the servant - university of north texas · the servant 3 like any skill, leadership has to be...

The Servant

A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership

James C. Hunter

New York: Crown Business [1998, 2012]

Management is what you do; leadership is the person you are &

the influence and impact you have upon the people you come

into contact with. Leadership is synonymous with influence.

Quotes from The Servant

In this review 2

6 Presentation Outline

Why is this book worth our time?

#1 – Leadership is always about leading people – real, live, human beings. This book is a thorough reminder of this primary truth.

#2 – Leadership is best demonstrated as service to the people one leads. This book is a reminder of this primary truth.

#3 – This book is told in the form of a story. The very format of this book reminds us of the importance of good story-telling as part of the leader’s job.

2 The Servant

(Note: The “#s” following each quote indicate the Kindle App for the iMac “location” of the quote in the book.)

Quotes

1. The principles of servant leadership are such basic, commonsense notions, indeed self-evident... 44

2. I simply could not be intellectually honest about servant leadership while

leaving out concepts like love, humility, and selflessness. 63 3. Young people do not respond well to the old-fashioned command-and-

control style of leadership, evidenced by polls showing nearly 70 percent of the “millennial” generation (those born after 1980) who voluntarily terminate their employment do not quit their organization—they quit their boss. 85

4. This phenomenon of change and rebellion against bad leadership is happening not only in the United States. 90

5. Everything you need to know about leadership you already know. It all boils

down to one simple little rule you learned a long time ago. And that simple rule is to treat people the way you would want to be treated. The Golden Rule. You know, be the boss you wish your boss would be, the parent you wish your parent had been more fully for you, the neighbor you wish your neighbor would be. Today, I am not here to instruct you. Today, I am here to remind you.” 109 Simple but by no means simplistic. 115

6. Leadership Is Influence 115 7. Leadership is not synonymous with management. Management consists of the things you do like planning,

budgeting, organizing, being tactical or strategic. You can be a great manager and an awful leader. 120 8. And let me be empirically clear: if there is nobody following, you are definitely not leading. 123 9. Management is what you do; leadership is the person you are and the

influence and impact you have upon the people you come into contact with. Management is not synonymous with leadership. Leadership is synonymous with influence. 128

10. BEING THE servant is simply the business of identifying and meeting the legitimate needs of the people

entrusted to your care. Meeting their needs, not their wants—being their servant, not their slave. 149

Quotes and excerpts from the book – (the “best of” Randy’s highlights):

3 The Servant

Like any skill, leadership has to be practiced regularly in order to

develop the skills and facilitate true change.

11. So, if you are in a leadership position, you need to make a list of what people need. 151 What is the difference between a want and a need? A want is a wish or desire without regard to the consequences or where the choice will lead. 153

12. So a need is a legitimate physical or psychological requirement for the well-being of an individual. What do

people really need? 157 Like the need to be appreciated, respected, valued, communicated with, encouraged, listened to. They also need accountability, including healthy boundaries, rules of the house, consistency, and honesty about their performance. Feedback is a huge human need. 160

13. He (Simeon) demonstrates to them that love is patience, kindness, humility,

respectfulness, selflessness, forgiveness, honesty, and commitment. 191 Can you imagine following a leader who is impatient, unkind, arrogant, disrespectful, selfish, unforgiving, dishonest, and uncommitted? 192

14. Getting people to agree with the principles of servant leadership is an easy task. Getting people to change

and get the principles into their game is another matter altogether. 204 15. Leadership is a skill, a learned or acquired ability. 207 16. Every year in America, organizations spend billions of dollars on leadership training and development, and

most of it is a waste of time and money. 210 17. Becoming an effective leader is precisely analogous to becoming an

accomplished musician or athlete. 213 Like any skill, leadership has to be practiced regularly in order to develop the skills and facilitate true change. 215

18. Only a very small percentage of people actually make sustainable changes after attending leadership

seminars or reading books. 220 19. Leadership has little to do with your style (personality) and everything to do with your substance (character).

231 20. General Norman Schwarzkopf: “Ninety-nine percent of leadership failures are failures of character.”

Warren Bennis of USC, one of America’s leadership gurus for decades, declares, “Leadership is character in action.” 234

21. What is character? That person you are in the dark when nobody is looking. 236 22. Character is doing the right thing. Leadership is doing the right thing. Leadership is simply character in

action. 242 If you want to improve your leadership skills, you must improve your character skills. 243 There are no short cuts. 245

23. The problem is that very few organizations create the necessary friction (or “healthy tension,” if you prefer),

required to get people focused and disciplined about behaving in new ways and making sustainable changes. 288

4 The Servant

24. The goal of any aspiring leader (whether manager, parent, spouse, coach,

or teacher) should not be perfection, rather continuous improvement—being able to say every few months, “I’m not where I want to be, but I am better than I used to be.” 294

25. The good news is that servant leadership, though centuries old, is an idea whose time has come. The good

news is that the principles are universally accepted and agreed to (at least intellectually) and are, in fact, self-evident. The good news is that we have the technology of how to help people change and incorporate these principles into their lives. 301 The bad news is that being an effective leader is a skill that requires commitment, discipline, and the willingness to change. There is no magic dust. 303

26. The ideas I stand for are not my own. I borrowed them from Socrates, I swiped them from Chesterfield, I

stole them from Jesus. And if you don’t like their ideas, whose ideas would you rather use? —DALE CARNEGIE 320

27. Being in power is like being a lady. If you have to remind people that you are, you aren’t. —MARGARET

THATCHER 473 28. “It is important to treat other human beings exactly the way you would want them to treat you.” 518 29. But I am a firm believer that all of us together are much wiser than any one of us alone, and together we

will make some progress this week. Are you game?” 585 30. If you are not moved to speak, it is probably better that you refrain from speaking to allow room for others

to speak. 607 31. There is a lot at stake and people are counting on you. The role of the leader is a very high calling.” 614 32. Remember that whenever two or more people are gathered together for a purpose there is an opportunity

for leadership. 624 33. Building influence with others, true leadership, is available to everyone but requires a tremendous extension

of oneself. 625 34. “Good observation, Lee. Management is not something you do to other

people. You manage your inventory, your checkbook, your resources. You can even manage yourself. But you do not manage other human beings. You manage things, you lead people.” 629

