By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to check your ego to become more productive. Reading time: 2:06.

The next time you’re stuck in a meeting where the words are flying hot and heavy -more on egos and arrogance than on facts and figures —take a deep breath.

You’re not alone.

Bombast and bravura seemingly have always exploded when the best and the brightest convene. Yet the most effective leaders stay alert to keep from the breathing their own exhaust.

Consider John Adams attending the First Continental Congress that met in 1774 in Philadelphia. Adams soon felt a lot of hot air blowing particularly INSIDE.

The bluster and the braggadocio of most of the 54 delegates- who all thought they each were the smartest in the room — whipped in every speech even on the most mundane of issues. That grandstanding made Adams very uncomfortable, according to historian David McCullough’s biography of John Adams.

In a letter to his wife Abigale, John Adams is both amazed and appalled at the assembly of the best and brightest -the framers that would begin building the framework for what would become two years later the United States of America.

“This assembly is like no other that even existed,” Adams tells his wife Abigale. “Every man in it is a great man—an orator, a critic, a statesman, and therefore EVERY man upon EVERY question must show his oratory, his criticism, and his political abilities. Continue reading →