On Monday I attended the first annual Cobb Leadership Summit, which was presented by the Cobb County School District and the Cobb Schools Foundation and held at Kennesaw State University's Convocation Center. (Thanks to my boss for the ticket!) I really only went for the first part to hear the keynote address by leadership guru Dr. John Maxwell. There were about 2500 education, government, business, and church leaders present, not to mention some students as well.
Maxwell gave a great talk on "How to Achieve REAL Success." Some highlights:
Dr. Maxwell told us about his method for highlighting lecture notes so he can quickly get the pertinent personal points out later. Using the ACT acronym, he writes an "A" beside a statement he wants to Apply to his life; a "C" beside ideas that speak to something he wants to Change; and a "T" beside concepts he wants to Teach to others. I have several "A"s and a couple of "C"s...and the whole thing is a "T"...I'm teaching them to you right now! :)
Success is:
- Knowing my purpose in life.
- Growing to my maximum potential.
Two paths to discover your purpose in life:
- Find your passion. This method is about 80% effective. Passion energizes talent.
- Find your strength zone. This method is 100% effective. Find your natural giftedness/talent. Stop working on your weaknesses. In our strengths & weaknesses, on a 1-10 scale, you can only improve 1 or 2 points. So if you are a 3 you can only get to 5--average. But if you're a 7 you can get to a 9, and people pay good money for 9s!
Growing to your maximum potential means getting better at your strengths. Growth is not an automatic process; it must be intentional.
John Wooden said: "It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.
You're either preparing or repairing.
You need a personal growth plan.
We don't need help on decision-making, but on decision-management (managing and carrying out our decisions and goals). He used the illustration of everyone making the New Year's resolution to lose weight and exercise and the gym being full that first week, but empty by the end of the month.
All growth occurs in your daily agenda. Preparation positions your talent. When opportunity comes knocking, it's too late to prepare.
Maxwell's father, a seminary president, never gave him allowances for chores done. Chores were just expected to be done because that's what you do as part of a family. But he did give them allowances based on books that they read. And his father picked the books he would read. He had him set aside 30 minutes a day to read those books on how to have success in life.
Success is sowing seeds that benefit others.
Maturity doesn't always come with age; sometimes age comes alone!
Four ways to add value to people:
- Value people. There's nothing worse than devaluing people. The only reason to be a leader is to add value to others.
- Make yourself more valuable. Become better.
- Know and relate to what they value. Leaders aren't at the top, but they are continually taking people up with them.
- Do things that God values.
We "lead by assumption" when we dont connect because we assume.
Great leaders are great listeners--they know where their people are.
Four things you need to do well (with excellence) to be successful (or "How to Be a R.E.A.L. Success"):
- Relationships--have to be able to get along with people. The Hammer Principle: Never use a hammer to swat a fly off someone's forehead; i.e., don't overreact! Don't let the situation mean more than the relationship. The Elevator Principle: Some people lift you up; some people bring you down. Do I add value or subtract value from other people? People who add value do it intentionally--they know they're doing it. We are by nature selfish people; therefore, we must plan and be intentional about adding value to instead of subtracting value from people. The success of my day is determined by the seeds I sow, not by the harvest I reap!
- Equipping and training people--compund success with others via teamwork. Develop a team and develop teamwork. Two questions to ask: (1) What am I doing to develop myself? and (2) What am I doing to develop others?
- Attitude is amazing, especially during adversity. Your attitude is a choice. In matters of choice, you can go from a 1 to a 10 if you want to. The only person who can make me happy is me. Someone said...I'm never "down"; I'm either "up" or "getting up."
- Leadership--everything rises and falls on leadership. Leadership can be taught, because leadership is influence.
Dr. Maxwell also pushed several of his books, a couple of which I want to check out: Today Matters and The 360-Degree Leader.