There’s something that the greatest organizations in the world are catching on to that most haven’t picked up on yet: business is theater. Anytime you’re interacting with a customer you have a chance to dazzle and delight them. Why not put a little creative thinking into each of these interactions?

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A struggling entrepreneur was pitching the idea of media hubs at doctors offices. While sitting in the waiting room patrons would be able to get online, watch t.v., and read e-magazines. The product would be supported by ads. The sharks (investors) didn’t think it was a good idea because it was expensive to install and most people could access all of this information on their cell phones anyway. Sensing his chance is slipping away the entrepreneur begins to break down (literally tearing up) and confesses that he’s put everything into this idea over the last few years. He’s mortgaged his home, emptied his kids college funds, and is on the verge of bankruptcy. The investors let out a collective gasp and then start to lecture him basically saying, “What the heck do you think you’re doing? This is lunacy. You need to stop immediately. Nothing is worth you’re kids college fund.”

What struck me was that none of them admired him for the risk he was taking. They didn’t congratulate him on his courage or give him platitudes about his big break being just around the next corner. They told him to quit and focus on his family for awhile.

Most rah rah business books always promote a never give up mentality. Apparently, when the chips are down is when you’re supposed to go all in! I agree that most people give up far too easily but there comes a time when it’s okay to say “I’m out.” Then cut your losses and move on.

We need to learn the art of quitting well.

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On the one hand you have those who feel that whatever you create should be your passion. It should spring from within and be something you believe in even if your close friends or family laugh and call you crazy. They say some of the greatest innovations in the world have come from folks who’s products no one loved or thought would work at first glance. I think Gary Vaynerchuk of winelibrary.tv would fall into this camp.

On the other hand you have those who say business isn’t about you, it’s about the customers. Starting businesses around your passion is selfish and shortsighted. The key is to get a pulse on the market, larger culture, the masses and ask what it’s looking for? Then create a product that taps into their felt need. Sure it may not be your favorite thing in the world but at least it will be profitable. I think Michael Gerber author of the E-Myth would fall into this camp.

Of course the paradox of business is that it should be both. Novelist Frederick Buekner wrote that vocation is “where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” If you were forced to choose one over the other I would go with passion every time. Yet, to be wildly financially successful it will take both working in tandem.

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Why do you do what you do? Why get up early every day to do your job? Why start something that’s so challenging? Why risk it? Our off the cuff answer is to say it’s about the money. We say we want to get rich and buy a bigger house or some other toy. But is it really about the money? Like the Baboon Rafiki in the Lion King I would ask you to “look harder” and see below the surface. Perhaps for you it really is about the money, but for most of us I think our ‘why’ runs much deeper. Towards the end of this keynote speech by entrepreneur and internet celeb Gary Vaynerchuk he articulated his motivation for business., “To make my parents proud and because I love the game.” What a simple and honest answer. I have a friend and mentor named Lee who runs a small company in Wylie, TX. One day over coffee he told me his why, “So I can spoil my wife (because she deserves it) and so I have a business to give my kids should they ever want it.” Again, simple and honest.

The reason this is important to identify is because at some point the yogurt is going to hit the fan. Your product isn’t going to work like you thought it would, your partner is going to quit on you, or your launch might end up less than stellar. At that moment it’s going to be important that you feel your ‘why’ down to your bones.

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1. Be A Listener

We tend to think of leaders as people who are very comfortable talking.  There is a grain of truth in that idea because leaders need to be good communicators, yet even more important than the gift of gab is the gift of  listening, here’s why.  When people feel listened to they feel you genuinely like them, when people feel you genuinely like them they tend to trust you, and when someone trusts you, they’ll follow you.  Listening is almost magical in the way it can magnetize people to you.  To develop your listening skills is surprisingly difficult so here are 3 tips to help you along the way.  First, ask questions.  This puts the ball in their court and allows you to adopt the posture of listener.  Second, make small engaging comments and sounds.  A simple, “Yep, I see what you’re saying” or a “uh huh” communicates that you’re really listening and encourages them to continue talking.  Third, shut up.  You’ll be tempted to jump in with stories, insights, and opinions of your own but just hold back.  When they’re ready for you to talk they’ll tell you with their words or their body language.

