The metaphor of the dragonfly is genius. The name is a tribute to the “Butterfly Effect,” which is itself built on chaos theory. It describes how the flapping of a butterfly’s wings might have an impact on the weather halfway around the world. The dragonfly, however, moves with tremendous speed and force, and compared to a butterfly, it has about 20 times more power in each flap of its wings. Imagine the potential when this is harnessed and coordinated on a mass scale.

Small acts can create big change, and working in concert maximizes our ability to go farther, faster—and in any direction we choose. As beautifully written in one of my favorite Beatle’s song, ‘Come Together’, we have the potential to come together and make a difference in our organizations, schools, and our world. Amazing what we can learn from a dragonfly.

In the spirit of full transparency, it is with a healthy combination of passion, excitement and fear that I welcome 11/1/11. It has been a year+ of hard work, tumultuous learning curves, and – quite frankly – frustration. Writing a book is not for the faint of heart. Simply stated: the publishing industry is changing rapidly yet remains broken.

So what have I learned in this process? Well, I could cathartically write a book on how to write a book from my perspective, as there is so much one does not know until you are knee deep in it and by that time the only option is to keep plugging forward! Yet, what I would like to share in this particular blog is a single keen awareness about myself, which may prove insightful, stimulating or maybe even encouraging to those of you facing similarly challenging entrepreneurial roles, corporate leadership positions, or simply living life in general.

Passion trumps fear.

The fact is that I have always wanted to write, ever since I was a little girl. Thus, I did – starting when I was a child. A book was the dream. I believe in order for dreams to come true we have to put in place a plan fueled by discipline and move stubbornly forward in faith. In my case, the fear of rejection, failure and all the other types of risk associated with this dream fell second to the passion. Sure, I am still greeting 11/1/11 with some trepidation, yet the fact is that I have jumped out of the plane, hoping the parachute opens! Regardless, the experience has been tremendous and I have learned a lot which I will undoubtedly use with my Alignment, Inc. clients and in the writing of my second book.

Net: passion was the key for me. Without that, this book would never have seen the light of day.

Is This Seat Taken? Dallas Book Launch from Kristin Kaufman on Vimeo.

1. Know your stuff. They are both smart, enterprising, studied leaders. Neither stopped learning when they assumed each new position; in fact, I believe they studied even harder.

2. Talk straight. Though many many may disagree with their positions, giving the “straight and skinny” is  imperative in their roles. There is no room for watered-down diplomacy; there has to be diplomacy anchored in facts. Candor can indeed be a powerful approach in negotiations.

3. Be brave. Popularity is not the end game. Being brave – to stand tall in the face of controversy from all sides, including their own – is a requirement. Can you even imagine going into the various situations they faced – from 9/11/01 to today’s tumultuous unrest – all around the world?

4. Take nothing personally.  This gets easier as we move up the ladder of success. Regardless, we are all part of the “human condition”, and have feelings. Despite the many lives lost, hard decisions made, and sharp criticism of these respective leaders, they both stayed the course against formidable odds.

5. Always do your best. It cannot be disputed that these women, as different as they are in approach, style and values, work like Trojan horses. They continually put their best foot forward; again, it matters not whether we agree with their individual stances on issues. Their work ethics are undeniable.

Of course, neither of these leaders are perfect. They have faults, have made mistakes, and certainly are still learning. Yet I, for one, admire both of them for their contributions and what we can learn from their examples.

1. Go for perfect. Steve Jobs sweats the details. Enough said.

2. Tap the experts. Jobs hired I.M. Pei to design the NeXT logo, for example! Imagine, a world class architect designing a logo.

3. Be ruthless. Jobs is as proud of the products he has “killed” as the ones he has released. Focus. Fail fast. This will free up resources to focus on the right things. He scrapped a Palm Pilot clone when he realized that cell phones would eclipse PDA’s – and this lead to more engineers focusing on the IPod.

4. Shun focus groups. He believed that “people don’t know what they really want until you show it to them.” So he was his own one-man focus group – testing and playing with products himself for months. Interesting perspective – from a true creative leader driving innovation.

