Informative Article On Leadership - The Best Advice on Being a Business Leader Part 1: Top Business Leaders Share Their Best Advice

 

Fortune magazine once published an article entitled "The Best Advice I Ever Got". It was a great article that offered wit and wisdom about achieving business success. I liked it so much, that it motivated me to produce my book, Leadership: Best Advice I Ever Got, which describes the best advice 136 successful CEOs, coaches, consultants, professors, managers, executives, presidents, politicians, and religious leaders received that most helped them become effective and successful business leaders.

Here is their best advice.

1. A leader makes things happen.

If you want to make something happen with your life - in school, in your profession or in your community, do it. Perceived obstacles crumble against persistent desire.

John Baldoni, Author, Leadership Communication Consultant and Founder of Baldoni Consulting LLC, shared this advice that had come from his father, a physician. He taught him the value of persistence. At the same time, his mother taught him compassion for others. Therefore, persistence for your cause should not be gained at the expense of others. Another bit of leadership wisdom!

2. Listen and understand the issue, then lead.

Time and time again we have all been told, "God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason"... or as Stephen Covey said, "Seek to understand, rather than be understood." As a business leader, listening first to the issue, then trying to coach, has been the most valuable advice that Cordia Harrington, President and CEO of Tennessee Bun Company has been given.

3. A successful business leader can answer the three questions everyone within his or her organization wants answers to.

What the people of an organization want from their leader are answers to the following: "Where are we going?" "How are we going to get there?" "What is my role?" Kevin Nolan, President & Chief Executive Officer of Affinity Health Systems, Inc. believes the more clarity that can be added to the answers to each of the three questions, the better the result.

4. Successful business leaders need to master the skills that will allow them to work anywhere in today's dynamic business world.

Debbe Kennedy, President, CEO and Founder of Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies, and author of Action Dialogues and Breakthrough once shared this piece of advice that was instrumental in shaping her direction, future and achievements.

She was a young manager at IBM just promoted to her first staff assignment in a regional marketing office. For reasons she can't explain, one of her colleagues named Bookie called her into his office while she was visiting his location. He then began to offer unsolicited advice, advice that now stays fresh in her mind. He mentioned that jobs, missions, titles and organizations would come and go as business is dynamic - meaning it is always changing. He advised her not to focus your goals toward any of these, but instead learn to master the skills that will allow you to work anywhere.

He was talking about four skills:

The ability to develop an idea;
Effectively plan for its implementation;
Execute second-to-none;
Achieve superior results time after time.

With this in mind, Kennedy's best advice is to seek jobs and opportunities with this in mind. Forget what others do. Work to be known for delivering excellence. It speaks for itself and it opens doors.

Paul B. Thornton presents more of the best advice for being a successful business leader that seven top leaders ever received on the next page. Click to continue reading about effective leadership.Here's more of the best advice on how to be an effective leader from seven top business leaders.

5. An effective business leader has to be curious.

Curiosity is a prerequisite to continuous improvement and even excellence. The person who gave Mary Jean Thornton, Former Executive Vice President & CIO, The Travelers, this advice urged her to study people, processes, and structures. He inspired her to be intellectually curious. He often reminded Thornton that making progress, in part, was based upon thinking.

She has learned to apply this notion of intellectual curiosity by thinking about her organization's future, understanding the present, and knowing and challenging herself to creatively move the people and the organization closer to its vision.

6. An effective business leader has to listen to both sides of the argument.

The best advice Brian P. Lees, Massachusetts State Senator and Senate Minority Leader, ever received came from his mentor, United States Senator Edward W. Brooke III. He told him to listen to all different kinds of people and ideas.

Listening only to those who share your background and opinions can be imprudent. It is important to respect your neighbors' rights to their own views. Listening to and talking with a variety of people, from professors to police officers, from senior citizens to school children, is essential not only to be a good business leader, but to also be a valuable member within your community.

7. Prepare, prepare, prepare.

If you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail. If one has truly prepared and something goes wrong the strength of the rest of what you've prepared for usually makes this something easier to handle without crisis and panic. One of the best pieces of advice Dave Hixson, Men’s Varsity Basketball Coach at Amherst College has ever received and continues to use and pass on is this anonymous quote - "Preparation is the science of winning."