2. Keep Your Thumb To The Pulse

Good leaders know the “pulse” of their organization.  They don’t necessarily know how or why but they’re very in touch with employee and customer challenges, expectations, fears, and emotions.  If you ask a good leader “So what’s the vibe of your organization right now?”  They won’t look back at you with a blank look on their face, instead they’ll start talking.  There are few things worse than a leader who has lost the pulse of his/her organization because it begins to undermine their influence on those following them.  Employees begin to wonder “Why don’t they know about this?  How can they be so clueless?”  One of the best suggestions I’ve heard for any leader trying to keep the pulse of their organization is M.B.W.A., or, “Management By Wandering Around”.  It’s been an essential leadership principle at Hewlett-Packard for years and I think it can be especially useful for growing business or larger established organizations.  The idea is that a leader takes ample time each week to walk around, observe, listen, and connect with people.  Note the word “connect”.  This is about geniune listening and interaction, not spying!  What are people discussing at the water cooler?  What are their thoughts about the organization?  What’s been going well?  What hasn’t been going so well?  What would they change?  What do they miss?  The only agenda is to cut through bureaucracy and begin to regain the pulse of your organization.  

3. Be An Emotional Thermostat Not A Thermometer

A good leader tends to be a bit of contrarian.  When everyone is screaming “The sky is falling!  Stocks are dropping. Our economy is sinking.  This will be the end.  We’re going under fast.  It’s over.” The leader steps in and offers a calming influence.  Their words, tone of voice, and demeanor all communicate “everyone needs to take a deep breath and relax.  Yes times are hard but it’s going to be okay.  Let’s just focus on what we can control right now and move forward.  Things will change.”  This doesn’t mean they are in denial it just means they have wisdom.  On the flip side, when everyone is screaming “Things have never been better!  Stocks are up, up, up.  Onward and upward forever.  All our problems are solved.”  The leader again steps in and provides a calming influence.  ”Times are good so let’s be sure to enjoy them” they’ll say “but we all need to remember that this won’t last forever so let’s keep hustling and doing what we do with excellence.”  Thermometers reflect the outside temperature but a thermostat changes the temperature, as a leader be the thermostat when it comes to the emotions of you’re group.  Especially in times like we’re experiencing now people are looking for something special from you.

Misconception 1: Leadership is a position or title.

This is probably the most common leadership fallacy around, especially among young emerging leaders. They think to themselves “If only I could get that position then people would respect and follow me. The reason I’m struggling here is because they won’t give me that title.” The reality is that people will follow you because of your title for about one hour, if you haven’t proved your worth by then don’t expect many people to be paying attention. William Wallace in the movie Braveheart said it best, “Men don’t follow titles, they follow courage.” Wise words from our friend William.

Misconception 2: Leadership is a characteristic you’re born with.

Certainly some people seem to have a knack for leadership, however it’s much more a learned skill than anything innate. Just read the biography of any famous leader and you’ll see the process they went through to become the great men and women they are. I think they would all agree that they learned to be great rather than being born that way.

Misconception 3: Leadership is responsibility for certain tasks.

I think this confusion stems from the first misconception. We get in a certain position and instead of thinking “Who do I need to lead?” We ask, “What do I need to do?” So having touched on these three misconceptions, let me get to our original question: “What is leadership?”

I believe that leadership is influence. It’s been said that a “leader without followers is just taking a walk” and our definition of leadership couldn’t align more. With this truth in mind, Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, and even Adolph Hitler were all extremely powerful leaders. Not primarily because of their positions, innate charisma, or ability to accomplish high level tasks. They were powerful leaders because of the profound influence they had on people, of course we may or may not like how they were waging that influence but at the end of the day no one can dispute their profound impact on peoples lives. So if you’ve been wondering whether or not you’re a leader, wonder no more. All you have to do is take a look around and ask “is anyone following me?”

Serving as inspiration for this post are Developing The Leader Within You by John Maxwell and Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels.

Public speaking can strike fear into the heart of the bravest among us.  There we are – singled out, with all eyes on us, our palms are sweaty, butterflies dip and soar in our stomach, and our heart is beating so hard we’re sure everyone can see our shirt palpitating to the rhythm in our chest.  Good God it’s terrifying! So how do the pro’s do it?  They thank their host, dive passionately into their subject matter, make a few jokes, wrap it up, and stride off the stage.  How can they walk up there seemingly calm, cool, and collected?  