35. We have defined leadership as a skill—I have found this to be true. A skill is simply a learned or acquired

ability. 636 36. What I am suggesting to you is that when power must be exercised, the leader should reflect on why

resorting to power was necessary. 699 37. The key then to leadership is accomplishing the tasks at hand while building relationships.” 792 38. If you do not change your direction, you will end up exactly where you are headed. —ANCIENT CHINESE

PROVERB 851 39. Remember, the outside world enters our consciousness through the filters of our paradigms. And our

paradigms are not always accurate.” 928 40. Challenging the old ways takes a lot of effort but so does the alternative. The world is changing so quickly

that we can become stuck—or worse—if we don’t challenge our beliefs and paradigms.” 938

5 The Servant

41. The teacher added, “Almost everyone buys into the idea of continuous improvement but by definition it is impossible to improve unless we change. 949

42. “A want,” the teacher explained, “is simply a wish or desire without any regard for the physical or

psychological consequences. A need, on the other hand, is a legitimate physical or psychological requirement for the well-being of a human being.” 1101

43. We should never treat people differently from the way we would want to be treated. 1165 44. “The leader has a responsibility to hold people accountable. However, there are several ways to point out

deficiencies while allowing people to keep their dignity.” 1536 45. Active listening is attempting to see things as the speaker sees them and

attempting to feel things as the speaker feels them. This identification with the speaker is referred to as empathy and requires a great deal of effort.” 1576

46. Over the years I have learned that just listening and sharing the problem with the other person eases their

burden. 1593 47. “Paying attention to people is a legitimate human need and one we must not neglect as leaders. 1597 48. (George Washington Carver) - “How far you go in life depends upon your being tender with the young,

compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in your life, you will have been all of these.’” 1626

49. “When we publicly punish someone, we obviously have embarrassed them in front

of their peers and that is a huge withdrawal out of our account with them. 1951 …when we publicly praise, appreciate, and recognize others. We not only make a deposit into our account with the recipient of the praise, but we also make deposits into the accounts we have with those watching. And as you’ve said before, Simeon, everyone is always watching what the leader is doing.” 1955

50. For every withdrawal you take out of your account with a person, it takes four deposits just to get back

even. A four-to-one ratio!” 1972 51. Tolstoy said everyone wants to change the world but nobody wants to change themselves.” 2053 52. “If everyone would just sweep in front of their own door, soon the entire street would be clean.” 2054 53. Brunner, a noted Harvard psychologist, says we are more likely to act ourselves into a feeling than feel

ourselves into action.” 2123 54. Kierkegaard once said that not making a decision is itself a decision. Not making a choice is itself a choice.” 2275 55. Will we choose to be patient or impatient? Kind or unkind? Actively listen or

merely be silent waiting for our opportunity to speak? Humble or arrogant? Respectful or rude? Selfless or selfish? Forgiving or resentful? Honest or dishonest? Committed or just involved?” 2280

56. That is, each of the world’s great religions contains some version of the Golden Rule.” 2448 57. Self-centered people are the loneliest and most joyless people I know.” 2482

In Smith’s Religions of Man that I mentioned earlier, he states that all of the world’s great religions conclude that man’s greatest problem since the beginning of time is his self-centered nature, his pride, and his selfishness. 2484 Smith concludes that the great religions of the world all teach how to overcome our selfish nature.” 2486

6 The Servant

[Street Address] [City], [State][Postal Code]

Some of the Key Content and Ideas from the Book

• A few thoughts about the Christian foundation and approach in this book… • The story summarized:

o A businessman, John, a “leader,” is not doing so well. He finally takes a week to go off to a spiritual retreat center, where he falls under the leadership of Simeon, a teacher who left a very successful business career and became a monk after the death of his wife. While at the retreat center, Simeon taught John, and a small group of other leaders, the importance of and the path toward genuine servant leadership.

• The four stages of habits -- All habits (good and bad) move predictably

through four stages, and developing character/leadership skills is no exception.

o We can discipline ourselves to do what is unnatural until it becomes natural and a habit.

o Stage 1 -- Unconscious/unskilled: The person is unaware and

therefore unskilled in the habit. o Stage 2 -- Conscious/unskilled: The person is aware but not good at

it. o Stage 3 -- Conscious/skilled: The person is aware and starting to

become skilled. o Stage 4 -- Unconscious/skilled: It’s now drilled into your game.

• Three Steps to Developing Character/Leadership Skills -- the Three Fs:

Foundation, Feedback, and Friction.

o Foundation -- “Set the standard” of what great leadership looks like. o Feedback -- “Identify the gaps” between where you are now and

where you need to be as an effective leader. o Friction -- “Eliminate the gaps” between where you are now and

where you need to be. • What is Leadership:

o The skill of influencing people to work enthusiastically toward goals identified as being for the common good. -- “Simply put, leadership is about getting things done through people.”

• Power vs. Authority:

o Power: The ability to force or coerce someone to do your will, even if they would choose not to, because of your position or your might.

o Authority: The skill of getting people to willingly do your will because of your personal influence.

The servant leader is servant first. “It begins

with the natural feeling that one wants to serve,

to serve first. Then conscious choice brings

one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply

different from one who is leader first.” The

leader-first and the servant-first are two

extreme types.

The best test is: do those served grow as persons?

Do they, while being served, become

healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous,

more likely themselves to become servants?

And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit,

or, at least, not be further deprived?

Robert Greenleaf, Servant Leadership

“We lead by being human. We do not lead

by being corporate, professional, or

institutional.”

