Big Is The New Small

Baker Mayfield is personifying what Leadership is all about in the this short video highlighting the acceptance of his 2017 Sugar Bowl Most Outstanding Player Award. This immediately was after Sooners beat the SEC’s #2 team Auburn Tigers, only second to Nick Saban’s Dynasty at Alabama. The Sooners pretty much dominated Auburn after Auburn’s 1st possession and score. The final score was 35-19 and wasn’t really that close considering the Sooners took their foot off of the gas of their prolific offense and Auburn scored a late TD in the final seconds after many OU reserves were in the game.

Baker Mayfield was 19-28 for 296 yards, 2 touchdowns and zero turnovers against the SEC Auburn defensive juggernaut. Not no mention the countless Houdini plays where Mayfield had Auburn defenders dazed and amazed as they wondered how he could possibly escape from their relentless pursuit and “almost, but not quite good enough sack attempts.”

Baker Mayfield was the obvious Sugar Bowl Most Outstanding Player. While receiving his award, Mayfield immediately deferred to give props to his running back and career workhorse Smamaje Perine for breaking the Oklahoma Sooners All-Time rushing record once held by The Great Billy Simms.

From this video and the success of this turnaround season in which OU started off 1-2 and rolled off 10 straight wins and becoming the Big 12 and 2017 Sugar Bowl Champs. I’ve listed 10 short and quick leadership lessons from Baker Mayfield and this season.

10 Leadership Lessons From Baker Mayfield:
1. You must believe in yourself.
2. Be yourself.
3. Work hard.
4. Get better daily.
5. It’s always more about the team than it is about you.
6. Be Inspiring and someone people are excited to follow.
7. Have integrity, lead by example.
8. Tune out the naysayers.
9. Focus on the goal.
10. Produce winning results.

Why Not? Russell Westbrook…

This election is absolutely crazy. It’s not the first time we’ve had a crazy election; however it’s the odds on favorite to go down in history as the craziest ever.

Many say this is the craziest ever because we have two really flawed political candidates and feel like it’s a “lesser of two evils” election. A political system with flawed candidates is nothing new; however the 24 hour uninterrupted access to digital media accentuating their flaws is new. Social media, print media, television and conversations. We wake up we see it, we go to sleep we see it, we try to avoid it and an unexpected conversations pops up and there it is again.

I honestly could care less that people disagree, let me rephrase that: it’s a beautiful thing that in America we are allowed to disagree. I wish that we could embrace the notion that we can disagree and still be agreeable. Let’s face it, we live in a world that is more moved by scandal, tabloid, gotcha and pointing out flaws than we are anything of substance, good will and kindness.

I wish we could do this one simple thing.

My voting friends, if there was one simple thing that I wish the voting public would do, that’s focus on what you are for instead of what you are against. It doesn’t require much effort to point out flaws, disagreements and how much of an idiot candidate A&B are… those sound bites are readily available to you all day long. On the other hand, focusing on what you are for, rather than what you are against requires some critical thinking, some research, some inner-dialogue and personal belief wrestling.

As a leadership consultant one of the easiest areas to uncover as it relates to culture and organizational flaws is an organization filled with people, especially at the leadership level who always know the problems but rarely or never bring solutions. I like to say it this way, for every one problem you bring to the table, I want to see three solutions. That’s where the magic happens, complaints begin to diminish and solutions begin to take front and center stage. 

The next time you find your self in political debate and you or the person you are talking to begins to go off about their dislike of their opposing candidate preference. Ask them one simple question, “What is it that you like about your candidate?” crickets

I wish the voting public would do one simple thing and that’s focus on what they are for instead of what they are against. If you personally commit to doing this, it may just change your perspective and even better it may encourage and change the minds of those around you. 

Well the NBA Finals wrapped up with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavilers winning it all. It also kicked off one of the craziest NBA free agent frenzies since LeBron James took his talents to South Beach. The top prize in the NBA free agent season went to the already loaded Golden State Warriors, who signed one of the best players in the game, Mr. Easy Money Sniper Kevin Durant.

