Festival Friday Tour

Another Friday, another look at festivals. This time I am going to show you three states Minnesota, Maine and Washington. Every week I will choose Minnesota and two other states and highlight a festival in those areas during that particular weekend.

Minnesota – More Festivals in Minnesota

Highlighted Festival
Freedom Fest

Type: Community Festivals, Festivals & Events
Event Location: Pine County Fairgrounds

People of all ages are sure to find something to do during the annual Freedom Fest celebration in Pine City. Organizations across Pine City come together to organize the triathlon, kayak/canoe race, car show, tractor show, children's activities, food booths, community theater show, ventriloquist show, street dance and the fireworks finale.

Maine – More Festivals in Maine

Highlighted Festival
Portland Performing Arts Festival

Jun 28 thru Jul 01, 2012. The Portland Performing Arts Festival is a new summer festival presenting nationally-renowned performances in music, dance and theater. Join us June 28 through July 1, 2012 for a range of performances presented at venues all over Portland's Arts District. For more info see our Facebook page or email info@portlandfestival.org. Event #8565

Washington - More Festivals in Washington

Highlighted Festival
Sedro Woolley Loggerodeo

We are a five day event in downtown Sedro Woolley, and various locations throughout the community. We have music, a carnival, food vendors and fireworks at riverfront park, we have Washington’s greatest invitational log carving event, a grand parade a kiddie parade, firemans muster, rodeo, logging exhibition and street dance, all our events are family friendly. We have pre-sale bracelets for the carnival. For rodeo information go to our website for a link. All other events are free. So bring the kids and enjoy a fun filled day!

Leadership Gone Bad

I am going to deviate from my normal series to write about the most devastating leadership blunder in history. Today the leaders of this nation took a giant step backward in their efforts to be leaders. The Supreme Court upheld Obama care and thus begins the slide of America into the world of socialism. No longer will we be the home of the free and the brave. Here is why. 

Brave leaders take a stand for truth and justice they stand firm on the principles that made this nation great. Being a brave leader doesn’t mean selling the American citizens down the river of tax and spend. Being a brave leader means being able to make the tough choices that will help everyone and not just the select few. 

Being a leader who believes in freedom is a leader who will allow the people to have a choice, a choice to decide for ourselves if we want medical coverage or not, a choice to decide what doctor to see and when to see them. Being a leader who believes in freedom is a leader who doesn’t put constraints on freedom of choice.  

A leader who leads a nation should be a leader who speaks the voice of the people. They listen to the people and regardless of what they believe they make rational decisions based upon the framework of the nation. 

America is a far cry from the America that the founding fathers envisioned. It is not the America that I was born into. It is now an America burdened with debt, taxes and regulations that restrain the freedom of its people and hamper the progress of innovation, education and philanthropy.  

The liberal leaders are not brave they are cowards trying to oppress the people so they can gain the power to manipulate others into their socialist ideals.

Let’s take America back and bring it back to its prosperous glory days. Send a message this November by voting for true leaders. Leaders who serve the people not oppress the people.

Priorities

Saying “no” to another project on your plate takes grace and tact. If your boss comes up to you and asks you to work on a new project or task and you’re already working at capacity., what do you do? Ernie Humphrey wrote a blog article called “Saying No to Your Boss”. In the article he gives five approaches an employee can take to say no without coming out and saying no.

Be sure to read the article if you have not done so. What I will be doing is taking each of the approaches and dissecting it a bit and also looking at it from the perspective of the boss (leader).

The first approach as Mr. Humphrey says is “Level set a request into your current set of priorities”. What this means is to compare that request with the other items on your plate and see how it fits in. If it won’t fit, address this issue with your boss. What happens if your boss says “well you will have to make it work”. Then you might have to move on to the second approach to saying no.

From a leadership perspective if you have a person who comes to you with the idea that if they work on this new project the current one you want them to do may suffer. How will you handle that? Will you tell them they will have to make it work? A true leader won’t do that. A true leader will take what the person says and do one or more of the following.

• Work with them to see how it can fit into their priority schedule.
• Give them a generous time lines and see if that works for them. If necessary work with them on a timeline.
• Table the project for a short while until the person is ready to assume the task. Make sure you know when they will be done with their current task.
• Ask them for ideas on who on the team would be a good person to take ownership of the project and then make sure that person is still involved but to a lesser degree.

