Law & Order … best.show.ever. C’mon! What’s not to like?
There’s Law (which is good), Order (another thumbs up) and New York City (best.city.ever).
If only leadership was so … orderly. Albeit messy at times (like my beloved dirty water dogs … extra everything please!), laws exist in leadership – just asked John Maxwell or read his ’21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership’. A few of my favorite laws for order:
THE LAW OF PRIORITIES
Leaders understand that activity is not necessarily accomplishment. And given the explosion of data, options and directions, a leader must prioritize and exercise courage to make a choice. To quote one of my favorite professors at Stanford University – Dr. Baba Shiv – “It is not about solving it right. It is about solving the right it.”
The 3 R’s
- What is Required?
- What gives the greatest Return?
- What brings the greatest Reward?
“We will be #1 or #2 in every marketplace … or we won’t be in the market.” – Jack Welch
THE LAW OF EMPOWERMENT
Only secure leaders give power to others.
“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt
THE LAW OF LEGACY
A leader’s lasting value is measured by succession.
- Achievement comes to someone when s/he is able to do great things for him/herself.
- Success comes when s/he empowers followers to do great things with him/her.
- Significance comes when s/he develops leaders to do great things for him/her.
- Legacy is created only when a person puts his/her organization into the position to do great things without him/her.
- Success is not measured by where you are going, but by what you are leaving behind