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Practicing the Rhythm Method

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to help you achieve more with less. Reading time: 3:25

Fred Astaire danced his way out onto a golf course driving range in the 1938 movie Carefree.

golf swing Without missing a step, he picked up a golf club and swung at six balls each teed up and lined side by side. He swung six consecutive times. All six shots landed on the green. The film crew was amazed. Fred Astaire had a rhythm—a sense of momentum that drives the productivity of all leaders.

With a sense of rhythm, leaders get on a roll where it seems everything can be accomplished and nothing is impossible. With a sense of rhythm, leaders focus more on the task at hand like the military chants at boot camps when the soldiers are marching or running: “Sound Off 1-2, Sound Off 3-4, Cadence Chant, 1-2-3-4.”

That chanting-that rhythm- powers passion and purpose; promise and performance. That’s why Nikos heralds rhythm in Zorba the Greek . Watching the seagulls , he beams : “That’s the road to take; find the absolute rhythm and follow it with the absolute trust.”

That’s what leaders do. Leaders find the absolute rhythm and follow it with the absolute trust.

Leaders quickly get into the swing of things. They flow with the action. They “let” it happen as the Zen philosophers espouse. In a rhythm. With a purpose. Practicing the rhythm method, leaders purposely give birth to well-conceived ideas optimally timed and targeted rather than struggle with unplanned consequences they may have to ruefully pursue or regretfully abort.

Continue reading

Leadership Lessons from Bees ‘n Bugs

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to learn how to leverage your resources. Reading time: 3:21.

Study bees and you can glean some intriguing leadership lessons from the way they work together.

BeeYou can also learn leadership tips from a variety of insects — from grasshoppers, ants, and fruit flies to caterpillars and termites. Consider these nine ways to “bug” your business for greater success.

Teamwork

Bees have distinct roles. There are the worker bees and the explorer bees.Worker bees are Harvesters and explorer bees are Harbingers, defined as one that pioneers or initiates a major change.” And the explorers (Harbingers) are designed to fly and find new sources that the workers bees can harvest. Leadership Lesson: Don’t try to be something you are not meant to be. Continue reading

Playing the Name Game

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to influence others. Reading time: 3:32

Iceland isn’t. Iceland isn’t a land of ice.
And Greenland isn’t. Greenland isn’t a land of green.

Geyser erupts in Iceland

Geyser erupts in Iceland

In fact, it’s the other way around: Iceland is green and Greenland is ice.

Iceland is a country filled with large green forests, hot springs and geysers. So why did the Vikings name this verdant country Iceland?

And Greenland is more like a frozen tundra — a huge floating ice cube in the Arctic. So why did the Vikings name this arctic country Greenland?

The Vikings were playing The Name Game. They used names to influence how others reacted to newly discovered lands.

The Vikings Name Game helped them keep the warm geysers of Iceland to themselves and divert others to Greenland. So they played The Name Game to deceive, manipulate and exploit with names. Hardly the stuff of leaders.

But Playing The Name Game -with integrity and credibility-is the stuff of effective leadership. Continue reading

Smelling the ROSE of Persuasion

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to strengthen your persuasive skills. Reading time: 2:18

Think of a ROSE the next time you’re trying to persuade someone.

rosesROSE is an acrostic for four distinct initiatives you can use to strengthen your persuasive skills.

R is for Reciprocal.

O is for Opposite.

S is for Scarcity.

E is for Enticement.

Reciprocal

Give something for something in return. Samples in a grocery store. Retailers conduct sales: Buy one get second one ½ price. Fast Food establishment issue BOGO coupons (buy one/get one free). Car dealers offer Continue reading

Leadership cues from Mother Nature

By Peter F. Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea on learning from Mother Nature. Reading time: 2:57

Alaskan glacier

Alaskan glacier

What can leaders learn from Mother Nature in developing an effective leadership environment.

Let’s first visit Mother Nature’s glaciers in Alaska. The ice isn’t white. It’s blue, a turquoise blue. The glaciers are so densely packed that the oxygen in the ice chemically behaves more like nitrogen.

Are your employees turning blue?
Are they packed in too close to each
other either on the factory floor or in the office?

Now let’s take a look at birds: Eagles, condors and albatrosses build their nests high in trees or cliffs or mountain tops. They must take off downhill in order to fly.

Are your eagles —high performing workers—
forced to build their homes too close to the ground?

A sparrow hawk is full-grown and flying in 26 days. That’s because all birds of prey have to grow up fast especially in cold weather. They must be big enough to hunt before the winter arrives. Continue reading

Earning Your Stripes With Sincerity

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to strength your ethical behavior. Reading time: 2:12

Are zebras -black- with white stripes? Or white —with black stripes?

az_zebrasWho cares? Leaders do-leaders with integrity.

After all, with integrity well-founded, there is no quandary on seemingly ambivalent issues.

With integrity well defined, there is much more greater understanding of conflicting points of view. With integrity well-conceived, there is much more focus in defining a meaningful vision.

Indeed with integrity, there is more clarity in delineating and defining a zebra’ stripes than meets the eye.

Zebras are -white -with black stripes despite plenty of contrary evidence. Why?

Researchers tell us the black stripes vary in color but the white stripes demonstrate more integrity. The white stripes of a zebra are always uniform, clearly delineated. With integrity.

Like the root word on “Integrity” — Integer -or a whole number. No wonder wholesome integrity is critical to a leader’s decision making. Continue reading

Planting Your Diversity Roots Deeper

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to enhance diversity in your thinking. Reading time: 3:56

It was a working lunch. The vice president saw a teaching opportunity as she held her fork like a conductor’s baton over his tomato and alfalfa sprouts salad.

alfalfa-sprouts-with-tomato “Take a good look at the alfalfa sprouts crawling in, around and through this salad,” the vice president told her staff. “Not very appetizing. No wonder that straw-like fiber is more often fed to dairy cows, beef cattle and horses.”

She paused, then looked around the conference table and allowed the conundrum to settle in and asked: “So why am I eating it?” The vice president noted she likes the crunchy texture that offsets the soft tomatoes which she called “a little diversity for the taste buds.” But even more pertinent, she said alfalfa is one of the most nourishing greens on earth. It has more percentage of protein than beef.

“And why?” the vice president wondered. Again she paused for a dramatic affect and then added: “Because its roots reach deeper into the soil than any other herb. At least 10-20 feet and even at times up to 100 feet. “

The vice president then sharpened her focus and her teaching point for her team on the significance of pairing this crunchy, deep-rooted, protein-rich alfalfa with a soft tomato. “It takes a deep root system to utilize all the different nutrients in the soil to produce a quality salad like this,” said the vice president. “What if we could extend our roots deeper throughout our organization to leverage even more and different nutrients to produce even greater quality work like this alfalfa and tomato salad?” Continue reading

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