Chick-fil-A Leadercast 2013

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

If you missed the 2013 Chick-fil-A Leadercast, then you missed some great content, great speakers, and incredible ideas that have the potential to shift your thinking when it comes to leadership. But no worries! Now you’ve got all the notes to every session right here at your fingertips for free! Hope you enjoy!

1. Leadership Made Simple

Andy Stanley, Author and Lead Pastor at North Point Community Church walked through the fact that growth creates complexity which requires simplicity and taught 3 key questions that need to be answered to simplify leadership.

2. The Power of Focus

David Allen was named Forbes’ Top 5 Executive Coach and author of “Getting Things Done.” Crisis evokes focus on a very specific outcome which charts your course of action.

3. Necessary Endings

Dr. Henry Cloud, best selling author and leadership consultant tackles the psychology behind the work we do and what keeps us from simplifying things in the workplace.

4. The Difference between Simple and Simplistic

John Maxwell, best selling author and leadership expert walks through the differences between being simple and simplistic.

5. Getting High Performing Leaders to Work Together

Duke University and Olympic Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski talked about getting high performers to work together on a team to get great results.

6. An Interview with Leadership Giant Jack Welch

Any time you get to learn first hand from a leader like Jack Welch it’s gold…and this interview was no exception. Here are some of my notes from Fortune Magazine’s Manager of the Century, Jack Welch.

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Chick-fil-A Leadercast: Jack Welch

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Any time you get to learn first hand from a leader like Jack Welch it’s gold…and this interview was no exception. Here are some of my notes from Fortune Magazine’s Manager of the Century, Jack Welch,

In businesses, people want to run big things. Leaders are reluctant to prune things and let go of things because when you prune things they get smaller.
It’s absolutely critical that each of your direct reports know where they stand with you as their leader/manager
The cruelest form of management is not being clear and candid with your employees
If you don’t like people then being in the people business is a terrible job

You find a generosity gene in every great leader:

They love to give raises
They love to give promotions
They love to give more responsibility
They love to see you grow

The 3 C’s:

Self Confidence: As the leader pour this into your team everyday.
Simplicity: This leads to clarity and only self confident people can be simple.
Speed: If you get this, you win the game.

The team that fields the best players wins
Key question to ask about change: “What’s in it for them?”
A budget review is just a personnel review with numbers
When you say something is important, back it up with your best personnel
You can give 1,000’s of speeches as a leader but one personnel move can really show where your values are
Make your boss smarter than he was before the meeting
Managers need to take care of their best people so well, they don’t want to leave

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Chick-fil-A Leadercast: John Maxwell

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

As always John Maxwell put out some great content this year to chew on. Here are some of my take-aways:

“The business schools reward complex behavior, but it’s the simple behavior that makes you effective in life” Warren Buffet

There is a difference between a communicator and an educator. A communicator takes something complicated and makes it simple. An educator takes something simple and makes it complex.
It isn’t easy to be simple, but it is effective.
It is easy to be simplistic, but it isn’t easy to be simple.

Simplistic = shallow and fast: “Experience is the best teacher”
Complex = deep & slow: “Experience isn’t the best teacher because how many people do you know who are getting older but aren’t getting better?”
Simple = deep & fast:

Add: value to people. If you really want to be a leader then add value to people every day.
Subtract: your leadership landmines.
Multiply: your strengths by developing them
- Confidence doesn’t replace skill
Divide: your weaknesses by delegating them

A leader is like a quarterback. They don’t get paid to run the ball but to get the ball to the right players.

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Chick-fil-A Leadercast: Henry Cloud

Monday, May 13, 2013

I love the way Dr. Henry Cloud tackles the psychology behind the work we do. Want to learn more? Check out my post on his book Necessary Endings and the notes below:

The real work is not to get the right strategy but getting the people to work the strategy

Boundary #1: Necessary endings – when the leader realizes that the worst thing they can have is hope. Great leaders master the art of pruning:
- A rosebush produces more buds than it can sustain so only the best ones are kept. There are 3 kinds of pruning that need to take place:
- Good Stuff: What’s good but not best? Activity doesn’t equal movement or progress. Sometimes more activity is just more activity and it just leads to more complexity and simplicity is what is needed. The life and future of a company is in about 20% of the company. Feed the future.
- Sick Stuff: What’s sick and not going to get well? Stuff that’s season has passed. Sometimes leaders get so invested in something (ego, time and energy, etc.) and the season passes and it’s time to pull the plug on it. Pruning takes courage.
- Dead Stuff: What’s dead and taking up space? People hold on too long (even when it’s not best for the future) because they feel like they need to be the source to everything or they have emotional attachment to the past. You can’t grasp the future while holding onto the past.

Boundary #2: Focused Attention – great leaders lead people in ways that the people’s brains can actually follow them…they create focused attention so people’s brains can work.
- Attend to what is relevant so you know what to do:
- Inhibit everything else:
- Create a working memory (keep it in front of them all the time):

If everything is important nothing is
Do you have enough desire for your goals to exercise the discipline it takes reach them?

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Chick-fil-A Leadercast: David Allen

Monday, May 13, 2013

David Allen was named Forbes’ Top 5 Executive Coach and author of “Getting Things Done.” Here are some thoughts from his talk:

Crisis evokes focus on a very specific outcome which charts your course of action
You can only feel good about what you’re not doing when you know what you’re not doing
How do you know if you’re appropriately engaged in something? Answer: It’s on your mind
Without crisis we end up saying “We need more time.” Because everything gets our attention and takes space when we’re not focused. You say you need more time when everything seems to be taking up equal space.
How much time does it take to have a good idea, or make a good decision? Zero…if you have no room/space.
You are most productive when you have the room to make a mess

Lesson 1: Flexibility not perfection: you want things to be directionally correct and be able to make mid-course corrections
Lesson 2: Shift in and out: focused attention – pay attention to what has your attention

Key 1: anything on your mind get it off your mind (make a list)
Key 2: make decisions about your list / what does “done” look like?
Key 3: step back and map it out (calendar etc.)

If you don’t get it out you’ll be driven by the latest and loudest item

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