24 Skills That Transform Ordinary People Into Extraordinary Leaders

In May of 2007, United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia joined judges from North America and Europe in Ottawa for a panel discussion about terrorism and the legality of torture. In reference to a Canadian judge’s comment about the extreme measures that counter terrorist agents may take, Justice Scalia said, “Jack Bauer saved Los Angeles… He saved hundreds of thousands of lives.” He continued by asking, “Are you going to convict Jack Bauer?” “I don’t think so.”

With an abundance of legal knowledge at his disposal, Justice Scalia chose to use as his heroic illustration - Jack Bauer. The oddity here is that this hero isn’t real. He lives for one suspense-filled hour each week on Fox’s cult television series “24.” What is it about this fictional character that has produced millions of hard-core fans? And why would Supreme Court Justices and Presidential hopefuls take the time to him?

The answer is this: Jack Bauer is an extraordinary leader.

At first glance, Jack Bauer appears to be just an average man - then that clock starts ticking. And when it does, he triumphs time and again over overwhelming odds by utilizing his well-honed leadership skills.

Think of all the diverse definitions of leadership you have read and Jack probably fills them all. He is a man of action – guiding teams of various sizes on successful missions. He is man of influence – persuading coworkers, enemies and even presidents. He is successful – it may take him a full 24 hours but he always comes out on top.

But he is not perfect. Perhaps that is his most relevant trait to would-be leaders. We like a good dose of reality, even in our fictional heroes. Kiefer Sutherland, the actor who portrays Jack Bauer, believes the reason so many people love the character is because they “respond to a guy who… succeeds on some level and fails on another.” (Rolling Stone Magazine)

Sure people like him but the question is: Why do people follow him? He often appears unstable, he has several former bosses who wouldn’t hire him as a dogcatcher and most shocking is his history of violence in the workplace, which includes shooting more than one coworker. Despite all of that, people still follow Jack Bauer because of his unique leadership skills.

I have found the top 24 leadership skills that he exhibits in his “fictional” life and how those skills can be emulated in your “real” life. This post is not about Leadership qualities. So many books talk about qualities that you may or may not have been born with. This post is about actual leadership skills that can be observed, learned and practiced.

You may never face biological weapons or have the fate of the world in your hands. Nuclear disarmament may never depend on you but the 24 skills that Jack Bauer uses to accomplish these amazing feats are just as essential to your daily success as a leader.

Bottom line: Whether you work at home, in a small office or an international company, The Jack Bauer Leadership Manual will help you become an extraordinary leader. Of course, these skills will also come in handy if you find yourself needing to save the world or just your part of it.

And the clock ticks on…

The Jack Bauer Leadership Manual

24 Skills That Transform Ordinary People Into Extraordinary Leaders

Skill #1 - Extraordinary Leaders Maintain Integrity

Skill #2 - Extraordinary Leaders Reciprocate Trust

Skill #3 - Extraordinary Leaders Exemplify Sacrifice

Skill #4 - Extraordinary Leaders Retain Perspective

Skill #5 - Extraordinary Leaders Generate Solutions

Skill #6 - Extraordinary Leaders Demonstrates Loyalty

Skill #7 - Extraordinary Leaders Embody Purpose

Skill #8 - Extraordinary Leaders Display Confidence

Skill #9 - Extraordinary Leaders Prioritize Objectives

Skill #10 - Extraordinary Leaders Welcome Accountability

Skill #11 - Extraordinary Leaders Negotiate Terms

Skill #12 - Extraordinary Leaders Develop Teamwork

Skill #13 - Extraordinary Leaders Motivate Others

Skill #14 - Extraordinary Leaders Handle Stress

Skill #15- Extraordinary Leaders Locate Resources

Skill #16 - Extraordinary Leaders Analyze Information

Skill #17 - Extraordinary Leaders Manage Time

Skill #18 - Extraordinary Leaders Communicate Expectations

Skill #19 - Extraordinary Leaders Take Initiative

Skill #20 - Extraordinary Leaders Build Relationships

Skill #21 - Extraordinary Leaders Sustain Self-discipline

Skill #22 - Extraordinary Leaders Keep Composure

Skill #23 - Extraordinary Leaders Execute Plans

Skill #24 - Extraordinary Leaders Embody Purpose

Michael E. Waddell is the co-author of Toy Box Leadership: Leadership Lessons From The Toys You Loved As A Child

I sat on a board of directors with a guy whose favorite comment was “Let’s not micromanage the situation.” That was his favorite comment until we discussed an area he was really worried about, and then he conveniently forgot the term.

