Orrin Woodward's prolific blog has so many outstanding points that I decided to repost this piece on association. His all-time top 100 leadership book RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE is filled with nuggets of wisdom to help someone live the life he has always wanted. Here's the article.

The older I get and the more I study the more I realize the full truth of the statement – Birds of a feather flock together. Indeed, I learn as much, if not more, about a person from his associations than I do from spending time with him personally. Why is this so? Because people can play a role for a period of time, but their association gives them away their true interests.

One of the most significant reasons why the Mental Fitness Challenge (MFC) is sweeping the nation is the power of the community groups to help the changes stick. In other words, even if a person works on his attitude, if he still associates with whining, complaining, stinking-thinking attitudes in his free time, he will struggle greatly in his personal transformation. In contrast, Will Rogers stated, “A man only learns in two ways, one by reading, and the other by association with smarter people,” so a person must associate with others who sharpen him.

Roger’s quote explains how a person can overcome tough personal circumstances and still succeed in life. Simply put, by changing his information and association inputs, he or she will start to change the result outputs. This doesn’t mean a person should ditch his old friends, but it does mean he should be discerning of the environment so his new inputs influence his friends, rather than the old inputs influencing him. The LIFE Business is a step-by-step program to change the inputs, association, and outputs, in order to win in life thanks the the LIFE Business Compensation Plan.

Success isn’t easy, but then again, neither is failure. However, the price of success is paid in easy monthly installments of desire, discipline, and deeds, while the price of failure is ignored until it becomes an unmanageable mountain of debt, destruction, and despair. I walked down the failure path for years; but thankfully, by God’s grace, I was turned back from the precipice of purposelessness and detected my magnificent obsession. Laurie and I want to reach one million people plus with life-changing truths that make a difference in their lives. What is your magnificent obsession?

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Posted by OrrinWoodward at 8:42 AM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, October 30, 2012 8:43 AM EDT

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Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady are more than just top leaders and founders of the LIFE Business. They write intelligently on more subjects that any leadership authors, at least that I'm aware of. Anyway, as an example, here is Orrin explaining the Delian League and how the Athenians changed from freedom fighters to freedom killers. The Five Laws of Decline explain so much. Here's the article.

The Greek City States Alliances

The Greeks were a small band of city-states bound by racial ties, but without a coercive federal union. The Five Laws of Decline (FLD) were held in check by the divided sovereignties of the Greek city-states; however, this changed with the unifying effect of the war against Persia. Initially, Sparta and the Peloponnesian League led the Greek alliance, but after the Persian’s retreat from mainland Greece and the Greek’s counterattack and victory march into the Ionian (Greek) colonies of Asia Minor, the Persian War was effectively over.

The Spartans, to their credit, wanted to terminate the alliance and enjoy some peace and tranquility. Sadly, however, once the Greeks realized the capabilities inherent in united action, the divided sovereignty stage of Greek life ended, and the empire, along with the FLD, began. With the Spartans backing out of leadership, the Athenians, led by their commander Xanthippus, vowed that if no one else would protect the Ionians of Asia Minor, then the Athenians would, especially since Asia Minor, for the most part, originally consisted of colonies from Athens.

The Delian League

In 477 BC, on the island of Delos, the Athenians led a congress of over 150 states to create a new alliance called the Delian League to fight against the Persians. This league changed the character of the Greeks forever as it launched the ravages of FLD on a scale previously unknown. Without realizing the inherent dangers associated with FLD and empire building, the Greeks formed an offense-minded league to plunder gains from weaker enemies and replace their conventional defense-minded leagues of the past. Despite the noble official aim of the Delian League, “to avenge the wrongs they suffered by ravaging the territory of the king,” in actuality, the league existed to “utilize the burgeoning might of [the] new Athenian Empire to expropriate unjust gains from league members and various victims in surrounding areas.”

Basically, there were three main objectives of the Delian League: defend against further invasions by Persia, avenge Persia’s invasion, and divide the spoils of war gained by the allies. Each ally was given a choice to either offer armed services or pay a tax into the league treasury. Given the strength of the Athenian forces and the fear of the Persians, most of the states chose to pay the tax in lieu of providing men and ships. The FLD grew rapidly under this fertile field for plunder. As the Athenians realized the ability to reap profit without efforts, the taxes quickly increased, the alliance of friendly states turned into Athenian hegemony over its weaker brethren, and the Athenians ventured out with a funded, aggressive, and victorious military seeking further plunder.