Another NBA team that did well in free agency was the San Antonio Spurs with the signing of Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobili and Dewayne Dedmon. Those three additions give them an overall grade of A in the free agent sweepstakes. The Spurs seem to always receive an A in almost every category one can think of, that’s just who they are… an “A+” organization. The Spurs had an amazing 2015-2016 NBA season, only to be overshadowed by losing in the playoffs to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State’s NBA record breaking season.  The reality when it comes to the Spurs is as long as Gregg Popovich is the Head Coach they will always be competitive. There is so much we all can learn from the San Antonio Spurs and as of today so much we can retired NBA Hall Of Famer Tim Duncan. Yes, Tim Duncan has decided to take a stroll down the riverwalk of retirement after an amazing 19 year NBA career.

Not only did the Spurs have a great team but they were smarter, more disciplined and better coached than any other team in the NBA. The Spurs have been lead for years by the veteran of all veterans, Tim Duncan. Duncan will go down as one of the greatest NBA Superstars ever. Duncan now has the most playoff games and double-doubles of any player in NBA history. Duncan is a SuperStar who shined bright like a diamond while staying outside of the spotlight.

In a day an age where athletes have done it wrong, taken shortcuts to championship and can’t even begin to spell the word loyalty, Tim Duncan did everything the right way, all while being loyal to his city, his team, his coach and the things that make you a true champion. We can talk all day about Duncan’s life and example… not only can we talk about it, there is a lot to learn about life and leadership from him and his career. I thought I would honor Tim Duncan’s Spectacular 19 year career with these 10 Great Life and Leadership Lessons.

10 Leadership Lessons From The Life and Career Of Tim Duncan.

• 1. Substance Over Style – “The Big Fundamental” Looking good is great, performing great is better. Duncan doesn’t win the style contest, but he is a straight up winner.
• 2. Greatness Is Appreciated More When It’s Gone – Tim Duncan’s Game, Career and Place in history won’t be appreciated until he’s retired and gone.
• 3. Great Leaders Know When To Defer – Duncan has admittedly turned the team over to Tony Parker, which has extended his career and allowed him to continue his greatness. It looks like he may be turning it over to Mr. About His Business Kawhi Leonard real soon.
• 4. You Can’t Care What People Think – Duncan doesn’t get the commercials, the shoes, the endorsements… He just gets the trophies. Duncan could care less what people think about his personality or lack there of, all he does is win.
• 5. Classy over Sassy – Tim Duncan is one of the classiest players in the NBA. It’s hard not to like classy… when in doubt, keep it classy.
• 6. Quietly Be The Best At What You Do – Tim Duncan will quietly go down as one of the best power forwards to ever play the game. Period, the end.
• 7. Nice Guys Don’t Finish Last – Nice guys finish wherever they want to finish, Duncan is nice and he doesn’t finish last. 🙂
• 8. Get Better With Age – Just like a fine wine, they say some things get better with age, great leaders get better, lead better, play better and make better decisions with age. Duncan seems to get better the older that he gets.
• 9. Know How To Lead Up – Duncan plays for a tough coach and he’s one of the few players that knows how to lead up, talk to Popovich, how to handle him in the media and how to lead up. There is an art to leading up and Duncan figured it out.
• 10. Make Those Around You Better – Duncan makes his teammates, his coach, his city, his community and the NBA better.

Leadership is an art and it’s an art that anyone can learn for the most part. Just because someone learns an art doesn’t mean they will be good or effective. Just think about all of the painters, musicians, communicators, or artists of any sort; although they have learned an art very few get through the threshold of simply being an artist, to being an effective artist. That same statement is true for the art of leadership… there are many leaders who never become effective leaders.

