are:
• What is your natural style?
• How will you remember they are individuals?
• How will you stay connected to your team’s reality?
• How will you commit to their growth?
The maxims you create to describe how you will lead your people will govern your day-to-day interactions with members of your team. When you define these maxims you will articulate aspects of your style that are comfortable and effective for you.
You will create maxims to remind you to treat your team members with respect both for who they are as individuals as well as for the work they do on a daily basis. Finally, you will generate maxims to help you remember to take risks on your people and give them opportunities to grow their skills, experiences, and careers.
By answering these four questions you will create a team environment where people feel comfortable, valued, and challenged. You likely often hear a great deal about how important “employee engagement” is. If you write these maxims well and live them every day you will have some of the most engaged employees you have ever seen.
Again, this is but a taste of the book. I hope you enjoyed it. Come become a fan of One Piece of Paper on Facebook and watch the whole book publication process unfold before your eyes.
- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
Monday, January 10, 2011
How Your Leadership Philosophy Can Defuse Future Crises
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Come Join Us at The Ohio Growth Summit June 9th and 10th!
How is this country going to come out of the economic crisis? It won't be by spending our tax dollars on federal bail-outs, large corporate downsizings or paying large bonuses to CEOs for implementing bad strategies.
The way this country is going to succeed is by entrepreneurs developing more innovative ways to do business. The Ohio SBDC is here to support small businesses. Their passion is helping you find ways to ignore the economy and continue to take your business to the next level. The Ohio Growth Summit on June 9th and 10th is "your" event. It is a celebration of your entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to making your dream a reality.
The Ohio Growth Summit features speakers (including Chris Brogan, Jim Canterucci, and Mike Figliuolo), partners and networking specifically tailored to helping you grow your small business. Register HERE for the event! Here is a rundown of what to expect this year:
Ohio Growth Summit Tweet-Up, June 9, 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Talk about a place to do business? Is a couple hundred small businesses looking to build networks and partnerships to take them to the next level not to mention our brand partners who really support small business growth good enough for you? In addition, we will have a number of local inventors displaying some very cool things as part of our "Product Commercialization Showcase."
We are also presenting the Ohio Growth Summit Tweet-Up Keynote: Mike Figliuolo, founder and Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS, LLC. Mike will explore simple yet powerful methods to articulate your leadership philosophy. The Ohio Growth Summit Tweet-Up is open to the public regardless of whether or not you are able to attend the Summit the next day. The cost to attend is only $6. Don’t miss it.
Ohio Growth Summit, June 10, 8:00 am - 3:00 pm
It's the day we've all been waiting for. You will benefit from the wisdom of great keynote presenters and be able to customize the experience by participating in one of our business growth breakout tracks. You will walk out at the end of the day with the tools to not only survive this economy but to, as inaugural Summit Keynote Guy Kawasaki says: kick butt!
Opening Keynote: Jim Canterucci, author of Personal Brilliance
Jim will help you bring out your brilliance in everything you do. Jim will discuss the four catalysts of Personal Brilliance: Awareness, Curiosity, Focus and Initiative and show how successful entrepreneurs have harnessed the four catalysts to take them and their business to a new level. Also, everyone in attendance will receive a complimentary copy of his best seller Personal Brilliance. Be sure to visit My Personal Brilliance to learn more about Jim.
Business Growth Breakout Tracks
This is your opportunity to customize the Ohio Growth Summit to your needs. Each track will include two, one hour sessions on a specific topic area. The tracks include:
• Social Media: Your Customers Are There, Are You?
• How To Successfully Take Your Company Global
• Invent, Build, Go To Market: Successful Product Commercialization Strategies
• An Entrepreneurs Guide: How To Get The Bank To Say "YES"
Closing Keynote: Chris Brogan, President of New Marketing Labs
Chris Brogan is one of the country's foremost authorities on social media and its applications for business and branding. Chris will show you strategies to reach your customers and others who need your product. Be sure to check out Chris' incredible blog, www.chrisbrogan.com to learn more about the power of social media and networks to build relationships and deliver value.
"Pitch It" Competition
You've all heard about the need to have an elevator pitch for your business but do you have one? If you do you could be selected to be part of the "Pitch It" Competition. You will get two minutes to pitch your business from the Summit's main stage to the audience and a panel of judges. The winner gets $500! Not too bad for 120 seconds of work.
