On Your Marks, Get Set, Dig!

The goal of 128 Tips to Make You a More Effective Leader is not to solve your problems in under a minute.

As nice as that would be, it's impossible.  Instead, the purpose of each tip is to clearly mark the ground where treasure lies beneath the surface. Putting in the work to dig for the rewards is up to you. Your hands are going to get dirty, but it'll be worth it.

As you read through this book, pay attention to how you respond to each tip. Your reactions will serve you as well as a metal detector.

The stronger your response to a particular tip, the more likely you are to value what you will uncover.

Sometimes digging will be easier than others. The soil will be soft and inviting.

However, there will undoubtedly be other times when a jackhammer will be required to break through habits, fears, or beliefs that are protecting what lies below.

Dog-ear the pages, write in the margins, and break out your highlighter.

The hunt is on for the “X’s” that mark the spots you care about reaching on your quest to become a more effective leader.

www.128tips.com

This is the House That YOU Built, Jack.

You built your empire from the ground up. That’s right: You are the pillar of strength for your organization, so what’s going to happen when it’s time to sell? How are you going to ensure that the structure of your organization not only stays standing but remains sturdy once your shoulders aren’t there to handle all the weight?

• Identify which of your employees are load-bearing.

Whether you are planning to sell your company to an outside owner, family member or key employee, your load-bearing employees are essential to maintaining the structural integrity and value of your business. How will the weight that you are carrying be distributed after you are gone? Who isn’t going to buckle under the pressure or bow with the passing of time?

• Keep them (even after you’re gone).

Offer incentives to load-bearing employees especially if you see the potential of passing on your torch to them in the future. Keeping them invested in the business as if it was theirs already, builds commitment and capacity.

Ingenious benefit incentives help to ensure that your exit strategy operates like a blueprint instead of a pipedream. Collaborate with your financial adviser to design benefit incentives that will motivate the growth of your employee’s loyalty to the organization and to their personal futures. Don’t give them a reason to seek another career opportunity. The longevity of your load-bearing employees will heavily influence the longevity, and ultimately the sales value of your organization.

You wouldn’t make a major change to the structure of your home without reaching out to an architect. Why would you make the biggest change your company will ever know without the help of an appropriate trusted advisor?

And if you need a recommendation on a financial service professional to help you identify incentive benefits, call me (Abby: 336.458.9939 or email: Abby@LeadershipLegacyGroup.com). As the founding chair of the Succession Planning Roundtable, credentialed financial services providers with expertise in succession and exit, I can help you find the right resource for your particular situation.

How are you retaining your load-bearing leaders?

Tip # 45: Finding Your Courage

Time for another sneak peek into my new book: 128 Tips to Make You a More Effective Leader. And the best part is, sixty seconds a day is all it takes to make changes that matter!

Don't believe me? Take out your timer and see for yourself!

Ready...set...go!

Tip #45: Finding Your Courage

During times of challenge and stress, we often look to great leaders to model for us how to rise above the challenges. But I recently found this quote…which reminds us that sometimes we can best meet challenges in this way:

“Courage does not always roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I’ll try again tomorrow.’”-Mary Anne Radmacher

Find your courage and try again tomorrow.

I don't know about you, but that came in just under  17 seconds on my end!

I often wonder how many people give up on their goals just before they would have achieved them.

Why do we stop?

What extinguishes that gentle little voice nudging us to try again?

Laugh if you must, but that little voice is hope.

Hope is what courage feeds on.

And as awkward as it may be for you to hear this…hope isn’t cultivated in the brain.

It is cultivated in the heart.

I know for all of us that work with balance sheets and P&L’s that calculating what it would take to reach the opposite end of the universe can sometimes feel more realistic than making the 18 inch journey from our heads to our hearts.

I’m not saying it’s easy; I’m simply here to be the bearer of bad news:

It’s the only way.

What courageous step must you take today that will create hope and inspire you to keep moving towards your goals?

Don’t look now…but a mysterious link has appeared below.

Go on…find the courage to click on it…

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