A true leader will embrace the fact that this person understands their limitations and doesn’t want any work to suffer. That leader will work with them to make sure everything is done and done successfully.

A leader shouldn’t look at it as a no but look at it as an opportunity, an opportunity to work with your people to strengthen them and bond with them on a project.

Just Say No

I read an interesting article today that explained how someone could say no to your boss. You might think this is an odd thing to write about in a leadership blog but it serves two purposes. First it will help all of you leaders find the courage and ability to say no so you don’t have to keep taking on more and more duties or projects. It will also help you from a leadership perspective to be able to understand when one of your employees starts to use these techniques on you then you know what to expect. That doesn’t mean that you immediately thwart their efforts. Instead you will be better prepared to listen and offer suggestions.

“SayingNo to Your Boss” is the blog article by Ernie Humphrey. Today I am just introducing the article and giving all my readers a chance to read the article. It lists five approaches you can take toward saying no to your boss. I will then unpack those five items and put my own personal spin on how you can use it as a leader and how you use it as a follower. You will see it from both perspectives and in the end it should improve your leadership. The five approaches we will look at are:

1. Level set a request into your current set of priorities – Tuesday 6/26
2. Redefine a request on your terms – Wednesday 6/27
3. Directly state your opinion supported with facts as to the relevance of a request – Thursday 6/28
4. Let a task stew to see if it still remains relevant – Monday 7/2
5. Use humor at any point you feel stating your opinion will cause tension – Tuesday 7/3

I enjoyed the article and thought it gave great insight into how to handle saying no. You don’t just want to storm into your boss’s office and say “NO!” This gave some great approaches and creative ways to say no.

Civil War

I had a great idea of what I wanted to write about and then I bellied up to the computer and promptly forgot. Then as I was watching an episode of “Storage Wars” and I thought of something to write about. By that time it was too late to stay up and write so I thought I would take care of that today. I am also starting a new Sunday blog that I will begin today.

What I have always wanted to do is attend and participate in a Civil War reenactment. I think it would be fun and educational to be part of this type of experience. In researching this I actually found a website “Civil War Traveler” that gives you all the events in the country that relate to the civil war. It has everything from living histories, lectures, tours and even high tea with the women of Gettysburg. There is something for everyone.

I found one that is coming up next weekend. Of course when I go to one of these I will have to plan ahead because there aren’t too many in Minnesota. I would like to participate in one at an actual site. The one I found is in Maryland:

Living history, "Union Artillery at Antietam," camp and demonstrations at the Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg. Free with park admission.

Historic Photo of the Burnside Bridge taken by Alexander Gardner

If this is your sort of thing check out a location near you and even if you don’t participate you can view one and enjoy it. If you have already gone to one or even participated I would love to here your comments.

Festival Trifecta

For festival Friday today I am going to let you do the looking. Of course I will try to make it easy for you by providing some quality information for you. Here is how this will work. I am going to highlight three festivals, one from Minnesota one from Colorado and one from Massachusetts. I will also provide a link for each of the sites I used so you can do some further searching if the one I highlight isn’t to your liking.

Minnesota: This is my home and it is crawling with festivals or events every weekend. Here is one I found that takes place every Saturday on one of the most beautiful rivers around.

Wine and Chocolate or cheese cruise: This is the wording from the festival information

Enjoy fine chocolate or cheese and wine from a local winery, Winehaven, and a romantic dinner at sunset aboard one of our authentic paddlewheel riverboats on the Scenic St. Croix River. This festive three hour cruise also includes a narrated scenic tour of the valley, live music, cash bar, and reserved seating with a buffet style meal. Reservations and prepayment are required. Visit www.taylorsfallsboat.com or call 651-465-6315 to make reservations


Get more Minnesota Festivals HERE


Colorado: My Daughter and my sister live here. Not where this festival is taking place but in Colorado. Maybe they can head over to this event and get me some bacon. Love the smell and taste of bacon.

Blue Ribbon Bacon Tour:

Bacon - Pronunciation [bey-kuhn


Get more Colorado Festivals HERE


Massachusetts: The state my wife most wants to visit. Especially the Boston area. Here is one my wife might like. We love the big band music and swing music.