Paul G. Hawken, founder, Smith and

Hawken

The Servant A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership

New York: Crown Business [1998, 2012] by James C. Hunter

7 The Servant

• Can we “learn” to be a leader? Yes, we can… o The group’s top ten answers were: Honest, trustworthy Good role model Caring Committed Good

listener Held people accountable Treated people with respect Gave people encouragement Positive, enthusiastic attitude Appreciated people …first question is this. “How many of these character qualities that you say are essential for leading with authority are we born with?” We all spent a minute studying the board before Kim offered a simple, “None of them.”

• Learn to Listen!

o “Yesterday morning when we met in your room, you cut me off in midsentence no less than three times. …Number one, by cutting me off you obviously have not been listening to me very well if you’ve already formulated your response in your head; two, you do not value me or my opinion because you refuse to take the time to hear me out; and finally, you must believe that what you’ve got to say is much more important than what I’ve got to say. John, these are disrespectful messages you just can’t afford to send as the leader.”

• Servant Leader/Servant Leadership

o “In summary then, a leader is someone who identifies and meets the legitimate needs of their people, removes all the barriers, so they can serve the customer. Again, to lead you must serve.”

o Gandhi; Martin Luther King, Jr. • Remember Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs • INTENTIONS + ACTIONS

o INTENTIONS – ACTIONS = SQUAT ! The teacher continued,

“All my working life, I listened to people tell me how their employees were their most valuable asset. But their actions always spoke their true beliefs. The older I get, the less attention I pay to what people say and the more attention I pay to what people do. People talk a lot alike—but it’s often only lip service. It’s only in their actions that the differences show up.”

o “True leadership is difficult and it takes a lot of effort.” o INTENTIONS + ACTIONS = WILL

• Learn to frequently ask:

o What have you been learning here _____________?” • Always act in love:

o Love is patient, kind, not puffed up or arrogant, does not behave unbecomingly, does not seek its own, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, endures all things. Love never fails. Does this list of qualities sound familiar to you?”

o LOVE AND LEADERSHIP: Patience Showing Self-Control; Kindness; Giving Attention, Appreciation, and Encouragement; Humility, Being Authentic and Without Pretense or Arrogance; Respectfulness, Treating Others as Important People; Selflessness, Meeting the Needs of Others; Forgiveness, Giving Up Resentment when Wronged; Honesty, Being Free from Deception; Commitment, Sticking to Your Choices; Results: Service and Sacrifice, Setting Aside Your Own Wants and Needs; Seeking the Greatest Good for Others

8 The Servant

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Resources

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817.337.8581

www.governmentresource.com

• Correct when you need to, but… “Correct” while protecting dignity… • “Relational” deposits and withdrawals:

o As the relationship matures, however, we make deposits and withdrawals in these imaginary accounts based on how we behave.

• “We make withdrawals by being unkind, discourteous, breaking our promises and commitments, backstabbing others, being poor listeners, being puffed up and arrogant, and so on.”

• Praxis, not Determinism – (Act it until you become it)

o “So let me see if I understand this, Simeon. Praxis says if I make a commitment to love and extend myself for those I serve, and align my actions and behaviors to that commitment, positive regard for those people will follow over time?”

o Not determinism -- Viktor Frankl: Man is ultimately self-determining. What he becomes he has made out of himself.

The book: • Introduction to the 2012 Edition • The Prologue • CHAPTER ONE The Definitions • CHAPTER TWO The Old Paradigm • CHAPTER THREE The Model • CHAPTER FOUR The Verb • CHAPTER FIVE The Environment • CHAPTER SIX The Choice • CHAPTER SEVEN The Payoff The Epilogue

Some Lessons and Takeaways • #1 -- “You begin with a choice.” Will you serve the people you lead? • #2 – Servant Leaders serve first by listening (and noticing). • #3 – Servant Leaders always put, and keep, love – i.e., loving actions – at the center of their leadership

philosophy. • #4 – Servant Leaders always provide an environment that encourages and enables the people they lead to

flourish and grow in their work and in their lives. (and

• #5 – A reminder from Randy – don't forget the centrality of “results”).

Encouraging the Heart

A Leader’s Guide to Rewarding and

Encouraging Others

James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Pozner Jossey-Bass: The Jossey-Bass Business and

Management Series (2003).

This story is a constant reminder to us of the power of

a very simple principle of human performance:

people like to be recognized for doing their best. [p. xii]

Quotes from Encouraging the

Heart

In this review 2

5 Presentation Outline

We don’t do our best in isolation. This is a simple truth, and it reminds us that we all need to be encouraged to do our best. Literally — we need to be encouraged; we need to receive encouragement, in order to do our best. In this book by the accomplished writing team of Kouzes and Pozner, we learn just what kind of encouragement brings out the best in people. To encourage people, to help them do better and aim for the best, we have to notice, and reward, and tell the stories of their success. But we have to start the whole process with something very simple — let people know, clearly, what is expected. This book is a “how to, step-by-step” guidebook for building a workplace where people fell encouraged, because when they are encouraged, they seek to do, and to give, their best.

8 Questions for Discussion

2 Encouraging the Heart

“Ask yourself this question: Do I need encouragement to

perform at my best?” [p.3]

Quotes

This story is a constant reminder to us of the power of a very simple principle of human performance: people like to be recognized for doing their best. Encouragement increases the chance that people will actually achieve higher levels of performance. (p. xii).

Encouraging the Heart is about the dichotomous nature of leadership. It’s about toughness and tenderness. Guts and grace. Firmness and fairness. Fortitude and gratitude. Passion and compassion. Leaders must have courage themselves, and they must impart it to others. This book is about how leaders effectively give of their hearts so that others may fully develop and experience their own. (p. xvi).

To be credible, leaders must do what they expect others to do. (p. xix).

