The study of leadership is a lifelong pursuit. It is not a destination but a journey. The results can be staggering for organizations with strong leadership. Jim Collins in Good to Great described highly successful companies and one of the key elements is what he coined as a Level 5 leader. These people were not what you think. Most people when they hear “leader” think of flamboyant CEOs or fast-talking politicians. When you go deeper, the opposite happens. I recommend all of Mr. Maxwell’s work. One thing that makes his work real is that John has built non-profit organizations throughout his life with great success. When you build a company, people have to follow you if they work for you because their livelihood depends on it. Building a nonprofit organization is not the same. People CHOOSE to follow you and that is what makes their work so profound.
Why is this important to me? Let’s show it with an example and I think you’ll see why it’s critical to make Leadership a lifelong study. I’m a big fan of OPE, OPT, and OPM (Other People’s Experience, Time, and Money). This allows for leverage and expansion of your organization when balanced correctly. From a strict performance point of view, consider the following. Let’s say you have an organization that has 100 team members. If you work on yourself and improve your own performance by, say, 20%, then that’s a really good improvement and you should do it. But if you broaden your focus and strive to get everyone on your team to improve, say, 5%, then the impact on the organization is a 500% improvement. So let’s monetize this example. Suppose the organization earns $1,000,000. Improve yourself by 20% and maybe the organization will see $1,200,000. Upgrade team members by 5% each and the organization will see $5,000,000. Which would you rather have? Please note this is without increasing your costs… It goes without saying that Leadership is a study that needs to be continued.
This book is packed with in-depth knowledge and should be used as a desktop reference. Keep it handy and review it every quarter. I will outline a few key points due to our time constraints, but I encourage you to read this book and the others by John Maxwell. You can also see his other works on the site.
If you were to graph leadership, think of it as a scale with leadership ability (1-10) on the Y axis and dedication to success (1-10) on the X axis. In the book, John talks about the McDonald brothers. They built a good chain of restaurants and they were successful. They had a leadership ability of 1 and a dedication to success of 8. Therefore, their total coverage area was 1×8 or 8. Ray Kroc bought the franchise rights and McDonald’s is one of the most successful corporations in the world. Mr. Kroc’s ability to succeed was, let’s say, a 9 and his leadership ability was also a 9. His total effectiveness chart was 9 x 9 for a total of 81. You’ll see that his effectiveness in growing the business and recruiting good people to help you was at least 10 times better than the McDonald brothers.
As you can see, if you commit to striving for excellence on both the X and Y axis, you will multiply your effectiveness. The total range is from 1 to 100, so there is a lot to learn.
I am going to highlight 4 of the 21 laws for reasons of time. All laws are critical and can be studied and improved independently so you don’t have to master one to move on to the next.
1. The Law of Solid Earth – Trust is the foundation of Leadership. When you look at Apple, people trust Steve Jobs. There are no two ways about it. You can’t build a billion dollar business for decades without it. Similarly, think about Enron. These executives were building a house of cards. Now they hid their motives and lied to their employees, but once trust was broken, their careers were over. None of those executives were able to go back to running another company because they violated the Solid Earth Act. It takes 30 years to build trust, integrity and character and 30 seconds to lose them.
2. The Law of Influence – The true measure of leadership is influence – Nothing more, nothing less. Think about this. Why would someone retell the story from 480BC? The Spartan king Leonidas led 300 Spartan soldiers into battle against the Persian army that was rumored to number in the millions. The Persian army was made up of slaves while the Spartans were free men. The Law of Influence is seen in the fact that Xerxes, the Persian leader, would kill any of his men for victory and Leonidas would die for any of his men. Needless to say, the stand of the famous 300 Spartans is still remembered today as one of the greatest battles in history. All the Spartans stayed and died because they were fighting for what they believed in and following a leader greater than themselves. That is Influence.
3. Law of the Inner Circle – A leader’s potential is determined by those closest to him. This law is very important. If you are just starting out in your career then really look at who you are working for. Where do they spend their time? Who do they spend it with? This is critical because the top 5 people he hangs out with on a regular basis determine where he is in life. You’ve heard companies say that their people are their greatest asset. The Law of the Inner Circle says that the RIGHT PEOPLE ARE YOUR GREATEST ASSET. This is critical to the success and the heart of this law.
4. The Law of Victory – Leaders find a way for the team to win. Everyone knows that in business or in war there is no such thing as a Silver medal. Here is a quote from Winston Churchill that sums this up. When asked what our aim is with regard to World War II, Churchill replied: “Victory, victory at all costs, victory despite all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, no there is survival.”
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is a great book packed with great lessons for EVERYONE to study. I recommend the book even if you are not in a leadership position. If you want to increase your effectiveness, this book provides the road map for doing so. I have a long way to go on the path of leadership, but Mr. Maxwell’s work provides the road map.
I hope you found this short summary useful. The key to any new idea is to work it into your daily routine until it becomes a habit. Habits are formed in as little as 21 days.
One thing you can take away from this book is the multiplier effect of leadership. This is the result you will get by studying and practicing all the laws daily. I have started doing this and our organization has had some success. Personally, I have a long way to go, but I will continue to use this book and the other works of John Maxwell to guide me.