Posts Tagged "Leadership"

The Leadership Video Toolbox project is barely a week old, and I have 3 video submissions already!  The 3 qualities taken thus far are: Vision, Initiative & Teachability.

I’ve got 18 more qualities to cover so just pick the one that sounds best to you.  You can also redo 1 of the 3 already chosen.  I’d like to hear as many viewpoints as possible.

Click here for the details on the project.

Let me know if you have any questions or ideas.

HELP: CALL FOR VIDEOS ON LEADERSHIP!!

Background: I’m currently working a on video blog for my MBA Leadership class.  The project is called a “Leadership Toolbox.”  The professor wants us to create a “toolbox” that future leaders can refer to for guidance.  My idea for the toolbox is to create a video blog that has individuals whom I see as leaders spend 30 to 60 seconds on the one of the 21 leadership qualities discussed in the book by John Maxwell “The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader.” It’s simple to do.  Pick one of the 21 Leadership Qualities and send me your 30-60 second video commentary about that topic.

In the past, this project has been a static one.  I want to use the the collective minds to create and grow a living, breathing toolbox for myself and others.  I plan to continue growing this toolbox long after my class has been concluded.  But, I need your help now!

Directions: The video can simply be recorded with a webcam and shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes of your time.  If you need help recording it, just let me know as I have several methods for doing this.  Don’t worry about editing it. I’ll do that.  Just film it.  Please let me know if you have any questions, concerns or ideas on how to start.  You can email the video to me; or if you use Dropbox, let me know, and I’ll setup a shared folder between the two of us. (You can sign-up for Dropbox free here)

The final video blog will be located here: CLouvi’s Leadership Toolkit (Note: the current videos are just placeholders).

Timeline: Before Monday, April 12, 2010

21 Indispensable Qualities: Character, Charisma, Commitment, Communication, Competence, Discernment, Focus, Generosity, Initiative, Listening, Passion, Positive Attitude, Problem Solving, Relationships, Responsibility, Security, Self-Discipline, Servanthood, Teachability, Vision  Here is a 21 Indispensalbe Leader Qualities Summary that overviews each chapter.

Extra: If you’d like me to include any links to your blog, LinkedIn profile, bio, etc, please let me know and I’ll be sure to include it online.

Great thanks to all the people have submitted videos thus far! Special thanks to Liz Philips for the suggestion to crowdsource this project.

The New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts will play for NFL supremacy in Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday, February 7th, 2010.  All the “experts” are picking the Colts purely based on Peyton Manning’s mastery of the game.  Mastery may be an understatement as he is so good that his name may one day become a verb in football vernacular.  No one searches the Internet anymore because they “Google” it.  The golf world had to “Tiger Proof” courses to level the field.  Future NFL quarterbacks will one day learn how to “Peytonize” their play.

But, Manning hasn’t been canonized yet; and I have yet to see any real hard stats on why the Colts are going to beat the Saints.  I continually hear that they tore apart the #1 ranked defense in the NY Jets.  Well, hell, just give the Colts the trophy now.  Read the top 10 below to see how irrelevant that stat is.

Since I have seen very few numbers provided as to why the Saints will lose, I’m going to provide you with 10 hard statistics that prove why the Saints have a fighting chance to win Super Bowl XLIV.

First…Numbers That Cancel Out

#9 & #18: As expected, most of the talk about Super Bowl XLIV has been built-up around the quarterbacks playing on Sunday.  Trying to compare these two is like splitting hairs.  Drew Brees and Peyton Manning lead the NFL in touchdowns with 122 each since 2006.  For the 2009 season, both had stellar passing percentages with Brees slightly ahead at 70.6 (NFL Record) and Manning at 68.8.   Brees threw 34 touchdowns to Manning’s 33.  Manning threw 16 interceptions to Bress’ 11.  Brees was the highest rated passer at 109.6.  Manning was 6th at 99.9.  The bottom line is that you will see the top two quarterbacks in the game today play on Sunday.  Regardless of allegiance, what a treat!!