You may be saying this looks great but much is it to attend? $200? $500? Why would we charge you that much? It's all about you. We want you to succeed and to succeed you need to be here. Registration is only $75. This includes a copy of Personal Brilliance, cutting edge business content, unparalleled networking and connections as well as breakfast and lunch (I know it's really all about the food).
Click here for registration. We hope to see you at the event!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Upcoming Event: May 20th Columbus MBA Club Mixer
I'm excited to announce another "open to the public" upcoming speaking event. On Wednesday, May 20th I'll be speaking at the Columbus MBA Club's Spring Networking event. The topic is "You Can't Lead if You Can't Communicate!"
The Columbus MBA Club is comprised of local professionals/MBAs who are interested in personal and professional development. It's a great organization to be a part of. As always, any MBA student or alum from any school is welcome to attend. Feel free to bring guests as well if you have colleagues who would like to attend (whether they're MBAs or not). Click HERE to register!
This will be a great evening! You will leave this event thinking differently with real tools you can implement in your daily and professional life. I'm going to show you a logical thought process you can use to create clearer, more compelling arguments while simultaneously doing less work (Less work? No way! Yes. Way.).
The venue is the Hilton Easton! It's a great location with tremendous facilities (and if you want to continue networking afterward, Easton Mall is right next door).
The cost is a nominal $10 to cover the facility and appetizers (this is a pro bono speaking engagement for me). Purchase your tickets here on Eventbrite and please also RSVP by 5/18 to: rsvp.columbusMBAclub@yahoo.com. Alternately you can pay at the door.
Be sure to include your name, school and company for name tags on your RSVP email.
Questions? Contact the organizers:
Tom Williams (Kellogg): 773.213.8579
Deirdre McDonald (Wharton): 614.736.3423
I hope to see you there!
- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
Monday, April 6, 2009
Train Them Now or Lose Them Later
A friend of mine was lamenting the current economic environment. He bemoaned budget cuts at his company and the lack of opportunities for professional development. He also said something truly alarming:
"Our management team is so focused on just making the numbers that they're not investing in developing their people." (Incidentally, I think making the numbers can be stupid). He added "But it's really not a huge deal because in this economy, no one is going to quit over lack of training or development, y'know?"
After I reattached my head to my body, I thought about this painful comment. I think we might have actually reached the point of myopic leadership destruction where leaders get so focused on the short term that they forget the future. They become so narrow in their view they miss the point that their people will have choices before them after this crisis. Sure you can skimp on your people today and they'll sit there and take it. But as soon as the economy turns, they'll be bugging out on you and heading to a better job faster than you can say "leadership FAIL."
So all this got me thinking. Tight budgets. Lack of training dollars. Yearning for professional development. As I noodled on these ideas, I fortuitously had a great conversation with Jack Windsor and genius struck. He handed me a solution to these problems on a silver platter. I would love to hear what you think about this...
Imagine being able to get together with a small group of professionals from other organizations. They'd be of similar level of responsibility as you (e.g., managers/directors with other managers/directors, etc.). You'd meet with your group face to face every month and cover new critical business topics (like the ones we cover on this blog). This group would become your peer mentors. Your professional sounding board. Along with your group facilitator, this group will help you build your skills, your network, and your career.
And you'd interact beyond the monthly group meetings (think virtual classroom, webinars, etc.). Your facilitator? How about a stable of seasoned business executives who can help you tackle just about any problem or opportunity in front of you.
Now imagine having access to such a program at a price that would make even the stingiest training department say "Wow! That's really a good deal!"
That's what we've built and launched: the thoughtLEADERS mastermind Programs. We've created four targeted tracks designed for individuals in varying roles:
- The Enterprise Leader Track (CEO, COO, EVPs, etc.) (details soon)
- The Executive Leader Track (Sr. Directors, VPs, SVPs) (details)
- The Team Leader Track (Managers, Directors, Team Leads, etc.) (details)
- The Entrepreneur Leader Track (Start-up leaders, Small business leaders) (details)
We're enrolling now. We'd love to have you (or members of your team) as a member. You can learn more about the program content, structure, etc. in the downloadable packets above or on our site HERE.
