The Essence of Leadership by Mac Anderson

Today, I am pleased to present you 
The Essence of Leadership by Mac Anderson
Make Good Habits and They'll Make You
Leadership is a complicated topic,
because there are probably as many definitions of leadership,
as there are leaders in the world.
That's because a leader is a person with many roles
( soldier, coach, entrepreneur, department head,
politician, teacher, minister)
as well as parent, spouse, and other personal roles.
History has identified many qualities
and characteristics of great leaders,
and of course, no person embodies them all.
But the great leaders I've known, or read about,
have one simple thing in common:
They have developed their leadership styles ,
around their personalities and their values,
and in the end, their actions are consistent 
with what they truly believe.
Some people think leaders are born.
I don't. I think leadership skills can be honed 
if you understand your strengths and weaknesses,
and this understanding starts by knowing what to look for.
In The Essence of Leadership,Mac Anderson has tried to share 
some of the "lessons learned" in his 30 years as an entrepreneur.
As in his other books, he tell stories to reinforce each point,
because for he , the right story at the right time ,
can inspire an "Aha!" moment that is hard to forget.
I'd like to share the chapter titled:
Make Good Habits and They'll Make You.
Enjoy!
An excerpt from
The Essence of Leadership
by Mac Anderson
All of the great leaders I've known, or read about,
share a common belief.
If you make good habits, good habits will make you.
This wisdom has been around since ancient times.
In fact, it was Aristotle who said,
"Excellence is not an act...it's a habit."
Here's a little test to display the power of our habits.
Cross your arms as you normally would,
and look down to see which one is on top.
When I do this exercise with audiences,
invariably about half of the audience members
will have their right arm on top 
(I do) and the other half will have their left on top.
When you crossed your arms for the very first time,
you might have been still in your playpen,
and you've been crossing your arms the same way ever since.
Now, cross your arms again,
but this time put the wrong arm on top.
It feels extremely weird! 
If I were to challenge you to cross your arms the "wrong" way 
for the rest of your life, could you do it?
Probably. Would it be difficult? You bet it would!
Here's the point: Habits - good or bad - are difficult to break.
Therefore, the challenge for every leader
is to determine the good habits 
that will drive the success of their organization.
Once the desired habits are identified,
good training and continual reinforcement are critical
in making them part of your organization's culture.
Food for Thought...
I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest asset or heaviest burden.
I will push you up to success or down to disappointment.
I am at your command.
Half the things you do might just as well be turned over to me,
For I can do them quickly, correctly, and profitably.
I am easily managed; just be firm with me.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine, though I work with the precision of a 
machine and the intelligence of a person.
You can run me for profit, or you can run me for ruin.
Show me how you want it done. Educate me. Train me.
Lead me. Reward me.
And I will then...do it automatically.
I am your servant.
Who am I?
I am a habit.
For more information, to look inside this book,
or to watch the 3 minute inspirational movie,
just click here.

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