Recently I ran across a video of a concert violinist who experienced a bit of an interruption. Can you say, “Turn off your cell phones when you enter the concert hall?”

Check out the video and listen for the Nokia ringtone near the end. The response of the musician is priceless.

As a leader, you know that often times things don’t go as planned. Employees leave, players get injured, people get sick, friends move across the country, kids rebel, the boss says I have bad news . . . the list never ends.

If you lead long enough, circumstances will eventually go against you. In that moment, you may think there is light at the end of the tunnel, but unfortunately it might be an oncoming train.

The question is, “What do you do when your plan is interrupted?”

1. Rely on your training. Practice doesn’t really make perfect, as the old saying goes, but it really does make you prepared to handle hardships. The greatest athletes and artists are the ones who practice the hardest. They are also the ones who perform under the most pressure. Practice diffuses pressure!

2. Expect the unexpected. Anticipating that things might go wrong can lead to a relaxed attitude when they do go wrong. On the other hand, fear leads to failure. Learn to go with the flow and your confidence will grow.

3. Have a back up plan. A great guitar player always carries a back up guitar. Tennis players have extra rackets. Your thing might not be strings, but if you give it some thought, you can discern what a back up plan would look like in your environment.

4. Remember that everyone makes mistakes. When and if the plan fails because of human error, be willing to forgive, make adjustments, and move on. If you are the one who messes up, don’t take yourself so seriously. Stuff happens!

5. Learn how to “shift on the fly.” Shifting gears in a manual transmission car becomes necessary when the motor reaches a certain level of RPM’s. In that moment the engine revs itself to a crisis point. Shifting, for an experienced driver, is effortless. However, the experience comes only after those tense moments at a red light 0n an incline, and the sound of a beginner grindings the gears. Likewise, the more things go wrong in your leadership world, the more you will be prepared to handle the interruptions. Your crisis point can lead to a breakthrough.

I am amazed at how often greatness shows its face in the presence of adversity. Learn to welcome the interruptions and you might wow the crowds too.

i2i,

Randy

Comments?

Any other tips for handling adversity?

One of my favorite authors, Patrick Lencioni, writes the following in his book, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job.

“A direct supervisor needs to take a genuine, personal interest in an employee in order to increase that employee’s satisfaction and fulfillment.” 

Are your team members experiencing satisfaction and fulfillment in their jobs? If not, it might be because they don’t think you care about them.

Push yourself to care about their lives, not just their work, and watch how their performance improves.

i2i,

Randy

Comments?

The best piece of advice I have been given came from Jesus by way of my mother. “The Golden Rule” she called it. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Is it any wonder that Jesus was such a great leader?

When it comes to modern day leadership, you could make the case that the late Steve Jobs (Founder of Apple) intuitively built his computer company on a version of this principle.

On designing the Mac, Jobs once said, “We think the Mac will sell zillions, but we didn’t build the Mac for anybody else. We built it for ourselves. We were the group of people who were going to judge whether it was great or not. We weren’t going to go out and do market research. We just wanted to build the best thing we could build. When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.” 

If you want to build a great company I suggest you build something you would want to buy, not something you can sell.

Focus on carrying the quality “all the way through” and you might become legendary as a teacher, coach, mill worker, lawyer, baseball scout, furniture builder, musician, pastor, or stay at home mom.

Treat your craft, your relationships, and your work like you would like for someone in your shoes to treat them.

It’s called living by the golden rule. It worked for Jesus and my mom. It will work for you.

i2i,

Randy

Comments?

The most important thing you can do for your health is exercise. Don’t believe me? Take 9 minutes and watch the following video lecture and see if you are not convinced.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo&sns=fb

Exercise does not have to be hard. Walking qualifies. But it will take some time and effort.

I know so many leaders who try to make themselves fit to lead by reading books, attending conferences and listening to other leaders. While all of those things are important, none of them can take the place of exercise. The fact is, if you want to be fit to lead, you need to be “fit.”

I challenge you to build a regular exercise routine into your life. Today is the day.

It’s time to move it move it.

i2i,

Randy

Comments?

Noise can be the enemy of a leader. Opinions of followers, critics, and other leaders can be helpful, but they can also represent “white noise.”

At some point a leader must be dialed in to his own convictions and values.

Have you ever tried to listen to a radio station at 98.5 with the tuner set to 98.3? Sure, you can still pick up on what is happening on 98.5, but only partially. Failure to be totally “dialed in” leads to white noise.

For leaders, there are many things that cause white noise. Consider the following:

1. Listening to too many voices. While it is good to have a trusted inner circle, listening to too many people can lead to static.

2. Fear. Many leaders are paralyzed and unable to make a decision because they are afraid they will make a mistake.

3. Success. Past success can cause a leader to be over confident. Such hubris can cause one to not be fully tuned in.

4. Failure. Past mistakes can lead to a lack of confidence. Doubt creeps in and white noise ensues.

If you want to be a great leader, you must learn to eliminate “white noise.” Take some time today and “dial in to your presets.” Things will be a lot more clear if you do.

i2i,

Randy

What are some things that bring “white noise” into your leadership environment?

Comments?