Encouraging the Heart is ultimately about keeping hope alive. Leaders keep hope alive when they set high standards and genuinely express optimism about an individual’s capacity to achieve them. They keep hope alive when they give feedback and publicly recognize a job well done. They keep hope alive when they give their constituents the internal support that all human beings need to feel that they and their work are important and have meaning. They keep hope alive when they train and coach people to exceed their current capacities. Most important, leaders keep hope alive when they set an example. There really is nothing more encouraging than to see our leaders practice what they preach. (p. xx).

Really believe in your heart of hearts that your fundamental purpose, the reason for being, is to enlarge the lives of others. Your life will be enlarged also. And all of the other things we have been taught to concentrate on will take care of themselves. (Pete Thigpen, Executive Reserves) Ask yourself this question: Do I need encouragement to perform at my best? (p. 3).

Expressing genuine appreciation for the efforts and successes of others means we have to show our emotions. We have to talk about our feelings in public. We have to make ourselves vulnerable to others. For many of us – perhaps most of us – this can be very tough, even terrifying. (p. 6).

We don’t do our best in isolation. We don’t get extraordinary things done by working alone with no support, encouragement, expressions of confidence, or help from others. That’s not how we make the best decisions, get the best grades, run faster, achieve the highest levels of sales, invent breakthrough products, or live longer. (p. 8).

We did our own survey and asked people to identify the most important non-financial reward they receive at work. The most common answer was a simple thank you. (p. 14).

Recognitions are reminders; quite literally, the word recognize comes from the Latin to “know again.” (p. 19).


Directly and visibly showing others that you’re there to cheer them along sends a

positive signal. [p. 135]

The best leaders… over and over again, express their belief in the innate goodness of human beings. When leaders expect people to achieve, they do. When they label people underachievers, performance suffers. Passionately believing in people and expecting the best of them is another prerequisite to encouraging the heart. (p. 21).

Marshall McLuhan is reported to have said, “Those who think there’s a difference between education and entertainment don’t know the first thing about either one.” Good stories move us. They touch us, they teach us, and they cause us to remember. They enable the listener to put the behavior in a real context and understand what has to be done in that context to live up to expectations. (p. 25).

Personal involvement is a genuine expression of caring. It helps foster trust and partnership. Leadership cannot be exercised from a distance. Leadership is a relationship, and relationships are formed only when people come into contact with each other. (p. 29).

We saw, over and over again, that leadership doesn’t depend on mystical qualities or inborn gifts but rather on the capacity of individuals to know themselves, their strengths, and their weaknesses, and to learn from the feedback they get in their daily lives – in short, their capacity for self-improvement. (p. 33).

Leadership development is self-development… To know what to change in our lives, we need to understand what we’re doing that is getting the results we want and what we’re doing that is not. (p. 34).

Most people produce more in an environment where they get positive feedback, and productivity diminishes where there is little or no feedback or where they only hear from their leaders if something is wrong. (p. 40).

Values set the stage for action. Goals release the energy. (p. 52).

Exemplary leaders make sure that work is not pointless ambling, but purposeful action. (p. 53).

People need to know whether they’re making progress or marking time. Goals serve that function, but it’s not enough simply to know that we want to make it to the summit. We need to know if we’re still climbing, or if we’re sliding downhill. (p. 54).

If leaders provide a clear sense of direction and provide feedback along the way, they encourage people to reach inside and do their best. Leaders make the impossible possible and motivate people to strive to make the possible a reality. (p. 58).

From the first day in school until the day I graduated, everyone gave me one hundred plus in art. Well, where do you go in life? You go to the place where you got one hundred plus. (Louise Nevelson, sculptor). (p. 61).

The set-up-to-fail syndrome “is self-fulfilling and self-reinforcing – it is the quintessential vicious circle…” High expectations or low expectations both influence other people’s performance. Only high expectations have a positive impact on actions and on feelings about oneself. Only high expectations can encourage the heart. (p. 64).


When you really pay attention – when you’re curious, when you look for the best, when you

put others first, when you listen with eyes and heart, when you hang out, when you open up to and with others –

then you find what you’re seeking… You find lots of opportunities to recognize individuals

for their contributions. [pp. 86-87]

Leaders are out and about all the time. They’re not in their offices much; the demands of the job keep them mobile. (p. 73).

Who do you trust more, someone you know or someone you don’t know? (p. 82).

We listen more intently to a person we perceive as a friend – someone who cares about us – than we do to a person we perceive only as a professional associate. (p. 85).

When you really pay attention – when you’re curious, when you look for the best, when you put others first, when you listen with eyes and heart, when you hang out, when you open up to and with others – then you find what you’re seeking. You notice all kinds of examples of people living up to and exceeding the standards that have been set. You find lots of opportunities to recognize individuals for their contributions. (pp. 86-87).

Honored and not diminished. That’s how we all want to feel. (p. 92).

In the new world of business, where it’s every executive’s job to make sense of a fast changing environment, storytelling is the ultimate leadership tool. (Elizabeth Weil, writer). (p. 99).

The best leaders want to get closer to others, want to be more intimate with others, than do the poorer performers. (p. 119).

Celebrations – public statements by their very nature – give expression to and reinforce commitment to key values. They visibly demonstrate that the organization is serious about adhering to its principles. Celebrations are more than parties. They’re rituals that create meaning. When planning a celebration, every leader should ask, “What meaning am I trying to create?” Public ceremonies crystallize personal commitments, binding people together, and letting them know they’re not alone. When individuals or teams are singled out for recognition in a public event, they are held up as role models. Research shows that peers make better role models than those who are socially distant from us. (p. 123).

We lead by being human. We do not lead by being corporate, professional, or institutional. (Paul G. Hawken, founder, Smith and Hawken) (p. 129).

Directly and visibly showing others that you’re there to cheer them along sends a positive signal. You’re more likely to see others do it if you do it. It’s that simple. (p. 135).

Finding your voice begins by asking yourself Whyte’s questions. When you speak, who is speaking? Is it your voice, or someone else’s? Who came to work today? Did you show up fully, or was it only part of you that made it? Which part?… What do you really care about? (p. 149).