I worked with this girl who complained incessantly about our micromanaging supervisor and “his big, fancy MBA.” That is, she complained until she was promoted to supervisor. At which time she became the queen of all micromanagers.

I guess what I’m saying is that micromanagement is in the eye of the beholder. The one who is micromanaging feels seem like they are just doing their job and looking out for the best interest of the company. To the one who is being micromanaged, all they feel is the boss’s breath on the back of their neck.

No matter who is involved, this inefficient management style amounts to a petty attempt at governing every detail of your business with excessive control.

The Problems With Micromanagement

• Micromanaging wastes time and resources.

When you micromanage, you cheat yourself out of the time and talent you have paid for. If a boss must look over an employee’s shoulder, either that employee is incompetent or unnecessary – either way the organization doesn’t need them. Speaking of unnecessary, if you don’t have anything better to do than to look over an employee’s shoulder then you can’t be doing your job as a leader.

• Micromanaging creates a climate of distrust.

At its core, micromanagement is based on a lack of faith and trust in other people. If you believe you must check on every detail, either you have failed to properly communicate the expectations of the assignment or you are terminally insecure as a leader.

• Micromanaging doesn’t allow for growth.

In a climate of micromanagement, employees will never reach their full potential because their bosses are unwilling to allow them to assume full responsibility for a project. This repressive style will stunt creativity and hinder overall progress.

The problem is larger than you may think. In My Way or the Highway - the Micromanagement Survival Guide, Harry E. Chambers writes that “four out of five workers say they’ve been a victim of micromanagement.” That’s 80% of your workforce. What do you do now?
The Solution To Micromanagement
Having been on both sides of the issue, I have developed a four-step solution to micromanaging using the acronym COSE.

The COSE Way

Step 1. Cooperation
Inform them of The COSE Way steps so they will understand the process. Work together the first time through the assignment, gradually handing off responsibility to them as they learn.

Step 2. Observation
Watch them perform the assign task, offering advice when required. This may seem like micromanagement but remember, it is only for a brief and specifically allotted time.

Step 3. Separation
Walk away from the project, allowing them to work alone. This is the most difficult part for habitual micromanagers but it is essential to growth.

Step 4. Evaluation
Set a time to evaluate the employee’s progress and provide more coaching if needed. If no further instruction is needed back away and let them work. At this point you may want to try something new – doing you own work.

While some may say, “If you want something done right you have to do it yourself.” A confident leader says “if you want something done right, COSE someone to do it.”

Michael E. Waddell

co-author of Toy Box Leadership: Leadership Lessons From The Toys You Loved As A Child

www.toyboxleadership.com

Here is his review from www.examiner.com:

Hunter and Waddell create a context for the creation and subsequent popularity of ten toys (i.e. LEGO® Bricks, Slinky® Dog, Play-Doh®, the yo-yo, Mr. Potato Head® and Rubik’s Cube®, the rocking horse, little green plastic army men, Lite-Brite®, and Weebles®) and then, devoting a separate chapter to each of the ten, share thought-provoking insights on leadership lessons to be learned from each. I played with many of these toys as a child and then purchased them for four children and more recently for ten grandchildren. Frankly, the connections that Hunter and Waddell make never occurred to me. Once again, I am reminded of the “invisibility of the obvious.” Consider these representative excerpt from the narrative:

“Being a Play-Doh® person does not mean you are weak, gullible, or even wishy-washy, but rather that you have determined to be molded in positive ways that are essential to their development.” Such people are shaped the way they are because they are receptive to change and being changed, yet have “durable” character because their exact ingredients (i.e. humility, teachability, and desire to improve) allow the substance to have consistent integrity.