“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” ~Jim Rohn

6 Major Keys To Effective Leadership:

• 1. Recognize- Recognize that leadership is a gift, an art, a craft… that has to be continually developed.  Seek out and be willing to learn from effective leaders who have developed this craft we call leadership.
• 2. Realize- Realize the fact that although leadership is a craft, it is not rocket science.  STOP MAKING IT SO DIFFICULT.  I repeat, unless you are a leader at NASA, your leadership role is not rocket science; chill-out and quit making things so hard on yourself and others.  BTW- If you are a leader at NASA or a rocket scientist, you should probably be asking the tough question: “Is what we do still necessary or relevant?”
• 3. Remember- Remember The Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you!”  Most leaders’ barley remember the bronze rule, let alone The Golden Rule.  As a leader it’s important to care about your people, to love your people, to care about their interests, care about their success… to treat them how you would want and expect someone to treat you.  Remember in order to become an effective leader you have to understand that “Relationships Matter!”
• 4. Replicate- Replicate what works and don’t force things that don’t work.  Don’t try to be a replicate of another leader or simply replicate what you have read in a book, but rather replicate the effective “What Works” concept into who you are and what you do!
• 5. Resurrect- Resurrect a dying team member; an effective leader has the ability to take a dying team member on the verge of being fired and help resurrect them into a story that begins with this sentence… “There was a time when so and so team member was on the verge of being fired and so and so leader believed in them… Wow, Look at how successful they are now!”
• 6. Reinvent- Reinvent the way leadership is carried out!  Break the box, find a new way, figure out what works for you, don’t be scared to be different, reinvent what might has been seen as irrefutable.  Reinvent out of hunger, creativity, thinking, believing, seeking etc.; don’t reinvent for the sake of reinventing!  “Don’t reinvent the wheel” applies to those who reinvent for the sake of reinventing!

Only in the darkness can you see the stars. ~MLK

Just imagine if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had Twitter or other social networking applications at his disposal, his message would have been even more world changing.  He was known as one of the best orators of his day and one of the top in the history of the country.  The exponential impact of his sound bites and oratory skills would have been extremely powerful with a tool like Twitter. I believe we take for granted the fact that our message, story, voice and thoughts can literally be globally shared at our leisure and by the push of a button.  

This year in the United States we set aside Monday, January 18th. to honor the life of a civil rights leader, pastor and social justice martyr.  MLK positively impacted the US and the world in so many ways, I think it’s great the US has an official holiday in his honor. A few years ago, my wife and I were in Atlanta during the MLK Holiday. We visited the Atlanta Memorial and the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church that Dr. King pastored. This summer we took our sons and visited the MLK  Memorial at the National Mall in Washington DC and stood at the very place he delivered his famous “I Have A Dream” speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial. This year I’m sharing 45 of Dr. King’s memorable quotes that could have easily been tweets. Not only are they tweetable (at 140 characters or less), they are all short enough to be retweetable (122 characters or less).  Quotes can have such power, as a matter of fact I used a number of Dr. King’s quotes to illustrate some power points in my book. 45 Retweetable #MLK Quotes

• 1. Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or darkness of destructive selfishness. #MLK
• 2. A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus. #MLK
• 3. To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing. #MLK
• 4. Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase. #MLK
• 5. I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. #MLK
• 6. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. #MLK
• 7. The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict. #MLK
• 8. We are not makers of history. We are made by history. #MLK
• 9. We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now. #MLK
• 10. We must face the sad fact that Sunday morning when we stand 2 sing, we stand in the most segregated hour in America. #MLK
• 11. In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. #MLK
• 12. We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. #MLK
• 13. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?” #MLK
• 14. The measure of a man isn’t whr he stands in moments of comfort, but whr he stands @ times of challenge & controversy. #MLK
• 15. If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live. #MLK
• 16. Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.  #MLK
• 17. We must use time creatively — and forever realize that the time is always hope to do great things. #MLK
• 18. The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.  #MLK
• 19. The time is always right to do what is right. #MLK
• 20. I have a dream my 4 little children will 1 day liv in a nation whr they will not B judged by the color of their skin. #MLK
• 21. Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see. #MLK
• 22. Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. #MLK
• 23. Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. #MLK
• 24. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. #MLK
• 25. When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative. #MLK
• 26. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. #MLK
• 27. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men. #MLK
• 28. Lightning makes no sound until it strikes. #MLK
• 29. There is no gain without struggle. #MLK
• 30. A right delayed is a right denied. #MLK
• 31. It may be true that the law can’t make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me; that’s pretty important. #MLK
• 32. If we do an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, we will be a blind and toothless nation. #MLK
• 33. One day we will learn that the heart can never be totally right when the head is totally wrong. #MLK
• 34. Quietly endure, silently suffer and patiently wait. #MLK
• 35. Hate destroys the hater… #MLK
• 36. True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice. #MLK
• 37. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. #MLK
• 38. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. #MLK
• 39. Carve a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment. #MLK
• 40. We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear. #MLK
• 41. Science investigates religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge (power), religion gives man wisdom (control). #MLK
• 42. We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. #MLK
• 43. Seeing is not always believing. #MLK
• 44. I Have A Dream! #MLK
• 45. Only in the darkness can you see the stars. #MLK