Encouraging the Heart 5

[Street Address] [City], [State][Postal Code]

Presentation Outline

• The heart of the matter: the basic human need to be appreciated for what we do and who we are. Leaders: • Challenge the process

• Inspire a shared vision

• Enable others to act

• Model the way

• Encourage the heart

1. The heart of leadership: people need encouragement to perform at their best. • People are starved for recognition

2. The seven essentials of encouraging 1. Set clear standards

2. Expect the best

3. Pay attention

4. Personalize recognition

5. Tell the story

6. Celebrate together

7. Set the example

• Leaders understand the value of celebrating together

• Leaders set the example

• Leaders continually challenge others to “move forward”

3. The encouragement index…

Workers are people, and people flourish when encouraged.

It is the task of leaders to continually,

perpetually, encourage the hearts

of the people they lead.

Encouraging the Heart A Leader’s Guide to Rewarding and Encouraging Others

Jossey-Bass: The Jossey-Bass Business and Management Series (2003). by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Pozner


Presentation Outline, continued • The seven essentials expanded… 1. Set clear standards

• Commitment flows from personal values

• Goals concentrate our minds and shape who we are

• Goals plus feedback keep us engaged

• Encouragement is feedback

2. Expect the Best • High expectations lead to high performance

• Positive images create positive possibilities

• Who leads the leaders? (reciprocal communicating of

high expectations)

• Self-esteem is a win for all

3. Pay attention • Ditch the shiny badge (leaders should not be known as

“constantly on the lookout for problems”)

• Release the positive

• Put others first

• Listen with your eyes and your heart

• “Hang out” (listen; be physically present)

• Be a friend and open up

• Seek and you will find (look for the good)

4. Personalize recognition (the value of thoughtfulness!)

• Recognition can hurt if it’s not personalized

• Know what they like

• Personalize means culturalize


5. Tell the story

• The story is the reality

• Stories teach, mobilize, and motivate

• Great leaders are great storytellers

6. Celebrate together

• Create a culture of celebration

• “We want to involve others in our lives”

• Intimacy heals; loneliness hurts

• Celebrations build community

• Celebrations reinforce values

7. Set the example

• Credibility is the foundation

• DWYSYWD: do what you say you will do

• Start your morning with encouragement

• Leaders go first

• Leaders are called to “find your (caring) voice”

Presentation Outline, continued


Strategic Questions Strategic leadership focuses on transforming the organization from what it is to what it aspires to become. This fourth dimension of leadership requires a long term and change-oriented perspective for an organization to envision the future and develop a practical, achievable and yet aggressive strategy for shaping its destiny. At this level of leadership, employees follow the leader because they believe in the leader’s sense of vision for the future, even if they do not fully understand what the journey will look like. A willingness to leave the past behind and follow the leader into the future is heavily influenced by their understanding of (1) how the organization treats people (relational); (2) how competent the organization is (operational); and (3) whether the organization walks the talk of its stated values (systems).

1. What is our fundamental purpose as leaders? How well are we fulfilling that purpose? 2. Notice the third paragraph under “Quotes.” The work of transformation is a hopeful work.

How well are we “keeping hope alive?” 3. “Leaders are out and about all the time. They are not in their offices much; the demands of

the job keep them mobile.” Does this apply to us? If so, how are we doing? Are we managers or leaders?

Systems Questions Systems leadership designs, implements and ensures the effective functioning of healthy systems that govern how all underlying operations are managed. It relies heavily upon trust-building to institutionalize and operationalize the authentic values of the organization. In this third dimension of leadership, the leader transitions from managing daily operations to creating an operational environment that facilitates excellent performance by shaping the culture and core values of the organization. At this level of leadership, people choose to follow because they trust that the leader is developing well-run and healthy systems that rise above individually weak supervisors and managers. But building trust in the organization’s systems can happen only when building upon a foundation of widespread relational and operational leadership competency.

1. Why is it important to create an environment where employees receive positive feedback? 2. How do we create and sustain systems built on the value of celebrations, recognition and

appreciation? 3. What are the stories in our organization that are worth celebrating--that are worth preserving

as cultural expressions of our identity?


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Operational Questions Operational Leadership focuses on supervisory and managerial effectiveness. In this second dimension of leadership, the individual progresses from managing relationships to managing the performance of employees and operations. At this leadership level, people choose to follow primarily because of positional and intellectual authority – they assume that the supervisor or manager knows more than they do about the job at hand. However, Operational Leadership builds on Relational Leadership--if you cannot manage relationships, you can never achieve excellence in managing the performance of your employees and operations.

1. “Encouragement increases the chance that people will actually achieve higher levels of performance.” How are we encouraging our employees?

2. Do our employees clearly understand what is expected from them and the purpose of their work?

3. In what ways can we express ongoing appreciation for work being done?

Relational Questions Relational Leadership is the foundational competency upon which all other leadership dimensions are constructed. At this leadership level, people choose to follow primarily because of how the leader treats them. Many otherwise qualified managers never achieve excellence as leaders because they do not manage relationships well. High-performance organizations place a priority on developing the Relational Leadership skills of all employees, from front line workers to senior executives.

1. How can we foster a sense of trust and partnership in our relationships with customers and co-workers?

2. How can we best provide recognition and appreciate for our co-workers and customers? 3. What type of environment allows us to be most productive?

Prepared by Randy Mayeux

For more information on Executive Book Briefings, please contact Krisa Delacruz at [email protected].

www.15MinuteBusinessBooks.com

Start with Why

How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action Simon Sinek New York: Portfolio/Penguin [2009]

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1. Whether individuals or organizations, we follow those who lead not because we have to, but because we want to. We follow those who lead not for them, but for ourselves. 63

2. This is a book for those who want to inspire others and for those who

want to find someone to inspire them. 65 3. The goal of this book is not simply to try to fix the things that aren’t

working. Rather, I wrote this book as a guide to focus on and amplify the things that do work. 92

4. However, if we’re starting with the wrong

questions, if we don’t understand the cause, then even the right answers will always steer us wrong . . . eventually. 94

5. How did the Wright brothers succeed where a better-equipped, better-

funded and better-educated team could not? It wasn’t luck. …Only the Wright brothers started with Why. 113

6. Apple has successfully challenged conventional thinking within the

computer industry, the small electronics industry, the music industry, the mobile phone industry and the broader entertainment industry. And the reason is simple. Apple inspires. Apple starts with Why. 136

7. Martin Luther King started with Why. 150

This is a book for those who want to inspire others and for those who want to find someone to inspire them.