Readers will appreciate the skill by which Hunter and Waddell enable their reader to complete a process of discovery and reflection so that as the final chapter approaches, she or has accumulated the basic components of principled, results-driven leadership and can then assemble them as if they were (yes) individual LEGO® Bricks or parts of Mr. Potato. Hunter and Waddell suggest, “When you lay this book down and put away these toys, remember the lessons.” Congratulations to them on a brilliant achievement!

If you haven’t got a copy yet, Amazon has them for $6.60 right now.

What would make a corporate lawyer give up his six-figure salary to make $13 an hour? One word: LEGO. It all started on Christmas 1978 in Colville, Washington, when five-year-old Nathan Sawaya unwrapped his first set of LEGO bricks. As his collection grew, his family’s living room transformed into a giant “LEGO city.” At age 9, Nathan witnessed a life-changing event. His family happened upon a traveling LEGO tour at the Alameda Square Shopping Center in Denver. Inspired by seeing the grand scale of the White House and the Washington Monument built out of those little bricks he loved, he went back home and built a replica of the Oregon State Capitol.

As an adult, Nathan’s LEGO interest was merely a hobby until 2004 when he entered a contest, sponsored by the Legoland theme park, in San Diego to find the country’s best adult LEGO builders. After winning the contest he became a LEGO Master Builder assembling elaborate replicas. Making only one-fifth his lawyer’s salary didn’t matter because he was living his dream.

The history of the LEGO brick dates back to 1932, in Billund, Denmark, where Ole Kirk Kristiansen opened a new carpentry business making stepladders, ironing boards and little wooden toys. Kristiansen called his toys “Lego,” a name derived from the Danish words “leg godt” meaning “play well.” In 1942, the Lego factory burned to the ground. This unfortunate event provided Kirstiansen with the good fortune to rebuild, this time using a plastic injection-molding machine instead of wood to build his toys. In 1949, Kristiansen introduced the Automatic Binding Brick to moderate European success. Everything changed in 1961, when the Lego bricks were introduced to North America and became an immediate hit. The LEGO Group refers to their toys in the plural as LEGO bricks not LEGOS. We will respect their wishes within the chapter.

It is estimated that more than 235 Billion Lego parts have been manufactured since the first “automatic binding brick” was molded in 1949. Today, LEGO is more than just simple building blocks. LEGO is toys, theme parks, games, movies, computers and robots; all sold in more than 115 different countries. Now, the fourth largest toy manufacturer in the world, LEGO Group employs more than 5,000 people and produces more than 33,000 bricks every minute totaling 16 billion bricks annually. That translates into annual sales exceeding $1.1 billion. In 2000, Fortune magazine named LEGO the “Toy of the Century.”

The popularity of LEGO bricks results from the endless possibilities of what you can build. Their versatility is magnified when you realize how many ways you can connect them. You can arrange six eight-stud LEGO bricks in an astounding 915,103,765 different ways.

If you can dream it, the LEGO Group believes that you can build it. Think about the world records involving LEGO construction: A 92.5-foot tower using 500,000 bricks; a 4,626 foot long structure utilizing more than 3,000,000 components; or a life-size car built out of 650,000 bricks and weighing more than a ton. Each record began by merely connecting two little bricks.

Lego bricks provide the essence of this leadership lesson: Building begins with connecting.

The rest of the chapter gives the principles that Lego Leaders will possess. Check out more from the book here: Toy Box Leadership.

Also, this month John Maxwell is teaching about Toy Box Leadership (including LEGO) in his monthly Maximum Impact Club. Ge his outline here: MIC Toy Box Leadership.pdf

A copy of their excellent synopsis is available at here.

Thanks Randy and Karl. It look liked you enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it.

Get your copy of Toy Box Leadership today.

In Hard Times, Nostalgic Toys Strike a Chord
By AP / MAE ANDERSON

(NEW YORK) — Counting dollars this holiday season, Tom De Santes wants to avoid buying high-priced techno gadgets as gifts for his two sons.

Instead, he is going to buy the boys, ages 6 and 7, a classic from his own childhood: Lincoln Logs.

“I loved them as a kid and used to build huge log cabins,” remembers De Santes, 38, who lives outside Boston in Scituate, Mass., and is a marketing director for an education software company. With Lincoln Logs, “I like that my boys and I can create something together.” (Find out 10 things to do with your money.)

Without a “must-have” toy fad this holiday season, and with parents facing a deteriorating economy, tried-and-true toys are being embraced by parents and toy makers alike — what one analyst calls a “back to the toy box” approach.

“‘Retro’ or ‘nostalgia’ toys can be viewed as the ‘comfort food’ of the toy industry and I do think folks naturally gravitate to what made them happy when they were young, or what is familiar to them,” said Anita Frazier, a toy analyst at NPD Group, a market research firm.

Ken Moe, general manager of Backtobasics.com, a Web site owned by Scholastic Corp. that offers classic toys like “Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots,” Slinky and Colorforms, said sales so far this season indicate a rising interest in old favorites.

Though most sales will occur over the next few weeks, Moe said Junior TinkerToys, Lincoln Logs and toy instruments have been among the big sellers in the past few months.

“It’s instinctive in tough times to reach back to a happier, simpler time,” he said. “Parents remember how much they loved those toys, and want that same happiness for their children.”

Lauren Horsley, who has 5- and 1-year old boys and a 3-year-old girl, plans to buy TinkerToys, a Cabbage Patch Kid doll and classic board games Sorry! and Hungry Hungry Hippos this holiday season. The 29-year-old from Salt Lake City said she finds value in the toys’ quality and universal appeal.

“We just bought our first house this fall, and with the economy so unstable we need to be as conservative as possible to ensure that we pay our bills,” she said. “A lot of pricey, faddish toys aren’t going to do our children much good if we don’t keep a roof over their heads.”

Parents aren’t the only ones looking again at classic toys. Toy makers are also turning to the old standbys as they face not only weakening toy sales, but also steep prices for commodities like resin used to make many toys and tough competition from electronic gadgets.

Holiday toy sales are often spurred by hit toys, with popularity driving shortages, creating more demand — as with the “Tickle Me Elmo” craze of 1996 and the Nintendo Wii, which has run into shortages since it was introduced in 2006.

This year, however, “not much is selling at all,” says BMO Capital Markets analyst Gerrick Johnson. While he believes shopping will pick up as the holidays get closer, he expects total sales to be down about 2 percent this year. Frazier expects toy sales this year — about half of which come in the fourth quarter — to be about flat this year at $22 billion.

Classic toys could fill the gap left by a lack of a “must have” toy, as toy makers stick to past hits and avoid taking risks, what Needham & Co. analyst Sean McGowan calls going “back to the toy box.”

“Partly, its because they know ‘this thing works,’” he says.

Hasbro Inc., for example, has found success revitalizing names such as the 40-year-old Nerf brand and Transformers, which first hit the U.S. in the early ’80s and are selling well again after last year’s “Transformers” movie.

The company also debuted revamped versions of classic board games like Clue, Operation and Monopoly this year.

“One of our core tenets is to reinvent and reimagine a lot of our core brands,” says John Frascotti, Hasbro’s global chief of marketing, who is 47. “There’s an emotional resonance that comes from the quality of the experience people in my or our generation had with the toys, and recognition that the same experience can now shared with entire family and children.”

Hasbro plans to continue to update old brands and has a G.I. Joe revival — including toys related to a new live-action movie — set for 2009.

Jakks Pacific Inc. has brought back several classic brands this year, including a 25th-anniversary Cabbage Patch Kid doll that is the replica of the original version and a new Smurfs plush toy and DVD.

“During these times parents want to remember something positive to share with their family now more than ever,” says Tom Delaney, senior vice president of marketing for Jakks’ Play Along division. Classic toys “bring parents and grandparents back to their childhood memories of a simpler time,” he said.

That’s why Elizabeth Peterson, 39, from Redondo Beach, Calif., bought an Easy-Bake Oven — first introduced in the 1960s — for the holidays. The mother of a 2 1/2-year-old boy and a 10-month old boy admits she might be jumping the gun a bit, but couldn’t resist.

“I never got one when I was little and all my friends had one,” she said. “I’m probably going to be the one playing with it.”

She also bought two Nerf footballs, which she remembers playing with as a child.

“I think they’ll grow with them. People are maybe focusing on a smaller Christmas and buying one or two things that they known are a sure bet.”

With the football, she says, “It won’t just make it through the week of Christmas, they’ll play with it for years to come.”

This article is further proof that my book Toy Box Leadership: Leadership Lessons From The Toys You Loved As A Child (released in July) is ahead of the curve. Beat the Christmas rush, get your copy today.

Toys as Mentors

This is not a book review. However, there will be a review of this particular book in the next set of ten reviews we add to our website, bringing our total to 190 book reviews.

The book I speak of is Toy Box Leadership (Leadership Lessons from the Toys You Loved as a Child). It recently reminded me of a very valuable lesson I learned years ago and sometimes tend to forget. That lesson was very simplistic, and I guess that’s why it’s so easily forgotten. That lesson: “NEVER ASSUME.”

I guess this is a perfect example of not closing the knowing-doing gap. Most everyone has heard the dangers of making assumptions, and yet most of us do it from time to time. My most recent experience occurred at the Atlanta airport on my way to southern Florida to do a keynote presentation.

Due to weather conditions, I had an extended layover, and the Atlanta airport (Hartsford Jackson International) has a number of great book stores. Therefore, I invested a good deal of that layover time browsing the aisles in search of new titles.

As so often happens, an attractive book cover caught my eye. It quickly met many of the requirements necessary to demand my attention—catchy title, great graphics, and definitive subtitle. Containing only 194 pages and focusing on leadership lessons from a toy box, well, I couldn’t help but make the obvious assumption that this was one of your typical small book rip offs which so often appear trying to cash in on the trend established by financial winners such as Who Moved My Cheese, Fish, and The One Minute Manager.

However, having more than enough time between planes, I ventured on between the covers of this unusual approach to leadership. And I’m certainly glad I did. I was instantly reminded that I should never make assumptions OR, if and when I do make an assumption, I should keep an open mind until I have all the information I need to make an intelligent decision while maintaining flexibility in my thinking as I weigh the pros and cons. That realization alone was well worth the price of the book. I bought it, grabbed a burger, fries and Coke, and got comfortable in the food court as I began an enjoyable and enlightening journey through 194 pages of true revelation.

As is my usual routine, I scanned the table of contents and was duly impressed. I found it to be short, to-the-point, revealing content, enticing my curiosity. Ten chapters are listed, each identifying a particular childhood toy known to everyone. The subtitle of each chapter then identified the leadership trait that is so clearly represented by each toy. The toys included Lego Bricks, Slinky Dog, Play-Doh, the Yo-Yo, Mr. Potato Head, the Rubik’s Cube, the Rocking Horse, Little Green Army Men, Lite-Brite, and Weebles. I’ll save the corresponding leadership elements for my future book review, but I’ll promise you this: The profound principles you’ll uncover in this book will have you believing that the two authors, Ron Hunter Jr. and Michael E. Waddell, are indeed Transformers.

I was so totally consumed by the content of this book, its lively and effortless flow, and its inclusion of nostalgia as a learning tool that I completed it during that layover and the second leg of my journey. Absorbing the content of this particular book allowed my 737 to land 15 minutes before I did! Think about it.

I mentioned earlier that this is NOT a book review. It’s a blatant reminder to me, and I hope to you, that we suffer when we make assumptions. I came very close to missing one of the best books I’ve ever read. This book is a very powerful tool for introducing leadership concepts and principles to our younger generation. However, leaders of every age can benefit greatly by revisiting their childhood to learn the timeless laws of leadership.

One last note. Based on reader response, one of the most popular features on our web site is Words of Wisdom, which shares powerful quotes, in 22 various categories, from the world’s greatest leaders. I share this with you because I was amazed to find a collection of very profound quotes in this book. Each quotation was chosen to support one of the ten leadership principles revealed by the authors. Those readers who enjoy a great quote will appreciate this book like a “kid in a candy store.” Those quoted within those 194 pages produce a “Who’s Who” of leadership excellence from a very wide variety of perspectives.

