The Greatness Guide, Book 2: 101 More Insights to Get You to World Class (6 page)

Many executives come up to me after presentations and ask me about my statement “Everyone’s a leader.” I’ve observed that the best companies on the planet have one trait in common: They grow leaders throughout the organization faster than their competition. Making that happen is their number-one focus. And they do it fast.

But I’m not saying everyone should run the company. That makes no sense. Everyone can show leadership behavior but that doesn’t mean everyone will lead the organization. Here’s a metaphor that I hope will make this distinction clearer.

I love U2. Bono is the lead singer. Larry Mullen, Jr., is the drummer. Chaos would ensue if Larry tried to be the lead singer and Bono got confused and played the drums. Or imagine the tour manager thinking he could be Bono for a night and walking out on stage to do so while Bono was in his dressing room. Not good.

Know your role. Everyone needs to behave like a leader—no matter what they do. That means that everyone needs to take responsibility for generating the superb results for which they are accountable. Everyone needs to do their part to shape culture.
Everyone needs to be positive and inspirational. Everyone needs to go the extra mile for customers—and view change as an opportunity to make things better. Everyone really can be a leader and have a profound impact by standing for excellence within the area of their responsibility. But not everyone is the same.

There’s nothing wrong with making a mistake. We are human. Mistakes offer us a powerful way to learn and grow. Just don’t make the same mistake more than once. That shows you’re resisting the lesson available to you. Suggests you’re not listening to life. Shows you’re not paying attention.

In
The Greatness Guide,
I wrote about how I missed a window of opportunity to meet Harvey Keitel in a Toronto hotel lobby. Just didn’t seize what Carlos Castaneda called “the cubic centimeter of chance” that presented itself. But I vowed to make amends. I promised you I would. Well, I kept my word. Was downtown for meetings with my publisher. Was having a quick sushi lunch at my favorite Japanese restaurant. Guess who was sitting at the next table? Eric Clapton. Seriously.

When the time was right (the time to seize an opportunity will never be ideal, but I let the man finish his tempura), I said hello. Sure my pulse quickened (you know I’m a very ordinary person). And yes, I worried about rejection.
But if you don’t try, you’ll never know.
I realized that if I took the leap, I had a chance to meet him. But that if I didn’t, I’d be sure that I never would.
So I did. We ended up having a nice chat. Interesting person. Another conversation that somehow will shape me—as every conversation does.

Each day life sends you chances to learn, grow and step into your best. Don’t miss them. Some opportunities never come again. Regret is a choice.

One of the fastest ways to find the solution to an issue or challenge you are facing is to ask the right question. The right question inevitably leads you to the correct answer. Questions matter. In business, remarkable performers are dazzlingly good at getting to the right question. The one that speeds them to the place they need to reach and offers them the missing piece they need to find. And in life, asking yourself a powerful question will allow you to step into a whole new set of possibilities that you may have missed while you were locked into an old way of seeing things. Like the lesson amid a so-called failure. Or the opportunity that inhabits a setback.

Here are six questions that I share with the clients with whom we do leadership development work. I suggest you write them down and then find some time today to answer them in your journal.

• What one thing—if
  I
  did it—would profoundly improve the way I work (and how I live)?
  

• What needs to happen between now and the end of the next 90 days for me to feel that this is the best quarter of my work and personal life? (Remember, clarity preceeds mastery.)
  

• Who do I need to express appreciation to? (Make your list long.)
  

• What would I like to improve, professionally and personally?
  

• What could I be grateful for that I’m currently not grateful for?
  

• How do I want to be remembered at my retirement party?
  

And as you make this day extraordinary, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes (which comes from Mark Twain): “If everyone was satisfied with themselves, there would be no heroes.”

It’s 4:15 a.m. (best time of the day). I’m drinking a perfect cup of coffee. Listening to Simple Plan’s song “Perfect World.” Thinking. About life, learning. And authentic excellence. Powerful thought I want to share with you: The humblest is the greatest.

Canada’s richest man, Kenneth Thomson, died a while ago.
The Globe and Mail,
one of Canada’s national newspapers, published a profile on him titled “A Billionaire’s Breakfast.” Thomson’s brunch ritual was described: “… meals didn’t come with a side of caviar … every weekend he would stroll into (a small local) restaurant and order a brunch buffet for $10.95.” Love it.

In an interview, the restaurant owner spoke of Thomson’s extraordinary humility and noted, “He was always so gracious, but simple. He joked with the staff and never let on who he was.” He always got his own food from the buffet table, smiled when he entered and, last Christmas, even took the time to take a photo with all the staff, which he then had developed, later returning to the restaurant with a copy for each staff member. “Now everyone has something to remember him by.”

Something to remember him by.
Unforgettable words. Humility. An essential element in the creation of a beautiful legacy.