Summer Stroll:

Join Alan & Luan of Dance2Swing and the D2S HepCats
For The Downtown Multi Event Summer Stroll in
Leominster, MA
1-5pm

We will be ROCKIN’ AND ROLLIN’ in front of
Mia Bella’s Spa, 12 Main St.
with DJ AlanHep2theJive

Multi Events, Classic Cars, Swing Dancing, Music, Parade,
Face Painting, Food and more!
Prize For The Best Rock n' Roll Geek
Rain Date: Sunday, June 24, 2012

Get more Massachusetts Festivals HERE

Enjoy a festival or a special event this weekend. Check out where you live.

Bench Strength

It’s possible that you have heard the term “bench strength”. This term refers to those future leaders in your company, those who are being groomed to take over when the other leaders leave. A company should have great bench strength and be willing to think outside the box when it comes to promoting leaders and moving them up the ladder. But it isn’t as easy as just promoting people they have to be ready. In baseball teams don’t promote players from triple A to the majors unless they are ready. If they do it sometimes takes longer for the player to catch on and it will hurt the team.

How is your bench strength? Is your company grooming your next leaders or do you have to go outside the company to get the talent you need?

As a leader you have to prepare your people to succeed you as leader. You have to ready them or they will leave. What are some things you can do as a leader to make sure they are ready to be the next leader?

·         Today I will share with you a few things that will help you prepare your employees for leadership.

·         Train them on what it takes to be a leader. Don’t just train them on their job but make sure they understand what it takes to be a leader.

·         Give them opportunities to use the leadership skills they are learning.

·         Let them be mentored by others in the company so they can learn about other areas within the company.

·         Pay them well and promote them within your company. If you don’t do this you will lose the best talent. 

Build that bench strength or you will continue to look outside your company to find talent and it will continue to deplete your talent. Those who are there will get discouraged and look elsewhere for opportunities and better pay.

Don’t lose the talent train them well.

Pass the Buck

Have you ever heard the phrase “it’s not my fault”? Maybe you have even said it a few times. It seems as if there is a prevailing sense that people no longer want to take responsibility for their actions. People will find an excuse for everything. If they are late it is because of traffic. That may very well be the case but people need to allow extra time. It is better to get there early then late.

If you are a leader you even have more responsibility. You need to make sure the image you convey is one of honesty and integrity. You need to take responsibility for your actions. Leaders are also trying to pass the buck. They end up passing it down to one of their own people. This really makes the leader look bad.

As a leader it is your responsibility to know what your people are doing and to also make sure they understand what is expected of them. If they screw up then you should be the one to take the heat. You should be the one telling others that it is your fault; you didn’t train or educate your people well enough.

In basketball when there is a foul the person who committed the foul is supposed to raise their hand to let everyone know they were the one. You don’t see that as much anymore, instead you find them trying to make excuses or saying they didn’t do anything wrong.

Don’t be a “pass the buck” leader show some integrity by taking responsibility when you do something wrong and also take responsibility for your people when they do something wrong. Here are some things that will help you avoid passing the buck.

·         Let followers know what is expected of them.

·         If you mess up take responsibility.

·         Train your people properly on their job and expectations

·         Communicate with others

·         NO EXCUSES

I think we all at one time or another has found ourselves passing the buck. If we can follow these simple ideas we can avoid that problem of buck passing and become a leader with integrity and responsibility. Raise your hand and take responsibility.

Fathers Day Tribute

Father’s day is a tough day. It is difficult for two reasons. The first is that my father is gone so it is a day that I can look back on the times I had with my dad, though I will be unable to spend any time with him until I see him in heaven. Those times I remember are always good. My dad worked very hard to provide for his family. Ever since I can remember he worked two jobs. Despite him working two jobs he still had time to spend with me. I remember as a child riding in the car with him to the post office and bank every Sunday night. We would sing and talk together, I really cherished those days. He also instilled a positive work ethic and in my adulthood I saw a strong spiritual side to my dad. I remember as he got close to the end of his time on earth he didn’t pray for himself but prayed for all of his grandkids. He loved his kids and he loved his grandkids.