Each of the following names shared a few words of wisdom to remind me that I should never assume: Admiral Rickover, Albert Einstein, Bobby Knight, Colonel Sanders, Colin Powell, Dale Carnegie, David Gergen, Denzel Washington, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Gandhi, General George Patton, George Bernard Shaw, Prime Minister Benhamin Disraeli, Prime Minister Golda Meir, Henry David Thoreau, Henry Ford, Herb Kelleher, Howard Schultz, Joe Frazier, John Maxwell, Ken Blanchard, Kouzes & Posner, Lee Iacocca, Lao Yzu, Mark Twain, Martin Luther King, Mary Kay Ash, Michael Jordan, Mayor Rudi Giuliani, Mozart, Nelson Mandela, President Abraham Lincoln, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, President John F. Kennedy, President Millard Fillmore, President Richard Nixon, President Ronald Reagan, President Zachary Taylor, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Roy Acuff, Spencer Johnson, Stephen Covey, Stephen Hawking, Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, Tiger Woods, Tommy Lasorda, Tom Peters, Tony Robbins, Walt Disney, Walter Payton, and Winston Churchill.

Pretty good company. Great content. I almost missed it all. This experience opened my eyes to future possibilities.

Harry K. Jones is a professional speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of motivational speakers who provide custom-designed keynote presentations, seminars, and consulting services. Harry has appeared all over North America addressing topics such as change, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork and time management for a number of industries, including education, financial, government, healthcare, hospitality, and manufacturing. For more information on Harry’s presentations, please call 800-886-2MAX.

Even with all the accusations of media bias swirling around this election, I’m not afraid to ask the really tough question: Which toy best represents each candidate’s leadership style?

For John McCain, the toy that best represents his leadership style is Weebles®.

Weebles® teach a valuable lesson in endurance – specifically that for the successful leader staying down is not an option.

John McCain has endured a multitude of trials and bounced back each time. Here are a few of those notable troubles:

In 1967 he was struck by fragments and nearly died in the USS Forrestal fire when a missile misfired and shot across the flight deck hitting his plane. The ensuing fire killed 134 men and injured 161 more.

In October 1967, while on a bombing mission over Hanoi, he was shot down, badly injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. As a prisoner of war he endured torture and mistreatment until his release in 1973. His wounds left him with lifelong physical limitations.

In 1989, he was one of five US Senators accused of improperly intervening in on behalf of Charles H. Keating, Jr., chairman of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, which was the target of a federal regulatory investigation. Though McCain was cleared of the curruption charges, he admitted that he used poor judgement.

In each case, John McCain never wasted a hardship but rather he learned from it and used it to become an even stronger and wiser leader.

For Barack Obama, the toy that best represents his leadership is the Lite-Brite®.

Lite-Brite® vividly teaches the lesson that to get your message across you have to illuminate to communicate.

Obama is a master of crafting and delivering this type of bright, clear message.

During the 2004 Democratic National Convention, he wrote and delivered such a powerful keynote speech that it thrust him into the national political spotlight overnight.

He won the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination as an underdog and today leads in most national poles, largely by repeating that same message of change. This message is clear and concise and resonates with the audience not only in the US but also around the world.

Whether he wins Tuesday or not, Barack Obama’s message will be around for years to come.

I hope these toy metaphors help you to better understand the two candidates. Most of all, remember that regardless of who you plan to vote for or even which toy you relate to – just vote.

To learn more about Weebles® and Lite-Brite® or to find out how toys can teach leadership, check out Toy Box Leadership: Leadership Lessons From The Toys You Loved As A Child.

The Engaging Brand supports companies and individuals who want to create engagement with their brand. Anna is popular speaker throughout England on areas such as social media, personal and employer branding, and leadership. She lives and breathes Web 2.0. Her blog is ranked in the Top 100 in AdAge and has been recognized as a “must read” leadership blog. The Engaging Brand podcast was nominated for the Best Business Podcast at the Podcast Awards in both 2007 and 2008.