5. Never stop studying. He studied German and Italian cars for the Mac design case. He poured over Sony’s use of fonts, layouts, etc. He never stopped learning, growing, and challenging the status quo.

6. Simplify. His design philosophy is constant simplification. The classic example was when he asked the Ipod engineering team to lose ALL buttons, except the on/off button – which lead to the iconic scroll wheel instead!

7. Keep your secrets. Everyone – everyone – at Apple is on a “need to know” basis. This secrecy allowed Jobs to generate frenzied demand which lead to global headlines and lines from every Apple store around the block.

8. Keep teams small. The original Mac team was only 100 folks! This maintains strict accountability and tight communication.

9. Use more carrot than stick. Enthusiasm inspires long hours and “insanely great” commitment from your employees. Jobs is scary smart and tough as nails – yet his charisma is his most powerful attribute.

10. Prototype to an extreme. Everything from Apple is tested and tested – for years. Steve Jobs was known for scrapping a project after a year+ of time and resources on a prototype and start over from scratch.

We can all learn a tremendous amount from Steve Jobs – from his resiliency in the face of cancer to his perseverance when Apple faced tougher times in past decades. Yet, one of the most valuable lessons we can learn is his (and his team’s) approach to creativity – how can we apply these simple tips to our work?

• Reach up, across and below to build your extended team. It is not enough to reach out to those who think like you do. It is imperative to reach out, truly meet others where they are and listen to what they have to offer, learn from it, and integrate it into your approach. There is no room for ego. If others do not “get” you, look in the mirror and make sure you are making every effort to “get” them.
• Create opportunities for others who are not on your immediate team to connect with you. This means that you become more accessible. Go to their areas in the building. Go to their offices, lunch rooms, and even offer to actually walk through the manufacturing line, or go out in the field with them to meet with their customers. You will be amazed at what you may learn through another set of eyes and ears; not to mention the bridge you will build with the other person.
• Have open-door “town halls,” district meetings, brainstorming sessions – and do not limit it to those in your organization or on your team. Go deep and broad – and give them an active role in the meeting. Ask for input, their first impressions and their “Devil’s advocate” perspective. The contrary viewpoint can often open tremendous creative thinking on how to address an issue or obstacle in the market.
• Be vulnerable. We do not ever have all the answers; and as leaders it is silly to act as if we do. Admit what you don’t know – or are not sure of.  Even if you may think you know it all, keep quiet. Ask questions. Be open. It will be fun to hear what others have to offer – and it will be amazing how this small action will open the door to being truly productive and building an inclusive partnership.
• Be grateful  – sincerely grateful. Give credit openly and often – where credit is due. Then GIVE back way more than you ever take from others. It will always come back ten fold.

There is no faking the art of inclusiveness. Folks can tell an obligatory “so, what do you think?” a mile away. So, lower the defensiveness. Realize all that we don’t know, and ask for help from others. When we are asked our opinion, and then having someone really listen to what we have to say, can be the magic key that opens the door to truly powerful partnering across silos, departments and within teams which find themselves at odds. Give it a try!

Those of us in business (and those managing our own households) must embrace reality regularly. I live with real challenges of new proportions as I build a business, publish my first book, and reinvent my overall professional platform – all in the worst recession our generation has seen in our lifetime. I have to make brutally tough decisions every day. My funds are not unlimited; trade-offs must be made and faced. Things I once considered “given” are now luxuries. There is no magic button to push, and no giant bank in the sky from which to borrow.

A few basic business thoughts for our government leaders to consider:

1. We must spend less than we make to keep our businesses profitable. We need to live within our means. Simple concept – yet, for some reason hard for our nation to grasp. If we borrow, we have to pay it back on time and not default. There is no other option for us as individual business people unless we file bankruptcy. Is that an option we want to face as a nation?

2. When we are under the gun to make payroll, we have to prioritize around what absolutely must go right to stay afloat. We must do those things. Other things must be cut until we become profitable again.

3. We have to face the reality that there is the marathon race and a sprint race. We must determine which race are we in today and what strategy needs to be deployed. The races are different. Things will continue to change; nothing is permanent. However, hard choices must be made to look the current tiger in the eye. Oh – and this concept applies to everyone. Everyone will be affected and ultimately owns where we are – and where we are going. We are all in this together.