Thucydides commented on the transformation of Athens from ally to empire builder:

Of all the causes of defection, that connected with arrears of tribute and vessels, and with failure of service, was the chief; for the Athenians were very severe and exacting, and made themselves offensive by applying the screw of necessity to men who were not used to and in fact not disposed for any continuous labor. In some other respects the Athenians were not the old popular rulers they had been at first; and if they had more than their fair share of service, it was correspondingly easy for them to reduce any that tried to leave the confederacy. The Athenians also arranged for the other members of the league to pay its share of the expense in money instead of in ships and men, and for this the subject city-states had themselves to blame, their wish to get out of giving service making most leave their homes. Thus while Athens was increasing her navy with the funds they contributed, a revolt always found itself without enough resources or experienced leaders for war.

The Five Laws of Decline (FLD)

By analyzing the behavior of Athens, one quickly identifies the FLD (discussed in my book RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE in the Legacy chapter) at work helping to destroy Greek liberty.

First, because of Sturgeon’s Law, it was only a matter of time before the absolute power derived from the Athenian’s dictatorial position drew proto-Machiavellian operators into the leadership positions. The Delian League’s political structure would have required angels, not men, in order to limit the possibilities of aggrandizement inherent in the Delian League’s design.

Second, Bastiat’s Law bloomed when the Athenians realized that, since they were receiving the taxes (tributes) and providing the protection, they also could dictate the terms of the “alliance” because he who has the gold makes the rules. Naxos, was the first island to realize its error and challenge the Athenian political control by attempting to withdraw from the league. The Athenians (the former lovers of liberty) viciously attacked and defeated Naxos, forcing the inhabitants to tear down their wall, surrender their fleet, and lose their vote in the Delian League. Naxos, in other words, was no longer an ally in the Delian League, but rather a prisoner of the Athenian Empire. Other states quickly read the tea leaves, and Athens resorted to threats and attacks to subjugate any allies brave enough to question Athenian hegemony.

Third, Gresham’s Law reared its ugly head by driving any noble politicians of liberty underground. Consequently, the only politicians remaining played power politics games to run the coercive league for personal and professional gain. By 461, the conservative Greek Cimon was ostracized, leading to further influence from the democratic elements led by Ephialtes and Pericles. This signaled the end of the official alliance with Sparta and the beginning of preparations for war between the two rival factions of Greeks – Peloponnesian and Athenian. Easy gain and plunder drove out the character-based conservative leaders and replaced them with plunder-hungry Machiavellian war leaders who catered to the democratic masses.

Fourth, as the Delian League digressed from an alliance into an empire, the Athenians invested time into two plunderous activities: further empire building and continued repression of any “allies” who objected to the Athenian dictates. The Athenian League grew in size and repression. Therefore, the Law of Diminishing Returns (LDR) hindered its effectiveness. In addition, the fear of the Athenian League drew a multitude of rivals to unite under the equally strong Peloponnesian League. Guess what happens when the unstoppable force meets the immovable object?  LDR drained the resources of the Athenian and Peloponnesian Leagues while they fought one another for decades in a dispute over greed, plunder, and power – all initiated thanks to the corrosive effects of FLD.

Fifth, the Law of Inertia ensured that the liberties enjoyed by the former independent Greek city states would be difficult, if not impossible, to revive. Each city was forced to choose between one league or the other, as the risk of facing either empire was too great on any one state’s meager resources in comparison with those of the empire. The era of independent city states was finished, and the inertia slammed the door on the previous liberties as powerful alliances were the only way to ensure protection against subjugation. Ironically, the independent city states, in other words, surrendered their independence for fear of losing their independence.