5: Football games are won in the trenches.  The Colts and Saints are very evenly matched on their offensive lines.  Both are ranked in the top 5 in sacks allowed (Colts 13 / Saints 20) & hits on the QB (Colts 44 / Saints 52).   Neither offensive line is legendary, but they have stellar leaders that possess great internal clocks and know how to move in/out of pocket.

34: Receiving TDs – Both the Saints & Colts are tied for 1st w/ 34 (Vikings also had 34).

#1: The most overrated stat I’ve heard is the Colts beat the NFL’s best defense already, which in 2009 was the Jets.  The pedestrian logic is that since Peyton tore up the #1 ranked Jets’ defense in the AFC Championship, then the Saints are doomed as they are ranked #25.  The only one stat used to declare the best defense in the NFL is yards per game allowed.  Of the top 10 teams in this category, 4 did not make the playoffs and the other 6 have been knocked out already.  The Colts rank 18th giving up 15 yards less per game than the Saints.

Now…10 Stats That Back the Saints to Win SB XLIV

0: The number of kick-off Returns of 40+ yards the Colts have made, which ranks them at 28th.  The Saints are ranked 4th with 5 on the season.  Both teams are about even on kickoff touchback percentage, so it could be a big kick-off return that gives either Brees or Manning the edge they need.

3: The Saints defense has beaten 3 more Super Bowl tested quarterbacks than the Colts have.  The 5 quarterbacks the Saints played are E. Manning, Delhomme, Brady, Warner & Farve.  The Colts have only beaten 2 (Warner, Brady).  Combined, those 5 quarterbacks have 11 Super Bowl starting appearances and 6 championship rings.  In contrast, the Colts opponents have 7 appearances with 4 rings.

4.5: The Saints running backs are just better than the Colts as they are ranked 5th in team rushing with 4.5 yards/carry.  The Colts are ranked 31st with 1 full yard less per carry (3.5).   The Saints are a much more balanced team as they accomplished that stellar mark on 812 more rushing attempts than the Colts.  Ironically, the Jets, whom the Colts beat, also had 4.5 yards/carry.

so why will the Saints fare better?…The Jets were a 1-trick pony (no pun intended)…

8.3: The Saints are ranked 3rd for number of passing yards per attempt at 8.3.  The Jets were ranked 31st with 6.6.  The Colts place 10th at 7.7.

11: The Saints are ranked 3rd in turnover margin at +11.  The Colts are 14th at +2.

21: The number of rushing TDs by the Saints, which ranks them 3rd in the NFL.  The Colts are 13th with 16 rushing TDs.  This difference of 5 will prove to be relevant since the both teams are near even in the passing game.

31.9: The Saints are ranked 1st with 31.9 points per game (PPG). The Colts are ranked 7th with 26. (Vikings 2nd 29.4 / Jets 17th 21.8)

32: The Colts rushing attack is ranked dead last with 1,294 yards.  As a team, the Saints are ranked 6th in rushing with 2,106 yards.

39: The Saints are ranked 2nd in total takeaways with 39.  The Colts are ranked 18th with 26.  The Saints defense is so hawkish that it caused the Minnesota Vikings to turn the ball over 5 times.  If the Saints had recovered every turnover, then they would have had 9 on the day.  Until the NFC Championship, the Vikings had turned the ball over no more than 2 times all season.

889: Total defensive penalty yards racked up by the Colts, which is good for 24th place.  The Saints finished 9th with 717.  It will be interesting to see if the refs pay special attention to the “late” hits on Peyton seeing how the Saints have already roughed up Warner and Farve to this point.

A Few Extra Points…

8: The Saints are ranked 1st in defensive touchdowns with 8.  The Colts are tied with several teams in 16th place with 2.

Rushing: Only 2 Saints (Bell, Thomas) have rushed for more than 100 yards this season.  No Colt has rushed for more than 80 yards this season.

SB Teams That Were Given No Shot: 2008: New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14…2003 Bucs 48, Raiders 21… 2002: Patriots 20, Rams 17. … 1998: Denver Broncos 31, Green Bay Packers 24. … 1970: Kansas City Chiefs 23, Vikings 7. … 1969: New York Jets 16, Baltimore Colts 7.

Intangible: I believe the Saints are collectively playing with higher sense of purpose than their counterparts. The Super Bowl trophy is named after Vince Lombardi and he once said, “Success demands singleness of purpose.”

