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Jim Clemmer's Leader Letter
Practical Leadership: Inspiring Action, Achieving Results
Permission to Reprint: You may reprint any items from The Leader Letter in your own printed publication or e-newsletter as long as you include this paragraph:
"Reprinted with permission from The Leader Letter,
Jim Clemmer's free e-newsletter. For over twenty-five years Jim
Clemmer's practical leadership approaches have been inspiring action
and achieving results. His 2,000+ presentations and workshops/retreats,
five bestselling books, columns, and newsletters are helping hundreds
of thousands of managers worldwide because they are inspiring,
instructive, and refreshingly fun. And best of all, they work! His web
site is www.clemmer.net."
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If you are reading a copy of this newsletter that was passed along to you, ensure you don't miss future issues by subscribing here: http://www.clemmer.net/newsletter/leader_signup.aspx.
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Blog On to Our Site!
Every
month I get dozens of e-mails on everything from articles and books to
presentations and retreats. And for the most part, I think I'm pretty
good at responding. But in a world where the "Speed of Change" is
increasing every day, there are better ways to receive, respond and
share these exchanges within our community.
So
I've started a blog (web log) on Practical Leadership to create
discussions, promote feedback and solicit your comments. This is a big
change because instead of me talking at you, I'm opening a dialogue
with you – just like my workshops and presentations!
I'll frequently post my thoughts on "Leadership" – sprinkled with real life experiences from my travels.
You can find it at www.jimclemmer.blogspot.com.
The
great thing about a blog is that through the beauty of RSS you simply
click on either of the following images in Firefox or the new Internet
Explorer (version 7) to add my blog to your feeds.
You can then track updates without adding another site to your daily "must visit" list.
I'm very excited about this. I hope you find it useful and I hope you participate in the conversations!
A Few Blog Highlights
Here are some of the topic areas I started blogging in March. Click on any one of the titles to go to that topic.
Thoughts That Make You Go Hmmmmm...on Influencing Others
"Executives
fall into one of five categories of decision-making styles:
Charismatics are intrigued by new ideas, but experience has taught them
to make decisions based on balanced information, not just on emotions.
Thinkers are risk-averse and need as much data as possible before
coming to decisions. Skeptics are suspicious of data that don't fit
their world view and thus make decisions based on their gut feelings.
Followers make decisions based on how other trusted executives, or they
themselves, have made similar decisions in the past. And controllers
focus on the facts and analytics of decisions because of their own
fears and uncertainties.
But most business presentations aren't designed to acknowledge these different styles — to their detriment."
- Gary A. Williams and Robert B. Miller, "Change the Way You Persuade" Harvard Business Review
"Many
people attempt to influence others without having done their homework.
They don't understand the issues well enough to articulate their
position. Many people feel that they will be able to influence based on
their charm and good looks. Unfortunately, this rarely works. What
works is intelligently explaining the issues and providing rationale
for others to follow your position."
- Jack H. Zenger & Joseph Folkman, The Extraordinary Leader: Turning Good Managers Into Great Leaders
"We often refuse to accept an idea merely because the tone of voice in which it has been expressed is unsympathetic to us."
- Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher
"Before
you criticize people, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way,
when you criticize them, you're a mile away. And you have their shoes."
- Author Unknown
"Persuasion
is a process, not an event. Rarely, if ever, is it possible to arrive
at a shared solution on the first try. More often than not, persuasion
involves listening to people, testing a position, developing a new
position that reflects input from the group, more testing,
incorporating compromises, and then trying again. If this sounds like a
slow and difficult process, that's because it is. But the results are
worth the effort."
- Jay Conger, "The Necessary Art of Persuasion"
Complete Our Survey for a Chance to Win an Advance Copy of My Forthcoming Book
I published my first issue of The Leader Letter
in April 2003. I said in that inaugural issue that it was going to be a
try-monthly – we'd try to get it out each month. I am happy to say we
didn't miss a single issue in the last four years!
Most months I've enjoyed writing The Leader Letter.
There have been some very busy times when meeting a deadline was not
real high on my fun list. The style, approach, content, length, and
regular features of this monthly e-newsletter have evolved over time.
