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The Cycle Of Achievement (Pt. 5)

September 4th, 2009 by Michael Feil

Today is the final part of the Cycle of Achievement which comes to the most important part…Seeing Counsel. Many people are coming to me SEEKING COUNSEL about Social Media Marketing Tactics and Strategies.

Cycle Of Achievement

Experience is not the best teacher; other people’s experience is the best teacher. For this reason, leaders must find a credible mentor so they are not forced into a trial-and-error process.

Receiving mentorship may be done in person or on the phone with someone interested in sharing his or her wisdom. It may come from studying historical figures with relevance to the undertakings of the leader. It may come from studying the materials provided by a speaker or author who can provide wisdom and experience to a leader. Or it may come by subscribing to a autoresponder list like this one and receive educational emails that will help you grow and develop your skills. By far the best type of mentor is the one that is personally concerned and connected to you and willing to give you time and attention through face-to-face interaction, telephone calls, and emails. Such a mentor is priceless in the career of a leader.

I can call my mentor up anytime and say, “Hey, can we meet this week? I need to talk to you about some things, ideas, struggles I have having with my business, etc.” and he will make time for me. I am so lucky to have that kind of relationship with my mentor because I have tried other network marketing businesses and other investment projects, but because I didn’t have a mentor I was stuck and didn’t know what to do and lost money. Because I now have a mentor who is guiding me, I am making money in my business ventures.

Even when a leader is clear on objectives and implements a well-thought-out game plan, things can go awry. If a leader is going from point A to point B and goes off course a little bit and continues that off course path they will be very far from their goal by the time they stop their journey.

If the same leader has his or her mentor walk with them the mentor can make mid-course corrections when the leader is going off the correct path. By the end of the journey the leader will be able to make it to Point B because of the guidance from his or her mentor.

In the book, Launching A Leadership Revolution by Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward, there are several reasons laid out as to why a leader seeks counsel from a mentor. Today I will discuss a few of those reasons.

A Leader Seek Counsel to Learn

Leaders know they always have more to learn. What can a leader learn from mentorship? On a personal level a leader can gain information, attitudes, perspectives, judgments, strategies, mind-sets, priorities, and objectives. On a business level a leader can learn a new system of marketing their home based business just like the techniques I went over with you for the past 8 days. However, this can never occur without humility on the part of the leader. A leader must humble himself before a mentor and agree to take counsel.

When a leader counsels with a mentor it is time to open up and honestly report results. If the results are lacking, leaders need to hold themselves accountable to their mentors for improvement. Now is not the time for the leader to impress his mentor. It is time for the leader to be held accountable for his actions so he can improve his leadership skills.

Mentors are not there to make leaders feel better or inflate their egos with unearned praise. Mentors rise above mere friendship and provide needed, straight-ahead guidance. At times this may be uncomfortable for a developing leader, but the price of discomfort with a mentor is much less than the price of discomfort that comes with mistakes in judgment or poor performance in the field.

A Leader Seeks Counsel to Receive Feedback

Just like a student receiving a report card, leaders obtain feedback on their performance. A mentor can provide a positive outlook, where a leader sees only his own failures. Sometimes we can be our own worst critics. Sometime we can be very hard on ourselves and only look at the negative things we do and not see all the good we are doing. Mentors show us the positive things we are doing so we can keep a good balance of what we are doing right and what we need to improve upon.

A mentor can also keep the developing leader’s head from “swelling” by shining a light on areas for further improvement. This is where it is a big help if goals have been set correctly and game plans are clear and will structured. Mentors can provide feedback on how well the leader is working according to priorities, on the mid-set and attitude of the leader, and on the leader’s progress toward the goals.

A Leader Seeks Counsel to Grow Personally

The overall goal of mentorship is to grow the leader. It is a fact of life for leaders that they have to get better. And they must commit to growing on a regular basis. Mentors are there to provide guidance and place a continued emphasis on personal growth.

A mentor must communicate with the leader constantly so that he / she knows that the leader is growing personally.

The leader must have the hunger inside them to reciprocate that communication so they know they are getting all they can from their mentor. It shouldn’t be the mentor’s job to keep tabs on the leader. It should be the leader seeking out the mentor. The mentor does need to make sure they set time aside for the leader to make sure that the leader is constantly growing.