There are so many more tremendous quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  These are just 44 retweetable quotes that have stood out to me over the years.  Please share your favorites from the above list or any other #MLK quotes that you like.  If you can share them in 120 characters or less, please do so. This will allow them to be retweetable. Happy #MLK Holiday!  Please take a few moments on #MLK Holiday to share some quotes, watch a speech, serve in the community, attend the parade, talk to your family about his impact over dinner, communicate to your team that you value the holiday and what Dr. King stood for…  Do something!

Periscope is new, Periscope is fresh and Periscope is the next big thing when it comes to social media, connectivity and making the world just a little bit smaller. I’m a daily broadcaster on Periscope and you can find me @ScottWilliams or search “Scott Williams” and I’ll be the 1st one to show up. I have broadcasted over 400 times and received nearly 4,000, 000 hearts and have been using Periscope since a couple days after it launched.

During my time on Periscope I’ve concluded that there are 4 Easy Ways To ROCK Periscope:

1. Be Real – Be yourself, don’t try to copy anyone else, mimic other broadcasters or broadcast some fake version of the real you. People can see right through bogus broadcasters in the Periscope world and they prefer connecting to real, authentic, what you see is what you get type of people.
2. Be Often – You should broadcast consistently. I would recommend at-least once daily as the broadcasts remain available for replay for only 24 hours. Additionally, as people search your profile and find that you have not broadcasted in the last 24 hours it will show “no recent broadcasts.” “No recent broadcasts” may limit viewers desire to come back to view your future broadcasts. If you can’t do daily broadcasts, find some regular rhythm.
3. Be Calculated – There should be some thought into the what, why, when and where of your broadcasts. I’m not recommending that you have notes and a robust plan, I’m simply saying there should be a method to your Periscope Madness.
4. Be Kind – This is similar to the Golden Rule, “One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.” It’s simple don’t troll, don’t post rude comments, don’t be disrespectful, don’t ask female broadcasters to show you their boobs, don’t be argumentative… simply be kind. If you don’t like what’s going on in a broadcast leave the broadcast, on the other hand if you are a broadcaster be kind to your viewers.

Often times when it comes to “leadership” we hear the warm and fuzzies or the great success stories. There are so many great books and tools at the disposal of leaders that growth, competency and effective leadership should be inevitable. The challenge with that theory is it’s rendered “not always true” because of the simple fact that leadership deals with human beings and human beings are rather complex creatures. Anytime you are dealing with people things are never that simplistic.

Another reason being an effective leader is not that simple is that fact that book knowledge doesn’t always translate to street knowledge {{translation – just because you can read it and talk it, deosn’t mean that you can effectively apply it}}.

A key understanding to leadership how ineffective and incapable individuals find themselves in key leadership roles is this: people hire people, who hire people, who hire people. Somewhere within those three generations of hiring, there are people placed in roles of leadership that they are not capable of handling. In my tenure working as a Deputy Prison Warden, before being promoted to Warden, I worked for a leader that definitely should not have been in her role. She literally destroyed her staff and destroyed her team. Not only did she destroy them, she didn’t have the self-awareness to make the necessary adjustments. She was a “Leadership Destroyer.” In consulting over the last 14 years, I have seen and heard about these “Leadership Destroyers” more often than I’d like to admit.

Unfortunately the “Leadership Destroyers” are not isolated to my experiences, if you live long enough and work for enough people, there is a good chance that you will work for one of these destroyers. To help identify how these leaders managers destroy their teams, I have identified 5 ways.