Reader feedback by e-mail and through discussions at many workshops and
speaking engagements have been helpful.
On this, our fourth anniversary, we've reached a crossroad. Last month I started a blog that will cross-connect with The Leader Letter.
We have completely revamped our web site and our new Marketing
Director, Aidan Crawford, is now busy revamping that revamp (visit
regularly to see what we're up to). We've added dozens of video clips
to the site. We've done a few podcasts and are looking at more along
with videocasts.
And I am busy writing a completely different style of book that we'll be publishing later this year. This one has the working title (often not the final title) of Moose-on-the-Table: A Fable of Courageous Conversations in the Workplace.
This book is my first work of fiction. It's a fable built around Pete
Leonard, a struggling manager in an organization with a big moose
problem (if you're not familiar with my use of this metaphor and
approach, go to the October 2004
issue). I am having a blast writing it. I can't wait to get it into
readers' hands for feedback on this new direction in my writing.
So we really need your help to shape the future of The Leader Letter. Please take five minutes to complete a short survey on how you've used The Leader Letter and what you'd like to see in it. Go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=955363529869.
Everyone
who completes a survey with their name and e-mail address will be
entered in a draw to win one of twenty-five signed pre-publication
copies of Moose-on-the-Table hot off the presses! So take the survey today and...Happy Hunting!
Special Leading @ the Speed of Change Presentation in Toronto
If
you're in the Toronto area, going to be there in mid-May, or want a
good excuse to visit, you may be interested in a presentation I'm doing
for the Toronto Chapter of the Canadian Association of Professional
Speakers (CAPS). It all starts with my most popular keynote
presentation, Leading @ the Speed of Change.
This
keynote relates to how strong leaders navigate toward high performing
teams and organizations by balancing the discipline of systems,
processes, and technical skills using seven Timeless Leadership
Principles.
After a
short break, I will continue with a forty-five - sixty minute overview
of how my career has evolved within the industry and how we currently
run The CLEMMER Group. This section is designed for current or aspiring
professional speakers, trainers, and facilitators, but I'll be sure to
add enough flavor to appeal to all those curious enough to stick around.
May 14 from 1:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Travelodge Hotel, 925 Dixon Rd. (near airport)
Eatonville Room
Google map
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=925+Dixon+Rd+mississauga&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=34.059976,95.800781&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=16&om=1&iwloc=addr
I
will have copies of my books and other leadership resources available
at steep discounts. For more details and to register, go to the Toronto
CAPS website at http://www.canadianspeakers.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=232.
Favorite March Improvement Points
Improvement Points
is a free service providing a key thought or quotation from one of my
articles, provided three times per week, directly to your e-mail inbox.
Each complimentary Improvement Point links directly into the full article on our web site that spawned it. If you'd like to read more about that day's Improvement Point,
you can choose to click through to the short article for a quick
five-minute read. This is your opportunity for a short pause that
refreshes, is an inspirational vitamin, or a quick performance boost.
You can circulate especially relevant or timely articles or Improvement
Points to your team, Clients, or colleagues for further discussion or
action.
Here are the top three most viewed articles in March:
"The
root cause of poor or just mediocre customer service has to do with
will. Most managers don't focus on their customers and
internal/external partners because they're too busy managing. They've
become Technomanagers focused first on technology and management
systems."
- from Jim Clemmer's article, "A Customer Culture is Built on a Service Ethic"
Read the full article now!
http://www.clemmer.net/articles/article_115.aspx
"An
effective leader is a "people person." Effective leaders connect, stay
in contact with, and are highly visible to everyone on their team and
in their organization. Leaders have developed the skills of
supercharging logic, data, and analysis with emotion, pride, and the
will to win."
- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Manage Things, Lead People"
Read the full article now!
http://www.clemmer.net/articles/article_366.aspx
"As
the years slide by, a growing number of people don't really live, they
merely exist — trapped in their lives of quiet desperation. Just
getting by is as dangerous as resting in the snow on a frigid winter
night; our passion and spirit dozes off and dies in our sleep."