4.  We must save and invest (even if this is a relatively slight percentage) for the future – if we don’t, who will? How to invest? We have to go back to our priorities and the “race” we are running. What is our obligation to our shareholders? What is our strategic intention as a business? Where are we going and why? What will enable us to continue to honor our bylaws, our rules of governance, and provide a strong place of employment for our constituents? (These questions absolutely apply to our nation, our forefathers, our veterans, and every legalized American living today. We own it.)

5. We have to continue to GROW our business. Operational cuts are never the only or the ultimate answer. We must grow, expand and diversify. Top-line revenue is the lever to pull. Sure, making budget cuts to continue to take fat out of our system is a necessary step – we refer to this as “working smart.” Yet, we also must have a strong strategic growth plan to keep business healthy. All else ultimately leads to cutting into bone to meet financial demands – and that is not a sustainable answer.

What do you think? I am not asking for political opinions, but perspectives on how basic business principles of aligning our strategy, our values, our investments, and ultimately our judgment calls could apply to the current realities facing our country.

Doug highlights 16 leadership attributes, anchors them with verses from the poem, and together they provide the leadership framework outlined in his book. He then exemplifies these attributes with famous historical leaders as examples. The attributes he outlines are: character, authenticity, integrity, self-efficacy, ambition, vision, boldness, resilience, inspiration, courage, selflessness, stamina, composure, patience, enthusiasm and accountability. The leaders Doug has chosen to illustrate the various attributes include some obvious choices like Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa and George Washington, as well as some less obvious choices.

There is considerable wisdom to be garnered from Doug’s perspective. One grounding tenant is the foundation for his book: the pursuit of self awareness. My clients – individual and corporate – know this is a core belief of mine, as well. Who we are, what we believe, what we hold most dear and the courage to embrace and act upon these beliefs and principles define our life and destiny.

There is no question that any leader who embraces the quest for continued learning will benefit from this book. Read it. Learn from it. Share it.

Think of the “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King. Think of the John F. Kennedy speech inspiring us to put a man on the moon. Think of Ronald Reagan’s speech assuring and comforting us after the Challenger disaster.

What did these speeches have in common? What role did images, word selection, tone, and emphasis have in these addresses? What healing power did these words bestow on the listeners? What do we use in our language when addressing our teams, our companies, and our stakeholders to inspire, lead, and empower?  How can we use language in our daily interactions to show our authenticity and build followers through this approach?

“The power of words is immense. A well-chosen word had often sufficed to stop a flying army, to change defeat into victory, and to save an empire.” ~ Emile de Girardin

He offers: “Almost at any level, the really successful people in organizations are the ones who try to structure their lives to learn, get feedback and be self-aware. That’s not necessarily a natural thing to do, so you have to be very mindful of it.” How true this is.

Visiting with a client today, the conversation revolved around what he wanted to do, what he wanted to become, what he wanted to contribute and offer AND, most importantly, what was holding him back from pursuing those things. He was struggling to become truly aware of what he wanted. He lacked feedback and a true understanding of ‘how he was doing.’ We all need this. We need an outside perspective. As Paul points out, we also need an inside perspective, which is often harder to get! We have to dig deep. We must strive to become self-aware and KNOW ourselves. Then, we must be true to ourselves. We have to look the tiger in the eye and face what we are most afraid of facing. We have to be willing to admit mistakes, learn from them, and keep on moving.

This particular interview struck me with its raw honesty and broad perspective. Worth a read and your comments!

Then think about a time when someone introduced you with: “He works with me.”  How does that make you feel? On a peer level? A team member? On equal footing?

The point is this: it is actually irrelevant if you work for someone, let’s face it, we all work for someone! Whether this be an actual boss, a client or a customer, we all are working in service for and to another. Yet, by simply changing the word ‘with versus for’ when referring to those on our team, alters the dynamic from subordinate to one that communicates an equal footing, teamwork and trust. From my own personal experience, I know which dynamic fosters loyalty and generous contribution. Do you?