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Ben Franklin Didn't Quite Get it Right
When Ben Franklin said "a penny saved is a penny earned", he didn't quite get it right. Actually, a penny saved is worth more than a penny earned. Do you find this statement shocking? I am about to prove to you that what I'm saying is true. Most...
CRM
The story of the emperor's new clothes is a fairy tale about men who fooled the emperor into believing that they had made him a beautiful suit of clothes. In fact they had not made anything. The emperor went out in public wearing nothing but his...
EQ at the Office
Please feel free to distribute or reprint this article, keeping the bio line intact. Emotional intelligence means knowing how to get along. Playing too hard at the office is just as bad as refusing to play at all, studies show. Office politics is...
How Your New Years Eve Bash can Grow Your Career
How Your New Years Eve Bash can Grow Your Career.
You can have some real fun with this. Enjoy.
The New Years Eve party is a once-a-year terrific opportunity to open new doors into your future, your sales career and income, your business, and...
Why the Internet is an Entrepreneurs' Dream
Not long ago, a vacation that entailed travelling across much of the U.S. helped me reflect a bit about my Internet business, and reminded me of the powerful advantages of doing business online. Let's consider just a few of them... 1) Generate...
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Being Other Focused
Being "Other" Focused
In the Wall Street Journal, Franklin Lavin, U.S. Ambassabor to Singapore wrote the Manager's Journal column about some of the things he learned from the late President Reagan while working on his staff.
******** PLEASE NOTE ************
If you are thinking about moving on from this article because of your feelings about the politics of President Reagan, please don't. The lesson I am about to share isn't about politics or partisan-ship, or any of those things.
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It is about caring.
About being focused on others.
It is a lesson for all leaders.
Lavin shares a story about an appearance the President was making at an Alabama school for handicapped children. The event was going super well, until one of the children with a severe speech impediment asked a question of the President. No one in the audience could understand and the room became tense. The President asked him to repeat the question, and the energy in the room was further dampened. Again, no one understood.
Here is how Lavin tells what happened next, "The teachers froze. What was to have been an upbeat day was turning into a disaster... Reagan to the rescue. 'I'm sorry' he said with a smile, 'but
you know I've got this hearing aid in my ear. Every once in awhile the darn thing just conks out on me. And it's just gone dead. Sorry to put you through this again, but I'm going to ask one of my staff people to go over to you so you can tell them directly what your question is. Then he can pass it back to me.'"
This is what caring, gentle people do. This is what leaders do. If they see someone hurting, they try to help. They don't help to "get through it" or get people back to work. They help, and care, and listen because it is the right thing to do. They show they care through their actions.
If you are like me, as you read this you thought, "How would I have handled that?" and "Would I have been as successful as President Reagan?" They are good questions.
The better question though is, what can I do today to be more focused on others, and therefore help them succeed?
About the Author
Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company. To receive a free Special Report on leadership that includes resources, ideas, and advice go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.
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