Don't make the biggest mistake of the year by not investing in yourself or your people during tough times. The organizations who ARE investing in their people are just waiting for your talented folks to get frustrated and leave you so they can snatch them up after they quit your team.
I'd love your thoughts and reactions to this program. Just email me if you'd like more details or to get involved.
Even if you don't take us up on our invitation to grow and develop as part of our groups, I encourage you to sit down and explicitly identify how you're investing in your people. How are you making them better and demonstrating you value them? How will you ensure that when a competitive job offer comes along, they simply state "no thanks - I'm learning a lot right now and I'm happy where I am."?
Can you afford not to invest in your people or yourself? I don't think so...
- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Do you know your leadership maxims?
I'm thrilled to announce a few upcoming events where I'll be covering the topic of creating your own set of Leadership Maxims. Defining these maxims is a core tool of a good leader. I recently met an EVP at a Fortune 100 who actually has his written on a small laminated card attached to his corporate security badge. This stuff matters and it works.
The first event is a breakfast sponsored by the Columbus Young Professionals on April 7th at 730AM. To register, CLICK HERE. It's only $5 and that pays for your coffee (I'm not receiving any compensation for this engagement - it's my way of giving back to the community).
The second event is June 9th at 530PM. I'm speaking at the Ohio Growth Summit and again will be covering the topic of Leadership Maxims. It's $6 to attend and again, all proceeds go to the Summit (not me). REGISTER HERE. The summit is going to be fantastic. The two other keynote speakers are my good friend Jim Canterucci and Chris Brogan (yes, THAT Chris Brogan).
I should probably give you some more details on our Leadership Maxims program as well as background on the organizations sponsoring these events...
Leadership Maxims
Our Leadership Maxims approach is one of our core course offerings at thoughtLEADERS. Whether you're a new leader or an experienced one, it helps to articulate your own set of personal leadership maxims. These maxims provide you a touchstone you can refer to every day to remind yourself how you want to show up as a leader. During the course, you'll experience:
- A model for the examination of self
- An articulation of what you stand for
- An appreciation of where you're going
- An understanding of how you want to lead
- A creation of your own practical "maxims" that you can start using immediately
We explore four holistic aspects of leadership which include:
- Leading Yourself
- Leading the Thinking
- Leading Your People
- Leading a Balanced Life
If you're interested in bringing the course into your organization, drop me a line. We also cover the methodology as part of our mastermind programs. Again, if you'd like to join one of our mastermind groups, just email us.
The Columbus Young Professionals Club
The Columbus Young Professionals Club is a Columbus, Ohio based organization focused on providing social, cultural, philanthropic, athletic, and career networking opportunities for Columbus-area professionals in their twenties, thirties, and early forties, including graduate-level college students and others wishing to join.
The Ohio Growth Summit
The future belongs to innovators that can turn ideas into action...in other words small business owners and entrepreneurs. The Ohio Growth Summit is a celebration of your spirit and "make it happen" attitude. The Summit is designed to stimulate actions that will lead to increased growth of your business by providing unparalleled networking, connections and content target directly at increasing your business' bottom line.
I hope to see you at the events!
- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Upcoming Event: Personal Brilliance - Developing the Habit of Innovation
My friend Jim Canterucci is sponsoring & hosting a wonderful event in partnership with The OSU Leadership Center on Tuesday, January 13th (that's next week so hurry!). He's got some amazing topics and speakers lined up and I highly suggest attending. On top of that, proceeds are for a wonderful charitable cause. It's a great way to start 2009! Here's the flyer with all the details. Enough of my editorializing - here are the particulars:
Jim says "When you’re faced with a situation where you have to come up with and implement great ideas, and you can... that's Personal Brilliance." In this workshop, based on his bestseller Personal Brilliance, Mastering the Everyday Habits that Create a Lifetime of Success, he goes beyond creativity to innovation. Each attendee at the event will receive a complimentary copy of Personal Brilliance. With the help of his guests, he’ll explore unique perspectives on the four catalysts to Personal Brilliance: Awareness, Curiosity, Focus, and Initiative, and how to develop your own habit of innovation.