Becoming an excellent public speaker (like anything) takes a lifetime to master so don’t expect standing ovations by tomorrow.  However, by implementing a few of these principles you’ll be building a foundation of excellence in your public speaking that will aid you for years to come.

Principle 1: Center Around One Big Idea.

Believe it or not, most people don’t have too little to say, but rather too much; this is especially true if you’re someone who doesn’t get to speak in public very often.  As you sit down to prepare you’ll find that all these various ideas, stories, directions, connections, and keen insights are popping into your brain and you might be tempted to say them all.  ”How could I possibly leave that stunning insight out?” you exclaim.  Here’s why, if you try to say everything you’ll end up communicating nothing.  Remember, there’s something beautiful about simplicity and clarity.  It’s a breath of fresh air when someone walks to the stage and says “Here’s the one thing I want you to walk away with”.  Right off the bat you’ve communicated to people why in the they should listen to you and assured them that your’re not about to waste their valuable time.  As you prepare for this speech the mantra rolling around your head should be “What EXACTLY am I trying to say?”.  That will help everything in your presentation, from the introduction to the conclusion, have a laser-like focus.  It’s sort of the difference between hitting a home run and laying down 5 or 6 bunts.  

Principle 2: Speak With Passion.

If you don’t care about the topic at hand why on earth would anyone else?  If you’re speaking out of a sense of duty or obligation it only communicates to your audience “honestly, this doesn’t really matter to me and it shouldn’t to you…feel free to tune me out because I’m wasting your time anyway.”  The greatest speeches in history resonated and became catalyst’s for change because those delivering them did so with extreme passion and conviction.  Just watch the “I Have A Dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr.   Is there any question he has a passion for this subject?  Of course not, it’s like he feels this down to his toes, he believes what he’s saying is important and that those in attendance need to listen.  

Of course you may say, “Well I would be passionate if I were speaking about eliminating racism, global poverty, or the aids crisis, but I’m not, I’m just an accountant presenting the latest financials to the execs at Corporation ‘X’.  My topic is boring and uninteresting and I can’t change it.”  I sympathize with you, but it’s no excuse.  You absolutely must find the reason it matters.  Why are you being given twenty minutes of valuable time?

If you already have a passion for your subject that’s great!  Don’t hold back.  Feel it down to your toes, let it light up your eyes, and give a sense of urgency to your voice.

Principle 3: Get Your “PING” On.

In her book RenGen author Patricia Martin discusses the theory of where original ideas come from.  She writes the following.

Scientists have studied the changes that take place in brain function when subjects are presented with something unexpected… What if I put an object in front of you that you have never seen before? In that case you will search your memory and ask it: ‘Where have I seen something like this?’ No answer. You will keep searching your brain, checking the nooks and crannies of your cortex.  All the while you are rapidly forming an assessment of whether this thing could harm you.  Unsure, you may begin to invent a way of classifying or understanding the object.  You might refine it by fusing it with a known object, thus inventing something original.  This is how we generate new ideas. We search for what I term potential inspiration for new ground- or P.I.N.G.  The richer our storehouses of images and memories we have to PING against, the more combinations of answers and solutions we can conjure.

I believe that as you craft a presentation you are doing some major ‘PING-ing’, so to speak.  You are pulling from the storehouse of experiences you’ve had, books you’ve ready, blogs you frequent, weird places you’ve been, interesting conversations you’ve had, etc.  If you haven’t interacted with other people’s ideas very broadly then it’s quite possible that your ability to PING is pretty limited.  If you took the time to watch the “I Have A Dream” speech above you may have noticed that Martin Luther King Jr. had seriously interacted with the Old Testament of the Bible and the ideas of pacifists like Leo Tolstoy and Ghandi.  In other words, his speech wasn’t created in a vacuum, but was profoundly enriched by thinkers that had gone before him.  The lesson for all of us here is that we need to experience broadly, read widely, and think deeply to create speeches that stir people.

Wrap Up

To listen to some of the world’s greatest communicators head on over to TED.com.  For a wonderful book on preparing and delivering dynamic speeches check out Ken Davis’ book “Secret of Dynamic Communication“.