A Leader Seeks Counsel to Earn Respect

To be respected by the respected is every leader’s desire. Money and fame and power and prestige may all have some charm, but here is nothing like earning the respect of someone who has been instrumental in teaching and guiding our own growth and success. Leaders know this about themselves and strive to earn the respect of their mentors. This is true because in our business when we earn the respect from our peers and really feel that we’ve people are learning from us, buying from us, and wanting to partner with us it makes us feel like we have really arrived and have received the respect that we’ve been working towards all this time.

I want to encourage you to partner up with a mentor if you don’t have one yet. This could be a mentor from your company or it could be someone that is not affiliated with your company but has the knowledge of how to market in the social media world and that will spend the proper time with you to help you and develop your skills so that you can go out there and improve and increase your business.

The Cycle of Achievement Summary

It is the interactive Cycle of Achievement loop that leaders deploy in their planned attack on status quo. Understanding each of the parts and using it as a road map allows leaders to improve their performance on a continuing basis. The Cycle of Achievement gives leaders one way to describe that improvement process and keeps them on track as they rotate the cycle over and over again. With every rotation, the leader improves, and betters himself.

Tags: cycle of achievement, Leadership, serving, vision
Posted in Leadership | 8 Comments »

The Cycle Of Achievement (Pt. 4)

September 3rd, 2009 by Michael Feil

We have been talking about the Cycle of Achievement from the #1 best selling book Launching A Leadership

Cycle Of Achievement

Revolution by Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward. So far we have covered Goals and Game Plans, and today we are going to talk about what happens after we set our goals and have our game plans we need to do something or we will never reach our goals…and that is WORK!

According to Brady and Woodward when applied to a leader, the term working encompasses several categories. I am only going to cover a few of them today. You will need to get the book in order see all of the categories.

Working: Leading by Example

Abraham Lincoln said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing other people; it’s the only thing.” Leaders must set the example. Many seem to have the idea that a leader is someone with a position, or someone with the ability to talk a good game. But a ture leader sets the example with his or her action on a daily basis, period.

If you are a network marketer you need to lead your community by example or else you’re not going to have a big community to lead. You need to be doing or have done what you are teaching your community so they can see you are someone worthy of following.

Working: Demonstrating a Strong Work Ethic

There are no shortcuts to success. Leaders who search for a shortcut end up getting cut short. Sometimes those in a position of leadership want to shirk the grunt work and instead tell others what to do, but that is not true leadership. When a leader resorts to delegating because he is not willing to do it himself, he has reverted to managing instead of leading. True leadership is being willing to live down in the trenches where the action is and do whatever is necessary.

Peter Drucker said, “No leader is worth his salt who won’t set up chairs.” Don’t misunderstand what I am saying…a leader’s job is not to tackle the tasks and responsibilities of his subordinates. A leader must simply be wiling to, as there is not job below the leader.

The strong work ethic demonstrated by he leader energizes the organization and propels everyone forward.

Working: Taking Responsibility

Leaders take responsibility for their actions and for their decisions. Leaders are not always right and don’t always make the right decisions. Real leaders make decisions, and then they make those decisions right.

Al Kaltman says, “The successful leader gets superior performance from ordinary people.” That happens because the leader takes responsibility for those results. A leader does not make excuses. A leader does not place blame on others. A leader does not evade duty. Taking responsibility means holding oneself to a standard of results.

If leaders don’t like the outcomes, they make changes, taking full responsibility for implementing those changes. If something goes wrong, they take he blame. If something goes well, they share the credit.

There are a lot more working principles that are in the book but I think I will let your marinate on that for a while. Working is the most important one in the Cycle of Achievement because you can have good goals, your can have a great game plan but if you don’t work all that is worthless.

So go out there today and work your game plan so you can reach your goals! Let me know if I can help!

Tags: Character, cycle of achievement, Leadership, serving, vision
Posted in Leadership | 5 Comments »

The Cycle Of Achievement (Pt. 3)

August 26th, 2009 by Michael Feil

If we continue to dissect the Cycle of Achievement from the #1 best selling book Launching A Leadership

Cycle Of Achievement

Revolution we’ll see that once we have our goals set we’ll need a Game Plan. So what is a game plan exactly? A game plan is a leader’s strategy or map that provides guidance towards the goal. If the Hunger provides the “why,” the Goal is the “what,” and the Game Plan is the “how.”

