December 15, 2008

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In This Newsletter:

Positive Leadership - Article

Gold Tournament in Memory of Jon's Mom

We'll Always Be Pals - Book Recommendation

Greetings!

An inexpensive gift that delivers the priceless gift of positive energy.

The No Complaining Rule and
The Energy Bus are currently featured at Barnes & Nobles Bookstores in the Business Motivation display. Get a copy for yourself or a friend, colleague, employee, client or manager. The Holidays are here and these positive fables make great gifts, especially during these changing times.

Positive Leadership

In a world driven by numbers, outcomes and short term results building a positive, successful organization requires leaders like you and me to borrow a page from the playbook of John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach. Even though John Wooden was more competitive and wanted to win more than any leader I’ve ever met, he ironically never focused on winning, numbers or outcomes. Instead he focused on the process of empowering his players to be the best they could be. He focused on the culture of his team, the character of his players, winning teamwork, fundamentals and daily improvement. As a result he won a lot.

The same principles apply to the business world. While you have to measure outcomes and results you do so with the knowledge that the outcome is simply a by-product of your culture, teamwork, vision, talent, innovation, execution and commitment to your people and process. After all, it’s not the numbers that drive the people but the people that drive the numbers.

To win you must win with people. Running over people will only get you so far. To create true and lasting success you must invite the right people on your bus, take the time to invest in them, develop them, nurture them and when you help them grow they’ll help you grow.

It’s a simple truth. When you care about your employees and the people you work with they are more likely to stay on the bus and work harder, with more loyalty and greater positive energy. In turn they are more likely to share their positive energy with your customers enhancing service and the bottom line.

That’s why I say the greatest customer service strategy has nothing to do with customer service but rather it has everything to do with how you treat your employees. If you treat them well they will treat the customer well.

It all starts with a decision to be a positive leader and the understanding that leadership is not just about what you do but what you can inspire, encourage and empower others to do. When you are a positive leader you bring out the best within each of your employees by sharing the best within you. Instead of running over the people in your organization you invite them on the bus with you and empower them to help you create an amazing and successful ride.

Do you know someone who is a positive leader? What makes them a positive leader? Share your thoughts on our blog by clicking here.

Download and share these positive leadership resources:

The Positive Business Manifesto

10 Thoughts About Leadership Poster

Stay Positive!

-Jon

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Hospice Golf Tournament in Memory of Nancy Nicolosi (Jon's Mom)

Join Jon Gordon and others on Friday, February 13, 2009 for the 3rd Annual Hospice of Gold Coast 2009 Golf Tournament, in Memory of Nancy Nicolosi (Jon's Mom).

Tournament Information and Application Here

We’ll Always Be Pals

My friend Tom McManus, a former NFL player, has come out with a special book.

We’ll Always Be Pals: The Last Words of a Dying Father and a True Hero!

In the book Tom writes about his life, his football career and his relationship with his father--a true hero. He was a football star, a boxer, and a B-24 Liberator Pilot for the Army Air Core and a POW in Germany during World War II. Tom was out of football for two full seasons after a glorified college career and had left his football dreams behind until one day he got a call out of the blue. And it was his father, his hero, who provided all the inspiration he would ever need to realize his life long dream. We’ll Always Be Pals is ultimately the story of a father and son who were fifty years apart in age yet ended up being the best of friends. For more info visit www.alwaysbepals.com