Several years ago, Tim Tassopoulos and I had the opportunity to have breakfast with Stephen Covey. When I find myself with thought-leaders, regardless of their field, I always want to ask great questions. On this occasion, Tim beat me to it. He asked Dr. Covey, “How do you create leaders at every level in an organization?”
One of my dearest friends and mentors died last week. Howard Hendricks was 88 years old. He was someone who understood the law of multiplication. During his career of more than 60 years at Dallas Theological Seminary, he taught and mentored thousands of men and women. I had the wonderful privilege of being one of them.
Have you heard of TED? It stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. It’s a conference, a community and a platform for sharing ideas that matter. As an attendee, there are many things I love about the event. One of them is the fascinating people you can meet.
Today is a national holiday in America to honor the work, the impact and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I was just a little kid when Dr. King was changing the face of our nation. I have vague memories of the conversations my parents and others were having during those tumultuous times in the south. Today, with decades to prove his lasting influence, the bright light of history has illuminated his many strengths – Dr. King was an amazing leader.
Jim Collins has had a profound impact on my leadership. Many of you know Jim from his books, Built to Last, Good to Great, etc. Of all Jim’s work, one of his ideas has been far more challenging, and haunting, to me than all the others.
I’ll See You at the Top was the trademark line the late Zig Ziglar used to close his motivational talks. Ziglar, 86, died last week. I had the privilege of hearing Zig speak several times during my career. He was the keynote speaker for Chick-fil-A’s annual event four times over the last 35 years.
Michael Hyatt is the former chairman of Thomas Nelson books. Many of you reading this post know Michael as an author and blogger. His site, MichaelHyatt.com, is one of the top leadership sites on the web. He’s had a tremendous impact in my life and the lives of countless others. If it weren’t for him, there probably wouldn’t be a greatleadersserve.org.
As most of you know, John Wooden, the legendary coach at UCLA, died a few years ago at the age of 99. He is widely considered the greatest coach in basketball history – some would argue, in the history of all sports. His team won 10 national championships in a 12-year span. A few years ago, I had the amazing privilege to spend an afternoon with the coach.
I had a fantastic learning opportunity this week. I attended a presentation by Roger Nierenberg. It really wasn’t a presentation – it was much more of an experience. Roger calls it The Music Paradigm. Here’s a quick overview…
Some of you are Tim Tebow fans and some of you are not – got it. Regardless of your feelings, let’s not miss the chance to learn something here about leadership. Here are a few things I’ve observed watching Tebow this season that have been great reminders for me.