Here are some key quotes from the book. (Note: The “#s” following each quote indicate the Kindle App for the iMac “location” of the quote in the book.)

#1 – We need help understanding why some leaders, and some companies, are “better” than others. This book helps us find the answer to that question. #2 – Maybe the life cycle of companies is naturally away from the original “WHY.” And when the original WHY is lost, it’s a serious loss! #3 – Only the “WHY” inspires passion, better action, much better employee and customer loyalty. This book will help you pursue that kind of WHY…

Why is this book worth our time?

• Quotes and excerpts from the book – (the “best of” Randy’s highlights):


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8. Their goals were not different than anyone else’s, and their systems and processes were easily replicated. Yet the Wright brothers, Apple and Martin Luther King stand out among their peers. 155

9. Those who truly lead are able to create a following of people who act not because they were swayed, but because they

were inspired. 165 10. All the inspiring leaders and companies, regardless of size or

industry, think, act and communicate exactly alike. And it’s the complete opposite of everyone else. 175

11. Inspired employees make for stronger companies and stronger economies. That is why I wrote this book. 181 12. The problem is, we’ve all been in situations in which we have all the data and get lots of good advice but things still don’t

go quite right. 222 Assumptions, you see, even when based on sound research, can lead us astray. Intuitively we understand this. 225

13. Every instruction we give, every course of action we set, every result we desire, starts with the same thing: a decision. 249 14. There’s barely a product or service on the market today that customers can’t buy from someone else for about the same

price, about the same quality, about the same level of service and about the same features. 256 15. In other words, most companies have no clue why their customers are their customers. 260 16. There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can

manipulate it or you can inspire it. 265 17. When companies or organizations do not have a clear sense of why their customers are their customers, they tend to rely on a

disproportionate number of manipulations to get what they need. And for good reason. Manipulations work. 271 18. Thanks to all this “innovation,” it has become almost impossible to know which toothpaste is right for you. 426 19. Leadership is the ability to rally people not for a single event, but for years. 448 20. There is a big difference between repeat business and loyalty.

Repeat business is when people do business with you multiple times. Loyalty is when people are willing to turn down a better product or a better price to continue doing business with you. 450

21. Loyal customers often don’t even bother to research the competition or entertain other options. Loyalty is not easily won.

Repeat business, however, is. All it takes is more manipulations. 452 22. After September 11, there were customers who sent checks to Southwest Airlines to show their support. 504

The checks that Southwest Airlines received were certainly not enough to make any significant impact on the company’s bottom line, but they were symbolic of the feeling customers had for the brand. They had a sense of partnership. 506

23. The Golden Circle finds order and predictability in human behavior. Put simply, it helps us understand why we do what we do. 556

And it all starts from the inside out. It all starts with Why. 567 24. When I say WHY, I don’t mean to make money—that’s a result.

By WHY I mean what is your purpose, cause or belief? WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care? 575


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25. We say WHAT we do, we sometimes say HOW we do it, but we rarely say WHY we do WHAT we do. But not the inspired companies. Not the inspired leaders. Every single one of them, regardless of their size or their industry, thinks, acts and communicates from the inside out. 578

26. It’s worth repeating: people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it. 613 27. Apple “sells a lifestyle,” marketing professionals will tell you. Then how come these marketing professionals haven’t

intentionally repeated Apple’s success and longevity for another company? 702 Apple didn’t invent the lifestyle, nor does it sell a lifestyle. 704 Apple is simply one of the brands that those who live a certain lifestyle are drawn to. 705 it is the lifestyle that came first. 708

28. Knowing your WHY is not the only way to be successful, but it is the only way to maintain a lasting success and have a

greater blend of innovation and flexibility. 738 29. Instead of asking, “WHAT should we do to compete?” the questions must be asked, “WHY did we start doing WHAT

we’re doing in the first place, and WHAT can we do to bring our cause to life considering all the technologies and market opportunities available today?” 756

30. People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it. 852 31. This is what we mean when we talk about winning hearts and

minds. The heart represents the limbic, feeling part of the brain, and the mind is the rational, language center. 859 I can’t help but wonder if the order of the expression “hearts and minds” is a coincidence. Why does no one set out to win “minds and hearts”? 862

32. Great leaders are those who trust their gut. They are those who understand the art before the science. They win hearts

before minds. They are the ones who start with WHY. 877 33. The first thing people did when they pulled their laundry out of the dryer was to smell it. This was an amazing discovery.

Feeling clean was more important to people than being clean. 898 34. If we were all rational, there would be no small businesses, there would be no exploration, there would be very little

innovation and there would be no great leaders to inspire all those things. 912 35. This is beyond rational. This is a belief. 932 36. As I’ve discussed, when the WHY is absent, imbalance is produced and manipulations thrive. 949

Starting with WHY is just the beginning. There is still work to be done before a person or an organization earns the right or ability to inspire. 951 It all starts with clarity. You have to know WHY you do WHAT you do. 953

37. If the leader of the organization can’t clearly articulate WHY the organization exists in terms beyond its products or

services, then how does he expect the employees to know WHY to come to work? 955 38. HOWs are your values or principles that guide HOW to bring your cause to life. HOW we do things manifests in the

systems and processes within an organization and the culture. 961 39. We remind ourselves of our values by writing them on the wall . . . as nouns. Integrity. Honesty. Innovation.

