Tuesday, March 31, 2009

HELP - We need leaders!

Interesting read. They say that Lee Iacocca paid back every bit of the money he borrowed from the government to save Chrysler. Now he's written this book and it looks like a good one.

Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He's now 82 years old and has a new book, 'Where Have All the Leaders Gone?

Lee Iacocca Says:
'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder! We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.'

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned, 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.

The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the 'America' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis being the first.) Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess, so here's where we stand.

We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving.

We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.

Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble.

Our borders are like sieves.

The middle class is being squeezed every which way.

These are times that cry out for leadership.

But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.

Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.

Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina.

Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.

Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it? Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.

I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.

What is everybody so afraid of, that some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?

Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope - I believe in America. In my lifetime, I've had the privilege of living through some of America's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression,' 'World War II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,' the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.

If I've learned one thing, it's this: 'you don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a "Call to Action" for people who, like me, believe in America'. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'

Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and care about. It's our country, folks, and it's our future. Our future is at stake!!

Friday, March 27, 2009

The Best Investment During a Recession!

The Top Five Reasons NOT to let the “R” word stand in the way of investing in your organization's development in 2009...

· Reason #5: Since you don’t dare invest money anywhere else right now, you might as well invest it in yourself, your know-how, your self-improvement, and your business.

· Reason #4: You aren’t going to get a “bail-out” from anybody but yourself!

· Reason #3: “All weather is local.” What happens in YOUR business, YOUR finances, and YOUR life has much more to do with how YOU think, what information YOU acquire, who YOU connect with, and what YOU do, than with the goings on in Washington or on Wall St.

· Reason #2: You can’t just ‘wait this out’ and hope everything will soon return to ‘normal.’ An entire New Economy is developing, presenting new challenges and new opportunities, requiring new strategies, which is why we feel it is critical that you start now with a serious analysis and optimization of your ‘process’ so that you can create the future you dream of.

· Reason #1: Only the Best and the Brightest invest in their own development, it’s how they create that ‘slight edge’ difference between them and the next person which when compounded hour by hour and day by day and week by week allows the few to blow the doors off the many. Learn more about the slight edge at http://www.212movie.com/

Thursday, March 26, 2009

A miss is as good –or bad -- as a mile!

A miss is as good –or bad -- as a mile!

In 2004, Smarty Jones was America ’s favorite racehorse. He nearly won horse racing’s Triple Crown, losing by only a length in the third race of the series, the Belmont Stakes.

Consider the facts:

  1. This horse went undefeated in 6 previous major competitions
  2. Combining all three legs of America’s premier horse racing title, he was leading all the way for over 514,800 inches of track
  3. He missed winning the Triple Crown by about 96 inches, or about 2/100ths of one percent of the total.

That tiny percentage of failing to lead, according to some sources, may cost the horse’s owners as much as $100 million in lifetime breeding fees!

It’s the same in business!

Studies show to beat your competition, you don’t have to be twice as good as they areyou just need to be 3% better!

Usually, the measure of whether we are that critical 3% better depends not on your product or service but on how your prospect views your team.

Business Excellence is a direct result of Leadership Excellence. Leadership Excellence is what gives you and your team the "3% edge" in business. The "3% edge" performer knows how to win by not letting the distractions and noise of daily life interfere with reaching their goal.

What’s the Magic 3% answer?

It’s simple -- combine LMI’s unique performance improvement process (implemented by 100,000’s of individuals across the world) with your business expertise. That will give you the magic "3% edge" formula for success.

You might even OVER-achieve! The performance gains of LMI clients are often far greater than that magic 3%, and grow consistently with continued over time. Most other businesses will NOT be gaining – and will lose the race.

As the cartoon to the far left makes clear: A little bit of difference can mean a lot of money, in horse racing or in the real world of your competitive business!

Discover your "Magic3% edge" with LMI!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Power breakfast with business masterMind group
Sent from my BlackBerry smartphone with SprintSpeed

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Hanging out at the new Dublin Entrepreneurial Center
Sent from my BlackBerry smartphone with SprintSpeed

Monday, March 16, 2009

Serving those who suffer with arthritis by helping to organize the annual
Classic Auto Show - http://ping.fm/sALms



Michael D. Diercks, Regional President, Leadership Management Institute -
40 years of
leadership in Columbus!

Partnering with Leaders to Increase Results and Enhance Value!

(614)823-8150 - www.lmi-columbus.com -
mdiercks@lmi-columbus.com -
http://ping.fm/21aKy

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"Many people are anxious to improve their results, but they're unwilling to improve themselves. They therefore remain bound." - James Allen