General Tommy Franks Leadership Thoughts

The truly great ones leave a legacy of strong leaders whom have benefited from their example, their encouragement, and their mentoring. Great leaders develop other great leaders

During my months in combat, I’d come to understand that a soldier owes loyalty to his unit and to his boss. A leader must be able to count on the complete support of his subordinates. As Eric Antila climbed into that jeep and assumed full responsibility for my actions during the Battle of the Y Bridge, however, I realized that loyalty not only flows up the chain of command: It flows down as well.

“Soldiers have a lot of moving parts,” I began. “They require regular maintenance. They are human beings, not machines. They will do amazing things if they know you care about them.”

“What I’ve learned is that being in charge doesn’t automatically mean you know what’s going on. That’s going to change in this battery. “
“If a trooper comes to you with a problem, remember this: It’s your problem, and it’s my problem. We’re not going to lose good soldiers because we don’t give a rat’s ass about them as people.”

When Selective Listening Is Good

Learn from other people's experiences (OPE)

From Failure--learn from them. Take notes on them. Find out what poor people read, language they lose--and don't lose it.

From Success--pick up information from others. Observe during the day, pay attention. Get from the day vs Getting Through the day. Listen. Sort through the voices that don't count. Find a voice of value. Teach kids the skill of selective listening. Don't waste time on the shallow.

5 Choices To Extraordinary Productivity From Franklin Covey

1. Act on the important, don't react to the urgent.
2. Go for extraordinary, don't settle for the ordinary.
3. Schedule the big rocks, don't sort gravel.
4. Rule your technology, don't let technology rule you.
5. Fuel the fire, don't burn out.

Measure The Things That Are Important--Attitude

Rick Pitino's Daily Process For Measuring His Attitude
1. Before going to bed he circles the date in his planner
--Circles in Red--when he's done his best to make it a positive day
--Circles in Blue--when he's been too negative
--Circles in Pencil--when the day was neutral
Goal is having 98% positive days each month.

If you don't write things down, you can soon forget or minimize, while your mind still believes it's on task.

Any form of greatness needs personal accountability on a daily basis.

The Choice That Determines Influence

The Deep Choice That Determines Influence is this question:
Do I see people in front of me or do I see objects?

How you think and refer to someone will ultimately relate to how you receive and view someone.

Are we treating the needs of others as equal as our own? Or do we minimize them?

Thoughts taken from "Leadership and Self-Deception" Discussion Class

Body Language

An athlete should ask himself this question: "Do I want to be perceived as a focused and relentless competitor?" If so, he must know how to look the part before he can play it. A performer who gives off signals of vulnerability will not act out appropriate behavior.

That the athlete may be speaking through his body in any of these ways is an indication that he has been distracted and disturbed.

But consider this: if he's distracted from attention to task because of his frame of mind, then he is focused on his major concern or anxiety of the moment.

It's natural enough for people to want things to go their way. It is just as natural for them to be affected when they do not get what they want. The test of each individual is how he responds to such a circumstance. He can rise above his disappointment, or he can sink below it. An athlete's body language indicates whether he is in the process of elevating himself or burying himself.

The nature and degree of disappointment will vary, but the appearance of an athlete during competition should not vary, for consistent behavior leads to consistent performance.

--Taken from H.A. Dorfman. "Coaching The Mental Game"

Phil Jackson's 5 Management & Motivation Secrets

1. KNOW WHEN TO STEP BACK AND LET PEOPLE FIND THEIR OWN SOLUTIONS.
--As a leader, you must know when not to act.
--Allow them to resolve a crisis and affirm their common goals

2. PUSH PEOPLE TO THINK FOR THEMSELVES AND DEVELOP SELF-CONFIDENCE.
--There are no textbook answers in basketball or life.
--Every game is a riddle that must be solved.
--Michael Jordan calls it "Think Power"--the ability to work collectively and harmoniously under pressure. People must think on their feet and for themselves.

3. ACCEPT SETBACKS AS STEPPING-STONES TO GREATER SUCCESS
--Don't dance away from reality but make it your teacher.
--Losing is a lens through which you can see yourself more clearly and experience the transient nature of life--the fact that all things change, grow, decay and regenerate.

4. WHEN THE POTENTIAL REWARD IS GREAT, DON'T BE AFRAID TO TAKE LIMITED RISKS
--Let individuals be themselves. The bottom line is whether they work hard and produce for the team.

5. CULTIVATE AWARENESS AS THE KEY INGREDIENT TO SUCCESS
--Talent alone cannot guarantee victory.
--Groups function best when everyone is in tune with what is happening around them, when each member strives to fit into the flow.