THE 33 BULLETS

It was a normal day at work today and the daily routine was ongoing; making of calls, entering and analyzing data among other office duties. Then a call came from the General manager; my role model and mentor. He is full of  rectitude and a beacon of hope to me. It will be iniquitous not to say he is one of the greatest mind of our time and the man with utmost integrity. He called us to the conference room. The manager normally inspired and motivated us by word of mouth only. Today, my mind went off at the tangent because the medium for inspiration was a lecture. It was an amazing lecture. Colin Powell's principles of leadership was the theme for the day and I have amassed a great deal of knowledge. And here are keynotes I believe would help aspiring leaders or entrepreneurs. 

1. Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.

2. Don't build barriers to upward communication.
3. Don't interpret asking for help as a sign of weakness.
4. Show concern for the challenges faced by underlings even as you demand higher standards.

5. Create an environment where problem analysis replaces blame.
6. The day your underlings stop coming to you with their problems is the day you cease to be a leader.
7. Don't be buffaloed by experts and elites. 

***Experts often possess more data than judgement. ***
*** Elites are sometimes so inbred that they produce hemophiliacs who get nicked when they face the real world. ***

8. Don't be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.

9. Good leadership encourages evolution.

10. Never neglect details. A leader must be doubly vigilant.

11. Strategy equals execution. Good ideas are worthless if they can’t be executed.

12. You don't know what you can get away with until you try. 

NB: Yet you have to be ready to face the consequences (both positive and negative).

13. Keep looking beyond surface appearances. Don't shrink from doing so because you might not like what you find.

14. Organization, theories and plans doesn't really accomplish anything. Endeavors succeed or fail because of people involved.

15. Create an environment where the best, brightest and most creative are attracted, retained and most importantly unleashed.

16. The assets of a company are the people and not the cars.

17. Organization charts and fancy titles count for next to nothing.

18. Never let your ego get so close to your position that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.

19. Fit no stereotypes. Don't Chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the teams mission.

20. Leaders honor their core values but they are flexible in how they execute them.

21. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

22. Look for intelligence and judgement, A capacity to anticipate and see around corners, loyalty, integrity, a high energy drive, a balanced ego and drive to get things done.

---Powell's rules for picking people.

NB: It's easier to train a novice to learn how to run a business but impossible to teach him how to have integrity.

23. Great leaders are almost always get simplifiers who offer solutions everybody understands by cutting through arguments, debate and doubt.

24. Be a good communicator, be firm and be credible.

25. Once information is in the (40-70) % range, go with your gut. Never take decisions with less information.

26. The commander on the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise.

27. Shift financial accountability to the folks who are bringing in the beans not the ones who are counting or analyzing them.

28. Have fun in your command. Don't always run at breakneck place. Have a balanced life. Spend time with your family. Take leave when you earned it. Surround yourself with people have time for the work and not full of themselves, people who work hard and play hard.

29. Even as you create an informal, open, collaborative corporate culture, prepare to be lonely. 

30. Probity and Accountability: “A good leader takes little more than his share of the blame and little less than his share of the credit"

~ Arnold H. Glasow 

31. Delegation and Empowerment, i.e. working with people and through people to achieve results. 

32. Good communication of clear vision and strategy to ensure successful execution.
33. Ensure feedback and applaud when things go well but point out where improvements are required.

Integrity, Creativity, Innovation, Stable strategy, Honesty, Confidence (self-belief not overconfidence), Assertiveness, Synergy [Lead by example (dirty your hands sometimes)], Organization, Commitment, Passion, Being a good listener and Empathy (Understanding peoples challenges, pains and problems) are among the other qualities a leader should have. 

It is said that yesterday's competitors are today's collaboration. There are leaders and there are followers yet “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower"  

~ Steve Jobs

Command is lonely but apparently leadership is about serving a role for the greater good or the good of the group.        

 ~ Colin Powell

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader".         

 ~ John Quincy Adams

“Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible.”  

~ Colin Powell

"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way."

                         ~ John C. Maxwell

I hope this write-up was beneficial. To all and sundry, never stay idle... "Bullshit" might get you to the top but it won't keep you there... When you're in deep "shit", keep your mouth shut... Not all who put you in "shit" hate you and not all who take you out of "shit" love you... 

READ WIDE AND DEVELOP YOURSELF.

I am Rasgony TheAlpha