John C. Maxwell is an internationally recognized leadership expert, speaker, coach, and author who has sold over 20 million books. Dr. Maxwell is the founder of EQUIP and the John Maxwell Company, organizations that have trained more than 5 million leaders worldwide. Every year he speaks to Fortune 500 companies, international government leaders, and organizations as diverse as the United States Military Academy at West Point, the National Football League, and the United Nations. A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Business Week best-selling author, Maxwell has written three books which have each sold more than one million copies: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Developing the Leader Within You, and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader.

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The Learning Leader Show

  • “Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.” – Pat Riley
  • The difference between ‘best’ and ‘better’
    • “Whatever is best for now… Tomorrow has got to get better. I always look at ‘best’ for a moment.”
    • “If you’re not growing today, I have to talk about yesterday. I don’t want to talk about yesterday.”
  • The great leaders:
    • Listen
    • Learn
    • Lead
  • The importance of listening and asking questions:
    • “I began to ask questions, invite people to sit down and talk.”  Shared learning and growing together…
  • What John learned from Angela Ahrendts:
    • “I aim to always give 60 and take 40.  Always give more than you take.”
    • “Add more value to people than you take.”
  • Working with your team:
    • “I put an idea in front of my team and say, ‘make it better,’ and they always do.”
  • Proactive: “If you’re not proactive, you’re reactive.  I’ve never met a great leader who wasn’t proactive.”
    • “Be unforgettable.  Always be the first person to help.”
  • Action Attraction
    • “The moment I move, I attract all resources because I’m moving.”
    • “I never draw people to me when I sit still.”
      • “Action shows intention”
  • Keynote speaking preparation:
    • “When I’m in the green room preparing, I’m thinking about the people in the audience. I begin to envision the people leaning in, taking notes, engaged.  It helps me.”
    • The content you have will alone will not cut it — “Connecting the content to the people carries the day. I want them to say, ‘oh my gosh, he’s talking to me.'”
      • “The response of the people charges me up.”
  • Layered learning:
    • Is your fence facing out or facing in?  Are you growing?  Or shrinking?
  • Building a company?  “I wasn’t trying to build a company.  It started in a garage.  Each company was created just to help solve problems for people. –> Find a need, start a company, find a need, start a company.”
    • There are now over 30,000 John Maxwell coaches
  • “I’ve always had the ability to take a problem and develop a resource for it.”
  • “I can smell an opportunity… And I can see it in people.  I’ve always been quick to spot this.”
    • How to develop this skill? –> “You must seize the opportunities. Act quickly.”
  • Adaptability – “A person that lacks flexibility will mist a lot of opportunities.”
    • Peter Drucker did not make long range plans.  He focused on seizing the moment.
    • John’s long range plan: “What I want for people is for them to do well and I want to help them do that.”
  • Life advice:
    • Value people
    • Continually grow
    • Live very intentionally
  • Here is WHY joining a Learning Leader Circle is a good idea…

Resources:

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Episode #303:  General Stanley McChrystal – The New Definition Of Leadership