I was honored to be her guest on the latest installment of The Engaging Brand podcast to discuss my book, Toy Box Leadership: Leadership Lessons From The Toys You Loved As A Child. In this podcast interview we talk about:

• What LEGO bricks can teach us about the importance of relationships and business connections.
• How strong marketing is linked to strong connections
• How different people connect for different reasons
• How the power lies in what the connection can build rather than the connection itself.
• We learn leadership lessons from the Slinky Dog!
• How to keep the team with you on your leadership journey
• How personal development is so important for your creativity.
• The Yo-Yo’s tips on the creativity process and how to take ideas to workable business solutions
• The different emotions and how we need to understand our emotional makeup
• The importance of doing the right thing for our brand
• How being involved with the team helps us lead the team forward

You can listen to it here, here or you can subscribe to the show via iTunes.

Anna also extracted nine business quotes from Toy Box Leadership that she felt were especially inspiring and reminded her of the importance of continuing to develop as a leader. This is rewarding - knowing how hard my co-author, Ron Hunter and I worked on finding new and inspiring quotes. Here are the nine that Anna pulled out:

1. Erich Fromm “Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties”
2. Charles Douglas Jackson “Great ideas need landing gear, as well as wings”
3. Admiral Hyman Rickover “Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people”
4. General George Patton “I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom”
5. Ray Kroc on the importance of learning “As long as you are green you are growing, As soon as you are ripe, you start to rot”
6. Charles Reade “Example is contagious behavior”
7. Ralph Waldo Emerson “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”
8. Edmund Burke “Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it”
9. Nelson Mandela “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

Thanks Anna - Your work really is engaging.

Michael E. Waddell is the co-author of Toy Box Leadership: Leadership Lessons From The Toys You Loved As A Child.

It is estimated that more than 235 Billion Lego parts have been manufactured since the first “automatic binding brick” was molded in 1949. Today, LEGO is more than just simple building blocks. LEGO is toys, theme parks, games, movies, computers and robots; all sold in more than 115 different countries. Now, the fourth largest toy manufacturer in the world, LEGO Group employs more than 5,000 people and produces more than 33,000 bricks every minute totaling 16 billion bricks annually. That translates into annual sales exceeding $1.1 billion. In 2000, Fortune magazine named LEGO the “Toy of the Century.”

The popularity of LEGO bricks results from the endless possibilities of what you can build. Their versatility is magnified when you realize how many ways you can connect them. You can arrange six eight-stud LEGO bricks in an astounding 915,103,765 different ways. If you can dream it, the LEGO Group believes you can build it.

LEGO bricks provide the essence of this leadership lesson: Building Begins With Connecting.

Relationships are the building blocks of any organization. Relationships precede market position, sales goals, research and development or success in the boardroom. Real power relates and takes on the form of influence by connecting. Look at the heart of any successful organization and you will find strong relationships that began because someone cared enough to click. Relationships or connections will exist at every level in varying degrees and in multiple directions.

LEGO bricks teach that each individual is interdependent on the next connection for success. The properly placed LEGO within a structure provides strength and substance. Placing each person so they connect properly results in the healthy utilization of human resources.

LEGO Leaders know the power of connecting and appreciate these three lessons that LEGO bricks teach:

1. LEGO Leaders recognize the value of connecting. Leaders appreciate that good, connecting relationships build a strong foundation, unleash the power of synergy within the team, and fully utilize the strength of unity of mission.

2. LEGO Leaders have the ability to connect. Leaders can unite even the toughest team members. They do so by teaching that, like LEGO bricks, people must be reliable when placed in positions where they are compatible. When this occurs, connection is easy.

3. LEGO Leaders avoid the failures in connection. Every leader has failed to connect at some point. This happens when people are misplaced, forced into the wrong position or generally unorganized.

Leaders often get so caught up in the programs that they forget about the people – the building blocks of any program. While there is tremendous value in plans, the strength of any organization is in its relationships. Remember, building begins with the clicking sound of connections.
One final word about Nathan Sawaya, the lawyer turned professional LEGO artist. Today he is one of the top LEGO sculptors in the world, his art values range from $100 to tens of thousands of dollars. LEGO bricks changed Nathan Sawaya’s life. Believe it or not, the lesson they teach could change yours too.

This material is taken from chapter one of Toy Box Leadership: Leadership Lessons From The Toys You Loved As A Child