It is in the game plan phase that the leader develops the ability to think strategically, brainstorming on the methods of attack.

In the Movie Waterboy Henry Winkler plays coach Klein who got his playbook stolen by Coach Red Beaulieu. Before his playbook was stolen he was very successful and a great coach for a strong college football team; the University of Louisiana Cougars, but once his playbook was stolen he was lost, washed up, and got transferred to South Central Louisiana State University Mud Dogs that had a record of losing every game.

Coach Klein had a goal; to win a football game, but he didn’t have any direction or game plan so he went on for years losing…until he got his playbook back!

Here’s what you have to remember about goals and game plans; goals are set in stone and game plans are set in sand. The game plan must be fluid, adaptable to changing conditions, and able to be scrapped at a moment’s notice if it’s not working. Often it is necessary for a leader to develop multiple game plans over time before a goal can be reached.

Game plans change all the time. Think about Coach Klein’s playbook. It was a play BOOK not a play sheet with only one play in it. It has several plays in that book. Why is this? It is because some plans don’t always work and you need a plan “B” sometimes and you have to be flexible when your current plan doesn’t work so you can divert to your plan “B.”

One of the biggest advantages of a game plan is that it drives the process of setting priorities. A leader must think through and understand the question, what’s important next? Andy Stanley, author of The Next Generation Leader, wrote, “The ability to identify and focus on the few necessary things is a hallmark of great leadership.”

Game plans are best when effective thinking is first used. A leader’s quality of thinking will have much to do with that leader’s success. There is tremendous power in effectively thinking through a goal and how it might be attained.

One of the effective thinking processes is brainstorming which is the process where thinking is done in a freewheeling style, omitting any early judgments as to the merits of the ideas that result. Brainstorming is designed to pull all good ideas out of the head and into the game plan.

So now that we have our goal, have done some brainstorming to get our game plan or plans we are now ready to carry out our game plan and WORK which is what we’ll be discussing next.

If you have any help with trying to figure out your goals or game plans please don’t hesitate to contact me.

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Tags: communication, cycle of achievement, Influence, Leadership
Posted in Leadership | 2 Comments »

The Cycle Of Achievement (pt. 2)

August 18th, 2009 by Michael Feil

Cycle Of Achievement

If you remember we are talking about the Cycle of Achievement from the best selling book Launching A leadership Revolution by Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward, and in that cycle we have talked about Vision. Today we are going to touch on Goal Setting.

Vision is good, but if you do not have your vision directed at something specific (a goal) then your vision will only be that…a vision. A leader must know the goal of his or her efforts. A leader must know clearly what is to be achieved. In short, leaders use the process of goal setting.

As Tom Garriga, president of Tang Wei Martial Arts Institute says, A goal is an enemy to be conquered with a battle strategy and the commitment of a warrier. The leadership process is founded on resolve and commitment.”

Here is what Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady say about goals…

“Goals Must Be Specific – Goals must be clear and exact. Examples of proper specific goals would be, “to publish 3 posts on my blog this week,” or “to make 2 videos and put them up on YouTube this week,” or “to sponsor 10 people in my business this month.”

Examples of goals that may not be specific enough are, “to become a better father,” or “to improve in leadership ability,” or “to maximize performance at work.” These are general feelings of what could be accomplished, but terms like “better father” or “improve ability” or “maximize” are not specific enough to trap the leader into performing. Loose terms like these provide “wiggle room” for the leader.

Being specific with goals not only gives the leader a clear target at which to shoot, but it also leaves no room for doubt as to whether the target was hit.

Goals Must Be Written – A goal is not a goal until the leader has written it down. As with goals that are not specific, goals not written down leave the leader room to maneuver if things don’t go as planned. But a written goal is hard to avoid.

Goals Must Be Set In Stone – The setting of a goal must be backed by commitment, or the whole process breaks down. Therefore, goals must be “set in stone.” Once decided upon goals should not be changed. As will be shown in “Game Planning,” it may be necessary to modify plans for how to attain a goal, but the goal itself must remain firm.

Goals Must Be Measurable – There must be a clear, quantifiable method to determine when the goal is accomplished. Can it be measured? How? How easily, and by whom? How quickly upon completion? These are the types of questions to answer when setting a goal to ensure that the leader knows when and how a goal is achieved. The ability to measure progress toward a goal also enables mid-course corrections and the ability for a leader to confront brutal reality concerning his or her progress. Again, goals for leaders must be clear and measurable.