The second reason it is tough is because of my kids. I have five and I love each of them so much.  The younger three I get to see and enjoy on a daily basis but the older are grown and off in other locations. I will get the phone call or the message from them but gone are the days of hanging out with them. I remember a number of years ago my oldest came over and surprised me by taking me to a Twins game. I really enjoyed that surprise.  As the other three get older and may be away from home I will get the phone call from them as well. Hearing any of their voices brings a smile to my face.

For the two difficult reasons that make Father’s day tough there are hundreds of reason that make it great. Children are a gift from God and it is our role as Fathers to enjoy and cherish every second we have with them. They grow up quick and if you blink you will miss all of the great moments. Here is just one thing for each of my children that every time I do or think of these items it reminds me how special each one of you are.

Melissa – Baseball, for all the games we watched and your first words of Kirby Puckett. Keep up your love of baseball it is the greatest sport.

Megan – Math, for your extreme intelligence in this discipline. It is what will help you be a great doctor. Don’t ever sell yourself short on what you can accomplish.

Emma – Art, for that wonderful artistic ability you didn’t get from me. It reminds me of my dad every time I see your art work. Keep drawing.

Sophie – Swimming, for all those strokes I watch you take, they exhaust me. What do you want to accomplish in swimming, reach for that goals.

Brady – Zelda, for those times we spend playing the greatest video game. You are a great help at finding the bugs and the poes. I would have used t-ball but Melissa was my first t-ball player.

Happy Father’s day to all the dads out there.

Fleas in your Garage

How many of you love to go treasure hunting? How many of you love to go bargain hunting? Or maybe you like to make a little money. A great way to find those treasures and those bargains is to attend a garage sale or a flea market. A way to make money is to hold one yourself or sell you wares at a flea market.

Craft sales, garage sales and flea markets abound during the weekends. You can’t drive down a street without seeing a garage sale sign. The trick is to find the garage sale with the hidden treasure. My wife’s aunt seems to have a knack for finding garage sales that have great items.  Who knows you may even find a hidden treasure that you can take to Antique Road Show or Pawn Stars and get some serious cash.

I enjoy going to flea markets and garage sales but I don’t go to near enough that I would like to. You have to set aside almost a full morning on a Saturday to hit as many that you would like so it makes it worth your while. The best time to go is on a Thursday morning but for those of us who work that requires a day off.

Holding a garage sale is a different animal altogether. It requires gathering up all of your stuff and pricing it. Then you have to spend hours for three days sitting in your garage as the customers come in to try and get you to reduce your price on a 50 cent item to 25 cents. Really, they can’t afford the 25 cents. It isn’t worth the headache for me to hold a garage sale so we donate our items but we do sell some of the bigger items on an individual basis.

Seek out a garage sale or a flea market this weekend and find a treasure for the one you love.

Festival Friday

Every weekend during the summer in Minnesota you can find a festival to attend. Last week I started Festival Friday in which I will try to highlight festivals to attend for the weekend. If you don’t live in Minnesota that is okay there are probably just as many festivals in your state during the summer. Just go on-line and look for the ones that you are interested in.

Last weekend I highlighted Music Festivals and classic car shows. With most festivals there is some type of music but the true music festivals will get the big headliners.

Many communities will create festivals that rally around something that is special to their community. Cottage Grove has their Strawberry festival this weekend.  There is the Steamboat days in Wadena, the Judy Garland Festival in Grand Rapids, Tater Daze in Brooklyn Park and many more. Many of the northern communities center their festivals around the mythical Minnesota lumberjack, Paul Bunyan.

Pick your festival and attend. Maybe your community is having a festival. Check out what they have available at the festival. For example the Cottage Grove Strawberry Festival includes food, music, a carnival and more. I don't live in Cottage Grove I just picked one that sounded fun and ked like you had a number of events and days to choose from.

Follow this link to find more  Festivals in Minnesota.

First Impression

 

Have you ever gone on an interview or met someone for the first time? What impression do you leave with those people? Do you leave an impression of confidence, knowledge and positive attitude?