- from Jim Clemmer's article, "Apathy and Cynicism Zap Our Spirit"
Read the full article now!
http://www.clemmer.net/articles/article_49.aspx
One-Day Leading @ the Speed of Change Workshop in Winnipeg
Leadership
is clearly THE key to success. That's why it's such a popular topic.
But despite all the talk about leadership and change, many "change
fatigued" people are still struggling with just how to
strengthen their personal effectiveness and leadership. Many
supervisors, managers, and executives are confused by the multitude of
leadership grids, charts, formulas, jargon, fads, charismatic stories,
and buzzwords. Frontline staff often end up with a sense of "there they
go again on another tangent." Or "they are doing it to us again."
The
Manitoba Quality Network/QNET is bringing me to Winnipeg on April 11,
2007 for a rare one-day workshop. Please join me for a fast-paced,
highly interactive and very inspirational and practical learning session with my most popular topic area: Leading @ the Speed of Change: How to Align People, Processes, and Personal Effectiveness for Continuous Success. Check out the session or download a PDF workshop brochure here.
This session is especially powerful when groups from the same organization participate in the workshop together.
As
we'll discuss, there are no instant answers, quick and easy steps, or
guaranteed approaches. What's more important than what's new in the
leadership field, is applying what works. That's why I
am constantly distilling my decades of research, thirty years of
experience, and collection of best practices into easily understood,
highly energizing, and practical applications. This Leading @ the Speed of Change workshop
continues to be very popular because it inspires action and provides
'how to' steps that – when used as directed – can dramatically boost
results.
Intensive Two-Day Leading @ the Speed of Change Public Workshop
For
over twenty-five years I've made it my mission to help managers and
management teams apply proven leadership principles and best practices
in order to catapult them towards peak personal and professional
performance.
I've taken that
experience, along with the research from writing my five best-selling
leadership and organization effectiveness books, and boiled everything
down to a two-day intense workshop called Leading @ the Speed of Change.
Each
day is packed with practical guidelines, powerful systems, and personal
growth strategies for leaders on the grow. By the time we are finished
participants have intimate knowledge of the tips, tools, and techniques
of aligning people, processes, and personal effectiveness for
continuous success.
While most of
my work is internal to organizations, I'm holding a special two-day
session in Kitchener (my hometown and centre of my universe) at the end
of May – open to the public. This is the only public session in my
schedule for this year, so I'd encourage everyone to join me in my
hometown for an event that will inspire you and your colleagues to
action, with practical 'how to' steps that dramatically boost personal,
team, and organization results.
Register now!
Check out the session or download a PDF workshop brochure at http://www.clemmer.net/events/lsc.aspx. There are special discounts for bringing colleagues along so you can learn and apply these principles together.
Feedback and Follow-Up
"I
am hungry for your brand of teaching on management and leadership. I
will purchase a couple of your books for my colleagues and friends, so
that they may benefit like me. What I particularly find valuable about
your books and articles are the examples you use and quote from leading
companies in the world. I work for the Vodafone group of companies in
Africa and your web site has been invaluable to me in terms of
realizing that we share practices with some of these Fortune 500
companies; this has definitely given my job more meaning and purpose."
Regards,
Mike Kariuki, Nairobi, Kenya
I am always delighted to hear from readers of The Leader Letter with feedback, reflections, suggestions, or differing points of view. Nobody is ever identified in The Leader Letter without their permission.
I
am also happy to explore customized, in-house adaptations of any of my
material for your team or organization. Drop me an e-mail at Jim.Clemmer@Clemmer.net.
Keep learning, laughing, loving, and leading – living life just for the L of it!!
Jim
Please post or forward this newsletter to colleagues, Clients, or associates you think might be interested – or on a 'need-to-grow' basis. If you received this newsletter from someone else, and would like to subscribe, click here: www.clemmer.net/newsletter/leader_signup.aspx
The CLEMMER Group
10 Pioneer Drive, Suite 105, Kitchener, ON N2P 2A4
Phone: (519) 748-1044 ~ Fax: (519) 748-5813
E-mail: service@clemmer.net
http://www.clemmer.net
Copyright © 2007 Jim Clemmer and The CLEMMER Group
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