After completing Chess Not Checkers, I decided to create a field guide to help leaders and organizations apply the concepts described in the book. My co-author for this project was Randy Gravitt. Over the next few weeks, I’ll share excerpts from the field guide. Today the topic is the first move all High Performance Organizations make… they always Bet on Leadership.
Over the last year, I’ve had the privilege to speak to thousands of leaders. In virtually every setting, I asked them to send me their leadership questions. I am grateful hundreds have responded. Each week, I try to address at least one question I believe will have broad interest. Today, a question I’ve been asked repeatedly: How do I sell my ideas?
In his blog last week, Seth Godin wrote about the 1%. He said:
That’s how many you get if you’re lucky. One percent of the subscribers to the Times read an article and take action. One percent of the visitors to a website click a button to find out more. One percent of the people in a classroom are sparked by an idea and go do something about it.
I’ll never forget the day I heard Steve Kerr speak almost 20 years ago – he changed the way I look at leadership. Steve was the former head of G.E.’s legendary Crontonville leadership development complex. On the day I heard him speak, he had a single slide with the following equation…