Leaders are always leaving an impression, some are good and some are bad. Some leave impressions with customers so leave it with coworkers and others with their employees. It is important that leaders are leaving a positive impression with everyone they come in contact with. Just like the athlete, politician or actor, leaders are under a microscope and the impression they leave leaves a lasting impression on the minds of those around them.

There are three things you as a leader can do to ensure that you have left yourself with a positive lasting impression on those you come in contact with. 

• Attitude – You need to have a positive attitude about everything. Even in the grimmest of circumstances you need to stay positive. You need to find the positive in everything you work on or confront. Sometimes you may have to takeaway little successes just to create a positive atmosphere. Those little successes will lead to a big positive. Attitude is everything! No one wants to work with or for a Debbie Downer.
• Knowledge – Be armed and dangerous. Equip yourself with the knowledge necessary to get the Job done. You don’t just want to squeak by you want to go over and above. Do your homework on everything you work on and become the knowledge expert in that area. Even if it is something you don’t like, learn about it anyway. People want to know that you have the knowledge to be the leader they are looking for.
• Confidence – With a positive attitude and good knowledge you will have the bold confidence to succeed. Show that confidence and lay it out in front of those you are trying to impress. If they see that you have confidence to be successful they will want to be part of that success. Instill that confidence in others by encouraging them and sharing with them your knowledge. The more people know the more confident they become in their abilities.

 

Next time you need to leave a first impression go into that meeting with a positive attitude, armed with the knowledge necessary and walk in with your head held high in confidence and boldness. Impress their socks off and you will be the leader they want.  

Tough Decisions

One of the most difficult but important things a leader must do is to make those tough decisions. Sometimes those decisions will not sit well with some people other times the decision will be met with confrontation. Leaders need to be able to make those tough decisions and stand by those decisions. An example is making a decision to downsize and having to let people go. I have been involved in a number of company buyouts where the company I worked for was purchased and a majority of us were let go. It is a tough decision for those companies to make and the employees are always upset.

Another example is the decision you might make as a parent to move your family. Uproot them to a different location. It never sits well with the kids especially if they are teenagers. Just like companies downsize this tough decision has to be made and people have to live with it. What can you do as a leader to make sure those affected by your decision can make the transition smoothly? Here are some ideas that will help you be the leader who not only makes the tough decisions but helps those affected deal with the tough decision.

• Communicate – Let them know well in advance of your intent and don’t downplay what can happen. In one of the company downsize that I was a part of we were told everything will be fine no one will lose their job. They needed to communicate better.
• Compensate – Give the people good compensation a good severance package is always nice and helps soften the blow. As for your kids if you are moving let them have a say in rooms etc.. you can compensate them in ways that will help soften the blow for them.
• Coordinate – Give everyone an opportunity to express their opinion but also give them the tools necessary to help them make that transition. For your employees it should be the availability for them to find a job. There are many companies out there who help people in transition to make it go smoothly. If you coordinate this for them they will know you care about them and it isn’t just about the bottom line.

Use these three Cs to help those affected by your tough decision make the transition smoothly and without incident. It isn’t easy to make that decision but you aren’t the only one it is tough on. Be a people leader and Communicate, compensate and coordinate those you are influencing with your decisions.

Constant Leadership

If you have been a regular follower of my blog you know that I am currently doing a leadership series on leadership legends. I will continue to do that series but it will be one that I will occasionally write. I am stepping away from it to write about other leadership topics. I could spend the rest of my time adding people to the legends of leadership circle.

If you know of anyone who you would like to see spotlighted as a leadership legend please let me know who to contact so I can interview them and get them in the spotlight on my blog.

Have you ever realized that despite your best efforts to step away from your leadership duties you find yourself pulled back in. Maybe you find yourself taking on leadership roles in your child’s activities. Maybe you are taking on a leadership role in areas you never thought you would.

Leadership is a constant thing. You may be a leader at home even though you would prefer to relax and do nothing. You may find yourself delegating chores, being a mentor or managing finances. All of these are leadership traits and it is all around us, it permeates our everyday lives. It is something you cannot permanently escape from but you can spend some quiet time away from it. With that said are you prepared to be the leader you were meant to be? Do you have the tools necessary to lead in different areas of your life?

