Leadership Lessons - General Colin Powell

When you can't say it better than someone else, let them say if for you. Thanks to the team at Slideshare and more importantly - vivekpokhare for taking the time to capture the information and post this presentation.

General Colin Powell A Leadership Primer

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Quaterly Performance Review

The first three months of 2010 have passed already. So now is a good time time to go back and review the goals and objectives that I set for for the year and assess - where am I up to in my progress?

My original resolutions and focus areas can be summarised as follows -

1. Compliance.
2. Excellence.
3. Teamwork.

So how do I rate my progression so far this year?

Compliance -A; Excellence - B+; Teamwork - B+.

(Note - I usually rate myself a bit harder than I should so I am happy with the results to date.)

• Compliance is the single biggest area that needed working on. And I feel that I am succeeding in that. Compliance is defined as - following instructions, adhering to regulations and making sure others are aware and also comply with the guidelines set out for the organisation.
• Excellence is coming along nicely and it's always easier to a task properly or the best of our ability when it is something we care about and get some fulfillment out of.
• Teamwork is going well. This year has been odd because the 'team' I manage has changed. I now have seperate two areas to focus on. In order to look after both I have had to let go of who I thought was most important (staff) for others who are just as important but take up far more of my time (students).

As far as my personal goals go - I am well on my way to getting to where I want to be. By July I will have completed half my goals for the year which will line me up nicely for finishing the year that I thought I would at the beginning of the year.

"We have no control of the locations of our dreams, we do however control the steps and paths we take on our way to get there." (Me).

How are your goals going so far this year? Are you achieving? What area's do you think you need to spend a bit more time on before you make your next appraisal?

Swiss Army Knife - Management Lessons Intro.

What is old yet hasn't aged, has hardly changed since it's conception, is an essential item for Boy Scouts and was made popular in a TV program?

After posting a photo of a Swiss Army Knife it got me thinking. Could I use the army knife with it's many tools, facets and quirks as an analogy and an illustration for managers.

The answer? Yes. Yes I can. (LOL)

In order to appreciate the knife we must first understand it's history and where it has come from. Here are some facts about the knife -

• The knife is 125 years old. Great designs, functionality and usefulness make the knife an essential item.


• The knife was originally designed to provide soldiers with - a knife, a can opener, a reamer and a corkscrew. These tools enabled to the soldiers to complete a wide variety of tasks including the assembly of their weapons.


• There are five main variations on the original model.


• MacGyver made the knife glamorous by showing off it's usefulness while trying to get out of many a sticky situation.

So what can we learn/apply so far?

• Usefulness and adaptability lasts. If you are useful and can adapt to different situations - you will always be in hot demand. The ability to apply yourself in arrange of ways is the best trait to have!


• Train and gain competence and expertise in about four or five different areas. Those areas can be overlapping or poles apart. The main thing is to make sure you have a range of skills and not just one skill.


• There are basic skills and competencies that can be carried over across all managers and managerial positions. Find out what those are and work on them.


• Situations that allow you to apply your skills practically is a good thing. MacGyver was always getting himself into sticky situations. What did he do? Every time he went back to basics and used the tools he had to change his situation.

Keep reading the blog as I work my through the basic elements of design and functionality of the knife. Learn with me lessons on management and managing that you can apply now!

Dilbert - Classic!

There are two stories being told in the above -

1. The way you see yourself is powerful. If you let negativity to cloud your thinking your actions will follow in a negative way as well. Think positively and see yourself in the same way and you can change your life! See 'The Winners Bible' for some great ideas to get you started.
2. The way you see a task is powerful. You can choose to get better and follow a line of constant improvement or you can stay stuck.

"I realized that if I was going to achieve anything in life I had to be aggressive. I had to get out there and go for it ... I know fear is an obstace for some people, but's an illusion to me." Michael Jordan.

Know Thy Self

One key method for ensuring you are progressing as a manager and a person is to engage in reflection time. Yes, this does include some soul searching but not necessarily in a spiritual way.

One great method is to spend the last 10 minutes of every day writing down your thoughts under the following categories -

1. What went well today?


2. What didn't go so well?


3. What could I have done differently?


4. What will I do differently tomorrow?


5. What do I need to accomplish tomorrow?


6. What do I need to finish the number of days I have left this week?

By reflecting and improving on the little areas in life then you are well able to make adjustments that will work better into the future.

"If we don't change our direction we're likely to end up where we are headed". Chinese proverb.

"The self aware person is able to gain an accurate and appropriate perspective on events in their life, and instinctively brings simmering feelings into awareness. The self-aware person is a positive person, and recognizes that there are only ever 'positive people' or 'negative people' in life, business or sport" (Lead to succeed - Craig Lewis).