Since then, I've been slowly reading chapters on occasion, but I still haven't finished my complete reading of the Old Testament (OT). I figure for the next couple of weeks, I'm going to read at least a couple chapters each day and look for some good quotes for this blog during the reading. Rather than just reading, though, I'm going to first read from another book (e.g. 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership), and then I'm going to read from the OT and look for something in the reading that directly relates to one of the areas I was reading in the other book. Sound good?
Today's reading from the 21 Laws covered chapters 12 and 13 -- and if you're keeping track, you'll notice that I've read but didn't blog about chapters 6 through 11. I did read those last week, however, and for the sake of completeness I'm going to at least give the laws discussed if not a good quote -- which is sad, because there was some really good stuff in here! Actually, I do have a few good quotes, which I've inserted after the laws below, so this is going to be a bit lengthy.
The Law of Solid Ground: Trust Is the Foundation of Leadership: "No leader can break trust with his people and expect to keep influencing them." Maxwell discusses the lack of trust we now have for most politicians, and how in many ways Vietnam marked the transition. I'd say that for most of my life, I have not had a trusting attitude towards the President of the United States, and sadly I would say that Obama has continued a downward trend and currently is someone that I do not trust at all (witness Obamacare, which was ramrodded through despite objections from a majority of the constituents).
The Law of Respect: People Naturally Follow Leaders Stronger Than Themselves: Maxwell starts with a story of a woman that would not necessarily seem like someone you would respect at first, but then he goes on to show why people did respect her. However, "by the start of the Civil War, she had brought more people out of slavery than any other American in history -- black or white, male or female." That woman was Harriet Tubman.
The Law of Intuition: Leaders Evaluate Everything with a Leadership Bias: Maxwell talks about Steve Jobs and Apple, and the success Steve enjoyed during his life. (Interestingly, I was just listening to the Daily Mentor call about Steve Jobs today, and blogged about that elsewhere.) I didn't particularly care for Steve the man, but he was do doubt an amazing leader and had a great sense of intuition. "Steve Jobs' story is a reminder that leadership is really more art than science. The principles of leadership are constant, but the application changes with every leader and every situation. That's why it requires intuition. Without it, leaders get blindsided, and that's one of the worst things that can happen to a leader." I have to say, my boss (Anand Lal Shimpi) is definitely someone who is skilled in the Law of Intuition.
The Law of Magnetism: Who You Are Is Whom You Attract: Starts with the story of Lincoln and Robert E. Lee; Lincoln went on to become a great leader, but he didn't start that way. "If Lee had chosen to lead an army for the Union instead, many other good generals would have followed him north. As a result, the war probably would have been much shorter. Some speculate that it might have lasted two years instead of five -- and hundreds of thousands of lives would have been saved."
The Law of Connection: Leaders Touch a Heart Before They Ask for a Hand: Cheesy but true: "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." I've said this many times during my life. :-)
The Law of the Inner Circle: A Leader's Potential Is Determined by Those Closest to Him: Maxwell relates the story of Lance Armstrong and his seven consecutive Tour de France victories. I wonder how he might change his opinion of this in light of Lance's final admission to having doped, used HGH, etc. Regardless, Lance is still an amazing cyclist. "Leaders have to deliver. There is no substitute for performance. But without a good team, they often don't get the opportunity." Almost done!
The Law of Empowerment: Only Secure Leaders Give Power to Others: This time, we get a counter-example of empowerment and the problems that resulted. Henry Ford was way ahead of the game when he founded the Ford Motor Company and began mass producing the Model T. Within ten years, Ford was producing nearly 50 percent of all automobiles in the US, but after that initial success, Henry Ford couldn't stand the thought of others surpassing him. When presented with a prototype of an improved Model T as a surprise, he tore it apart with his bare hands. It wasn't until 1927 that he grudgingly agreed to offer a new car to the public, the Model A, but by that time Ford was far behind its competitors and in 1931 they were down to only 28% of the US automobile market. Henry Ford II eventually took over and at first did well with bringing in other leaders, but his own insecurities led to him pitting these leaders against each other and getting rid of his best people. I wonder where Ford could have been today had they not wasted fifty or so years with egotistical leaders that refused to let others rise up and embrace change.
The Law of the Picture: People Do What People See: The HBO series Band of Brothers is based on the story of Easy Company in World War II. There are instances of both good and bad leaders; thankfully, they had more of the latter than the former, which is what enabled them to become worthy of the books and shows based on their lives. "Good leaders are always conscious of the fact that they are setting the example and others are going to do what they do, for better or worse. In general, the better the leaders' actions, the better their people's."
I'll say that of the above laws and chapters, the segments I struggled with the most are the Intuition, Inner Circle, and Magnetism areas. I liked most of the reading, but the actual application in my life of the principles involved is more difficult. That probably means those areas are all weaknesses for me, which isn't surprising. Anyway, time for a good quote from the Old Testament; as noted earlier, I'm currently reading in 2 Chronicles, which is a book that repeats much of what was already told in 1 and 2 Kings (and elsewhere). It's the story of both good and bad Israel, which is -- surprise! -- largely a reflection of their good and bad leaders.
I actually just finished 2 Chronicles today, which ends with the righteous reign of King Josiah who is followed by evil kings that reign (and are deposed) when Babylon destroys Jerusalem. Going with the above themes of leadership, I'm going to use a quote that shows the Law of the Picture in action. Hilkiah has found the book of the law in the Holy Temple, which has apparently been lost (intentionally, thanks to an earlier unrighteous king) for a long time and explains much of the idolatry that is present. When Josiah hears the words of the book of the law, he rends his clothing and inquires of the priests as to what the Lord would have him do. Then he does his best to help reform Israel, by leading the charge:
"And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book. And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God. And all his days they departed not from following the Lord, the God of their fathers." (2 Kings 34: 31-33)
I'm reminded of a similar principle taught in the Book of Mormon (slightly edited): "If it were possible that you could have just men to be your kings, who would establish the claws of God, and judge this people according to his commandments, yea, if ye could always have just men for your kings, then it would be expedient that ye should always have kings to rule over you. Now I say unto you, that because all men are not just it is not expedient that ye should have a king or kings to rule over you. For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!" (Mosiah 29: 13, 16-17)
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