Pile On Motivation

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Category: Self Help

  • “Ambition” for self vs a “Just cause”

    All high performing leaders are incredibly ambitious.

    What makes their ambition different and in turn helps them rally followers and supporters around them is that their ambition is for a “just cause” not for self.

    When followers are shown a futuristic “just cause” for achieving something larger than themselves it can lead to a big impact.This is when followers get viscerally involved to realize something in order to achieve fulfillment in their lives.

    Thus when ambition is directly towards the betterment of a company , a just cause it has far reaching impact.

    Adopted from Jim Collins’s “Great By Choice” and Simon Sinek’s “The Infinite Game”

  • How to succeed in an “unforgiving environment”?

    Look at the behavior patterns of the following 10X high performing leaders:

    1. Herb Kelleher of South West Airlines – Predicting 11 of the last 3 recessions
    2. Andy Grove of Intel –  “Always looking for the black cloud in the silver lining”
    3. Bill Gates – Issuing nightmare memos in Microsoft

    By embracing the myriad of possible dangers , they put themselves in a superior position to overcome danger due to an “unforgiving environment”.

    These are leaders who succeeded in uncertain , unforgiving environment through deliberate , methodical and systematic practice.

    Adopted from Jim Collins’s book titled “Great By Choice”

  • Is “Productive Paranoia” good for high performing organizations?

    The high performing 10X companies are ones who maintain hypervigilance in good times as well as bad.

    They are always on their toes wary of disruption and hence competing with themselves to be a better version everyday.

    These companies constantly consider the possibility that events could turn against them at any moment and hence to counter such unpredictability they are always better prepared.

    Such “Productive Paranoia” thus keeps a high performing 10X organization afloat to be better prepared in the “Infinite Game” of business.

    Adopted from Jim Collins’s book “Great By Choice” and Simon Sinek’s book “The Infinite Game”

  • “Progressive Insurance” – a first of its kind

    Progressive Insurance under the able 10X leadership of Peter Lewis became the first publicly held company to report underwriting results monthly.This was way back in 2001.

    This was not only against conventional wisdom , it was a step that went a long way in making “Progressive’s” reporting processes much more transparent to Wall Street investors.

    Please find below the link(source progressive.com)highlighting “Progressive Insurance’s” journey.

    https://www.progressive.com/about/history/

    Adopted from Jim Collin’s book titled “Great by Choice”

  • “Empiricism” over “Analysis” or vice versa?

    10X leaders are characterized by unique traits that enable them to stand tall when the chips are down.

    Following conventional wisdom when the tide is rough is not something that can help someone stand out of the rest of the pack.

    Hence 10X leaders be it Andy Grove of Intel or Ronald Amundsen who conquered South Pole , favor empiricism as the foundation for decisive actions.

    Had analysis based on conventional wisdom always worked , 10X leaders would not have stood out

    Adopted from Jim Collin’s book titled “Great By Choice”

  • “Avoiding conventional wisdom” during uncertain times

    Social psychology research dictates that during times of uncertainty we should look up to experts as to how to proceed in the best possible manner.

    The pattern of all 10X leaders be it Peter Lewis of Progressive Insurance , Herb Kelleher of SWA , suggests that during uncertain times they did not do what the pundits said.

    They primarily looked up to empirical evidence and faced the problems head on.

    This is what makes them different.

    Adopted from Jim Collin’s book titled “Great By Choice”

  • What goes into FANATIC DISCIPLINE ?

    Fanatic discipline is one of the 4 facets manifested by 10X high performing leaders as mentioned by Jim Collins in his book “Great by Choice”

    Discipline in essence means consistency in action , with respect to:

    1) Consistency with values

    2) Consistency with long term goals

    3) Consistency with perfomance standards

    4) Consistency of method

    5) Consistency over time

    Adopted from Jim Collin’s book “Great By Choice”

  • What does 10X leadership entail?

    10X leadership a term coined by Jim Collins in his book titled “Great By Choice” is a term used to understand how some leaders are able to give their organizations 10 times more growth than others , given the same environmental conditions.

    The four defining qualities of such leaders are:

    1)Fanatic Discipline – These keeps the companies on track

    2) Empirical Creativity – This keeps the culture vibrant

    3) Productive Paranoia – These keep the companies alive and kicking

    4) Ambition – This gives the much needed sense of intrinsic motivation

    Watch out this space for more..

  • Leadership lessons of the day

    “If every member of a team doesn’t grow together they will grow apart.” – Simon Sinek

    Adopted from Simon Sinek’s book titled “Find Your Why”

  • Are you living your WHY?

    Simon Sinek pioneered the concept of WHY as one which gives us purpose and meaning in our lives.We should each strive towards finding out our real purpose or “WHY” in our lives for a fulfilling life.

    When we say and do the things what we truly believe our behavior is regarded as consistent.This is when people start believing in us and are loyal to us.This is true integrity that we exhibit.

    This is when we are truly living our WHY.

    Adopted from Simon Sinek’s book titled “Find Your Why”