Who is Bo Burlingham and what you can learn from him: Bo Burlingham is a shining example of what can happen when a person does not take no for anRead More
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]]>Bo Burlingham is a shining example of what can happen when a person does not take no for an answer and simply finds a new way to do their own thing. After years working for Inc during the early 1980s as an executive editor, he resigned that position down to an editor-at-large in order to pursue his own interests.
From there, he wrote many successful books about life in the modern business world, giving out helpful tips to all of his readers about how employees can own their own companies. There is a great deal that an entrepreneur can learn from Bo Burlingham, so let’s focus on the five most crucial lessons.
It would have been easy for Bo to get comfortable and settle down at Inc. After rising to the position of Senior Editor, Burlingham could have allowed himself to become satisfied. Most people would have been fine with remaining in that position and thinking of ways to advance the company that gave them the job.
It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make it to any sort of senior editing position at a major publication. Most would not have wanted to see all of that effort potentially go to waste while they take the time to chase after a dream.
However, Bo Burlingham is not most people. Instead of settling in, getting comfortable and allowing himself to fall into complacency, Burlingham decided to strike out on his own path, leaving Inc to publish his own books. Had he not had the courage to do this, he never would have had the time to write The Great Game Of Business, a book that has sold hundreds of thousands of copies.
Burlingham wrote a book entitled Small Giants. In this book, he does a deep dive into what makes small businesses successful. One of the main reasons he discovered? Smaller companies are more able to train their focus on being the absolute best at what they do. Whereas larger companies may find that it is more important to be everything to everyone, a smaller company spends their resources on performing one particular task.
By specializing, smaller companies are able to stand shoulder to shoulder with their larger counterparts and experience many of the same benefits. People are not looking to make purchases from the largest company possible. The consumer is all about finding the best quality at the most affordable price. The company that provides a top notch service and does not allow themselves to be hemmed in by traditional success definition is the one that will prosper over the long haul.
Small Giants delved into a variety of smaller companies, with the objective of showing readers how all of these companies were able to become so successful, so quickly. Whether it is a record company, a deli or a microbrewery, there are a variety of principles that define prosperous small businesses.
Even a tiny company can go about the same tasks as a corporate giant and experience continued success. While these tasks take place on a smaller scale, a company still must raise the necessary capital, invest the funds wisely and choose the right times to expand their operations or make pivotal acquisitions.
One of the most pivotal that an entrepreneur can take from the works of Bo Burlingham is that it does not matter how big or small a company is. The route to success is the same as it would be for a large company. Small business owners are encouraged to take the lessons that have worked for big companies and apply them to their own situation.
A common mistake made by entrepreneurs is that they do not trust their employees to get the job done. In Burlingham’s book, The Great Game of Business, he outlines the benefits of an open book management style. He did not come up with these strategies in a Fortune 500 boardroom or at a high end business meeting.
Instead, Burlingham investigated the plight of a company known as International Harvester. When all of the employees of this heartland factory stood to lose their jobs forever, they banded together and came up with a solution: the open book management style.
When employees feel like they are truly an integral part of the equation, their performance becomes much better. Burlingham has preached the importance of allowing your employees to know about how the company is functioning as a whole. This keeps them from being taken by surprise when certain events occur.
When Burlingham came together with Norm Brodsky to write Street Smarts, he did so with one goal in mind: showing people that there is no magic list of bullet points that an entrepreneur can hit that will guarantee their long term success. He preaches the importance of your overall mentality when trying to start a new business and displays the importance of street smarts.
Being book smart is not enough. An entrepreneur needs to know how to read people and judge a situation that may not come with a helpful handbook. Burlingham also teaches his readers that there will be mistakes made along the way and that these mistakes do not have to come to define you. It is how you rebound from these errors that determines your level of success.