I created this blog with the intent to help everyone find that leader within. I want to equip you with the tools necessary to be a good leader a strong leader a leader who will soon be a legend. Find that leader within because each one of us has a flame of leadership burning in our hearts we just need the tools to fan the flame and make it burn within us.

Check my blog everyday for down to earth and fun leadership ideas. On the weekends I also look at ways to relax and pull away from leadership even for a short time.

Going Old School

Today I continue my Leadership Legends series. There are a number of people that could easily be put into the legends of leadership category. I would like to get nominations from my readers for people I could interview and put into the Leadership Legends club.

Today we are going back in time a bit, back to the 19^th and early 20^th century to find a woman who had a long desire to make an impact in her world. In a time when women were relegated to housework and raising a family this woman had other thoughts and dreams.

Jane Addams was born in 1860 and died in 1935 and her resume and accomplishments were great. She was a pioneer in the women’s suffrage movement.

Resume:

• Charter Member of the American Sociological Society
• First American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize
• National Chairman of the women’s peace party
• President of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

Accomplishments:

• Started Hull House The first settlement house in the United States
• Gave many lectures and taught college classes
• Won the Nobel Peace Prize for her many meetings with world leaders on preserving peace.
• Became a charter member of the NAACP

Jane Addams settled on a dream, a dream to reach those less fortunate. She truly was a leader, paving the way for peace in her community and the world.

One Day Respite

Taking a one day break on my leadership blog to blog about sports on my sport blog. Please check it out. Sports Short Shot.

Follow me there as well. I blog on that one when I have something to say about sports.

Driving Americana

Have you ever reminisced about your first car? Have you ever dreamed about owning a car from a bygone era? What is it about those cars that make them so appealing?

One of the many Festivals you can find in almost any community throughout the United States is a classic car show. Not always a festival but a great time to enjoy looking at some great looking cars. Some of these classic car shows are held in parking lots of local establishments. In fact a few years ago I took my family to Culvers in Anoka Minnesota and there in the parking lot were 20-25 classic cars that you could stroll by and look at. You even got to talk to the owners of those cars.

Classic cars are an interesting phenomenon. You buy a new car and the value decreases the more you drive. If you can keep that car in pristine condition and even restore part of it you can increase the value after a number of years.

A 1970  skylark (not mine but similar)

If I still had my first car in mint condition it would be bordering on classic car. My first car was a 1970 Buick Skylark muscle car with pinstripe detailing on the body.  Soon I will be able to go to a classic car show and start to see those early 70s cars.

Most of those classic car shows have 50s and 60s cars. My all time favorite is a car that was made before I was alive. My dream car is a 57 Chevy convertible. I love to see those and dream of myself behind the wheel of one of those. Why I have a love affair with a car older than me in beyond comprehension.

I believe the true reason people love the classic car shows and love learning and enjoying those cars is for the stories. The stories that each car can tell gives us a bit of Americana, a bit of the life stories of those who drove it. That is what draws us in. It is the speculation and the mystique of those stories. The stories I could tell about my 70 Skylark, those crazy things you do as a teen, and the trips it took. Like the time I had 19 people in it or the time I drove backwards for 11 blocks on the streets of Minneapolis.

This summer, this weekend, go to a classic car show. Find out the stories, enjoy the history imagine yourself behind the wheel being a leader in the world of leisureship.

Festival Friday

If you have been following my blog you know that it is about leadership but on the weekends write about fun things to do. I like to call it leisureship. Summer is here and part of the fabric of America is that on any given weekend during the summer you can find a festival to your liking. During the summer as part of my ongoing leisureship series I will point out some festivals. I will be writing about the ones primarily in Minnesota but regardless of where you live you can find a festival that will be similar.

Music festivals are one of the highlights of summer festivals and you can find one that suits your style anywhere and almost any weekend. How do you find what festival to attend. There is a website my wife found that lists the top 50 festivals in the United States.

One of the biggest and most famous festivals to occur in the United States was Woodstock. A big music festival going on this weekend in Manchester Tennessee, you still have time to attend, is the Bonnaroo Music andArts Festival.