Prediction: Saints 38 Colts 34

Gene Wojciechowski’s Take On the Colts Winning

Hell's Kitchen

“If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” – Harry S. Truman

Do you want to be the best in your field?

People are inherently good, which in turn makes them dishonest because everyone walks on eggshells today for fear they might offend someone. The hypersensitivity of my generation (Y) has made it even worse.   Criticism is seen as a four-letter word; but if you want to be the best at what you do, then you better learn to ask for criticism, accept it and then fix it.

Real Coaching

I remember during my prime athletic days when everyone would tell me what a great job I had done, regardless of my performance quality; and I’d always take it with a huge grain of salt.  I learned quickly not to read the papers (blogs weren’t relevant yet) because they can only see 2 sides to any issue.  Plus, they only offer problems and never solutions.   Until college, the only person that I always felt gave me a real assessment of my performance was my dad.  The great thing about it is that he never offered it to me.  If I asked (which I always did), then he told me what he thought.

When I was first invited to be an author on Brazen Careerist, I was fortunate enough to get some 1-on-1 coaching with Penelope Trunk.  She told me straight up that the only people that care what you write about are your family and the person you’re currently sleeping with.  She was right because now I have people that write to me from all over the country.

While at LSU, I was fortunate enough to spend time playing under Nick Saban.  Saban’s reputation is not a sparkling one, but I hold immense respect for him because I learned a great deal about my mental toughness.  I was a back-up kicker on a field of 21 future NFL draft picks, and he tore into me with the same fervor that he did all the others.  At the end of the day, he made me better.

Driven

Most reading this blog are hungry people, but sometimes you need to get out of your own head and gain some perspective.  Everyone sees a performance in their own way, so an outsider’s view should always be welcomed.  Good coaches and critics are hard to find, but if you want to rise above the rest in life, then you need to find a few.   They’ll be honest with you.

Photo: tdub303 via flickr

No Fear from the Lion

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” – Charles Darwin

How do you lead innovation in an environment that is resistant to change?

Unless you work in a zoo or some place where people are the minority, then you will face resistance to change because people are inherently resistant to it.  Innovation leaders understand how to manage change when people want to run from it.

I’ve been successful at several companies where innovation is a necessity; and the people inside them that survive adapt to the change that naturally comes from innovation.  Some of my companies have changed their business model every quarter, month and even every week, so it becomes a necessity that your team adapt to change that naturally occurs from innovation in order to survive.  The need for speed in change management varies from start-ups to corporations; however, these 5 factors will ensure successful change management regardless of size:

  1. Endorsements – Get true sponsorship for your idea from the top to the down.  If you’re serious about your idea, then don’t settle for simply getting one or two sponsors.  Make sure you have sponsorship from all the people that will be required to make the idea work.  Always be prepared to sell your idea by showing its immediate benefits.  If you are the “top dog,” then it’s your job to make sure the people you bring on to help you buy-in to your idea.
  2. Honest Communication – Typically, honest communication relates to something that you could read about in the self-help aisle.  As far as change management is concerned, it relates to deadlines, realistic expectations and real needs.  The success of innovation will come if communication is always open and timely.  Priorities are constantly shifting inside of innovation endeavors, so deadlines are in constant flux.  The person that doesn’t provide a realistic deadline will commit the crime not the person that has to change it.
  3. Employee Investment – A simple concept…but usually the hardest for leaders to execute.  Let people show-off their strengths by taking over responsibility for their parts of the project.  Trust them to succeed, and they (and you) will shine.
  4. Change Agents – #4 won’t happen without #3 happening first.  The change agents are the ones that become the internal champions for your idea.  Once they buy-in, they will become the best PR ever because they have true blood invested.  In essence, they should become mini-yous.
  5. Culture – You either have it or you don’t.  And if you don’t, it will make your job harder; but it’s crucial to the long-term success of your innovations.  Culture is not something that can simply be created overnight.  Culture takes time to grow.  Steps 1 – 4 will lay the groundwork for your culture change and at the same time providing a blue print for a successful change management strategy.
Photo: ucumari via flickr