What Does It Take to be a Great Leader?
Nothing in life travels in a neat formation accompanied by bugles and cavalry. A lot of it shows up filthy and unkempt, prominent in the mess we’ve made around our foxhole. These lessons are typically the offspring of hubris, naivete and ignorance … or from overlooking the land mines hidden beneath our feet.
Every Tuesday, we’ll share valuable and practical leadership tips and tools to help you BE a better leader so you can BECOME a better leader. Remember … you won’t BECOME a better leader until you start BEING a better leader … implementing NOW the changes necessary to adopt the proven strategies of successful leaders. You might start by building on the communication matrix and making sure you’re defending the castle to get done what only you can do. Make some time so you’re thinking past today.
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It’s Almost Midnight. Do you know where your cash is?
Okay, I admit it, I’m cheating a little this week … but I’ve got a few good reasons. Well, I’m calling them reasons anyway.
For one, I’m working hard to get ready for our Cash Flow Workshop, “It’s Almost Midnight. Do You Know Where Your Cash Is?” scheduled for May 25th. If you live in the San Francisco bay area, are not a financial executive and want to advance your business finance knowledge, our workshop is tailored for you.
Every successful business executive needs a solid grounding in the principles of cash flow … not artificial placeholders like EBITDA, but the hard, cold cash that Warren Buffett calls the “lifeblood of business”. This is an Extended Learning Workshop that is different than anything you’ve ever attended. There are special conference calls before and after the workshop, a financial literacy test, an E-book … and a private 1/1 consultation with a senior member of Moss Adams LLP, a senior banker from Exchange Bank and me. We’d love to see you there.
Alright, so maybe that sounded a little self-serving but it really isn’t. We’ve got a great group of North Bay sponsors who share my belief that helping small and middle market business owners and executives become better equipped to measure, manage and increase cash flow is the greatest service we can provide to that community.
Join us and we’ll teach you how to increase cash flow. It’s that simple.
New L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P. Series
I’ve also been planning a new program, the Top Ten Attributes of L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P., which is directly related to our weekly Leadership Series. Next Tuesday, and for the following 11 weeks, we’ll tackle this fascinating subject and get a dialogue started about the most important attributes of great leaders. The North Bay Business Journal, a San Francisco affiliate of the New York Times, will also be carrying these articles every week during the 12 week series.
What does it take to be a good leader? How much is inherited, and is that all we’re going to get? Where can we get what’s missing? What if we apply the best practices that others have learned and shared? Does that get us there?
Yes, it’s possible that we’re not quite the leaders we think we are. How do we measure our capability and success as leaders? If our company is making money, does that cover it? If our company is growing, have we arrived? Do we just need to look around to see if anyone is following us?
Join the Conversation
Please join us as we engage in a vibrant conversation about L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P. Maybe there are attributes you think I overlooked, or maybe you disagree with my choices, so feel free to share your thoughts along the way.
What do you think are the most important characteristics of leadership? Which ones do you cherish as critical to your success? Are there some that you think are overrated?