Communication, for example. But nouns are not actionable. They are things. 967 And if you have to write “honesty” on your wall to remind you to do it, then you probably have bigger problems anyway. 970

40. For values or guiding principles to be truly effective they have to be verbs. It’s not “integrity,” it’s “always do the right thing.” It’s not “innovation,” it’s “look at the problem from a different angle.” 971


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41. Everything you say and everything you do has to prove what you believe. A WHY is just a belief. That’s all it is. HOWs are the actions you take to realize that belief. And WHATs are the results of those actions—everything you say and do: your products, services, marketing, PR, culture and whom you hire. 980

42. But Southwest wasn’t interested in competing against everyone else for 15 percent of the traveling population.

Southwest cared about the other 85 percent. 1032 {Note: Blue Ocean!!! - (RM)} “We compete against the car and the bus.” 1034 WHAT they do is not always significantly better. But WHY they do it is crystal clear and everything they do proves it. 1073

43. Differentiation happens in WHY and HOW you do it. 1071 44. Loyalty comes from the ability to inspire people. 1074 45. For this reason an organization must be clear about its purpose, cause or belief and make sure that everything they say

and do is consistent with and authentic to that belief. 1098 46. As with all decisions, people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy

WHY you do it, and WHAT you do serves as the tangible proof of WHY you do it. But unless you start with WHY, all people have to go on are the rational benefits. And chances are you won’t get a second date. 1142

47. The goal of business should not be to do business with anyone who simply wants what you have. It should be to focus

on the people who believe what you believe. When we are selective about doing business only with those who believe in our WHY, trust emerges. 1175

48. And if a company mistreats their people, just watch how the employees treat their customers.

And you can’t have a good product without people who like coming to work. It just can’t be done…” …Herb Kelleher, the head of Southwest for twenty years, was considered a heretic for positing the notion that it is a company’s responsibility to look after the employees first. Happy employees ensure happy customers, he said. And happy customers ensure happy shareholders—in that order. 1187

49. Again, a WHY is just a belief, HOWs are the actions we take to realize that belief, and WHATs are the results of those

actions. 1205 50. Leading, however, means that others willingly follow you—not because they have to, not because they are paid to, but

because they want to. 1209 51. The best engineer at Apple, for example, would likely be miserable if he worked at Microsoft. Likewise, the best engineer

at Microsoft would probably not thrive at Apple. 1339 52. The goal is to hire those who are passionate for your WHY,

your purpose, cause or belief, and who have the attitude that fits your culture. 1342

53. Paying someone a lot of money and asking them to come up with great ideas ensures very little. 1428


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54. Average companies give their people something to work on. In contrast, the most innovative organizations give their people something to work toward. 1431

55. The role of a leader is to create an environment in which great

ideas can happen. 1433 56. Historically, trust has played a bigger role in advancing companies and societies than skill set alone. 1501 57. It is a prerequisite, then, for someone to trust the culture in which they work to share the values and beliefs of that

culture. 1532 58. Passion comes from feeling like you are a part of something that you believe in, something bigger than yourself. 1612 59. However you slice it, the opinions of others matter. And the opinions of those we trust matter most. 1664

Don’t forget, loyalty is when people are willing to suffer some inconvenience or pay a premium to do business with you. 1747

60. It won’t take long for the group to find out that a recommendation wasn’t made with the group’s best interest in mind,

but rather because of one person’s self-interest. Trust erodes and the value of the influencer is rendered useless. 1774 61. Refusing to Consider the Law of Diffusion Will Cost You 1777 62. Give the People Something to Believe In 1845 63. But Dr. King was absolute in his conviction. He knew change had to happen in America. 1854 64. But how many people showed up for Dr. King? Zero. They showed up for themselves. It was what they believed. It was

what they saw as an opportunity to help America become a better version of itself. It was they who wanted to live in a country that reflected their own values and beliefs that inspired them to get on a bus to travel for eight hours to stand in the Washington sun in the middle of August to hear Dr. King speak. 1875

65. He gave the “I Have a Dream” speech, not the “I Have a Plan” speech. It was a statement of purpose and not a

comprehensive twelve-point plan to achieving civil rights in America. 1882 66. Energy motivates but charisma inspires. Energy is easy to see,

easy to measure and easy to copy. Charisma is hard to define, near impossible to measure and too elusive to copy. All great leaders have charisma because all great leaders have clarity of WHY; an undying belief in a purpose or cause bigger than themselves. 1911

67. Loyalty among employees is when they turn down more money or benefits to continue working at the same company.

Loyalty to a company trumps pay and benefits. 1928 68. Don’t forget that a WHY is just a belief, HOWs are the actions we take to realize that belief and WHATs are the results of

those actions. 1969 69. But great organizations function exactly like any social movement. 2062

People feel compelled to spread the word, not because they have to, but because they want to. 2065 70. But for a megaphone to work, clarity must come first. Without a clear message, what will you amplify? 2110 71. All Movements Are Personal 2175 72. This (Apple) commercial is as relevant today as it was twenty-five years ago when it first aired. And that’s because a

WHY never changes. WHAT you do can change with the times, but WHY you do it never does. 2223


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73. The CEO’s job, the leader’s responsibility, is not to focus on the outside market—it’s to focus on the layer directly beneath: HOW. The leader must ensure that there are people on the team who believe what they believe and know HOW to build it. 2257

74. Great societies understand the importance of symbols as a way of reinforcing their values, of capturing their beliefs. 2280

