The Forgotten Secret of Good Leaders

           Jedediah Smith paused on top of a ridge and looked out at the terrain in front of him with his spyglass.  All he saw were rugged mountains and snow.  There was no sign of a pass or way to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 

His group was near starvation and exhaustion.  In the last six days, they had eaten one beaver and one colt.  Jedediah desperately wanted to cross the mountains and believed that was the quickest way to get back the summer’s rendezvous of all the trappers and mountain men in the Rocky Mountain area.  That was also the chance to get with his business partners, sell their furs and buy new supplies. 

The question before him, and him alone as the leader of the group, was whether or not to press on and hope to find a way through or turn back.  Turning back meant facing Indian tribes that had become increasingly hostile.  It also meant giving up on a way to get across the mountains to the rendezvous.  Did he forge ahead?  Or, did he turn back?

In his journal, Jedediah later wrote that he “learned one thing which I did not know before – that I must sometime be turned back.”  Jedediah was a determined explorer, but realized that pushing forward would not ultimately accomplish what he hoped and would likely mean his destruction as well as all of those for whom he was responsible.  The group retraced their steps and set up camp at a lower elevation.  Later, Jedediah did make it to the rendezvous with two others, nearly dying on the way.  The rest of the party stayed behind until Jedediah rejoined them in September of that year, five months later.

It is easy for an organization or an individual leader to become so focused on one goal or strives for a certain outcome that they ignore changing circumstances.  That could mean ignoring the threat of a new competitor or changes in the market.  It could mean continuing a policy or process in the work place that doesn’t work as intended and affects morale or actually damages productivity. 

As Kenny Rogers once crooned, a gambler has to know when to fold’em and when to hold’em.  A good leader needs to know when to change course, even if that means abandoning expectations, ideas, hopes or even a practice that was successful in the past, but no longer will be. 

The best leaders know when to push forward and, what's more, when to give up on an idea and change course.  Most leaders do not like to give up and may not want to admit that they are on the wrong course.  Determination, perseverance and follow through are more often the skills or qualities that create a good leader.  However, there has to be room for that judgment call, to say this isn’t working anymore or is the wrong path and it is time to re-evaluate and change direction.

Unfortunately, there is not one simple formula to tell a leader when to throw in the towel or to persevere.  The overall secret is the ability to inject sound judgment and not to be blinded by what you want to see.  To do this, you need to take a step back and take an objective look at whether the course of action will accomplish the expected goal.  Then you have to be willing to cut your losses and move on.  This is a challenge in and of itself.  There is already an investment behind your actions, money spent, time spent or other commitments.  In the case of Jedediah, he had traveled a long time heading north from California looking for a way across the mountains.  The last several days had been spent on the verge of starvation traveling deeper into the mountains.  When he changed course, that effort was essentially lost and they set up camp back down the trail.  Nevertheless, he realized that continuing to push on out of stubbornness or determination would likely lose much more - all of their lives.

Telling the difference between determination and thickheaded stubbornness can be tricky.  To help evaluate and re-evaluate your own motives, use the following questions as a guide.

1.       Are goals being met or is the current course moving you closer to them?

2.     Are you seeing what you want to see or are you seeing reality?  Be careful not to delude yourself.

3.     What do your instincts tell you?  Instincts are often built on years of experience tied into judgment and can help guide your actions.

4.     Are you willing to cut your losses and change direction?  Just like in the song about gamblers, it is sometimes necessary to fold on a poor hand to win the game in the long run.

If you follow these basic steps, you may discover the forgotten secret of success that is sometimes needed by truly successful leaders.  Especially those that succeed in difficult times and challenges.

              

Have you wondered how to deal with an aggressive employee or phone threats against a staff member?  Do you have the security system you should?  Are you worried about how your business would handle an emergency situation?  There are lots of worries as a leader in your organization.  Security risks do not have to be one of them.  To learn about business coaching sessions, send an email to eric@businesskarate.com. 

Fed Up Woman Says Enough is Enough

When Monique Lawless entered the Texas Wal-Mart, she had no idea what she was going to run into.  As she was checking out, she saw three men stealing beer from the store and head out to the parking lot.  The store employees did not attempt to stop them, so she told the cashier to watch her purse and ran out after them.  She jumped onto their car as they tried to drive away, stomping on the windshield and sunroof before sliding off as they picked up speed. 

The three suspects were later arrested and it turned out that they were brothers, all with the name Sylvester.  No wonder they turned to a life of crime.

For years, we’ve heard law enforcement recommend against intervening in criminal acts and, as a society, we’ve learned the lesson and dutifully stopped becoming involved, giving crooks free reign.  Conventional security wisdom would say not to get mixed up and to only fight for your property.  Normally, that is even my advice when teaching security awareness classes. 

