Leadership

Learning from others who have already gone down the beaten path can be super beneficial for those looking to join successful entrepreneurs and hopefully learn from their mistakes and gain valuable business knowledge. The Stanford business school does a great job of uploading lectures from successful entrepreneurs speaking in their school and you don’t have to pay $50,000 in tuition. This truly is a deal.

7 of 10 great videos from the Stanford business school. Stay tuned and subscribe for further updates.

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Leadership

McChrystal has an early quip in his speech that points out although the world may not be flat, it has gotten flatter as we’ve become more connected.

Connectedness, he believes, is a key part of leading a successful team. Individuals have individual goals to pursue, but everybody in the organization needs to know and embrace the ultimate destination that the group is heading towards.

[What is a shared consciousness and purpose?] What I think it is, is everybody understanding everything. Obviously that’s an unattainable standard, but everybody having all the same information. Not to draw the same conclusions, but so that everybody has all of the pieces of the puzzle and the combined wisdom.

It gives you the opportunity not to be dependent on a single person to direct this organization. And the second part of it is that all of these people across the organization feel like they own the mission. If you ask people what their mission is, it’s not, “Hey, I’m here cutting this stone,” it is, “I’m part of the team building this cathedral.”

This echoes the sentiments of leaders like Walt Disney, who always encouraged his staff to view themselves as part of a cohesive whole—talented performers who were all responsible for putting on the “best show possible” for children and their families.

You do need to be careful that a “mission statement” like this doesn’t become an eye-rolling affair. The team has to be able to see a positive, logical destination. If I were to evaluate Help Scout, I’d like to believe the mission is: “Help small businesses provide outstanding support for their customers.” That’s something I can get behind without cringing.

This belief helps eliminate “That’s not my job” syndrome. Employees must be able to focus and thrive within their specific skill set, but most teams are more willing to engage in Whole Company Support, or will step in to handle tasks outside of their responsibilities, when they know where the company (and the team) as a whole is heading.

[via Helpscout]

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