Special Guests
Since it's a morning of innovation, the president of The Ohio State University, Dr. E. Gordon Gee will speak for 30 minutes about innovation at the university. President Gee is a rock star in Columbus and it's unusual to have access to him for a 30 minute presentation.
Jim's session is designed to help us develop The Habit of Innovation. For each Personal Brilliance catalyst, Jim will bring a guest up on stage for a short interview to bring his descriptions and lessons to life. These guests are Jack Park, OSU football historian and radio personality, Dr. Joan Herbers, an OSU evolutionary, ecological biologist and champion of women in science, Artie Isaac, founder of the Young Isaac creative and advertising agency and teacher of creativity in the OSU Fisher College of Business, and Ken Schnacke, President and GM of the Triple A Columbus Clippers.
Philanthropy
CHOICES, the Central Ohio Domestic Violence agency will benefit from the event. $10 of each ticket will be donated to CHOICES. Also, for every person attending based on your referral, an additional $5 to be donated to CHOICES. Your participation will have an impact on many families’ lives.
Social Media
This is a no-brochure event. All marketing is being done via people using social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Opt-in emails from the sponsors and the viral recommendations from all of us are necessary to make this event a success.
A special blog was created for the event at http://www.pbrsvp.com/. Registrations can be taken there and participants can keep up to date with the event with frequent posts about the content and guests. There are even tips for spreading the word.
Special prime seats called Tweet Seats will be available for Twitter users to post live during the event. These are just some of the special features. Spark any ideas you can use? Knowing Jim, I'm sure there will be a few more surprises.
Any event Jim is involved with is going to be a great learning experience. There are very few people I'll regularly take time out of my schedule to meet for coffee - Jim is one of them. You can't help but learn when you're around him.
Please check it out, sign up, and tell your friends. It's for a great cause and you'll learn a ton in the process!
- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
Friday, December 5, 2008
Some Families & Little Kids Need YOUR Help!
Please note - the contribution window for this has closed. Thanks to all who supported the effort. Just because this event is closed doesn't mean you can't help. Go volunteer somewhere. Donate. Make someone else's life better. Thanks!
Let's face it - you're pretty fortunate. You're reading this by accessing the Internet over your laptop while sitting in the comfort of your home drinking your Starbucks quad shot venti caramel macchiato. Imagine NOT being able to pay for Internet access. Imagine NOT having your laptop. Imagine NOT being in your home because you no longer have one. Pretty grim, huh? Well that's EXACTLY the situation some folks I'd like to help are in.
The Ohio State - Marion Psychology Club is sponsoring the Giving Tree Project, in which we all can help needy families during the holiday season. The families being helped are the victims of domestic violence. They've escaped from some terrible situations in their homes sometimes with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. They've found shelter and protection at Turning Point Domestic Abuse Shelter. They need YOUR help.
Due to a difficult economy, the project to give them a happy holiday has not raised as much money as they'd like. I'm asking your help to solve that problem. I'm asking you to donate whatever you can to your local shelter. All funds will be used to purchase items these families desperately need (and yes, I'm kicking in a nice chunk of change too).
Some of the gifts the families have requested are socks for a six year old little girl whose favorite color is purple (yes... she simply wants SOCKS for Christmas!). Another is a size 14 boys coat (the child only wants to be warm). One of the mothers is pregnant and due with a little girl on the 29th of December. The mothers asked for items for their children such as underwear, socks, shoes, shirts, pants, boots, and coats but didn't ask for much of anything for themselves. The only thing a couple of them requested was a set of pots and pans for when they get a place to stay. As far as gifts outside of necessities, some of the kids are hoping for i-pods (there are a few teenage boys), bikes, toy trucks, light up toys, hair bows, etc. It would be nice to be able to give these children a holiday with gifts other than basic necessities as they are already going through a very tough time.
I've tried to give you a lot through this blog (articles, ideas, guest bloggers, etc.). I've never asked anything of you other than to read it and enjoy it for free. I'm asking for something now. It's not for me - it's for a six year old girl whose toes are cold. Please be generous. Please donate. Thank you so much for your generosity - I truly appreciate it.
I wish you all a blessed, safe, and happy holiday season. Please help me give that same blessing and happiness to others who are in need.
- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Upcoming Event: thoughtLEADERS Webinar Series
I'm happy to announce a four-part series of webinars being presented in partnership with The Ohio State University Alber Enterprise Center! The webinar series is Universal Business Skills That Advance YOU and Your Organization. Back by popular demand, we're offering the first webinar in this series again on October 3 at 2:30PM EST! The best part is, this first webinar is FREE! Click HERE to add it to your calendar.
Sure, there are the “hard” skills taught at every organization. These are the tactical and technical skills required to perform ones’ daily duties and responsibilities. Much less common, however, is training on the more critical “universal” skills: how to think, how to lead, and how to explore and innovate. While the former “hard” skills make the business run day to day, the “universal” skills are the ones that propel the organization (and your career) into the future.
Join me as I cover these critical “universal” skills in several topic areas. During the webinars, you will:
- Learn about a skill that’s rarely taught but drives more decisions than any other: how to think in a structured and logical manner
- Hear about a simple method for articulating your fundamental leadership style and approach
- See how you can push the thinking of your organization beyond “because that’s the way we do things”
The webinars will be held on 10/3 (FREE!), 10/17, 10/31, and 11/14 (we'll cover a different topic during each session). Once again, to register for the first webinar, you can add it to your calendar HERE. More details will be available soon on the second, third and fourth sessions - just hold those dates at 1PM EST for now. I hope to "see" you during these sessions! Remember - the first one in the four-part series is FREE!
The Alber Enterprise Center is a campus-based corporate education center of The Ohio State University, providing work force training, organization development, and performance improvement techniques. It is a resource, research, and education tool for business and industry.
- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Upcoming Event: Leadership Excellence 2008 - Chicago April 30 - May 1
Mike will be speaking at the Jacob Fleming Leadership Excellence 2008 Conference April 30th/May 1st in Chicago. The working title of the presentation is “You can’t lead if you can’t communicate!” The presentation is on the first day of the conference. thoughtLEADERS, LLC is a co-sponsor of the event.
This five star conference will bring together senior level executives from leading fortune 500 companies to benchmark best practices, success stories and do’s and don’ts. Join them to hear practical advice on creating an effective leadership plan. Listen to exciting case studies on developing emerging leaders, overcoming challenges, and how to build a leadership legacy. Take home valuable know-how that can help you master day to day tasks and draft a strategy to take you to the next level.
Click below to learn about who should attend and how to join us in Chicago!
Who should attend:
Vice Presidents, Heads, Directors and Senior Executives of Leadership Development, Leadership Management, Global Leadership, People Development, Organizational Development, Learning and Development
There are some great speakers lined up and some really neat topics many of you will find interesting. For more information visit the Jacob Fleming Leadership Excellence 2008 website.
thoughtLEADERS is proud to co-sponsor the event. Feel free to pass this information along to colleagues who might be interested in attending as well. I hope to see you in Chicago!
- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
Monday, March 10, 2008
Upcoming Event April 4th in Columbus!
The session is on thoughtLEADERSHIP. Here's an overview as written by the fine folks at Sparkspace:
Have you ever been told to “be a thought leader” or to “think outside the box” and “push the envelope” but you’ve never been shown exactly HOW to do that or what that means? Join us on April 4th for thoughtLEADERSHIP: Creating Creative Opportunities presented by Mike Figliuolo, Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS, LLC. During the session, you’ll learn:
- What is thoughtLEADERSHIP? (the quick answer: a thoughtLEADER is someone who delivers business results by agitating for and leading change)
- What characteristics do thoughtLEADERS possess?
- What are the tools a thoughtLEADER uses to push the thinking forward?
- How do you “blow up your business” and why is that a good idea?
- How do thoughtLEADERS convey their ideas in a clear and compelling manner?
During this session, Mike will cover all of these concepts and you’ll have a chance to try them on for size. You’ll walk out of the session with some practical thoughtLEADERSHIP tools you can immediately put to use in your business or organization. You’ll finally have the practical means to drive insights and think outside the box.
Register now by sending an email to thoughtleader@aweber.com. After sending your email, you will receive an email asking you to verify your registration. For more details, visit the event HERE. I look forward to seeing you there and hope you can make it.
- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC