Humilitas: A Lost Key to Life, Love and Leadership

A brief synopsis of the book

Humilitas is basically Latin for humility and that is what this book is all about, humility.

The author starts of with a thesis of what he believes humility is and why it is important to be humble. He defines humility as “the noble choice to forgo your status, deploy resources or use influence for the good of others before yourself… The humble person is marked by a willingness to hold power in service of others.”

He explains why we should pursue humility.

1.   It is common sense

“What we don’t know and can’t do far exceeds what we do know and can do. A little humility, then, is hardly rocket science. It is common sense.”

2.  It is beautiful

He gives a couple of examples of people we admire because of their humility.

3.  It generates abilities

“Perhaps the most obvious outcome of being humble is that you will learn, grow and thrive in a way that proud have no hope of doing.”

4.  It lifts those around you.

He gives some examples of humble heroes.

5.  It creates harmony.

It doesn’t mean that you compromise on convictions. “Humility applied to convictions doesn’t mean believing things any less, it means treating those who hold contrary beliefs with respect and friendship.”

6.  You simply cannot lead without it.

You can’t persuade people if you can’t connect with them and you are going to find it hard to connect with people without some humility.

He gives a very thorough and interesting explanation as to why the ancient world didn’t like humility and then moves on to explain how Jesus redefined greatness for all man kind.

He closes the book with 7 steps that would help you to become more humble.

1.     Recognize that you are not humble.

2.    Start loving humility because “we are shaped by what we love.”

3.    Reflect on the lives of the humble.

4.    Visualize yourself being humble before you move into the “tempting” situations.

5.    Act humbly. You need to exercise the humility muscle because actions influence thoughts.

6.    Invite criticism. Constantly ask others for input.

7.    Forget about being humble. (Don’t try to appear to be humble.) 

Super C Leadership

A couple of years ago a read a great book - Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels -that had a section in it that really influenced my thinking on what it takes to lead. The author referred to three C’s (Character, Competence and Chemistry) being the ingredients for someone he would look to hire on his team.

As a leadership team we discussed this concept at length for months and eventually landed on a descriptive term for the three C’s that we called a Super-C leader. A SUPER-C leader is someone who (though not perfect) exemplifies the three C’s.

1. CHARACTER

The Web dictionary define character as ‘the inherent compound of attributes that determines a person’s moral and ethical actions and reactions.’

In short, it is who you are when no one is looking. It is who you are before God and for God. It is things like resilience, discipline, passion, determination, grace, compassion, kindness and a desire to learn and grow.

You are going to find it very hard to lead others if you are not able to lead yourself.

2. COMPETENCE

The ability to get the job while leaving wake of relationships of people who loved the journey. It doesn’t help to get the job done, but hurt people in the process and it also doesn’t help to be everybody’s friend but not achieving anything. The competent leader is able to balance the two.

3. CHEMISTRY

Relational savvy. It is difficult to go along if you can’t get along. The person must have the ability to relate with and connect with people.

I have recently heard some share an exercise to determine whether you have chemistry with someone or not. Let say you are in your office fully engaged with and important assignment and someone pops their head into the door to ask you a question. If you see them as an interruption you most probably don’t have chemistry with them. If their face is an welcome sight you most probably have chemistry with them.

So there you go, a SUPER-C leader has character, competence and chemistry. The purpose of this blog is to help you grow in these three areas.

How a Movement is Started

No Future without Forgiveness

Hectic read! Nelson Mandela is such a remarkable man/ leader. His ability to forgive, unite and inspire after such an horrendous past is absolutely fascinating!

Extreme Dreams Depend on Teams - Pat Williams

‘A person is a person through other persons. A person with Ubuntu is open available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole.’ - Desmond Tutu

That is the essence of what it means to be a team: I can't be alI I can be unless you are all you can be.

Aim high and dream big dreams but know that you can’t achieve them by yourself. Dream builders are team builders. Extreme dreams really do depend on teams. You have to assemble the right teams in order to turn your dreams into reality.

If you could get all the people in an organisation to run in the same direction, you could dominate the industry - in any market, against any competition, at any time.

When people come together and set aside their individual needs for the good of the whole, they are able to accomplish what seemed to be “impossible” on paper.

‘Nothing happens unless first a dream.’ - Carl Sandburg

Key players with outstanding character and a good attitude always lift the performance of the whole team.

It takes five guys on the basketball court to put points on the scoreboard, but it takes an entire community to lift those five guys.

Big, bold, and extreme dreams capture the imagination and fire the enthusiasm. When people believe they are involved in something big, they are willing to sacrifice to make it happen.

Fun fuels great teams. When team players enjoy their work, they don't see it as work, they see it as fun.

Always reward team attitude and team effort.

Principles

1. Top Talent builds extreme dreams
2. Great Leaders build extreme dreams
3. Commitment builds extreme dreams
4. Passion builds extreme dreams
5. Thinking Teams builds extreme dreams
6. Empowered Individuals build extreme dreams
7. Respect and Trust build extreme dreams

1. TOP TALENT BUILDS EXTREME DREAMS

TALENT, TALENT, TALENT! Without great talent, you cannot rise above mediocrity.

Never go into the game unless you have better players than your opponent has.

• You have to have talent in order to compete
• Every player has to be custom fitted to the role.

To assemble a winning team, you have to choose your players well. You might need to stick with the decision you’re about to make for a long time to come, so make sure it is a decision you can live with. Don't let people or circumstances stampede you into a disastrous long-term choice in shaping your team.

Having the wrong person in a slot is worse than having no person in that slot. The wrong person will throw your team out of balance, make it dysfunctional, and destroy team chemistry. In such cases, the best way to add to your team is by subtraction.

You need to help everyone on your team in developing ownership of the decided outcome.

Don't use your 10 best players, use your best 10 players.

When a coach is seen as a role-player in the game, you can literally see a wave of enthusiasm and energy rubble through the team. Sometimes that is the mystical moment when the games’ momentum shifts.

2. GREAT LEADRES BUILD EXTREME DREAMS

When you are a leader of a team, you never know what new problems will land on your plate each day. All you know is that you’d better be ready to solve them.

What constitutes great leaders?

1. They are visionary.
2. Have great communication skills.
3. Great people skills.
4. Strong character.
5. Competence (they are able to play the game, able to compete.)
6. Boldness (they must be decisive and daring.)
7. Servanthood. (It is not about being the boss, it is about being a servant.) You can serve the team by helping them grow and win as individuals.) But the end-goal should be their growth, not the win.

You are not a leader if success is all about you and your performance and your contributions. Leadership is not about raising your hand, being called upon, or delivering the right answers. Becoming a leader changes everything. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. It is about making (growing) your people to be smarter, bigger and bolder. Nothing you do as an individual matters anymore, except if you nurture and support your team and help its members increase their self-confidence.

‘When placed in command, take charge.’ - General H Norman Schwarkopf

The leader is a problem solver, salesman, teacher, organiser, change agent, crisis manager, and more.

How do you become competent in all these areas? There is only one way: through experience. A team will follow a leader with a strong track record, because competence inspires confidence. Teams want to be led by proven winners.

‘Decision is a sharp knife that cuts clean and straight; indecision, a dull one that hacks and tears and leaves ragged edges behind it.’ - Gordon Graham

'Courage is fear that has said its prayers.’ - Dorothy Bernard

Courage is not a feeling. It is a decision, the decision to do the right thing in spite of our fears.

Bold leaders don't wait for events and circumstances to turn in their favour. They take the initiative and control the future. They continually locate it, see what's on the horizon, and seize the moment before it arrives.

3. COMMITMENT BUILDS EXTREME DREAMS

‘If you aren't going all the way, why go at all?’ - Joe Namath

Great teams are committed teams. Players must be committed to one another, to the coach, and to the extreme dream.

If you put on the uniform but you're not committed to the common dream, then you are an imposter. If you're not 100% committed to your team, then please do everyone a favour and walk away.

‘We don't take applications, only commitments.’ - United States Marine Corps billboard recruiting advertisement.

Half-hearted ‘commitment’ will cure your dream faster than any obstacle or opposition.

‘One person with the commitment is worth more than 100 people who only have an interest.’ - Mary Cowley

‘Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. It is the only thing that ever has.’ - Margaret Mead

4. PASSION BUILDS EXTREME DREAMS

Winning is the ultimate prize, and it takes hard work to achieve it. It is hard to win without having a passion for the game.

You have to get everyone on your team in ‘THE ZONE!’

Passion shows.

‘An army is a team. Thus, it lives, sleeps, eats, and fights as a team. This individual heroic stuff is pure foolish. Every single man in this army plays a vital role. Don't ever let up. Don't ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and you must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain. Every man serves the whole. Every department, every unit, is important in the vast scheme of this war.’ - Gen George S Patton (shortly before D-Day.)

5. THINKING TEAMS BUILD EXTREME DREAMS

The most difficult thing to teach players is how to get away from being themselves and get with the program. You need four or five guys who force others to comply.

Ubuntu = “I am because we are.”

The concept of Ubuntu emphasises humility and unselfishness, encouragement and empowerment of others, a sense of connectedness with the team, and a recognition that the individual succeed only when the whole team succeeds. To practice ubuntu is to think team at all times. Ubuntu enables a team of diverse personalities and diversified skills to unite around a common goal and shared values.

‘ Exercising your ego in public is definitely not the way to build an effective organisation.’ - Sam Walton

‘None of us is as smart as all of us.’

I can learn more about people by playing a three-on-three game with them for 20 minutes than I can by talking with them for a week.

You can't have teamwork without unconditional love.

6. EMPOWERED INDIVIDUALS BUILD EXTREME DREAMS

Bosses like to maintain ‘command and control.’ But leaders love to see their players take control of the situation.

Real genius does not lie in personal achievement, but in unleashing the talents of others.

How to Empower Others:

1. Tell your people you believe in them.
2. When your people talk, listen.
3. Build your people up, don't tear them down.
4. When tempted to tear someone down, bite your tongue.
5. Always be truthful.
6. Say thank you.
7. Don't dispense empty praise
8. Remember that everybody needs encouragement from time to time.

7. RESPECT & TRUST BUILDS EXTREME DREAMS

8. STRONG CHARACTER BUILDS EXTREME DREAMS

‘Whatever the character traits required for a team to excel, the team leader should be the best example of those traits.’ - Anthony J. Le Storti

A strong work ethic is contagious. One hard working team member can elevate the work ethic of an entire team.

I have learned that people are the way they are because they want to be that way. We rationalise and give all kinds of reasons that it’s not true, but bottom line: You are choosing to be who you are.

Jack Welch's 4 E's of Leadership

Energy - Individuals with energy love to "go, go, go." These people possess boundless energy and get up every day ready to attack the job at hand. High energy people move at 95 miles-per-hour in a 55 mile-per-hour world.

Energizers - know how to spark others to perform. They outline a vision and get people to carry it out. Energizers know how to get people excited about a cause or a crusade. They are selfless in giving others the credit when things go right, but quick to accept responsibility when things go awry.

Edge - Those with edge are competitive types. They know how to make the really difficult decisions, such as hiring, firing and promoting, never allowing the degree of difficulty to stand in their way.

Execute - The key to the entire model. Without measurable results, the other "E's" are of little use. Executers recognize that activity and productivity are not the same and are capable of converting energy and edge into action and results.

by Jeffrey A. Krames

The Art of the Start - Guy Kawasaki

Lessons learned from The Art of the Start:

Doing, not learning to do, is the essence of entrepreneurship.

“Entrepreneur” is not a job title. It is the state of mind of people who want to alter the future.

The hardest thing about getting started is getting started.

You should always be selling – not strategizing about selling.

Key principles of getting going:

1. Think big.
2. Find a few soul mates.
3. Polarize people. When you create a product or service that some people love, don’t be surprised when others hate you. Your goal is to catalyze passion – pro or anti. Don’t be offended if people take issue with what you’ve done; the only result that should offend (and scare) you is lack of interest.
4. Design different.

Ferdinand Porsche said, “In the beginning I looked around and, not finding the automobile of my dreams, decided to build it myself."

Define your business model.

Tips to help you develop your business model:

1. Be specific. The more precisely you can describe your customer, the better. Most successful companies started off targeting specific markets and grew to great size by addressing other segments. Few started off with grandiose goals and achieved them.
2. Keep it simple.
3. Copy somebody. Try to relate your business model to one that’s already successful and understood. You have plenty of other battles to fight.

Niche thyself.

When selling ask yourself, did it catch attention, hold my interest, pierce my armor? Did I talk English and make a point?

Apply the opposite Test: Do you describe your offering in a way that is opposite to that of your competition? If you do, then you’re saying something different. If you don’t, then your descriptions are impotent.

How can you tell if an entrepreneur is pitching? His lips are moving.

Ship, fix. Ship, fix. Ship, fix, instead of fix, fix, fix, ship.

Recommendations for the art of execution:

1. Set and Communicate goals.

2. Measure progress.

3. Establish a single point of accountability. If it takes more than ten seconds to figure out who is responsible for achieving a goal, something is wrong. Good people accept accountability. Great people ask for it.

4. Reward the achievers.

5. Establish a culture of execution. Execution is not a one-time event. Nor is it a process where you check off goals as if your sixth-grade teacher were looking over your shoulder. Rather, execution is a culture that produces a set of organization wide habits.

Reward those whose perspective, ability, and judgment are radically different from yours. It requires uncommon humility, tolerance, and wisdom.

"The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers." – Ralph Nader

A players hire A players; B players hire C players; and C players hire D players. It doesn’t take long to get to Z players.

If there is one thing a CEO must do, it’s hire a management team that is better than he is.

It’s not enough that candidates are good and different; they must also believe that your organization can change the world. They must be infected with enthusiasm for what you do.

High achievers tend to have major weaknesses. People without major weaknesses tend to be mediocre.

The best brand never start with the intent of building a great brand. They focus on building a great- and profitable – product or service and an organization that can sustain it. – Scott Bedbury

The key elements of contagiousness:

1. Cool. Cool is beautiful. Cool is hip. Cool is idiosyncratic. And cool is contagious.

2. Effective. You can’t brand something that doesn’t work.
3. Distinctive. A contagious product is easy to notice and advertises itself. It leaves no doubt that it is different from the competition. Does anyone confuse a Hummer with other vehicles?

4. Disruptive. Contagious products are disruptive. They either upset the status quo or make them go into denial. But they do not leave people unaffected.

5. Emotive. A contagious product or service exceeds expectations, and by exceeding expectations, it makes you joyful.

6. Deep. A contagious product or service “has legs.” The more you use it, the more you discover it is capable of.

7. Indulgent. Purchasing a contagious product or service makes you feel as if you’ve indulged yourself. It enables you to escape the mundane. The tag line for Miele, for example, is “Anything else is a compromise.”

8. Supported.

An innovation, to be effective, has to be simple and it has to be focused. It should do only one thing, otherwise, it confuses. If it is not simple, it won’t work. – Peter Drucker

Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him, and then choose that way with his strength. – Hasidic saying

I have never thought of writing for reputation and honor. What I have in my heart must come out; that is the reason why I compose. – Ludwig van Beethoven

Drive a stake in the heart of the status quo.

It’s alright to aim high if you have plenty of ammunition. – Hawley R. Everhart

Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.