The subsequent Peloponnesian war weakened both leagues, leaving all of the Greeks prostrate before Macedonia and Alexander the Great. Liberty was snuffed out by innate desire for plunder caused by allowing the FLD to work unchecked. The Greek people would remain subjugated to the Greek, Roman, and eventually the Turkish Empire - their ignoble reward for ignoring the Five Laws of Decline.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Posted by OrrinWoodward at 7:37 AM EDT

Updated: Thursday, October 25, 2012 7:42 AM EDT

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Orrin Woodward continues to blaze a leadership trail. His first leadership book, co-authored with Chris Brady, hits the NY Times bestseller list. His bestselling solo book RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE made the All-Time Top 100 Leadership Books list. In addition, in 2011 he was awarded the IAB Leadership Award of the Year and launched his second multimillion dollar leadership company called the LIFE Business. The interesting thing about the LIFE Business is the low cost of entry - only $49.99 to get started changing your life. Here is one of Orrin's articles on community.

The older I get and the more I study the more I realize the full truth of the statement – Birds of a feather flock together. Indeed, I learn as much, if not more, about a person from his associations than I do from spending time with him personally. Why is this so? Because people can play a role for a period of time, but their association gives them away their true interests.

One of the most significant reasons why the Mental Fitness Challenge (MFC) is sweeping the nation is the power of the community groups to help the changes stick. In other words, even if a person works on his attitude, if he still associates with whining, complaining, stinking-thinking attitudes in his free time, he will struggle greatly in his personal transformation. In contrast, Will Rogers stated, “A man only learns in two ways, one by reading, and the other by association with smarter people,” so a person must associate with others who sharpen him.

Roger’s quote explains how a person can overcome tough personal circumstances and still succeed in life. Simply put, by changing his information and association inputs, he or she will start to change the result outputs. This doesn’t mean a person should ditch his old friends, but it does mean he should be discerning of the environment so his new inputs influence his friends, rather than the old inputs influencing him. The LIFE Business is a step-by-step program to change the inputs, association, and outputs, in order to win in life thanks the the LIFE Business Compensation Plan.

Success isn’t easy, but then again, neither is failure. However, the price of success is paid in easy monthly installments of desire, discipline, and deeds, while the price of failure is ignored until it becomes an unmanageable mountain of debt, destruction, and despair. I walked down the failure path for years; but thankfully, by God’s grace, I was turned back from the precipice of purposelessness and detected my magnificent obsession. Laurie and I want to reach one million people plus with life-changing truths that make a difference in their lives. What is your magnificent obsession?

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Posted by OrrinWoodward at 7:44 AM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 7:54 AM EDT

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Tim Marks, one of the LIFE Business founders recently wrote on the four personality types. Learning and applying these principles into one's life will make a huge difference. Orrin Woodward teaches that man's mind once stretched by a new idea never returns to its original dimensions. Here's Tim's post.

As we each build our leadership communities, one thing that quickly becomes obvious is that people are unique!  Everyone has their own history, their own list of accomplishments, their own family situation, their favorite sport, favorite food, and their own personality style.  Despite all of the differences, when you start spending a lot of time with a lot of people over the years, you start to see some patterns in behavior emerge.  For example, you see that certain people are shy, and certain people are really confident.  Some people really love details and tasks, and some people just love to be around friends.  With practice, you can start to recognize the general patterns in people’s personalities, it can help you understand them a little better and relate to them more successfully.

Recognizing the different personality styles is nothing new.  People have been studying other people for as long as people have been around!  For example, a very famous Greek Philosopher named Hippocrates (after whom the Hippocratic Oath for medical practitioners is named) believed that in order to be healthy, your body needed equal amounts of four specific liquids. He called these liquids “humors” and they listed them as black bile, yellow bile, phlegm (“flem”), and blood. If you got sick, Hippocrates and his students thought it was because you had too much of one of these humors. So, they tried to cure you by removing some of those fluids! (Not always successfully, mind you, and not a very wise decision to begin with.  Just imagine the conversation!  “Hey Pythagoras, you still sick?  Well, let’s drain off a few quarts of that yucky blood stuff you’ve got inside and see if that doesn’t put some spring in yer step!”)