Preview Finish Big with Bo Burlingham himself
Buy Finish Big by Bo Burlingham on Amazon today
Visit BoBurlingham.com to learn more about Bo and his books
Visit SmallGiantsBook.com to learn more about Small Giants
Visit TheKnack.info to learn more about Street Smarts
Visit EvolveUSA.org to learn how Evolve is using Finish Big to build its organization
Follow Bo Burlingham on Facebook and Twitter
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]]>A summary of things you should know about MOXIE: The Secret to Bold and Gutsy Leadership according to John Baldoni: Introduction In this episode, John Baldoni takes us on aRead More
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]]>In this episode, John Baldoni takes us on a deep dive into his book MOXIE, where he reveals the secrets to bold and gutsy leadership.
In his book, Baldoni shares the competence, credibility, and confidence that leaders, like Dolly Parton, Sergio Marchionne, Ben Hogan, and Nelson Mandela, use to succeed.
This book is perfect for the entrepreneur who understands leadership, but needs some help preparing to lead not only his or her self but also lead a team more effectively.
I’ve turned the word moxie into an acronym that contributes to the idea of moxie and leadership. Moxie stands for mindfulness, opportunity, x Factor, innovation and engagement. All of these things work together to prepare a leader to lead not only him or her but also lead their teams more effectively.
I would say at least read the prolog and then jump into the chapters that fits you best.
All of us have the ability to be resilient and to demonstrate determination. Don’t be swayed by obstacles in your way, look at obstacle’s as opportunity to succeed in your goals.
In the prolog I talk about moxie which is the guts, gumption and determination that leaders use to succeed. Good leaders have fire, drive and are resilient. Leaders have to have streets smarts and have real world experience.
There are three things that go into your sense of moxie which I call the three C’s – Competence, Credibility and Confidence. Leaders with moxie do all three.
The first chapter of the book is about mindfulness. In this chapter I talk about a hero of mine who is Nelson Mandela. Nelson exemplifies mindfulness which is a sense of being in the present but for a leader it’s not just enough to live in the moment. As a leader you have to be aware of your situation. As a mindful leader you want to know how your people are reacting, what to do to engage them and what the questions are that they are facing.
The second chapter is about opportunity and I begin with a story about Ben Hogan who was a famous golfer. Leaders need to be looking for what the next thing is going to be. In the book I had the opportunity to talk to Adam Grant who wrote Give and Take. Adam says that there are givers and takers and I think as a leader we must be more on the giver side of things. Leaders are those who create opportunities for others and that’s where that giving can nurture it.
The third chapter covers the X factor which is rooted in character. As my icon for X factor I chose to talk about Margaret Thatcher. She exhibits what it means to be grit and gritty. I talk about how it’s important for a leader to have compassion and empathy to understand others. It’s also important for a good leader to humorous, ambitious and curious.
The fourth chapter is about innovation. In this chapter my profile is on Sergio Marchionne who is the CEO of Fiat. I like to think of innovation as the application of creativity. We all have a chance to be creative but it’s what you do with those ideas that make sense. Sometimes we are intimidated of the word innovation because we think we have to hit a homerun with a new product but that’s not exactly what innovation is.
Our final chapter is about engagement which is how a leader gets out of his or her skin and interacts with the people around them. This chapter was a lot of fun to write because my profile was Dolly Parton. In this chapter I talk about how leaders reach across and understand the needs of their people and deliver on them.
NOTE: That was just a summary. To get the full deep dive, play the audio clip at 04:50
I am an executive coach and author. My brand new book Moxie is number 13 on my list. I am chair of leadership development at N2growth. My passion is instilling leadership in others and providing them pathways to success.
It came out of the financial crash of 2008 when we saw a lot of senior executives throw up their hands and say they’ve never seen things so bad before. These executives did not demonstrate any sense of resilience, perseverance or moxie. I wanted to talk about how leader’s gutsy gumption will help them and their teams succeed.
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith
Buy MOXIE by John Baldoni on Amazon today
Visit JohnBaldoni.com to learn more about John and get in touch with him
Visit MoxieBook.com to learn more about the book and download the free tools
Follow John Baldoni on Twitter
Download the full transcript here (coming soon)
Listen on iTunes, Stitcher , and SoundCloud
Related books:
Leaders Open Doors by Bill Treasurer
Managing Whole People by Mark Herbert
The Prosperous Leader by Jacob Engel
Relevant advice and tips:
5 Characteristics of a Great Leader
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