7 Ways Leaders Destroy Their Teams

• 1. My Way Or The Highway (MWOH): Everyone has an opinion and often times people have thoughts, ideas and suggestions that can be helpful to those that are in charge. MWOH is fueled by the insecurity of the Leadership Destroyer. MWOH can create an environment of control, but not an environment of healthy success. Listen to your team, involve your team, learn from your team and embrace the reality that the collective sum is much better than the Big-Headed MWOH Leader.
• 2. All About The Numbers: The numbers do matter, the bottom line is important and if it doesn’t make dolla$ it doesn’t make sense.  In business, ministry or non-profit work, it’s important to measure things as it’s a great barometer for success. Where numbers become a problem is when the Leadership Destroyer focuses on the numbers, bottom line and measurables so much that they forget about their team of people who are making those numbers happen. They lose sight of the “how” because they are so focused on the “what.” Number matter, but people matter more. Focus on creating a healthy team and healthy numbers will be a natural bi-product.
• 3. Talk But Don’t Listen: No one can get a word in or have an opinion because the Leadership Destroyer is always talking. Not only are they always talking, they never listen. If people are not heard, they will cease to say the things that matter. Shh (be quiet) Listen!
• 4. Change Things For The Sake Of Changing Things: Change is good and sometimes necessary to create forward momentum. The Leadership Destroyer takes this to another level by changing things just to let you know that they’re the boss. They are unwilling to receive feedback or go back to what worked, even if their change isn’t working. I heard a great thought from OSU Football Coach Mike Gundy from his press conference during OSU’s great season several years back.  This articular season OSU was ranked #2 and they were rolling like a well-oiled machine. Mike Gundy said, (paraphrasing) “I try to change things up a bit, just to justify my existence. My team will come to me and say I think we need to stick to XYZ and this is why. Often times what they are saying makes perfect sense and I change it back.” It’s important to survey the impact, timing and necessity of change.
• 5. They Just Don’t Care:  The quickest way to destroy a team is to not care about the players on the team. Team members know the difference between the fake stuff and the genuine care and concern for the individual players and the collective team. Leadership Destroyers care more about their title, role, corner office and the fact that they have arrived than they do their team. One of the things that the inmates used to say when I was a Warden in regards to leadership and life is this, “It’s All About Missouri!” In other words, Missouri is the Show-Me State.  I’ll close with the words of John Maxwell, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
• 6. Focused On Pleasing The Boss – It’s okay to want to perform for your supervisor and help you organization be successful. Leadership Destroyers take it to a whole-nutha-level. The Leadership Destroyer will do anything and everything to look good, rather than doing any and everything right. The all-consuming thoughts of wondering what the boss thinks will lead these destroyers to destroy their team, chunk team members under the bus and not give proper credit where proper credit is due.
• 7. Unwilling To Receive Candid Feedback – When an individual is unwilling to listen to feedback because “It may hurt” or “It isn’t what they want to hear,” they are in trouble. You can’t win with thin skin. Once team members realize the Leadership Destroyer is unwilling to receive feedback, they will stop giving feedback. Once team members stop giving feedback, the Leadership Destroyers find themselves on an island. Islands are great places to vacation, but horrible places to find yourself when you are trying to lead a team.

It’s time that you change your mind, change your perspective and change your life.

The Leaders Who Need The Most Development Are Often Times The Leaders That Say That Others Need More Development.

Have you ever seen a situation where a leader has a team member who is either up for a promotion or in all actuality should be considered for a promotion; and the leaders says they are not ready yet, or they need more development.

I understand that sometimes people aren’t ready and they could benefit by a little more time in the leadership development cooker. More times than not, the person is ready, all they need is a little encouragement, belief in themselves and an opportunity to show what’s inside of them. How do you get the experience, if no one is willing to give you a chance to get the experience?

Over the years I have come to realize that the leaders who are quick to say that someone isn’t ready and need more development are the ones that need more development themselves.

It takes, time, energy and true leadership to develop someone — moving them from where they are to where they can be. Leaders must learn to focus on potential instead of limitations.

The next time you hear a leader say “so and so” isn’t ready, the deeper question to ask is this “is the leader making the statement ready?”

No one will ever be 100% “ready,” it’s up to the leaders to be a part of getting them there. That’s why it’s called leadership.