Along with this are two expressions from Rick Pitino's book Success is a Choice, which speaks to preparation. Hixson asks his teams every year: "Do you deserve to win?" and "Have you done the work?" This speaks to the importance of preparation toward achieving your final goal. If you haven't done the work (the preparation) the answer to the second question is an easy "no!"

One Last Piece of Best Advice

Great advice on being an effective business leader comes from many sources - parents, other relatives, consultants, bosses, co-workers, mentors, teachers, coaches, and friends. The important point to remember is to stay open, listen to everyone, but also develop your own leadership style.

Wisdom Executives Inc.: Richard Branson's 5 Steps to a Presentation

Wisdom Executives Inc.: Richard Branson's 5 Steps to a Presentation: This interview with Richard Branson is very relevant to the main principles we teach at Wisdom Executives during training. Although we are ...

Richard Branson's 5 Steps to a Presentation

This interview with Richard Branson is very relevant to the main principles we teach at Wisdom Executives during training. Although we are not trying to start a new company each day, we have the opportunity to show customers why they should choose our client over the competition. Keeping explanations simple, being confident during presentation and avoiding vague language and doubt words are all key skills that can be used in any situation, whether it be with a potential customer or future investors.

“When billionaire entrepreneur and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson had the idea of launching Virgin Atlantic, he pitched it to his fellow directors who had no previous experience in the airline business. He delivered the idea simply, concisely, and effectively. Branson offers leaders and entrepreneurs this advice: “It is vitally important to present a clear, concise plan that investors can easily understand and repeat to their own people. In the first meeting avoid overly complicated, numbers-laden presentations.”

Branson is a master marketer and communicator. His new book, Like a Virgin, reveals “secrets they won’t teach you at business school.” Many of those secrets involve effective communications and presentations.
In his book, Branson recommends that entrepreneurs who are looking to raise money in these tough economic conditions keep their presentations simple and memorable. He says that the best investment pitches hit five areas. I would take his advice one step further. I believe that any effective pitch or presentation should include these five components.

What’s in it for them?
“Occasionally, an entrepreneur hoping to launch their first business puts so much thought into the concept that he or she neglects the financial and legal plan—and unfortunately, this often becomes apparent early in a meeting, when an investor can lack clarity in what exactly the proposed deal is going to look like.”
According to Branson, investors want to know when they can expect to see a return—what’s in it for them. In my first class at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, my instructor said, “Always ask yourself, ‘why should my readers care?’” I use this journalism principle to teach the art of corporate storytelling. Branson asks the same question of entrepreneurs who pitch him.

Be concrete.
“Winning the trust of an investor means demonstrating a thorough knowledge of your concept or industry and laying out a step-by-step plan for offering something that’s new, innovative and will deliver healthy returns on their investment.”
Branson recommends that communicators avoid ‘wishy-washy’ language, doubt words and phrases such as “It is hoped…”or “With some luck…” He says look your investors in the eye and be specific, concrete, and confident. One way to craft a concrete and confident story is to use a message map.

Be unapologetically disruptive.
“Emphatically explain how your new company will give your customers a better deal than your competitors.”
The key word here is ‘emphatically.’ Branson is unquestionably the most passionate business leader I’ve had the pleasure to interview. I believe his passion for disrupting the status quo is a key component of his charisma. The majority of business leaders who I’ve met underestimate the role of passion in delivering presentations. Branson looks for passionate entrepreneurs who understand the competition and “irreverently explain” why their business will do better than the competition.

Prove that growth is sustainable.
“Nothing stays the same for long, so explain how you plan to tackle the inevitable technological changes and market shifts that are heading your way.”
Investors and partners want proof that you understand the environment in which you will be selling your product. One way to get your idea across is to start with a problem before the solution. Every great story has a protagonist. Introducing the villain (problem) before the hero (solution) makes for a compelling business narrative. So take some time to explain how your product or service solves the problem.

Demonstrate bench strength.
“Show prospective investors that you have found the right people to work at your new company.”
I’ve seen investor pitches where CEO’s or founders feel as though they have to carry the show. The best and easiest way to show investors that your company has bench strength is to share the stage. Apple executives—Tim Cook and Steve Jobs—have always done this brilliantly.
The subtitle of Branson’s book is, “Secrets They Won’t Teach You At Business School.” When it comes to communications, he’s right. I’ve spoken to several MBA programs at America’s most prestigious universities. After every presentation students approach me and say, “We never learn stuff like this in class.” It’s time they do.