If you had to save something from a neighbour’s house that was on fire, what would you retrieve to help them out – one of their prized possessions or a coat?

For most of us, the answer is obvious since we view this scenario in terms of what we’d like others to help us save when faced with the risk of losing our home to a fire. However, as revealed in a story shared by Mark Bezos, sometimes these assumptions can obscure our vision of what’s really needed by those we’re trying to help.

During the work week, Mark heads the Development and Communications department at the non-profit organization, Robin Hood, but in his off-hours, he also serves as the assistant captain for a volunteer fire company which provides support to the town’s fire department.

As Mark points out, when you’re a volunteer firefighter, you have to get to the fire scene as soon as you can if you’re to have any chance “to get in on any action” and he certainly managed to get himself an interesting piece of that at his first fire scene.

When Mark arrived at the scene of this particular fire, he found the fire chief talking with a woman standing under an umbrella wearing pyjamas and no shoes, someone he’d later find out was the owner of the burning house. Before he could reach the fire chief to offer his assistance, another volunteer firefighter approached the fire chief and was given the task of saving the woman’s dog. When Mark got to the fire chief and asked what he could do to help, the fire chief looked at Mark and told him he needed Mark to go into the house to get the homeowner a pair of shoes.

Mark and the other volunteer firefighter went into the burning house and searched for the items they were told to locate. As they exited from the house, the other volunteer firefighter understandably received all the attention as he handed the saved dog to the homeowner while Mark gave the woman the pair of shoes he ‘rescued’ from the flames.

A few weeks after the fire, the fire department received a letter from the homeowner in which she Click here to continue reading »”Do You Lead Your Organization To Meet Or Exceed Expectations?”

With the holiday celebrations now at an end, many of us are returning to our usual daily grind refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to dive into the tasks awaiting our attention. The start of a new year is also a time when many of us make resolutions of what we’d like to accomplish over the next 365 days, and possibly beyond.

Granted, it’s only natural that we’d be motivated right now to create these lists of goals, as the start of a new year often inspires that feeling of a new start; that the turning to a fresh page instills hope for new opportunities and bright possibilities for our future. The buoyant positivity around this time of the year can certainly be quite beneficial as it encourages us to take time for some personal self-reflection, pushing us to define goals of what we’d like to change in ourselves, and what areas of knowledge and understanding we’d like to develop a greater awareness of.

Of course, in order for us to truly reap the benefits of this exercise, we need to review the events of the previous year; of taking note of what we endured, learned and gained from those past experiences which can serve as the foundation that we build upon as we move forward.

Another point to consider when developing these lists of goals is how the focus doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to ourselves. Indeed, the start of a new year is a perfect opportunity for leaders to evaluate how they can help their employees with achieving their professional goals for this year.

Now, before the cynic within all of us dismisses such notions as being the result of an euphoric haze that often comes with celebrating the arrival of a new year, let us consider one of the lessons we learned over the course of the previous one. Namely, how Click here to continue reading »”4 New Year’s Resolutions To Help Your Organization Succeed This Year”

Image courtesy of GeorgeBK

As a leader, do you think your role requires you to serve others or for others to serve you? This question serves as the basis for a guest post I co-wrote with S. Max Brown for the leadership blog series “Wake Up and Shake It Up” being run by Shawn Murphy over at Achieved Strategies.

The month-long series focuses on sharing insights and inspiration to encourage leaders to work with their employees in creating a more engaging, empowering, and consequently more productive workplace. The series features a number of authors and experts in leadership and personal development, including Lolly Daskal, David Burkus, Monica Diaz, and Mike Henry, Sr. to name just a few of the series’ contributors.

I would like to thank Shawn for inviting me to participate in his leadership blog series, which I’m told will also be offered as an e-Book for readers to download.  I invite you to check out this piece co-written by Max and myself, which looks at how leaders can inadvertently shift their focus to a self-serving one and what they can do to refocus the lens of their leadership back onto their team. And while you’re there, be sure check out what the other series’ contributors have to say about changing the way we approach leadership.

Today, the net is abuzz with the release of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s book “Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose”. I was fortunate to be selected as one of the bloggers who was sent an advance copy of Hsieh’s book to review on my site (as well as a second copy of the book which I will be giving away for free to one of my readers. More on that later).

In addition to being thrilled at the opportunity to read this book in advance of its release, I was also understandably curious to read the insights of an entrepreneur who was able to take a struggling online shoe retailer and transform it into one of the decade’s biggest success stories. A few chapters into Hsieh’s book, that curiosity soon transformed into one of delight as Hsieh revealed his need to move past seeking profits to finding some purpose and meaning behind his efforts.

Hsieh’s book begins by sharing some stories from his childhood, featuring moments where his budding entrepreneurial spirit propelled him to come up with all sorts of plans on how to make money. The tales are for the most part endearing, reminding the reader of the whimsical image of the makeshift lemonade stand children create to sell beverages to the passersby.

Though Hsieh shares stories going from his college days to the growing success of his first internet company LinkExchange, to help the reader understand where his drive to push Zappos to its current success came from, the story behind his sale of LinkExchange to Microsoft for over $200 million represents Click here to continue reading »”Delivering Happiness – Hsieh’s Book A Celebration of Purpose and Joie de Vivre”