“He who knows much about others may be learned.
But he who understands himself is more intelligent.”

Philosopher Lao Tsu

How understanding are you as a leader?

Do you take the time NECESSARY to understand yourself and others before making an intelligent decision?

Or are you too busy “getting things done?”

Chances are your busy schedule has virtually discounted — or worse yet, discarded- your focus on gaining insight more than information, on seeking a more strategic cause and effect rather than settling for a quick fix.

And now your to-do list — on developing your sense of understanding — remains more OUT standing than outstanding.

And why not? Of course, you’ve got too many fires to put out to take time for fire prevention.

But what if you could get more things done even better the more you focused on understanding yourself and others more fully, the more you focused on understanding the situation and circumstances you and your people are facing in real time?

After all, according to the teachings of Confucius: the highest type of man (and woman) is born with understanding.

The next highest type of man (or woman) acquires understanding.

The next highest seeks to understand as much as he (or she) can.

And the lowest class of man (or woman) does not grasp that there is anything to understand.

With understanding comes self-discovery as Rene Descartes said: “We never understand a thing so well, and make it our own, as when we have discovered it for ourselves.”

With understanding comes a commitment to reach out and listen to — and learn from- others as the prayer of St. Francis says: “Lord, grant that I may not seek so much to be understood as to understand.”

With understanding comes a greater sense of purpose and passion.

And then — with that understanding- the most effective leaders and their staffs get even more done.

For more ideas on how you can develop your sense of a understanding, purchase a 294-page book now available on Amazon. com filled with 77 short stories (5-minute reads called Leadership Mints) of examples from business, sports and politics.

It is titled THINKING LIKE A LEADER.

That book on thinking like a leader is the first of three books in The Leadership Mints Series designed to help leaders refresh their feeling for leading with short stories (called Leadership Mints) you can grab ‘n go like a candy mint.

The two others books focus on leading with empathy LOVING LIKE A LEADER and leading with civility SPEAKING LIKE A LEADER.

What ‘s a Leadership Mint?

Consumed like a breath mint — quick and on-the-go — a Leadership Mint is a short story that energizes leadership behaviors and personalizes leadership principles so they are more easily remembered, more readily acted upon and more fully applied.