The "Duck to Eagle School" lesson is one of many "simple truths" ol

leadership that I've learned on my journey as an entrepreneur. In the past

30 years, I've had the good fortune to be involved with three successful slart

up companies, each becoming a leader in its niche. And, as you can imagine,

there have been many peaks, valleys and "lessons learned" along the way.

I've also been very fortunate to have met a lot of people who are a lot smarter

than 1. Successful entrepreneurs, authors, speakers, educators, coaches, and

CEO's of large companies, have all helped shape my thinking. It has been

their wisdom and their knowledge, combined with my own life experiences,

that have helped shape who I am today.

My goal with this little booh is to share .sonic of my "lessons learned"

in a brief, but engaging way. Because so many times, it's not what is said,

but how it is said, that turns the switch from off to on. For me, one of the

most exciting things about business and life, is that one great idea can

change our life forever.

All the Best,

Mac Anderson

Founder, Simple Truths and SiiecessDries

LEADERSHIP

WOULD BE EASY, if it wasn't for people

There is one question that every employee will love lo have you

ask ... What can 1 do to help? So many times as leaders, we

assume we're doing all we can do; however, these 6 words:

"What caii 1 do to help?" will usually prove your assumptions are

dead wrong. The question should address three areas:

■ working 0 ranld.t.n=,pv.u environment fclMnl^

more n|pacan*7 . "" ' ao (" serve the -*~ better customer your

better? ««f family

Obviously, it's important to let them know up front that you

may not be able to help with everything they ask, but you'll do

what you can. In other words, a chauffer to and from work is

probably out of the question.

11

You'll usually be amazed to hear about a few small things that will cost

you next to nothing. You may find they need a new file cabinet, their

chair is uncomfortable, they need flex-hours 1 day a week, a new

headset for the phone, or a small space healer in the winter months.

The truth is, the fact thai you've taken the time to listen to their per

sonal concerns is far more important in their eyes than what you'll t\o

for them. Gallop polled over I million employees who thought they had

a great hoss and asked them one question. Why? You goi it! The number

one reason was the boss was willing to listen lo what the)' had to say.

Never lorget ...

iz

About 6 months ago Tom Fekenstein said, "Mac, we should

write a book together and the title could be, Change Is

Good ... You Go First." I immediately loved the idea and,

I'm pleased to say, it is scheduled to be released soon with a subtitle

of u... 2! ways to inspire change.11

Change is the key thai unlocks the door lo growth and

excitement in any organization. The leader's ability to inspire a

"culture of change1' can make or break their success. Tomorrow comes

at us with lightning speed and our competitive advantage is a fleet

ing thing. Bill Gates puts ii this way... "In 3 years every product my

company makes will be obsolete. The only question is whether we will

make it obsolete or someone else will;' Peter Drucker reinforced what

Gates said, by saying: "Every 3 years, each product and process

should be put on trial for its life, otherwise the competition will

pass you by." Drucker also says thai most companies find it easier to

come up with new ideas than to lei go of old ones.

15

Have you ever watched a fly bouncing off a window pane, even

with an open door a few feel away? Many limes the fly keeps crash

ing into the glass until it finally dies. There are many companies In

today's world doing exactly the same thing. They continue down

"today's path," wearing blinders to the possibility oi change....

until they die.

Keeping change and continuous improvements on ihe "front

burner" is never easy. We are so Focused on today's problems

that we put off planning for tomorrow's opportunities.

Keeping change alive starts with rewarding innovation,

risk-taking and creativity- In fact, you need to fail quickly and

fail often to stay ahead of the competition.. T.5. Elliot said it best,

"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out

how far to go."

Iii the end, it is important to remember

thai we cannot become what we need to be

by remaining who we are."

— Max Depree

IE

"I've spent a good part of

my life studying economic

SUCCESSES AND FAILURES...

above all, I've learned that

everything takes a back

seat to innovation."

— Tom Peters

Accept Your Limitations and

You II Expand Your Potential

One oS the biggest reasons many leaders fail is their unwilling

ness 10 accept their limitations. Ego gets in the way. They feel

they're smart enough to do it all, and mistakenly fee] thai what

they don't know they can learn "on the fly." So many times it's a recipe

for disaster, especially for entrepreneurs.

Walt Disney failed many times early in his career. He had

brilliant ideas, but his ability to execute them was painfully lacking.

He also, believe it or not, was a lousy artist. So after the third failure,

Disney was finally convinced lliat to succeed he must surround

himself with great artists who could bring his animation ideas

to life. He also needed his brother Roy to handle the financial side of

the business. These two moves made all the difference and freed Walt

up to do what he did best, which was using his imaginat ion to plan

their future.

1 can definitely relate to the Disney story. From 1991-93 we were

on a roll at Successories. We had gone from $5 million to $45 million

in three years. Then came 1994, and Murphy's Law hit us like a ton of

bricks. We had grown too last and no longer had the light people or

infrastructure to handle it. liarly in 1995, I realized that I had

to make significant changes. After a lot ol soul searching, I realized

my strengths were people skills and creativity; however, my weak

nesses were operations and accounting. To grow ihc business

and rebuild the infrastructure, L had to hire good people

who had been there and done that, people who could

complement wluU I did best. This was a very painful wake-up

call, but 1 learned some of the most valuable lessons of my life.

I heard a quote the other day that offers every manager and

entrepreneur food for thought: