On a recent trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico I had dinner at a highly recommended restaurant in old town San Juan. The decor was “trendy on steroids”, one of those places that made you feel like you needed a man pony tail, a goatee mustache, pair of Capri pants and Italian sandals. The furniture was… well different and confusing. My chair was built more for a 4th grade school girl than a 50 something man. It was really narrow and I was concerned if I got up the chair would be permanently attached.

My real adventure came when I excused my self to the washroom. Turning and twisting my way through the maze of ultra sheik furnishing and panels of shear fabric streaming from the ceiling I entered the washroom corridor. There were two black doors, one for men and one for women… but which was which. There were no Men and Women, Cowboys, Cowgirls, Pirates, Winches signs on the doors, there were no pictures of figures in pants and the other in a dress. The only possible hint appeared to be displayed in two modern art paintings hung next to each door. Now I have to admit, I was puzzled because with enough imagination either one could have passed for either sex and the more I starred the more questions I had. Was it a “trick 3D” type picture that if you look at just the right place long enough a clear and vivid “sign” would appear. Were the subjects standing on their heads or did the painting have absolutely nothing to do with the washrooms. After a bit of studying, I made a best guess choice and to my relief I chose wisely.

Leaders Do Not Make the Simple Stuff Confusing

Get to the point when you communicate, there is no need to take people on a mind bending journey. Identify the issue up front, “sales are at 95% of plan”, “production is at 80% of schedule”, “profits are 70% of target” and so on. State the issue up front and early don’t leave people wondering where you are headed or the true nature of your agenda. Communicate in simply terms by using the following steps:

• Where you are
• Where you should be
• How you will get there
• How it will look when you arrive

Leaders Communicate and Connect

When you communicate, be yourself and people will buy into you and then buy into your agenda. Talk to people like they are people instead of corporate assets. Great communicators connect with people and a great resource for learning how to connect is “Everyone Communicates and Few Connect – John C. Maxwell”. I personally believe this is the best resource for learning how to communicate and connect with people. And of course I can always recommend my book, “Be Bodacious: Put Life in Your Leadership”, while you will not find it on the shelf with John C Maxwell books, you will find some good leadership principles packed away in the stories.

Avoid the corporate speak and over use of words… that are in the dictionary but rarely used by mortal men. Communicate with people like people, don’t leave them guessing which door you want them to pass through.

How About the Food?

And the food at the restaurant was great! I have never had grits and shrimp or bean soup that “would bring a tear to your eye”. And the steak must of come off a cow living a stress free life, doing nothing but laying around eating green grass all day. You just had to be careful not to injure yourself on the ultra sheik and oddly shaped plates. It was a great time with friends, with good food and some good laughs over the washroom “signs”.

If you like this blog read more from Steven D Wood in his new book. Now available at online, or at your local Barnes & Noble or Borders.

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Our yellow Lab lives to retrieve our morning newspaper. The mere mention of the word newspaper will send her running to the door leaping up and down with excitement.

Our faithful Lab will retrieve the paper with zeal, a lot of dog slobber on the paper and few teeth marks that you have read around and guess the missing words.

When we purchased our iPad we opted to save $18.00 a month and have our paper delivered electronically. Not only was it less expensive the paper was delivered without the slobber and tooth marks. We still get the big Sunday edition in the paper version and our Lab retrieves it every Sunday morning with great excitement dog slobber and teeth marks.

The need to have our dog retrieve our newspaper was made obsolete by new technology and innovative processes. As leaders we are faced with ever changing conditions and we must adapt, modify and learn new ways or our organizations risk becoming obsolete.

What You Know Today is Not What You Need to Know Tomorrow
If you are leading a team that is doing well, then you can be sure someone is watching you and looking for ways to improve on what you doing. Leaders must continually learn new skills so they can lead in changing environments and stay ahead of the competition. So what if you are leading a team that is not doing well? Then continued learning, innovative thinking and improved processes are critical to lead your team to the top in it’s field.

It’s More Than an Event
Learning new skills and processes is part of a daily discipline and can not be gained by attending an event. Events are good ways to get information, understanding and motivation. However, attending an event will not lead change in your organization. Leaders lead change and leaders must have the skills and knowledge to chart the right course.

Leaders Look Beyond the Horizon
Strong leaders look beyond what they can see today and acquire the skills needed to lead beyond the horizon. Skilled leaders push their organizations to new horizons. They stay aware of new innovations and processes and lead their teams beyond where they are today.

“A leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees farther than others see, and who sees before others do.”
- Leroy Eims

What About Our Lab?
You may be wondering about what our Lab does now there is no paper to retrieve. Well… we subsidized her need to retrieve the morning paper by planting a decoy paper she can still go fetch and exchange for her favorite doggy treat.

Don’t expect someone to “drop a decoy” for your organization. Grow you leadership skills and lead your team over the horizon of change.

If you like this blog read more from Steven D Wood in his new book. Now available at online, or at your local Barnes & Noble or Borders.

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Steven D Wood Recommends These Books

Decisions can be hard to make. For some people decision making comes easier than it does for others. Most of the time I can make a decision… I am not saying I always make good decisions, just that I generally can make a decision. There are even times when I made some good decisions; however, I have made more than my share of bad and/or dumb decisions.

One my most memorable dumb decisions occurred years ago when I was a young man selecting a Mothers Day gift fort my wife. My intent was to buy her that “special gift” that would really wow her. This all happened during a time in my career when I traveled often. Some weeks I would leave on Sunday evening and return on Friday. My wife is a real sweetheart and team player, so much so she would mow our lawn in the hot Texas heat so I would not have to do it on the weekends. Yes… you read it right she mowed the lawn! Each week she would mow the yard and each week she would struggle with our old worn out lawnmower to get it started. She would tell me about how she pulled and pulled on the rope to get the engine started.

For several days I had been trying to decide what to buy my wonderful wife for Mothers Day and I was flat out of ideas… until I drove by a True Value Hardware store and saw a brand new “easy pull start” lawnmower. In a flash it struck me this would make the perfect Mothers Day Gift for my wife. Okay.. I probably don’t have to go into all the details, believe it or not I bought the lawnmower and found out it was not the perfect gift I thought it would be.

The lawnmower seemed like such a good gift idea, at least from my perspective. And that was the problem with that dumb decision, it was based only on my perspective. I failed to understand what my wife really wanted for Mothers Day and it was not the “easy pull start” lawnmower.

If you have ever made decisions then you have most likely made your share of bad and/or dumb decisions. Hopefully you did not buy your wife a lawnmower, but you may have made similar dumb decisions. Here the point of this whole story. You are going to make bad decisions! Avoiding making decisions due to fear of making the wrong decision is the worst thing you can do.

Leaders Must Make Decisions: By not making a timely decision you do not make things better, often things become worse when ignored. Customers are lost, critical windows of opportunity are missed and even businesses fail because a leader failed to make a decision at a critical time. Leaders must make decisions with the best information they have available to them. Many critical decisions can not be put off for weeks, months or years until you have enough data to make you feel 100% certain. Usually when I feel 100% certain… that is when I have made my worst decisions i.e. the lawnmower gift.

Leaders Will Make Bad Decisions: When I bought the lawnmower I made a bad decision. When I realized I had made a dumb choice of gifts for my wife, I was embarrassed and felt foolish. However; I did not stop buying her Mother Day gifts, I learned from my bad decision that she did not want lawn equipment for a gift (go figure). One thing that is certain, we will all make bad decisions and when it happens we feel embarrassed and foolish. What is important is that we realize we made a bad decision, take ownership and learn from it.

Leaders Will Make Good Decisions: On the positive side leaders can make more good decisions if they simply do not look at the things from their point of view only. The ratio of good decisions to bad decisions will greatly improve if you seek input from others and seek to understand the decision from the view point of others. Once I understood my wife (all wives) did not want lawn equipment, power tools or cool kitchen gadgets I began to make better decisions that were usually came from the jewelry store instead of a hardware store.

Now that I shared one of my dumbest decisions. Share with the other readers one of your dumb decisions and what you learned. Just post it in the comments section.

If you like this blog read more from Steven D Wood in his new book. Now available at online, or at your local Barnes & Noble or Borders.

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In the movie, “Dances With Wolves” the main character is assigned to a remote army outpost, so remote that he is the only army person assigned there. After a long period of isolation he became friends with the indians. As time passed with no communication from his command, he moved from just being friends with the Indians to becoming part of the tribe.

The story in this movie illustrates the “Dances With Wolves Syndrome” (DWWS) that can infect an organization when leaders fail to maintain effective communication with their team. Leaders must communicate frequently the mission and strategic direction of the organization. Without communication and involvement team members will become more like the tribe they have frequent contact with. Team members who work remote from the main office are at high risk of being infected by DWWS and becoming a member of the tribe.

Leaders  must communicate their strategic direction frequently so people at all levels of the organization understand the mission and feel they are part of the team. In the absence of communication by the leader, team members will begin to take on the behavior and beliefs of the tribe.

Has Your Team Adopted the Beliefs of the Tribe?

What you hear from team members can be an indication of DWWS. When the language of a team member sympathizes more with those outside your organization then you may have a case of DWWS. When you observe an over emphasis by your sales team on price versus value, you are most likely dealing with DWWS. This occurs when a salesperson buys into the myth that your product is no different from the competition and the buying decision is made only on price.

Is Your Team Dressing Like the Tribe?

In the movie the main character abandoned his army uniform and began to dress like the Indians. By changing the way he dressed he identified more with tribe than organization he worked for. If team members begin to believe that the strategic direction and mission of another organization is better than yours they are infected with DWWS. If people in your organization are not fully bought into the mission and goals of your organization then they will migrate to another tribe that provides clear vision of the goals. Leaders can not expect that sending an e-mail or making a speech at a meeting will effectively communicate the mission and strategic direction of the organization. To keep people on your team requires frequent communication even if it means being repetitive.

Has Your Team Lost Authority by Handing Over Accountability?

If team members blame others in your organization instead of taking action and accountability, they are infected with DWWS.  Team members who work in remote outposts and do not have authority to solve problems will hand off the accountability. Give your team members the authority to solve problems so the tribe will view them as someone of value. The best antidote for DWWS is vaccinating them with authority to solve problems for the tribe.

If you like this blog read more from Steven D Wood in his new book. Now available at online, or at your local Barnes & Noble or Borders.

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Steven D Wood Recommends These Books

While I am writing this blog; sleet is pinging on my office window and the temperature is predicted to drop into the teens tonight. More ice and cold weather is not my idea of a good weather day. The cold weather tends to lead me to my favorite web sites to plan my next trip to warmer weather. I can not help but dream about how nice it would be to set the sails and let the Caribbean trade winds move us toward our next warm destination.

It was not too many years ago the thought of sailing in the Caribbean was only a dream, today it is a reality. Over the past few years we have sailed throughout the Caribbean and even in the South Pacific. What began as a dream fueled by the discomfort of cold weather is now something we enjoy every year.

To pursue the dream of sailing required us to go beyond our personal horizon. We had never set foot on a sailboat and had never been to the Caribbean; so as far as we could see it was only a dream. However, as we took a step closer to the dream, as we moved closer to the horizon of what we could see, we could see a little further.  As we arrived at each horizon a new horizon appeared and day by day, horizon after horizon our dream became a reality.

Sailing a yacht in the Caribbean has inspired a new spirit of confidence, courage and adventure in me to go beyond my personal horizons. Instead of only looking at the horizon and dreaming about what lies beyond I am inclined to go to my horizon so I can see further in my personal and business life.

Explore Beyond Your Horizon

Have the courage to go to the edge of your known abilities, doing so will cause you to grow and learn new skills. Do not eliminate yourself from pursuing new adventures because of fear or what you can only see today. Pursuing your new adventures will require extraordinary courage, unrestrained action and boldness. The only way you can sail into new harbors of your life is to have the courage to step out and take on new adventures.

You Make Your Own Choices

You can choose to only dream about sitting on a yacht at anchor in a beautiful palm fringed bay, or you can take action and pursue your bodacious adventure. What is your bodacious adventure? Dream bodacious dreams and pursue bodacious adventures and you will live a bodacious life.

Your bodacious dreams are yours to pursue, but it is up to you to pursue them. If you ever want your dreams to become reality, you must take extraordinary, unrestrained, and bold steps to pursue them.

If you like this blog read more from Steven D Wood in his new book. Now available at online, or at your local Barnes & Noble or Borders.

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Kay’s Golden Sailor

A little over one year ago, I got my first pedigree dog, every dog I had up to point was a mutt. My pedigree dog is a female yellow lab, great looking dog that is actually golden in color. When we registered her, we had to come up with a fancy name. My wife’s name is Kay, the dog is gold colored and we like sailing… so we named her Kay’s Golden Sailor, we call her Sailor for short. This dog is a true pedigree: she is supposed to eat only store bought food; however, she won’t touch it unless it’s topped with “people food” such as two wieners sliced into bite size chunks or warm chicken broth. And for treats… this is the first dog I ever had that got treats, her favorite is Newman’s Own Peanut Butter Flavored heart shaped treats. Sailor does not sleep in the back yard like all my other mutts, she sleeps in the house in her own little doggy bed. When we go out of town, she is not left in the yard to fend for herself, this pedigree goes to the Pet Resort for the weekend to play with her other doggy friends. We even get Facebook updates about her activities while she is there! Sailor is a smart dog, she can do tricks like sit, lay, stay, fetch and shake. Just don’t forget to give her a gourmet snack for doing the trick. This dog is a pedigree and lives like a pedigree.

Steve’s Fluffy Mutt

Let’s talk about Steve’s Fluffy Mutt. If you could have a pedigree mutt this dog would have been one. If this dog would have had a fancy pedigree type name it would have been Steve’s Fluffy Mutt.  When I brought this dog home, my young daughter insisted that we name the dog Fluffy. I wanted a dog with a man dog name, like Rocket. We were in a deadlock over the name, but you know who won… my little daughter and the dog was from then on known Fluffy. Fluffy slept outside and would get really nervous if you tried to keep her in the house at night. When we went out of town, Fluffy stayed in the backyard and fended for herself, no pet resorts for this dog. Just leave her a bowl of scraps and cheap dog food and Fluffy was fine. Fluffy did not like store bought food she preferred table scraps and preferred the food you had on your plate and had stirred around in. For treats; no gourmet stuff here, Fluffy preferred frogs. She really liked to eat chicken bones, any kind of chicken bone from the leg bone to the breast bone, no matter how small or large Fluffy loved them. Now I know what you are thinking, “Don’t this idiot know that chicken bones can kill dogs?” Well, I did not know that and neither did Fluffy, so she ate chicken bones.

Our Choice

We can chose to live life like a pedigree or we can chose to live on scraps of time, money, and relationships.

Time

Too often it seems we only get the scraps of time that are leftover after our job takes the biggest piece, checking e-mails, watching television and surfing the web take their share. We end the day spending no time just working on us, we end up with the scraps. There was no times to dream, set goals, pray, read, and evaluate ourselves. Pedigrees do not live on scraps of time they set aside one hour a day at minimum to dream, pray, set goals, work on personal development.

Money

After we pay the house payment, credit card bills, water bill, electric bill, cable bill, car payment, and pay to fix what broke that month it seems like there is nothing left for us other than the scraps of leftover money. Pedigrees do not live on scraps of money; they take the gourmet portion first. Pedigrees take the first 10% of their gross income and they give it away! That is right they give it away to their Church, charities and other organizations that benefit those in need. Second, Pedigrees go crazy here and give themselves 10% of their gross income for savings and investments. Try this, give to others and yourself first, and see if after one year you do not have more in your personal accounts, feel great about helping others and earn more money than you ever earned.

Relationships

Too often we give the scraps of unforgiveness, petty jealousy, and envy. Pedigrees on the other hand offer forgiveness to those who have wronged them, celebrate with others in their successes, and build up self-esteem in their relationships.

Be a Pedigree

Choose the pedigree life; stop feasting on scraps. Take time for you, invest in yourself, invest in others, forgive, celebrate and build-up and you will be a pedigree for yourself and to others.

Mutt or Pedigree

Life is too short to live on scraps. Be a Pedigree!

Steven D Wood Recommends These Books

To realize your big dreams you must take action. Too often we delay taking action waiting for the perfect conditions, the right economic conditions or when we have favorable committee review, the bottom line is you have to take action and rarely are the conditions perfect. Be smart, do your homework and plan your initiative, but Don’t let perfect get in the way of progress.

When you take Bold Action it will require Extraordinary Commitment, because it will be hard work. When you take Bold Action you must have Unrestrained Passion for your dream. To take Bold Action you have to Be Bodacious!

Take Bold Action Be Willing To Go Beyond the Horizon: You will only see as far as your horizon until you move closer to the horizon, then as you move toward the horizon you will be able to see further. What lies beyond the horizon is often time new ideas and ways of doing things. Beyond the horizon may not always look exactly as you pictured it, so you must press on with extraordinary commitment and unrestrained passion for your dream.

Bold Action Requires Breakthrough Thinking: Think in a way that you have not thought before, push beyond your self imposed mental boundaries. Challenge yourself and your team for breakthrough ideas  and new ways of doing things. If the ideas don’t make you a little uncomfortable and leave some unanswered questions, then you may not have breakthrough thinking taking place.

Be Bold When Facing Resistance: When you chose to employee breakthrough thinking and take bold action you will meet resistance. As you move outside the boundaries and beyond then visible horizon organizational silos and “kingdoms” will challenge you to maintain status quo and play it safe.

Be Bold and Challenge the Norm: Ask why, then ask why, then ask why. When you ask why you will find people want to keep doing what they are doing because it is the norm / ordinary and ordinary is the enemy of extraordinary.  Don’t accept ordinary ideas and the status quo, take Bold Action and challenge the norm and ask why.

If you like this blog read more from Steven D Wood in his new book. Now available at online, or at your local Barnes & Noble or Borders.

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There is a long list of things that tend to restrain us and hold us back from realizing our Big Dreams.

Restrained by Laziness

Few people will admit they are lazy. But in reality we simply lack the motivation and desire to really realize our dreams. It is just so much easier to just dream about our dreams than it is to pursue our dreams.

Restrained by Self Interest and Selfishness

It can’t be just all about YOU. If your goal is only to benefit YOU at the expense of others then you fall into the category of a Pirate Leader. You most likely have encountered pirate leaders, they are easy to spot because they pillage an organization or a relationship for their own selfish benefit.

Restrained by Old Ways

Things aren’t the way they used to be because, “it is not the way it used to be” and it never will be again. Be unrestrained and leverage the wisdom of your past and the ways things used to be done to do things better today. Don’t live in your past, leverage the “the past” to advance forward toward your big dream.

Restrained by Comfort

We get comfortable with our income, where we live our lifestyle, our current relationships. We fear that we will be uncomfortable. When you choose to Be Bodacious and pursue your Big Dreams you will be uncomfortable, so expect it don’t fear it.

Restrained by the Fear of Failure

To often we so fear failure that we remain where we are and decide to “play it safe”. While we feel we are being safe, in reality we are failing to realize and act on our dreams.

Restrained by the Fear of Success

On the other hand there is a fear of success and the changes it will bring to our lives. We question that once we are successful can we “stay on top”, fearful of fading success.

Restrained by the Fear of the Unknown

There are many things that can go wrong when you pursue your Big Dream and no matter how much you prepare and plan the unknown will happen. The reality is tomorrow is an unknown and not pursuing your Big Dream will result in unknown consequences.

In Reality We Are Restrained By Ourselves!

To Be Bodacious You Must Have Unrestrained Passion

For the Dream

For Success

For Making a Difference

If you like this blog read more from Steven D Wood in his new book. Now available at online, or at your local Barnes & Noble or Borders.

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Extraordinary Dreams and Goals

It is tempting to play it safe and sign up for ordinary goals. I recall when I was first married, I told my wife, “If I could every make $10.00 an hour we would be set.” For that time and day, $10.00 an hour was not bad money; however, it was not extraordinary, at best it was ordinary. I was conditioned to only think and dream ordinary and for years my potential was limited by my ordinary dreams and goals. Go beyond $10.00 an hour dreams and goals. Be extraordinary, have big dreams and goals.

Extraordinary Commitment

Your commitment must go beyond ordinary. To realize your big dreams and goals requires extraordinary commitment. You commitment to achieve must go beyond the first difficult month or year in business, it must go beyond the tough economic times, it must go beyond the newness of a relationship. Realizing your big dreams will take longer, be harder and cost more than price of ordinary commitment. You must be willing to pay the price of extraordinary commitment.

Extraordinary Expectations

Often we don’t get much because we don’t expect much. Our faith and confidence and in turn our accomplishments reflect our expectations. If you have ordinary expectations you will get ordinary results. Plant your big dreams in the fertile ground of extraordinary expectations and you will harvest extraordinary results.

Extraordinary Passion

Ordinary passion about your dream will never get you extraordinary results. Have unrestrained passion for your big dream. Think about, it dream about, envision it and pray about it. Extraordinary passion will allow you to stand strong when others put down your dream our try to douse your flame of passion for realizing your dream.

The Difference is in the EXTRA

Commitment – Expectations – Passion

If you like this blog read more from Steven D Wood in his new book. Now available at online, or at your local Barnes & Noble or Borders.

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You Have a Choice
You can be ordinary
You can be restrained
You can be fearful
Or You Can Be
Extraordinary
Unrestrained
Bold

It is your choice… if choose to be extraordinary, unrestrained and bold then you have made the choice to Achieve More and Make A Difference. And to do this REQUIRES Extraordinary Commitment

What is your BIG dream or goal?
Grow Your Business Significantly?
Grow or Improve Relationships?
Give More, Love More, Accomplish More?

It will take hard work….. There is no magic potion or golden lottery ticket that you can receive. To obtain your Big Dreams will require work. Lazy people need not apply for Big Dreams.

Passion – You must be passionate about your Dream. It must be something that excites you and consumes you. If you are not passionate don’t expect others to buy into your dream or follow you.

Persistence – You will have to remain persistent in you pursuit of your Dream. The road side on the route to Big Dreams is littered with those who gave up to soon; those who lacked passion for their dream or pursued the wrong dream for the wrong reasons. When you feel you are at the bottom of the barrel that is when you will need to reach deep inside and with all you energy take another step toward your dream.

In the words of Forrest Gump, “That’s all I got to say about that”.

If you like this blog read more from Steven D Wood in his new book. Now available at online, or at your local Barnes & Noble or Borders.

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When my wife and I were first married, like many young couples we did not have a lot of money. Eating out was something we just did not do because we did not have the money.

One week, I was fortunate enough to get some extra hours and the Friday paycheck had a few more dollars. To celebrate our new found wealth I offered to bring dinner home and ask my wife what she would like. She quickly answered she that she wanted a hamburger from Dairy Queen. Without hesitation she clearly stated what she wanted.

Instead of simply acting on her request; I second guessed what she told me. I thought to myself,”Surely she would like something more exciting than a Dairy Queen hamburger.” So I decided to stop in the grocery store and find her something special. Wandering the aisle of the store, I spotted the perfect and exciting treat, canned Sardines and Pickled Polish Sausage! Standing in awe of my find I recalled how my buddies and I enjoyed Sardines and Pickled Polish Sausage with a few beers.  For some strange reason I thought it would be a special treat for my wife who was expecting our first child.

Proudly I walked in the door as my wife greeted me with a kiss. Confused she inquired, “where’s the hamburgers?”

“Oh I got you something much better”, I exclaimed with excitement as I removed the Sardines and Pickled Polish Sausage from the sack. Puzzled and frustrated she ask,”What is that? Where are the hamburgers I ask for?” I quickly began my sales pitch about the virtues of Sardines and Pickled Polish Sausage.

I can tell you this was not my most successful sales pitch… she did not fall for it. After I received my well deserved “coaching session”.  My ever forgiving wife settled in beside me on the couch to watch a football game with me while I ate the Sardines and Pickled Polish Sausage. Boy, did I feel like a foolish jerk. She ask me for something simple and I did not listen, I second guessed and thought I knew better.

Leadership Arrogance

As leaders too often we think we know better than our teams when straight forward feedback is provided. We hear them tell us, but we second guess and think surely we know better than they do. Leadership Arrogance is something all leaders must  guard against. When we ask our teams for input we should not only hear… we must listen! Don’t give them Sardines and Pickled Sausage when they ask for Hamburgers.

The worst form of Leadership Arrogance is asking for input and then beating up on the poor souls who provide input we don’t want to hear. The courageous who give straight forward feedback are not stupid and will stop providing input if they are humiliated  and ridiculed.  People do not like to be played for fools, when the arrogant leader poses behind the mask of asking for “honest” input only to sell back their own agenda, the arrogant leader fools no one.

Unlike Stupid, You Can Fix Arrogance!

1. Admit your arrogant. Do not be so arrogant that you can’t admit you’re arrogant.
2. Do not ask for input when you have no intention of listening or acting on the input.
3. Do not play games when asking for input. People don’t like to be gamed and they will catch on pretty quick to a leader who ask for and ignores input from their teams. The leader who ignores input will see the quality of input decline. Once people see the games they will choose not to participate or only participate at the required level.
4. Do not say you are going to act on the input and then deliver something totally different. People do not want Sardines and Pickled Sausage when they ask for Hamburgers.

In the words of Forrest Gump, “That’s all I got to say about that”.

If you like this blog read more from Steven D Wood in his new book. Now available at online, or at your local Barnes & Noble or Borders.

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I am writing this post while anchored in Francis Bay off St. John USVI and the water is like glass. No waves, no ocean swells to rock the boat just a nice calm bay.

I am always concerned when I take several days vacation.
“What will they do without me? Who will approve things? Who will answer the emails?”
Then after a few days it becomes apparent things do continue to run and the company does just fine while I am away.

Sitting in a calm bay like the one I am in right now. Causes me to reset my perspective, relax and let my mind drift from day to day business and just think. Not about work or what is not getting done at the office. Time to think about all the things that have gone right and the good people in company who can handle things well when I am away.

Fair Seas and Rough Seas
On this sailing trip we have had calm seas and good winds. However; that is not always the conditions we sail in. Often the seas are rough with large swells that toss the boat from side to side. Or the winds are lite and sailing is poor.

On this ten day trip the conditions have been near perfect. When the weather is great and the winds are good sailing can be a lot of fun and relaxing. But when conditions are poor sailing can be a lot of work.

Today’s business climate is tough to predict. Economic forecast seem to be no better than good guesses and specific market conditions can change overnight. In good business climates it is easy to be a good leader. However; difficult conditions really test our leadership skills and can leave us exhausted trying to keep the ship headed the right direction.

Leaders Need Time in a Calm Bay
Too often when business conditions are difficult we replace good leadership with more hours on the road or at the office. While it is important for leaders to be at the helm during difficult times, it can wear on the leader.

As leaders we are tempted to stay at the helm and work more hours until we become exhausted and ineffective.

When conditions are difficult leaders need to find a Calm Bay to drop anchor. Take time away, refresh yourself and your leadership. Take time to think and recharge.

As in song by Kenny Chesney, “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem”, steer your ship to a calm bay and take time to relax. There is no glory in working nonstop without time off. Take time for yourself, your family and for your leadership.

