Simple Leadership Strategy #1 - K.I.S.S. - Keep it "so simpllle!"
I met Earl Collins in Frederick Maryland in the early 80's. Unfortunately, we lost Earl to cancer about ten years ago. He had a profound impact on my life. Often, after listening to some problem I was having, he would give me advice that always made perfect sense and I was immediately impressed with the common sense of it. Then he would say his most famous line..."Its so simpllle!" Those of us theat new Earl and had the pleasure of hearing him say that understand why there are three "l's" in "simpllle."
Earl's primary philosophy - "It's so simpllle!" - has stuck with me and has helped me tremendously. I named my company "Simple Leadership Strategies" partially in honor of Earl. Many people - wise men who lived thousands of years ago to current management and leadership experts - have expressed the power that lies in simplicity.
Click on the drop down box "quotes" under resources on this website and you will see many wise and successful people extoll the power in keeping things simple.
Not everyone believes that leadership can be simplified. In their outstanding book Leaders , Warreren Bennis and Burt Nanus say this: " Decades of academic analysis have given us more that 850 definitions of leadership. Literally thousands of empiricle investigations of leaders have been conducted in the last seventy five years alone, but no clear and unequivical understanding exists as to what distinguishes leaders from non-leaders..."
Frederick W. Smith, the founder of Fed-Ex, has a different view: "...the proven principles of management and leadership are absolute and in fact, simple."
What are the few "simple" ideas that will help us all become not just leaders, but the right kind of leader?
They earn trust through character, commitment and confidence. They instill confidence in their teams through competence, caring, and communication. They inspire action through vision, values and purpose. By doing these things, they not only deliver exceptional results, they change lives. They make families, communities, their countries, and the world a better place.