However, Monique bucked the trend and took a stand.  Why she reached her boiling point may never be known.  She deserves to be recognized as a true everyday hero.  Of course, the local police quickly warned that this kind of intervention was not recommended.

Maybe if more people stood up against crooks, thieves, and other miscreants, we would see criminals become the ones hiding and acting afraid, not innocent individuals.  Most bad guys are ultimately cowards.  That is even a large reason that street gangs hang out together.  When it comes down to it, they don’t have the courage to act alone.  By sheer numbers, they can intimidate and bully others. 

In this case, though, one average, everyday individual challenged three suspects, all alone.  And it ended well.  She walked away without serious injury and the bad guys went to jail.  More people standing up like this can help curtail, if not stop, crime. 

That doesn’t mean that you have to get physically involved or jump onto moving cars.  There are a lot of ways that each of us can step up and help put the bad guys behind bars.  Three basic guidelines will help you do the right thing for the situation.

1.      Be aware of your surroundings.

2.     Be a good witness.

3.     Take action.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these.  Be aware.  Don’t ignore what is going on around you.  No matter what happens, if you don’t know about it, you cannot help.  In fact, this is the basis of any self-defense program or personal security.  Awareness is the fundamental and is critical to being street smart (Five Tips to Becoming Street Smart).  Monique was obviously aware of what the three suspects were doing.  It would have been easier to ignore it, pretend not to see it or be so distracted that she didn’t see it.

Next is to be a good witness.  Bad guys do not want attention and don’t want anyone watching them.  If you see something going on, make note of what the person is doing, how they are dressed and especially look for identifying marks.  The more obvious, the more likely the suspect will feel uncomfortable and want to move on quickly.  There are some exceptions, as during a robbery (read How to Survive a Robbery).

Last is to take action.  That doesn’t mean doing anything high risk or suicidal or even some movie-like stunt.  The action could be as simple as calling the police and waiting to give your statement to the officers.  Be willing to follow up by going to court later, if necessary.  Too often, witnesses disappear before police can get statements.  Stand up for what you saw.

Action may mean intervention.  That is a personal choice, but if someone is getting hurt and you are in a position to help then do so.  We’ve all heard the stories of attacks happening in front of dozens of witnesses, no one even called the police, and no one stepped in to help.  Remember to be safe.  If it is too dangerous then seek help, but take at least that action.

So Monique Lawless is a hero and her actions likely led to the suspects being arrested a short time later after a police pursuit.  Don’t mess with Texas.

As for me, I will continue to teach employees to fight for their life, not property.  However, I will also train others to follow the steps above and will never criticize someone for taking bold steps to stop a group of pathetic thieves.

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”  Edmund Burke

              

                   

Take Bold Action for Bold Results

Recently, I came across a mention of William the Conqueror.  It occurred to me that his invasion of England in 1066 had a drastic change on history and even impacted our language, adding French influences.  Why did he attack England?  I don’t remember the historic details, but recall that through family ties he had a remote claim to be King of England as well as whatever title he held already in Normandy, France.  He could have made his appeals through the courts of the day and stayed living royally in France, but decided instead to mount an attack on King Harold.

William the Conqueror Crossing the Channel (Wiki Commons)

He organized his army and transported them across the English Channel to attack.  Harold rushed to meet him, weary after fending off another attack on his eastern shores.  The battle raged on throughout the day.  At one point, William the Conqueror was struck off his horse and word spread quickly that he had died.  His army began to fall apart and retreat until William ran around, showing that he was still alive.  He was able to rally his army and continue the attack.  His victory was sealed after King Harold was killed by archers.  William of Normandy became William the Conqueror.  Bold action!  How many of the historical characters that we know of are a result of bold action?  Not many history books document the lack of exploits by Ted the Timid.

This ability to take an idea or even a desire and turning that into action is what has achieved greatness and great results.  Bold ideas, bold planning and bold follow-through!  Bold because often the risks were enormous – even life itself.

Fortunately, leaders today don’t have to worry about being hung or beheaded or imprisoned.  So what holds us back from bold action?  Fear?  Our fears of being fired or making enemies or stepping on toes pale when compared to the historical figures of greatness.

What do you want to achieve this year?  What is keeping you from that?  Is there some type of action that you can take to overcome your obstacles?  When we face challenges or barriers it is too easy to slip back into our comfort zones and not try to get around those.  Imagine if William the Conqueror had not gotten out of his comfort zone and had stayed in France.  The history of England and ultimately, the United States, would have been changed in incredible ways.  America may have been a French and Spanish colony without English influence.  Our entire world would be almost unrecognizable. 

So what are you going to conqueror this year?

Be bold, take action and make the changes that you need to achieve your goals, whether that is within your organization or for yourself to accomplish a dream or objective that you hesitate to pursue.