In the Twin Cities where I live there is a music festival to fit my music likes. It is called the Joyful Noise Family Fest. It is a Christian music festival sponsored by KTIS. We went one year and the music was fantastic. The one thing you must be careful about when attending outdoor concerts is the weather. The year that we went the headliner was Nicole C. Mullin and by the time she hit the stage and started to perform tornado warnings blew and we had to take cover in one of the buildings.

We never did finish because of the rain and the storms but we enjoyed ourselves very much. I will not be attending tomorrow’s festival but will try to get back there in the near future.

Take some time this weekend to explore the many festivals you have available to you and check back often to my blog as I write about festivals I attend or would like to attend.

Please share some music festivals you have attended.

Apple of my i

A legend with reference to people are those who inspire a legend or become famous enough to have legendary fame. Leadership Legends are those leaders who are famous for doing something great in the area of leadership. They are or were leaders in their fields and trailblazers when it comes to innovation.

Yesterday I listed Ronald Reagan as my first person on my Leadership Legend list. Today is a man who died late last year at the age of 56 but his legend lives on in his innovative products and his remarkable marketing technique. This person is former Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

Resume:

·         Started Apple Computers

·         Became CEO of Apple

·         Started his own company NeXT Inc

·         Purchased Pixar

·         Become CEO of Apple part 2

Accomplishments:

·         Made computers available for the general public.

·         Reinvented Apple with products like ipod, ipad.

·         Became Disney’s largest shareholder when Disney bought Pixar.

·         Battled cancer

Not everything that Steve Jobs touched turned to gold. In fact NeXt Inc. didn’t do well and was bought by Apple. His first run as CEO of Apple started good but ended poorly. That is what makes Steve Jobs a leadership legend. He didn’t quit. He kept finding what worked until he got it right. That is the sign of a legend, a leadership legend.

Information and picture courtesy of biography.com

"Dutch" Leadership

Today is my first entry into my Leadership Legends group. I thought of trying to avoid politics because that is easy pickings because you have a lot of people to choose from.  However my first entry is from the world of politics and also from the world of entertainment. This person died 8 years ago yesterday at the age of 93. This man was the 40^th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan.

How this series works is that I give you the person resume highlighting leadership roles they were in and then looking at accomplishments.

Resume:

·         Elected as Student body president at Eureka College

·         Served as President of the Screen Actors Guild

·         Climbed to the rank of Captian during World War II

·         Served as Governor of California

·         Served as President of the United States

Accomplishments:

·         Lead a student revolt against the college president when he tried to cut back the faculty.

·         Lead a group in making over 400 training films during World War II.

·         Lead the SAG through eventful years that were marked by labor management disputes.

·         While Governor he formulated much of his future ideals. Signed the Family Law Act

·         While President of the United States.

o   Supply side economics (reduced taxes, more production and less government)

o   The fall of the Berlin wall

o   Strategic Defense Initiative

o   The economy grew and Americans were prosperous

You may not be a Republican and maybe you didn’t like Reagan but you can see Leadership roles throughout his life. He made an impact in every role he was involved in. You too can be an impactful leader like Reagan. Stand up for your principles and captivate others with your personality. That is what makes Ronald Reagan a Leadership legend.

Photo and information courtesy of Wikipedia. If you know anyone who should be listed in my leadership legends hall of fame please let me know. I would love to send them interview questions and highlight them in my blog.

Leadership Legends

I am going to start a new series on leadership. It is called leadership legends. I would like to over a period of five days look at some legendary leaders. People who were on the cutting edge of leadership. People who changed the way people think about leadership and the way we view leaders today.

I need your help. I would like suggestions on who I should use for the legends of leadership. I want this to be you finding those people who have shaped the face of leadership. I believe that each and everyone of us are leaders there is something in our life that helps us be leaders.

You might not be a leader in your job but maybe you are at home. Maybe you lead a group at church or your child's sports team. Whatever it is we all need those role models, those legends that we look to so we leader

Find me those leaders. Sure I can come up with some. I already have some in mind but I want you to have a voice in this. Who do you know that falls into the category of a legend of leadership? Think outside the box for those legends.

I would like to eventually create a leadership hall of fame on my blog. Highlighting the accomplishments of those leader legends. There are some easy picks but eventually any one of us could be in the hall if we can do something great in the name of leadership.

If you know of a website that highlights the accomplishments of a great leader let me know they could be one of the legends.