In the words of Forrest Gump, “That’s all I got to say about that”.

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Expert from “Be Bodacious: Put Life in Your Leadership; by Steven D Wood”

When I worked for Charlie, I not only learned about giving, but he also taught me the value of continued learning. I remember going in his office each week to get my paycheck; his office looked as much like a library as it did an office. Huge bookcases stuffed with books lined the walls floor to ceiling. During one of my visits, I asked Charlie why he had so many books. He simply said, “I read so that I am not ignorant. You can go through life knowing about things, or you can be ignorant. These books can educate you on about anything you need to know. If you want to know something, someone probably has written a book on it.” Then Charlie posed a question, “Do you want to be ignorant?” There was really only one response:, “No sir, I do not want to be ignorant.”

Charlie went back to writing my paycheck and then looked me straight in the eye and said, “This isn’t much of a paycheck. It is a shame you worked so hard this week and made so little. You can change how much is on your paycheck if you are committed to not being ignorant. Continued learning and the willingness to work hard are the keys to writing yourself a bigger paycheck. You have the hard work part down, but you are not doing too well on the learning part. It is up to you, work hard for little or work hard and smart for a lot. Do not be ignorant, balance what you are learning in three areas and you can change your life:

• Spiritual

• Occupational

• Personal

Charlie picked up an old tattered Bible from the corner of his desk, “First and foremost, spend time in spiritual study every day. I start my day reading the Bible, but I do not stop there; I also read books about my Christian faith and gain a deeper understanding of my faith. My spiritual study time is the most valuable and most relaxing time of the day.”

Charlie then stood up and walked over to the big window in his office, “Please, come over here and look out the window. What do you see?” From the vantage point of his office that sat atop the highest hill on the ranch, you could see for several miles, “Well sir, I see a lot of cattle and some really good farm land.” Charlie continued, “It was not always like that. When I first bought this land, it was covered with cactus and mesquite trees. It took a lot of hard work to clear the land and get it in condition to plow and plant. Beyond the hard work, it required a lot of learning. When I was building this ranch into what you see today, I studied daily about cattle ranching and farming. These bookcases are full of books about ranching and farming. The knowledge I got from these books has been invaluable and taught me how to create a successful farming and ranching operation. By studying what was in these books, I was able to write myself a bigger paycheck. So study everything you can about your occupation, and you can write yourself a bigger paycheck.”

Charlie sat back in his office chair and said, “Do you know the nice thing about having a bigger paycheck? You get to have fun and do things you enjoy doing outside of your work. For me, I love to go places and see different things and the way people live in other parts of the world. Many of the books on these shelves are about travel destinations. Reading allows me to travel around the world without ever leaving the comfort of my chair. When I do decide to go somewhere, I have read about where I am going and know what to see, where to stay, and about the local customs. I enjoy reading about other places in the world and planning my trips. Travel is what I like to do when I am not working, and I encourage you to find something you enjoy doing besides working. Reading about my personal interests is relaxing and allows me to escape the stresses of life. Therefore, I encourage you to read about something that you enjoy doing. Learn about your personal interests and you will enjoy doing them even more.”

Charlie reached across his desk, handed me my paycheck, and said with a smile, “You really deserve more than just a paycheck, so read about your spiritual life, your occupation and your personal interests and you will realize your dreams.

The sad thing is most people stop learning when they get out of school; they figure they have their education so there is no need to study. Instead of reading, they choose to sit in front of the television night after night polluting their mind with meaningless junk. Be persistent and have a passion for continuing your learning and you will not be ignorant, you will be happy. Build a big bookcase, and you will build a big paycheck and a big life.”

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Surviving in the Business Shark Lagoon

On a recent trip to the French Polynesian Islands, we read about a place near Bora Bora where you could “safely” swim with sharks. Typically we avoid swimming with sharks but this opportunity sounded interesting and we were feeling a little stupid so we decided to find out more.

I wondered, “Were these trained sharks? Or maybe sharks without teeth?”

Actually the sharks were not trained and they did have a full mouth of teeth. We discovered the sharks were Black Tip Reef sharks, which are typically shy and avoid contact with humans.  The only time they might “attack” a human if by mistake they bite down on a leg or arm during feeding.  Or like any shark if they were hungry enough then all bets are off… a human works just fine for a meal.

Going against common sense and a lot of fear we decided to take the plunge and swim with the sharks. The sharks were in a large fenced lagoon and they swam about freely and for the most part maintained a safe distance. I must admit there is really no distance that feels really safe when you swim with sharks. Our host at the shark lagoon was a Polynesian man who grew up tending the sharks.  He assured us that he fed the sharks daily and they were not interested in eating swimmers.  That afternoon I watched as he fed the sharks buckets of chopped up fish and the sharks were really aggressive feeding on the chunks of meat in the bloody water.  It was a feeding frenzy and this confirmed my fear that if hungry enough these sharks would eat meat or anything (or anybody) that got in their way.

How to Survive in the Business Shark Lagoon

The business world can be an unsafe place to swim, unlike the sharks in the lagoon your competitors are looking to feed on your business. While your competitors may seem like timid Reef Sharks, that’s only because they may be well fed right now. When business is good your competitors may be content feeding only as needed and you may be fooled into believing they are harmless.  When the economy is growing and business is good, you can comfortably swim with the competitive sharks.

The business lagoon can become a very dangerous place to swim when economic conditions change for the worse. The need to grow business in a shrinking market place can turn  nonaggression competitors  into  something akin to a Great White shark aggressively feeding on your business.

To Swim With the Sharks, You Must be a Shark!

Feed regularly on new business and not just when business is slow. Develop a consistent process of prospecting and advancing opportunities toward a successful close. In today’s business lagoon you must add new business consistently, not just when sales are down. If you wait until sales are slow to begin prospecting and advancing opportunities toward a successful close, you have waited too long. Feeding regularly on new business is your best protection against slow sales and competitive sharks.

When business slows down your competitors become hungry sharks and will devour your business with highly leveraged offers that you may not be able to meet. While some of your competitors may appear timid and not aggressive, beware of the feeding frenzy that will occur when business is slow. Fighting for business during the frenzy can become very expensive.

Be A Shark

The best time to add new business is every day! You can swim with the sharks in the business lagoon, just remember there are hungry competitors in the lagoon and when hungry they will attack.  Feed regularly on new business by prospecting and advancing opportunities and you can avoid being eaten alive in the business shark lagoon.

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What is your big dream that you think about often? The big dream that looms on the horizon of your perceived possibility, is your Bodacious Dream. One of my Bodacious Dreams was to captain a sailing yacht to the island of Bora Bora in French Polynesia.

The islands of French Polynesia in the South Pacific are perhaps the most beautiful islands anywhere on earth. For many years, I dreamed about captaining a sailing yacht to explore the lagoons and beaches of these islands. After years of dreaming and planning, it became reality this year when my wife and I sailed a 44 foot sailing yacht to Bora Bora and dropped anchor in calm of the island lagoon. It was truly a sailing trip of a lifetime and fulfillment of one of my “Bodacious Dreams”.

We have sailed throughout the Caribbean and wiggled our way through reefs to drop anchor off some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. However, sailing the Islands of French Polynesia presented a different type of navigation challenge for us. Unlike the islands in the Caribbean the islands of French Polynesia and Bora Bora are encircled by reefs with only one or two passages through the reef.

The island of Bora Bora and its towering peaks are separated from the closest islands by miles of open water and the rolling swells of the Pacific Ocean.  When we set sail toward the island of Bora Bora the peaks that were miles away, were easily spotted on the horizon; so locating the island was not a navigational problem. However, getting through the reef that surrounds Bora Bora presented a bigger challenge.

The reef that surrounds Bora Bora extends several miles from the island.  While we could clearly see the peaks of Bora Bora; sailing straight toward the peaks would have landed us on the reef where the pounding waves would grind our boat into nothing more than fiberglass foam. The reef surrounding Bora Bora has only one passage and it is on the opposite side of the island. To get to the passage; requires sailing miles off shore to the back side of the island to locate the passage through the reef.  An attempt to cross the reef anywhere but through this passage would be disastrous.

Discovering the Passage to Our Bodacious Dreams

Often we focus on the towering peaks of our Bodacious Dream that looms on our horizon. Realizing the dream appears so simple, it’s there on the horizon, and all we have to do is head toward our dream.  It’s appears so obvious and in our excitement and haste,  we rush in pursuit without determining the correct passage of entry. Pursuing our Bodacious Dreams by following the most obvious course can run us straight into the reefs of disappointment, frustration and failure. Most often, what may appear to be the most obvious approach to realizing our dream is not the correct point of entry. Pursuing your Bodacious Dream requires preparation and understanding of the obstacles that lie between you and your dream.

Proper pursuit of your Bodacious Dream requires self-examination, study, preparation, perseverance, and hard work. A Bodacious Dream is more than whim, it is something you have passion for and are willing pay the price of preparation to obtain.

Prior to sailing to Bora Bora we spent hours studying navigational charts, reading passage notes in cruising guides and even doing a 3D “fly by” in Google Earth. We carefully checked our sailboat to make sure everything was working and that it was capable of the crossing. Finally and most important we checked the weather forecast for the day so we would not attempt the crossing in unfavorable weather conditions.

Pursuit of your Bodacious Dream may require months or years of preparation before your take the first step toward your dream. However; you cannot stay in the safe harbor of endless preparation; the day will come when you must seize the opportunity and set sail toward your Bodacious Dreams. The first few miles of your journey will make you uneasy as you leave your safe harbor and set sail into the open waters of realizing your Bodacious Dreams. The waves of resistance and fear will be larger than you anticipate. This is when your careful preparation will give you the confidence to continue toward your Bodacious Dream. Like the well-prepared sailor who does not sail the obvious course toward an island, you must carefully navigate the reefs that encircle your Bodacious Dream to the correct point of entry.

The correct point of entry to realize your Bodacious Dream is usually not the most obvious or the shortest route. To realize your Bodacious Dream requires much preparation and perseverance to stay the course when the waves of fear and resistance are larger than anticipated. So start today; stop dreaming about your Bodacious Dream, stop looking at it on the horizon and start your journey by taking the first step of preparation and planning.  Acquire the knowledge and skills you need to pursue your dream, and then have the courage to untie the dock lines and head out into the open water of opportunity to your Bodacious Dream.

Be Bodacious and set sail toward your Bodacious Dream!

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Get serious about pursuing your bodacious dream, get off your “but,” and do something. Be cautious of getting comfortable and resting on your big but, because your but will prevent you from pursuing your bodacious dreams. Buts come in many forms; here are a few that may look familiar to you:

• I would pursue my bodacious dream but…

• I could have pursued my bodacious dream but…

• But I did not know how to pursue my bodacious dream…

• But I have never pursued a dream like this before…

• But the bodacious dream is too expensive…

• But pursuing the bodacious dream will take too long…

• But what would people think if I pursue my bodacious dream….