Fast forward a few thousand years and we humans are still trying to figure out ourselves and the people around us!  Luckily, some very smart people have done a lot of the heavy lifting for us.  A wonderful author, Florence Littauer, has written a great book to help us understand the four personality types.  That book is Personality Plus, available through the LIFE website, and I really recommend you get a copy and start to master your understanding of the four personalities!   Why take the time to learn more about our personality style, as well as the people around us?  Because by better understanding ourselves, we know who we really are and why we react the way we do in certain situations.  We can recognize our strengths and amplify them, and we can be aware of our weakness and manage them more effectively.  When I got started in community building, my upline leaders Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady both took me aside and gently suggested that I learn more about the Choleric personality and study some people skills books, because my demanding choleric nature was a definite weakness for me!  So, let’s dive into our four personality styles: Melancholy, Phlegmatic, Sanguine, and Choleric!  (And yes, Melancholy’s, I know that isn’t in alphabetical order… it’s not the end of the world!)

Sanguine

This is the outgoing, people-oriented social-type. Sanguines are also known as the “Popular” type. They enjoy fun, socializing, chatting, telling stories – and are fond of promising the world, because that’s the friendly thing to do. A Sanguine gets on well with people and can get others excited about issues, but cannot always be relied upon to get things done. They love interacting with others and play the role of the entertainer or center of attention in group interactions. They have a tendency to over-promise and under-deliver.   A Sanguine would benefit from LISTENING more and letting other people tell stories… and not trying to upstage them!  As well, if you are a Sanguine and don’t know the correct answer, DON’T make up the numbers… the Melancholy’s will spot you doing it and you’ll lose their respect!  Some famous examples are Bill Clinton, Robin Williams, Kelly Ripa and Richard Simmons.

Melancholy

This is the reserved, task-oriented cautious type. Melancholies are also known as the “Perfect” type.  Their typical behavior involves thinking, assessing, making lists, evaluating the positives and negatives, and general analysis of facts. They love maps, charts and graphs. They are usually the most intelligent of the four types; however they tend to dwell on details. A Melancholy is a planner, making sure things happen, although sometimes they can paralyze themselves with over-analysis. Lists and “doing things the right way” are characteristics of this personality type.  Melancholy’s need to loosen up and let their hair down.  No one is perfect, even if a Melancholoy tries to be.  Don’t be so hard on yourself when you make a mistake… you are probably your own toughest critic.  Probably no one else noticed, so you don’t need to point out your error.  Remember that Cholerics and Sanguines are bored to tears with details, even if you find the details interesting.  When presenting to them, try to summarize the key points and move on.  Some famous examples are Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates, and Beethoven.

Phlegmatic

This is the reserved and people-oriented type. They are easy going, laid back, nonchalant, unexcitable and relaxed.  Desiring a quiet and peaceful environment above all else. They tend not to actively upset people, but their indifference may frustrate people. They try not to make decisions, and generally go for the status quo. They are good as mediators because they don’t usually have many enemies. Phlegmatics are also known as the “Peaceful” type; they tend to want everyone to get along and not rock the boat.  They also have a “dry” and quick sense of humor. Phlegmatic leaders may not move as quickly as real Cholerics, but they can be just as—or even more—effective.  They may not work harder, but they just may work smarter!  If you are a Phlegmatic, you don’t have to say “yes” to every request… sometimes other people will take advantage of you if you don’t set up some boundaries and say “no” once in a while.  Some famous examples are Calvin Coolidge, Tim Duncan, and Keanu Reeves (Not his Matrix action-hero character, mind you… His Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure surfer character.)

Choleric

I’ve put Cholerics last so that they can practice being patient and recognize that they aren’t always the alpha male in the room!  :)  This is the outgoing and task-oriented style.  Choleric are dominant, strong, decisive, stubborn and sometimes even arrogant.  Cholerics are also known as the “POWEFUL” type.  They tend to be good leaders because they are driven to get things done.  Unfortunately, they might offend some people along the way by not taking their feelings into account and stepping on some toes.  We joke that they are often wrong but never in doubt!  Cholerics often have the answers; they know what to do; they can make quick decisions; they bail others out in a jam—but they can struggle with being popular because their assurance and assertiveness make others feel insecure, and their ability to lead can easily make them appear bossy. Powerful Choleric should try to soften their approach with people while maintaining their amazing work ethic and results so that others will celebrate the Cholerics and not be offended by them.  As Orrin Woodward’s amazing wife Laurie Woodward has said, “The #1 job of Cholerics is to love your people.”  Some famous examples are Donald Trump, General Patton and Bill O’Reilly.

So we’ve briefly touched on each of the four personalities, but it gives you a good introduction to them.  It’s my hope this blog inspires you to devour Personality Plus.  One thing to always remember: no personality style is better than the other.  Each has strengths and weaknesses.  Each style is complemented by someone else…. Which is why working as part of a team can be so powerful!  If you haven’t done so, take the time to read this book and learn about these styles.  If you’ve read the book once, read it again and master it!  You’ll discover the people around you are amazing!

Posted by OrrinWoodward at 8:02 AM EDT

Updated: Sunday, October 21, 2012 8:05 AM EDT

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Chris Brady shares some of his thoughts from his new book A Month In Italy. Between the wisdom of this book and Orrin Woodward's RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE, anyone who is a hungry student can win and enjoy life at the same time. Here is the article:

Posted by OrrinWoodward at 5:42 PM EDT

Updated: Thursday, October 18, 2012 5:46 PM EDT

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This is an hilarious picture of most of corporate America. The LIFE Business evens the playing field by its pay for performance LIFE Compensation plan. Anyone can win if he or she is willing to grow and change. Are you tired of all the crap (pun intended) you deal with in corporate America? Then perhaps Orrin Woodward and the other LIFE Founders can help you find your entrepreneurial genius. 

Posted by OrrinWoodward at 8:22 AM EDT

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Kirk Birtles shares some excellent concepts in time-management in the enlightening post. Tell me how someone manages his time and I can tell you how effective he is in life. Everyone is given 24 hours in a day, but what a person does with those 24 hours makes all the difference. Orrin Woodward teaches on time-management in his book RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE available through the LIFE Business. Here is Kirk's article.

Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock…

Time, one of the most equalizing, and finite parameters of life.  We all have been given 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year to survive, live, accomplish, chase a calling and leave a legacy, but for some reason some people are just more effective than others and it really shows.  The question shouldn’t be, ‘How do I get more time?’, the question should always be, ‘How can I be more effective with the time I am given?’.

Time management can seem to be a boring or wearisome subject, but the average man who says this spends a majority of his time on the urgent, commonplace, and un-noteworthy just to survive.  Life is to short to live day-to-day just working, running errands, doing chores, paying bills, worrying, complaining and trying to take the edge off by entertaining ourselves to death and taking anti-depressants (30 million Americans currently)!  As H.D. Thoreau said, ‘Its not enough to be busy, so to are the ants’.

The only way to live an important, purposeful and exceptional life is to once and for all get a handle on managing your time!!!

Here are some practical, and simple time management tips taken from Orrin Woodward’s book RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for Life:

1) Big Rocks First – Stephen Covey in his book First things First tells a story of a life changing presentation:

“A presenter pulled out a wide-mouth jar and placed it on the table, aside to some fist-sized rocks.  After filling the jar to the top with rocks he asked, ‘Is the jar full?’.  People could see that no more rocks would fit, so they replied, yes!’.  ’Not so fast’, he cautioned.  He then got some gravel from under the table and added it to the jar, filling the spaces between the rocks.  Again, he asked, ‘Is the jar full?’.  This time the students replied, ‘probably not’.  The presenter then reached for a bucket of sand below the table, and dumped it in the jar, filling the spaces between the rocks and gravel.  Once again he asked ‘is the jar full?’.  ’No’ , the students shouted.  Finally, he grabbed a pitcher of water and filled the jar completely, asking the students what they could learn from that illustration.  One of the onlookers answered, ‘If you work at it, you can always fit more into life.’  ’No’ , said the presenter.  ’The point is, if you don’t put the big rocks in first…there may not be any room left?’

Being ‘Efficient’ is not the goal, being ‘Effective’ is the goal.  Remember, ‘First Things First’ or as Brian Tracy says ‘Eat that Frog’!

2) Purpose Oriented Time Management – One of the first public relations experts in the country, Ivy Lee, gives Charles Schwab a bit of priceless advice to help him better manage the Bethlehem Steel Company.  Here are some bullet points to summarize Lee’s time management strategy:

*Materials needed: 3×5 card, writing utensil, and a want to become more effective.

*Write on the card the 5 most important tasks you have to do tomorrow.

*Number the 5 tasks in the order of their importance.

*Look at the card first thing in the morning and keep it in your pocket.

*Pull the card out every 15 minutes throughout the day until task #1 is done.

*Next do the same for task #2, then #3, etc…

*You may not get the entire list done each day, but you will always be tackling the most important.

*Spend the last 5 minutes of the day making out a ‘Must do list’ for the next day.

Charles Schwab took this advice and applied it for 2 weeks and paid Ivy Lee handsomely for the information.  Within 5 years it turned the unknown Bethlehem Steel Company into the biggest independent steel producer in the world, and earned Charles Schwab a hundred-million dollar fortune and a reputation as the best known steel man.

A man, of any financial stature, with no time left to do the important things in life, is no better off than a man with no money.  The last bit of advice I can give you is to systematize the day-to-day in your life and prioritize the important.  Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…what is your plan to make sure that your time matters!  For more information, go to www.the-life-business.com and order Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy and Resolved: 13 Resolutions for Life by Orrin Woodward.  God bless

Posted by OrrinWoodward at 7:07 AM EDT

Updated: Saturday, October 13, 2012 7:20 AM EDT

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Here is a wonderful post from Marc Militello on the CDs, books, and events available through the LIFE Business. Orrin Woodward said that LIFE would change the world one person at a time and his prediction is coming true. Here's the post:

I've been in the community building profession in some way or another for 10 years.  And throughout that entire journey, my mom, Susan Militello has had a front row seat.  Now, a customer of LIFE  herself, she has had the unique opportunity to experience our company from the inside out, and her honest evaluation of our company is priceless.

You see, before my mom was a customer of LIFE, she knew I was a student of personal development, so she started to buy products from Jim Rohn and others in the profession, to start on the personal development journey herself.  She really liked what she was listening to, and she knew it was making a difference in her life.

When LIFE launched, she decided to become a customer of our Life Series as well.  She told me the other day, that at first she thought the information was good, but she admitted the cds were a little difficult to adjust to because she had become accustomed to the smooth, polished speeches from the other materials she was buying.  But that all changed the other day when she told me, with such excitement, that she finally realizes the TEAM/LIFE difference and how special what we have really is!

"The people on the cds, these are REAL people!"

She went on to explain, "I bet that's why people love this information.  "The people who struggled are up there, and they are just like me!  They've struggled and I've struggled."  And I love what she said next, "That's the winner thing about this.  It's very real!  They get me and I get them.  It's a whole a different experience."

She gets it!  That IS what makes what we do special.  No one gets on stage because they have a polished speech.  The TEAM/LIFE stage is reserved for those individuals who have built a successful business and have wisdom- THROUGH EXPERIENCE-about what he or she is teaching.  That is the win.  We do get each other, and we do learn from each other's struggles!  Like Orrin Woodward always says, "Other people's experience is the best teacher!"  I can't think of another organization in the world that offers what we have.

I believe I have the best profession and purpose in the world because it makes a difference in my life and the lives of those I love the most: My family and friends.  TEAM/LIFE is the greatest blessing.  Thankful God chose this journey for me.

Posted by OrrinWoodward at 7:53 AM EDT

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Several years ago, Oliver DeMille, the founder of George Wythe College, reviewed Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady's book Launching a Leadership Revolution. Neither Orrin nor Chris knew Oliver at that point, but shortly thereafter built a friendship along the common bonds of freedom, entrepreneurship, and business. Here is the original review that started a great friendship.

As a fan of leadership books, I try to read everything that comes out in this field. Unfortunately, reading hundreds of books on the same topic means there is seldom something really new—fresh, exciting, revolutionary that uplifts the entire genre. The last such surprise for me came several years ago in the writings of Steve Farber. But now, finally, comes another great addition to the leadership genre: Launching a Leadership Revolution by Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward.

Their subtitle, “mastering the five levels of influence,” sounds like typical management book fare, but it isn’t. Each level is vital, well-taught and interesting, and together they form a truly revolutionary model for leadership.  This is not exaggeration—this book is excellent! I rank it right along with the best of Drucker, Bennis, Blanchard, Gerber, Collins, Deming, and Farber. It is destined to be a classic.

Brady and Woodward teach that everyone will be called upon for leadership at some point in their life. They then turn leadership upon its head, noting that while many people seek leadership for the perceived benefits of power, control, or perks, the true life of a leader is actually built upon “giving power (empowering)…helping others fix problems…and serving others. Leaders lead for the joy of creating something bigger than themselves.”  This follows Greenleaf’s tradition of servant leadership, but with a twist.

Launching a Leadership (Revolution) education shines because it gets into the specific work of leadership. It outlines many pages of work leaders must do, and explains which work to focus on most. But the book seldom uses the word “work”, instead preferring the active “working.” Just the list of “working” items for leaders is worth more than the price of the book.

Maybe the best thing about this book is the authors’ ability to take traditional, classic leadership basics and give them new, profound definitions! For example, the definition of learn goes from the old “a leader is always learning” to “a leader must be able to learn from anyone.” Imagine the leadership revolution that would occur if top executives and government officials really did seek to learn from everyone!

Another example: The meaning of perform is transformed from “please your boss” or “improve the bottom line” to “persevere through failure to find success.” This is the best definition of leadership performance I’ve ever read in print. And the book teaches the reader how to do it.

Likewise, the advice to develop others as leaders moves beyond all the clichés to become “learn to trust your people.”  It includes fitting them to be truly trustworthy. That’s what leadership should be– but seldom is even considered.

There are many other examples. This book is a revolution that builds on the best ideas and thinkers of the past by applying them in fresh new ways applicable to the information age.

We learn from case studies such as George Washington, Winston Churchill, Benjamin Franklin and many others right along with contemporary needs and challenges. Above all, the book places leadership success squarely on the success of mentoring and gives excellent advice to mentors on how to help people bring out the leadership inside them.

Everyone serious about Leadership Education will want to read this book, and apply the principles to our learning and mentoring. In truth, great leadership is simply using great influence for great things, and this book can help each of us do this. In these times of government bailouts and government “fixes”, it is important to remember that the American Dream never was a government program. The American Dream was a leadership revolution, where regular people chose leadership and became leaders. This revolution is still needed today, perhaps more than ever before in history.

Posted by OrrinWoodward at 8:08 PM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, October 3, 2012 8:09 PM EDT

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The LIFE Business has had its two best months of growth since launching in November of 2011, with volume and training numbers growing double digit each month. Much of this is attributable to the PDCA - Plan, Do, Check and Adjust process. Here is a portion of an article Orrin Woodward wrote on PDCA recently. PDCA concept is from his book RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE.

In the scale of things, winning or losing the Sunday afternoon basketball games is not really a big issue; however, habitually using the PDCA process in one’s life is a huge part of success. Accordingly, I came in after our drubbing and made some adjustments. First, I asked Laurie to pick me up a knee brace as I cannot have knee pain while driving to the hoop. Second, since the kids are going to a private Christian school, I asked Laurie if she would practice shooting with me several times a week. (As the reader can see, I really do hate losing enough to change.) Both Laurie and I would take a shot and run to a new position for another shot. In other words, shoot and move.

After a couple of practices, I realized I had been shooting at the rim instead of arcing the ball to swish through the net. This, along with my knee brace, built my confidence for Sunday’s game. Moreover, all week long, when breaking from my studies, I invested mental energy envisioning (Ant and the Elephant) the ball falling through the rim and net. Needless to say, I couldn’t wait for yesterday’s basketball game to redeem our team’s poor performance.

On Sunday, within minutes after the game started, I could tell things had changed. My shot was dropping and I could drive to the hole without pain. True, I still am not in the best of shape; nonetheless, we won both games and looked like a different team. Afterwards, while sitting around the pool area, I realized again how important the PDCA process is to improve a person’s life. Furthermore, I realized I still need PDCA work as the other team will likely have its own adjustments for next week as well. That, in a nutshell, is the game of life – constant adjustments from all participants to improve outcomes. Never, in other words, rest with good when a few adjustments make great possible!

Posted by OrrinWoodward at 6:01 PM EDT

Updated: Friday, September 28, 2012 6:03 PM EDT

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