The Law of the Lid
Credit: John Maxwell
- There is a lid on my organization and on my future and that lid is me.
- I am the problem with my company and you are the problem with your company
- Your education, character, capacity, ability, and vision are limiting your team
Your Work as a Leader Should:
Credit: MLK
- Have length – something you get better at over a lifetime
- Have breadth – it should touch many other people
- Have height – put you in service to some ideal and satisfy the souls yearning for righteousness
When Leaders Help Institute Change there is…
Credit: Chip and Dan Heath
- Clear direction
- Ample Motivation
- Supportive Environment
6 Techniques to Speak like a Leader
Credit: Simon Lancaster
- Three Breathless Sentences
- “A world at war, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a generation”
- Three Repetitive Sentences
- I love pasta, I love verona, I love tiramsu
- Three balancing statements
- Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country
- If it sounds balanced, it makes it more believable
- CONTRAST
- Metaphor
- Use metaphor every 16 words
- Use to draw people towards things, and to repel them
- Ex. “the Arab Spring” “The financial storm”
- Exaggeration
- Emotional appeal. “I am going to give you my heart and soul”
- Rhyme
- People are more likely to believe something if it Rhymes: processing fluency (easier to digest)
- Learn things from Rhymes as toddlers
6 Gifts Human Gardeners (Leaders) Offer Their People
Credit: Dr. Tim Elmore
They Paint Pictures
Most people think in pictures. Mentors capitalize on our visual minds and paint pictures of the way leadership works by telling stories, using metaphors, or employing images.
The Provide Handles
Every door or drawer has a handle. A handle is something we can grab onto. Good mentors summarize great principles into simple terms that their mentees can get a hold of and understand. They define the principles and give practical ways they can be applied to life.
They Supply Roadmaps
(1) Give us big picture
(2) Show us where we are
(3) Show us roads to take us to our destination
(4) Reveal what roads to avoid
They Furnish Laboratories
A laboratory is simply a safe place in which to experiment and actually practice the principles being learned.
They Give Roots
Plants can only grow as tall as their root systems grow deep. Roots represent the foundation for solid growth. They provide strength and stability; something to stand on. These roots might take the form of a “moral compass,” enabling a mentee to make wise decisions based on healthy values.
They Offer Wings
Wings enable mentees to think big, to attempt huge goals, to not fear taking risks.
Leadership as a Parent
(1) I do it; you watch
(2) I do it; you help me
(3) You do it; I help you
(4) You do it; I watch
Building Culture as a Leader
credit: Dan Coyle – The Culture Code
- Fill the group’s windshield with clear, accessible models of excellence.
- Provide high-repetition, high-feedback training.
- Build vivid, memorable rules of thumb (if X, then Y).
- Spotlight and honor the fundamentals of the skill.
Three Questions Leaders Should Ask Their Teams
- What is one thing that I currently do that you’d like me to continue to do?
- What is one thing that I don’t currently do frequently enough that you think I should do more often?
- What can I do to make you more effective?
Leaders Build Systems with 3 things
credit: Donella Meadows – Thinking in Systems
- Elements
- Interconnections
- Function or an purpose
- A system is an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way to achieve something
The Four Tools of Leadership Discipline
credit: Scott Peck – The Road Less Traveled
- Delaying of gratification
- Acceptance of responsibility,
- Dedication to the truth
- Balancing
The Four Disciplines of Execution
credit: FranklinCovey
1. Focus on the Wildly Important: Focus on the one or two goals that would make all the difference.
- Focus your finest effort on the one or two goals that would make all the
difference, instead of giving mediocre effort to dozens of goals. Leaders must learn how to create energy around the most important projects,
not just what’s on fire.
2. Act on the Lead Measures: Lead measures tell you if you’re likely to achieve the goal.
- Lead measures tell you if you’re likely to achieve the goal. They can be influenced by the team and are predictive of the outcome. Lag measures tell you if you’ve achieved the goal.
3. Keep a Compelling Scoreboard: This helps your team know the score at all times.
- This helps everyone know the score at all times, so they can tell whether or not they’re winning.
4. Create a Cadence of Accountability: Meet weekly to report on commitments and review the scoreboard
- This is where the execution happens. Your team should meet weekly for 20–30
minutes to report on commitments and review the scoreboard. Disciplines 1, 2, and 3 set up the game, but until you set up Discipline 4, your
team isn’t in the game.
Tools to Improve Your Leadership
credit: Craig Groeschel
- A discipline to start
- The courage to stop
- A person to empower
- A system to create
- A relationship to initiate
- A risk to take

The Habits of Excellence
How to Change Your Perspective as a Leader
credit: Mark Batterson
Change of pace + Change of place = Change of perspective
The Laws of Combat Leadership
credit: Jocko Willink
- Cover and Move
- Keep Things Simple
- Prioritize and Execute
- Decentralize Command
Leadership Psychology of Growth
- Help the person get their story straight (where are you now? Where are you going?)
- What is it that you’re afraid of that’s stopping you from moving forward?
The 80% rule of Decision Making
Based on 80% of the information available are you 80% sure this is the right decision?
Storytelling as a Leader
credit: Donald Miller
- Stories are the best invention to deliver mental models that drive behavior, how we make meaning of life
- Simple structure to stories: a character has a problem, then meets a guide who gives them a plan and calls them to action. That action either results in a comedy or tragedy
- A character: a person who will take the journey
- The Problem: three levels, external, internal, and philosophical
- Meets a Guide who Understands their Fear
- And gives them a plan: you used to think this way, I want you think another way
- That calls them to action
- That results in a comedy
- Or results in a Tragedy
The Rule of Three
- When telling stories: Find a Beginning, a Middle, and a End
- In a crisis: Assess, adjust, act
- Look, listen, speak
- In conversation: Ask the person to go deeper 3x and you’ll get closer to the truth
Building a System of Belief – Constructing a Culture
- Why – Purpose – Belief (ethos)
- What – Pillars – Values (pathos)
- How – Processes – Systems (logos)
Did this help you lead with Excellence? Share with 1 person you know today.
Thanks for Reading

Change Your Habits. Change Your Life.
Get instant access to your FREE Daily Planner and Habit Tracker