Symbols help us make tangible that which is intangible. 2282 75. The reason we trust Disney is simple; we know what they believe. 2426 76. In my vernacular, achievement comes when you pursue and attain WHAT you want. Success comes when you are clear

in pursuit of WHY you want it. 2555 77. However, for most of us, somewhere in the journey we forget WHY we set out on the journey in the first place. …an

inevitable split happens. 2567 78. …the impact of their fuzzy WHY is felt on a greater scale. Employees, customers and the community will feel it also. 2569 79. But it is the ability to inspire, to maintain clarity of WHY, that gives only a few people and organizations the ability to lead. 2620 80. To pass the School Bus Test, for an organization to continue to inspire and lead beyond the lifetime of its founder, the

founder’s WHY must be extracted and integrated into the culture of the company. 2632 81. Absent a clear WHY, size and momentum are all AOL has to keep them going. The company is not inspiring anymore,

not to those who work there and not to those on the outside. 2655 82. Martin Luther King Jr. could not have changed America walking across a bridge in Selma, Alabama, with five prominent

civil rights leaders. It took the thousands of people marching behind them to spur change. 2753 83. Wal-Mart never went through a split under Walton’s command, because Walton never forgot where he came from. 2882

Walton made only one major blunder. He didn’t put his cause into clear enough words so that others could continue to lead the cause after he died. It’s not entirely his fault. 2886

84. Money is never a cause, it is always a result. 2914 85. An investment in Wal-Mart on the day Sam Walton died would

have earned a shareholder a 300 percent gain by the time this book was written. An investment made in Costco on the same day would have netted an 800 percent gain. 2927

86. Apple is just one of the WHATs to Jobs’s and Woz’s WHY. 2987 87. And what if the next time someone asks, “Well why should I do

business with you then?” we answer with confidence, “Because the work we’re doing now is better than the work we were doing six months ago. And the work we’ll be doing six months from now will be better than the work we’re doing today. Because we wake up every day with a sense of WHY we come to work. We come to work to inspire people to do the things that inspire them. 3160

88. Leaders don’t have all the great ideas; they provide support for those who want to contribute. 3210

Leaders achieve very little by themselves; they inspire people to come together for the good of the group. Leaders never start with what needs to be done. Leaders start with WHY we need to do things. Leaders inspire action. 3210


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Start with Why How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

by Simon Sinek New York: Portfolio/Penguin [2009]

By "why," I mean: What's your purpose? What's your cause? What's your belief? Why does your organization exist? Why do you get out of bed in the morning? And why should anyone care? As a result, the way we think, we act, the way we communicate is from the outside in, it's obvious. We go from the clearest thing to the fuzziest thing. But the inspired leaders and the inspired organizations — regardless of their size, regardless of their industry — all think, act and communicate from the inside out. Simon Sinek, How Great Leaders Inspire Action, TED.com

• Some “WHY” Stories – o The Wright brothers beat the “establishment choice” into the

air… o Apple – (remember: 1984; Think Different; “individuals, not

groups”) o Southwest Airlines o Continental Airlines o Martin Luther King, Jr. – and his “social movement” o John Kennedy and the mission to the moon o The tired dad, the young child, and the two dvds – o (Hint: one of them was from Disney) o (Oprah and the free car…a reminder, with a thought

experiment…)

• The point of the book is… The Golden Circle – o KNOW WHY. KNOW HOW. THEN WHAT? o WHY first, then WHAT, then HOW

Some of the Key Content and Ideas from the Book


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• Pay attention to the Diffusion of Innovation –

o (Maybe, the “first mover advantage” is not as real as we think)… o Aim for the left side of the graphic

• Remember the human tendency toward regression to the mean o (Think gym memberships in the new year)

• This all has to do with the “limbic” brain:

o This is what we mean when we talk about winning hearts and minds. The heart represents the limbic, feeling part of the brain, and the mind is the rational, language center.

• Aim for “actionable” – think verbs…

o “Do the right thing(s)” vs. “always honest”

• Here’s a question – o Would the best, happiest _____ at Frisco be equally happy at Arlington, or Plano, or…? If so, you may

have a “why” clarity problem…

• The “clichés” and oft-repeated stories work, because…” o “I’m building a cathedral” o Henry Ford summed it up best. “If I had asked people what they wanted,” he said, “they would have said a

faster horse.”

• Build a megaphone that works… o Clarity of purpose, cause or belief is important, but it is equally important that people hear you.

• What’s your symbol?

o Ronald Reagan and honoring “live” heroes

• The buffet line and the celery test o Does this choice fit with your “why”

• The “split” and its signal…


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Randy Mayeux 214.577.8025 [email protected] Randy blogs about business books at www.FirstFridayBookSynopsis.com Follow Randy on Twitter: @Randy1116 Synopses available at www.15MinuteBusinessBooks.com

The Book: Preface Introduction PART 1 - A WORLD THAT DOESN’T START WITH WHY Chapter 1 - ASSUME YOU KNOW Chapter 2 - CARROTS AND STICKS PART 2 - AN ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVE Chapter 3 - THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. Chapter 4 - THIS IS NOT OPINION, THIS IS BIOLOGY Chapter 5 - CLARITY, DISCIPLINE AND CONSISTENCY PART 3 - LEADERS NEED A FOLLOWING Chapter 6 - THE EMERGENCE OF TRUST Chapter 7 - HOW A TIPPING POINT TIPS PART 4 - HOW TO RALLY THOSE WHO BELIEVE Chapter 8 - START WITH WHY, BUT KNOW HOW Chapter 9 - KNOW WHY. KNOW HOW. THEN WHAT? Chapter 10 - COMMUNICATION IS NOT ABOUT SPEAKING, IT’S ABOUT LISTENING PART 5 - THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS SUCCESS Chapter 11 - WHEN WHY GOES FUZZY Chapter 12 - SPLIT HAPPENS PART 6 - DISCOVER WHY Chapter 13 - THE ORIGINS OF A WHY Chapter 14 - THE NEW COMPETITION AFTERWORD

#1 – The leaders job is to grasp, instill, model the “WHY” at the center of your organization. #2 – The leader’s job is to make sure that people on the team grasp and share this WHY. #3 – The leader’s job is to make sure that the “How” and the “WHAT” are done well; but, only after connected to, and always flowing from, the WHY. #4 – If you have a clear WHY in your organization, then consider yourself extremely fortunate and lucky. It is rare to work in an organization with such a clear WHY.

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