Last week, SSG attended the Chick-fil-A Leadercast as a guest of our client, Booster. The speakers were phenomenal, the entertainment was mediocre (kidding – Booster was responsible for the entertainment and did an incredible job!), but the insights…the truth that each and every component of the day offered was remarkable and worth repeating. Daily.
Here are a few of the nuggets I took away:
On Leadership…
“Leadership is who we are in all areas of our life, every role, every relationship.” – Connie Podesta
“Talent is God given, be thankful. Praise is man given, be humble. Conceit is self given, be careful.” – Tony Dungy
“You can’t take anyone to higher ground, until you find common ground. Leadership is influence. Influence requires connecting.” John C. Maxwell
On Success…
“Greatness is not a function of circumstance – it is a matter of constant choice and discipline.” –Jim Collins
“Starbucks didn’t reach store No. 5 until they were 13 years old. Most ‘overnight successes’ are 20 years in the making.” – Jim Collins
“Success, born of hubris (arrogance) leads to failure.” – Jim Collins.
“The signature of the greatest executives we studied is their humility.” – Jim Collins
“You have to be working for more than your financial bottom line. Every enduring institution has an answer to this question: what would be lost if we disappeared?” – Jim Collins
“Great companies are built on a purpose beyond making money and a set of core values that are unshakable. Purpose ahead of success. If we lose our values, we lose it all.” – Jim Collins
On building a team…
“The right people are on a mission and they don’t write better stories, they make the story better.” – Jim Collins + Mark Sanborn
“We hire ambitious people. The most important job you have is the job you’re doing.” – Ed Bastian, Delta CEO
“Employees take care of your customers, so take care of your employees.” – Ed Bastian, Delta CEO
“If you treat people like they’ll do something great, they’ll do something great.” – Jim Goodnight, SAS CEO
On inevitable change…
“We’re schizophrenic to change: part of us wants it, part of us doesn’t. And if you don’t like change, don’t have kids.” – Chip Heath (ha!)
“Positive change comes from focusing on what’s working and doing more of that.” – Chip Heath / When’s the last time you asked, “What’s working?”
“Providence follows the prepared mind.” – Steve Uzzell
“To the 6 questions of journalism—who, what, when, where, why and how—add this: are you sure? Making sure you know what you know is the key to being prepared.” – Steve Uzzell
Brilliance…
Dr. Ben Carson, pediatric neurosurgeon, was utterly brilliant and closed the day with powerful teaching. Learn about his scholarships at http://carsonscholars.org/.
And I’ll leave you with this pic of our friend John Maxwell wearing Booster’s fancy red Converses on stage!
