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Andy Stanley and I had a great conversation on his Leadership podcast. I hope you enjoyed Part 1 where we discussed setting daring destinations for ourselves and our organizations. Today, in Part 2 of our conversation, we’re going to take a deeper dive into the power of bold decisions to
When I was about 11 years old, the oldest of four children, I wrote a letter to my parents telling them all the things that I would do when I became a parent. I would make the younger children behave. I would not let them have privileges until they did
Guest Post by Mark Deterding. Servant leadership is many things, but one thing it is not is “soft”. Servant leaders have high expectations, both for themselves, as well as for their team. There’s only one way I know to make things better in your organization. Create and share clear, reasonable,
It’s up to leaders to set the daring destinations for their teams and organizations. Daring destinations create the dynamic tension between daring and serving that leads to outstanding results and we all want results, right? I was honored to be a recent guest on Andy Stanley’s Leadership Podcast. Andy is
Apparently our human minds can only remember three or four things at once. Psychologists at the University of Missouri published a paper in 2008 entitled “An assessment of fixed-capacity models of visual working memory.”* Up until this study, most researchers thought we could remember seven things at once – like the
Week 2 video from the Leadership Discussion Guide – What is the Daring Destination? Why are we reluctant to pursue a daring destination for the benefit of those we lead? Is it fear of failure? Absence of ideas? Lack of courage? I’m not sure. But this I do know: A
Seems like the whole month of January is one big football game. I’m not complaining. It’s a great sport. This time of year, the stakes are high, as we approach the game of all games, the Super Bowl. The playoff teams are giving the games their best, with hopes of
As we end 2015, I want to thank you for following and commenting on my blog posts each week. I am grateful for the dialog we are having about leaders who dare to serve. This year, my favorite blog post came from a pizza lunch shared with a landscaping team
This week we contemplate the last of forty reflection questions from the book I authored, Dare to Serve. I hope this journey has led you to new thinking about how you lead. I hope you are encouraged to act on these new ideas so that your followers will be well-served.
The following is an excerpt from Dare to Serve: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life I was once being interviewed for a leadership job in a restaurant company. The interviewer, a senior executive at the company, asked
The following is an excerpt from Dare To Serve: In developing dare to serve leaders, I have witnessed another stumbling block – the absence of personal responsibility. If one believes they have been a victim in this life or if they have a propensity to blame others for their problems,
The following is an excerpt from Dare To Serve: The stories of prisoners of war are both heart-breaking and inspiring. Our hearts break for the horrible things done to prisoners to defeat their dignity. And then we hear the story of the prisoner who was not defeated. Through intense focus,
Will having a personal purpose change your life? I believe so. But the bigger and more important question is – will your personal purpose change other people’s lives for the better? One of our Popeyes franchisees has a purpose “to make at least 10 restaurant leaders millionaires.” I realize this
A few years ago, I went to see the movie Hugo – the story of a young boy, who loses both parents at a young age, and ends up living with a drunken uncle in the clock tower of the Paris train station. The child, Hugo, is fascinated with the
When I was about nine years old, I begged my parents to let me take a gymnastics class. About halfway through the class, my parents came to observe my prowess as a gymnast. I gave it my best – but struggled through the somersault and couldn’t do a cartwheel. On
A couple of weeks ago my daughter was teaching me how to make a chocolate soufflé. She is amazing in the kitchen – and I am barely functional. As part of my soufflé training, she was explaining to me why you put cream of tartar in the mix instead of
Recently I was asked this question: when did you first know that you were a leader? My answer is too easy. I was the oldest of four children. Babysitting at the tender age of nine is my first memory of leadership responsibility. According to my siblings, I was a bit
Tuesday afternoon, I spent a couple of hours with fourteen emerging leaders at Popeyes. This is a group of young leaders who have organized themselves to connect with each other and grow their leadership capabilities. They are primarily Millennials who have been with Popeyes in office or field positions for
Wallenda does daring tight rope acts – over canyons and cities – while we stand and watch with awe. He is so bold and daring, we watch with terrified anticipation. There is a chance he will fall and die, and there is a chance he will safely make the crossing.
When you search the web for an image representing a big idea, you get a lot of pictures of light bulbs. Why is that? Was the light bulb the last big idea? Is it the only symbol of transformative technology? What is it about the light bulb that makes it
At Popeyes, our third principle is: “We are fact-based and planful.” I know that sounds really boring as a principle, but we have to talk about it because it has revolutionized the way we work and helped us reach our performance goals. In the fall of 2007, the work environment
Somewhere along the way to adulthood, we tend to stop listening and learning from others. In fact, it’s worse than that. We start telling everybody what to do – and call it leadership. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Why is this the case? The first thing that
Yesterday morning I visited a summer day camp for children in Traverse City, Michigan. As the children arrived, they were greeted by a welcomomg tunnel of jumping, singing, high-fiving camp counselors. The kids’ faces lit up with excitement as these counselors enthusiastically celebrated their arrival. This was Day 4 of
Think about a time when one of your close friends disappointed you. They let you down. They acted in a way that was inconsistent with your expectations. Perhaps the behavior was so unexpected, you were surprised and taken aback. You couldn’t comprehend why they would act that way. They
Lately it seems that everyone on the planet is in search of their personal purpose. It’s “trending.” Simon Sinek says Start with Why Jon Gordon offers The Seed: Finding Purpose and Happiness in Your Life and Work There is The Purpose of Your Life: Finding Your Place in the World
I have a core belief about people. I believe each and every person on this earth was created and designed to be special. They have unique gifts and talents. I want to help people reach their full potential. But even with that worldview — the strengths of a team member
We have been talking about the importance of knowing the people we lead. This week we continue this conversation by exploring the benefit of knowing the top priority values of your individual team members. At Popeyes, we ask our team members to explore their values and share their top three
Several times in my career, I’ve been asked to play a “get-to-know-you” game at a business dinner. The game is called Two Truths and a Lie. The way it works? Each person states three things about their life that the rest of the people would not know. Two of them
In the second year of my role at Popeyes, trust with our franchise owners remained low, data for decision-making was still limited and consistent positive sales results were not yet evident. My team and I were sitting in a meeting with skeptical franchise leaders, debating the performance results of the
I am a book junkie. If you visit my home, there are certain rooms, like my home office, that are literally overflowing with books. Even my work office has at least 100 books in it. So it will not surprise you that on this Sunday afternoon, I am scanning the
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