The theme for the “Power Weekend” training event I am attending this weekend is Momentum. I would like to provide a summary of some of the interesting points from Saturday, which happen to be in sets of three.
Momentum has three parts
-
Create momentum
- Maintain momentum
- Advance momentum
To build momentum you need velocity. Successful people do things right now. Not later, not tomorrow. Right now.
When you are working with a team, you cannot advance your own momentum. If you created it, someone else needs to advance it. Familiarity breeds contempt.
Three Steps to Success
Ray Kroc, who helped the McDonald’s brothers create the franchise, is known for saying that success has three steps:
- Be in the right place at the right time.
- Realize it.
- Take massive action.
It’s not enough to be in the right place and the right time if you don’t realize that you are there. And it’s not enough to realize that you are there unless you take action.
Three cats
Robert Kiyosaki has the story of the three cats. There are three cats sitting on a fence. Two of the cats decide to jump off the fence. How many cats are on the fence?
The answer is three. Until the cats actually jump off the fence, they are still on the fence. A decision is important and is the first step. But it’s not the same as action. Tonight I can decide that I will work out when I first wake up tomorrow morning. Maybe I will maybe I won’t. Decision is nothing without action.
3 Components of Effective Leadership
One definition of effective leadership is the intersection of three characteristics.
-
Humble
- Hungry
- Smart
Humble means do not think less of yourself, think of yourself less. But if you are only humble without the other two characteristics, you are a pawn.
Hungry means having that drive and motivation to get things done. But if you are only hungry without the other two characteristics, you are a bulldozer.
Smart is of course having the intelligence and mindset for good decision-making. But if you are only smart without the other two characteristics, you are a charmer.
If you are humble and hungry without the smarts, you are an accidental mess maker. If you are humble and smart without the hunger, you are a lovable slacker. If you are hungry and smart without being humble, you are a skillful politician.
The key is to have all three: humble, hungry, and smart for effective leadership.