Goals Must Be Realistic – Goals must be realistic enough that the leader believes them achievable and is energized to do whatever it takes to accomplish them. If the vision is big then there must be steps taken or mini goals set so that the leader does not become exasperated and give up on his or her goal.

Goals Must Provide Motivation – On one hand, goals must be realistic, but on the other, they must be enough to stretch to inspire the leader. The best way to set a goal is to make sure it is between the ditches of “too Enormous” on one side and “too easy” on the other. The leader must believe that he or she can accomplish the goal, while at the same time be uncomfortable at the increased level of performance required to do so.

Goals Must Be in Line With Priorities and Values – Every leader should take care when setting goals to ensure that the goal itself is not at cross-purposes with her core beliefs, not that what’s required to accomplish the goal compromises her honor.

Goals Must Be Prominent – The leader must develop systematic ways of regularly reminding himself of the goal. This can be done with signs or placards placed around the home or workplace or even in the car. A leader should devise methods of keeping the goal prevalent and in view until the goal is achieved. A goal forgotten is a goal dismissed.

Goals Must Have a Specific Time Period – Once a leader sets a specific goal, writes it down, commits to it, determines how to measure it, and makes sure that it is realistic and motivational and in line with priorities and values, and devises methods for making it prominent, it is crucial that an appropriate time limit be determined. If a goal is set without a time limit, it becomes noting more than a wish or fantasy. A time limit applies the final pressure on the leader, like a clock ticking during the running of a race.”

If you have a goal and go through each one of these points with your goal you will be able to see if the goal you have set is the right goal or if you need to alter your goal to make it more obtainable.

Today I would like you to take a good look at your goals, make sure you write them down and put in a place you can easily get to them and review from time to time, and then see if they need to be altered any.

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Tags: cycle of achievement, Goal setting, Leadership
Posted in Leadership | 6 Comments »

The Cycle of Achievement (Pt. 1)

August 13th, 2009 by Michael Feil

Cycle Of Achievement

Today and for the next several posts I want to communicate a cycle that every entrepreneur should be following, and that is the Cycle of Achievement. The Cycle of Achievement, which is taken from the best selling book Launching A Leadership Revolution, will help get you to where you need to be as a leader and a business owner. Like John Maxwell says, “Everything rises and falls on leadership!” So learn these principles, apply them, and rise to the top! By the way, I suggest you go buy the book! It’s full of great content!!

The leadership-development process is where a leader begins the work that he or she is about and uses that experience to gain ability and understanding. It is this work that propels the leader up the ascending levels of influence (which is I may do another series about that later).

The cycle of achievement has several different steps a leader needs to follow. We are going to talk about each step in depth.

So let’s talk today about the first step on the cycle which is Vision. Vision is tomorrow’s reality expressed as an idea today. Leaders must first have a vision of where they desire to take themselves and their organization. Without this vision the dreams will never become reality. Leaders must have a desire to make something happen, to change he way things are, to create something that now one else has ever created before.

Here is another spin on vision…Vision comes from the picture of a dream in the leaders mind. One doesn’t always get what one wants, and one doesn’t always get what one deserves, but one does generally get what one pictures. Having a clear mental picture is the vision the leader carries and casts. Some call it visualization.

I do this all the time. When I am in a Jiu-Jitsu tournament I visualize what I am going to do to my opponent before the match. I am visualizing how I am moving, how I am going to set up for the takedown, what chokes I am going to be using, what submission moves I will be executing on him, what I will be doing when I get in certain positions, etc. This helps prepare me for the match, helps me think like a winner, and helps my mental game stay positive because I am picturing myself winning.

Take this visualization technique to the business world. You need to visualize yourself being successful, getting that raise, being successful in your home business, becoming debt free, etc. Visualize how you are going to feel when you accomplish your goal. What are you going to do? How will it change your life? Your interaction with people? What will be the next step? These questions are all important for you to “feel” your goal before you actually get it because by you answering these questions it will help you get the drive you need to succeed.

So make sure you have that vision before you set your goals. It reminds me of a great ’80s movie Vision Quest about a wrestler that wants to be at the top. He first had that vision to be the best and then he went out and did several steps to become the best.

Make your vision become your reality!