Tomorrow we start with our first Legend. I won't tell you who I have in mind but remember it could be someone you tell me about, please share.

Looking for Leadership

Today I decided to blog on my Sport Blog. Check out the leaders on that blog e back tomorrow on this blog examining leadership. Today read about the connection between the three no hitters thrown in baseball and the Minnesota Twins.

The Lawn

Are you one of those people who mow their lawn every two days? Maybe one of your neighbors is that person. I have mowed my lawn twice this year. Pretty scary! I actually enjoy mowing my lawn but I can't really do it in an evening after work. It takes too long and we have a lot of family commitments to attend to. The weekends this season have been wrought with rain so I have only mowed twice.

I think my neighbors were starting to talk but I got it done today. I enjoy the smell of new mowed lawn and I love relaxing afterward in a chair in the yard admiring the finished lawn.

It is a great escape for people to spend their weekend manicuring their lawn and making sure it looks just right. My lawn isn't the best kept, I don't have it professionally sprayed or professionally manicured. However, when it is mowed it looks nice and I like sitting in the yard.

I have a lot of trees in my yard so they create a canopy and nothing beats relaxing in a chair after mowing the lawn under the shade of the tree canopy. Leaders can sometimes find solace and relaxation in the little things. A nice lawn and a nice day in the yard is a welcome change from the sometimes wild  race of leadership.

Next time you are mowing your lawn take some time out to admire it and relax, drinking an ice tea or lemonade and enjoying the hard work of some manual labor. I know I do this every time I mow my lawn. Because I mow it less frequently it is less of a chore and more of a pleasure. You might be one of those mowing it every two days try waiting a while you will find you appreciate it more.

The Sky's the Limit

Today my wife and I took our son to the Blaine Anoka County Airport for a special Aviation days event.  My son has been telling everyone he wants to be an astronaut when he gets older. If he wants to fly a rocket he will have to fly an airplane. He loves airplanes and he wanted his picture taken next to each of the planes we saw.

If you have been following my blog with regularity you would know that every weekend I spend the time looking at what I call leisureship. Ways that leaders (actually anyone) can escape for the weekend.

One of those ways is to spend it at an air show or an aviation appreciation day as we did. It was a very good time we saw some old airplanes we even watched some take off. My son really enjoyed himself as he ran from airplane to airplane looking at the propellers and the wings. He even got up close to a US Army helicopter that had a mounted machine gun.

My son and I in front of one of the planes

There were Navy planes, Mail planes, planes from the 20s and 30s. There were stories for each one except the planes that were outside and owned and flown by people. When we watched one taxi and take off it was fun watching him crank the propeller and then literally right in front of us start moving and taxi onto the runway. You could also purchase a helicopter ride.

If you are looking for something to do take your family to an air show or and aviation event. The cost was very minimal; it was free to walk around. Of course buying items to eat costs money but it is a good time.

One day my son will take me up in one of those planes.

Social Networking

Social networking and social media is all the craze. Almost everyone is linked, tweeting, friending or joining circles. Social networking has allowed leaders to expand their networking quicker and become more strategic in who they network with. It has also allowed people to communicate to a wider audience and sometimes even a strategic audience.

While social networking isn’t a new technology the way we are networking is new. Utilizing websites like Facebook , Twitter, Linkedin and others have helped people connect with long lost friends and relatives. It has also helped people network for jobs and business opportunities. Small businesses can connect to potential customers in ways they never used to be able to do.

Today I am comparing leadership with the three networking sites. What type of social networking leader are you? 

• If you are a Linkedin Leader you are very professional. You like to keep your networking to professional people only. You also conduct business very professionally and you expect a professional attitude from those around you. You are also the type of leader who is willing to help others after all that is what networking really is all about. What can you do for others not what they can do for you.
• If you are a Facebook leader you are very social. You value work but you value your personal life just as much. You also create a fun atmosphere around your company but you do expect work to be done and jobs to be completed. You like keeping your friends close.
• If you are a Twitter leader you like to do things in short segments. You expect things to get done quickly and accurately. Your communication with others is short and sweet. You also don’t mince words. You expect others to get to the point when communicating with you.

What kind of social networking leader are you?