• But what if I fail at my bodacious dream…

Your big but is the number one thing that is preventing you from pursuing your bodacious dreams. People with big buts rest on them and do not pursue bodacious dream, you can be different; you can be bodacious. Get off your big but, take action, and make your bodacious dream become reality.

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From the book: “Be Bodacious: Put Life in Your Leadership” Author Steven D Wood

Bodacious leaders are like Arnold the ranch owner who I worked for as a cowboy and told us, “…You may think I am in the cattle business; well I ain’t, I am in the steak business. My business is to provide my customers with the best tasting and most tender steaks possible…. To get tender steaks we must move the herd persistently and gently.”The Arnold Principle simply stated is, “Know what your destination is and clearly communicate how you are going to get there.” Arnold understood the customer did not buy the whole cow; they bought tender steaks. Arnold had a long-term customer focused point of view that defined the way we did things on the ranch. Bodacious leaders embrace “The Arnold Principle” by defining the way things are done in the organization to deliver a quality product to the customer. Bodacious leaders do not focus on the cow; they focus on delivering the best steaks to the customer. Bodacious leaders encourage innovation though persistence and by gently moving their teams toward the horizon.

Arnold did not have a pedigree or an impressive resume listing the universities he had attended, degrees obtained, or prior positions held. He did have a clear vision and understood his mission, which he effectively communicated to the team. While his vision and mission statements were not printed and distributed to all the cowboys, we understood the mission and understood we were in the steak business.

Embrace “The Arnold Principle” by clearly communicating your, destination and mission. Avoid being tangled up with carefully crafted, corporate sounding vision statements that few people remember or understand. Keep it short and simple and communicate it regularly in plain understandable language.

There is a better way to lead and that is to be a bodacious leader. A bodacious leader is dedicated to creating an extraordinary, unrestrained, and bold team. Bodacious leaders are great communicators; they instill confidence by being genuine and speaking in an honest, open manner and by never using political talk to side step the issues. They are passionate about their vision and understand the importance of transferring their passion for the vision to the team. When people hear them talk about their vision, it is clear they are excited about what they want to achieve and have a plan of action. They carefully communicate the details of their plan and the benefits of achieving the goal.

Bodacious leaders understand that a team is motivated by making the entire team successful, instead of an individual team member or the leader. People follow bodacious leaders because they have a vision, and communicate their vision. Bodacious leaders demonstrate integrity and build trust by acting in alignment with what they say. Good people will follow a person of integrity and character who they can trust. Bodacious leaders build strong teams by surrounding themselves with other bodacious leaders who do not tolerate a pirate mentality on their team.

Bodacious leaders believe in getting sustainable results by being extraordinary, unrestrained, and bold in their approach. They realize ordinary leaders can deliver short-term results; however, bodacious leaders strive to be extraordinary through steady, healthy, long-term growth. Bodacious leaders are unrestrained and see beyond the horizon, because they boldly go to the horizon and can see more than an ordinary leader. Bodacious leaders are in for the long haul and have a vision that extends beyond the next quarter or year-end.

Bodacious leadership goes beyond the pedigree and resume of the individual. Bodacious leadership demands people of wisdom, vision, integrity, and loyalty. Good people are assets to bodacious leaders and are not seen as an expense to reduce during lean times. Bodacious leaders keep their organizations lean by boldly reducing the number of pirates and underperforming team members. Their organizations are lean at the top and strong on the front line of business. People resources are massed closest to the customer, as opposed to the corporate office. Bodacious leaders build a strong customer focused structure that is lean at the top and focused on serving the customer.

Bodacious leaders understand good people and the customer are the primary means of realizing the organization’s vision. They have a long-term vision and consistently get more out of their people by moving them toward the horizon and the ultimate destination. Bodacious leaders align their people resources with the vision of the organization and are willing to pay a short-term price for long-term gain. Bodacious leaders are better leaders because in everything they do they strive to be extraordinary, unrestrained and bold.

So Be Bodacious and be a better leader!

Set-aside time for others in need, give of your time, your money, and your talents and you can be a miracle worker.  However, it will not be easy to give time to others; you must be deliberate and set aside time daily for your family and community. Be careful not to trade family and community time for work time.

The pressure to perform and compete in the workplace can easily deceive us into believing that trading family and community time in for work time is the right thing to do. Whether you are pulling double shifts, working late at the office, or spending night after night on the road, stop and evaluate how you may be shortchanging your family and community time.

Do not be deceived into thinking that if you work insanely long hours to get the next promotion, then you will have time to spend with your family or work in the community after that. If you are not able to set aside time for your family and community in your current position, it will not become easier after your next promotion.

If you find yourself having trouble taking time for vacation to spend with your family, then do not expect it will magically appear when you get your next promotion. If you do not have time to work in the community, be it your church, charities, civic organizations, or other volunteer activities, then you are short-changing yourself and the community. Be a giver of your time to non-paid activities such as your family and community, and you can be a miracle worker.

As you pursue your bodacious opportunities, you will need a mentor; someone capable of    giving sound advice; an encourager, and a rescuer. Unfortunately, too many people give bad    advice or fail to encourage when you make a mistake. A great mentor is a rare find. Here are    the qualities a good mentor will possess.

Experience: This is not their first rodeo; they are educated and proven by experience.

Wisdom: They have the wisdom to dispense their knowledge and do so without the    expectation of personal gain. Their advice is born out of experience and wisdom rather than  out of emotion.

Encouragement: They cheer you on when you are the underdog and fuel your courage to    move to the next challenge. They motivate you when you are down and encourage you to be extraordinary, unrestrained, and bold.

Loyalty: They are beside you in your most troubling times; they extend a hand and pull you up.