A Force to be Reckoned With

The Force is a Farce
There is a scene from 'Stars Wars V: Empire Strikes Back' where Luke Skywalker is trapped in ice - and he needs to cut himself free in a hurry. As he looks around he sees his Light-sabre sticking out of the ice, way out of reach. Knowing that this is his only chance of survival he closes his eyes, reaches out, and conjures up all the knowledge of 'The Force' that he has to make it move.

I live that moment daily. There are so many things I want to achieve in this life that are just out of reach - whether it be the remote, a cookie, or maybe my 16 month old baby girl running out the front door - everything seems to be just out of reach. And no matter how hard I try to use it, the Force just isn't there. And no matter how long I sit there for - I need to get up off my chair and make that cookie get into my hand. I am the one that needs to be the force.

Force = Mass X Acceleration
The real reason why the Force is a farce is because of some silly little laws put together by a man named Newton. In his second law Newton states that Force is a direct relationship between the Mass of an Object and the Acceleration it is experiencing, ie. Force = Mass X Acceleration.

So if Luke Skywalker attempts to make an object of Mass attain acceleration - he actually has to apply some force to it, not just stick his hand out and close his eyes.

A Force to be Reckoned with
Leaders understand Newton's 2nd law of motion by default, and that's because leaders make an impact on their environment. For somebody to make a difference there needs to be some sort of change - things cannot remain the same as they were. Leaders make a difference, if they aren't then they are not leading. So good leaders ensure that they make a good impact. 

The amount of impact a leader makes is determined by the formula: Impact = Knowledge X Action.

Knowledge
Leaders need to grow, they need to get bigger, they need to be internalising objective material that helps their world expand.

Put simply - Leaders are Readers. They read books, they read people, they read the times. Leaders get around great people, they ask defining questions, and they listen.

Knowledge is NOT enough
There is a misnomer out there that Knowledge is Power. Knowledge can be powerful, but it cannot make an impact on its own. Knowledge is much like Mass when compared to Newton's 2nd law. Knowledge can bring weight and substance to leadership - but without movement it does nothing. An object with no mass would not exist and would bring absolutely no force. Similarly, leadership without knowledge is impossible.

Action
Action is very much like its little cousin 'Acceleration'. When an object of mass experiences acceleration it becomes forceful. Similarly, when knowledge is put into action it will make an impact. It doesn't matter how big or little action is, it always leaves an impact. Consider the impact a little stream can have, even though there may be only a little bit of water travelling at a slow pace, over time the stream will tear through rock and leave a devastating impact. As long as water moves it will change its environment - as log as leaders are putting knowledge to action they will make a difference. 

A lot of people underestimate the power of action and overestimate the effectiveness of knowledge. I grew up with a lot of people who knew a heap of stuff - but they never did anything with it. Yet there are many others who may have had only a little bit of knowledge or insight to work with - but work with it they did. And over time the consistency of their actions made a lasting impact in their spheres of influence.

The Force of a Wrecking Ball
The combination of knowledge and action determines the impact a leader will leave. And the greater knowledge a leader attains the greater impact they will leave - as long as they put it to work. Never wait for a plan to be perfect before executing it - an imperfect plan that is executed well, is better than a perfect plan not executed at all. 

If you have a go early on you will build momentum with the knowledge you get through experience, and momentum is easily maintained as long as you have consistent forward movement that is greater than the forces acting against it, this is where Newton's first and third laws come into play. By consistently adding to your knowledge, and by persistently putting it to use in practical application - you will build devastating momentum that will leave a lasting impact.

What breakthrough have you seen in your world through consistently putting knowledge into practise? How has Momentum added impact in your level of leadership?

Lean in.

Jamie

The Proactive Reactive: How to Predict your Reaction

A Painful Memory
I got hit in the face with a Baseball once - but the worst part was, I saw it coming the whole way.

It was the end of a big day of representative trials. I was exhausted, my legs were bloodied, and I was finishing the day out on the mound, pitching hard in a trial match. I was doing well, the count was well in my favour against this particular batter, and the Catcher returned the ball to me. 

And I just watched the ball come at me, and straight at my nose. 

I looked like an idiot, and felt like one too - but the simple fact of the matter is I missed the ball. My reaction was too slow, I daydreamed for a split second and I missed the opportunity to catch it, so my nose had a go.

Conditioning
Coaches spend a lot of their time and energy conditioning their players. Conditioning usually means fitness - but it involves a whole lot more. It is often hard to see from the sidelines but as a game goes on, it gets harder. Players run hard and give all they have on the field - so pain thresholds are met and energy levels drop very quickly. Quite often the deciding factor in a game depends on which players have more fuel left in the tank. So coaches will prepare their players for the rigours of competition by ensuring they are fit.

I have no doubt that if my fitness level was higher back then I would not have been hit in the face with a baseball.

Habits
But conditioning is more than just fitness, conditioning is also a great way of forming habits. Charles Duhigg talks about the benefits of Habits in his book "The Power of Habit". We learn habits to become more efficient and save time from making decisions. Imagine how much time you could waste on everyday decisions. What to eat, what to wear, where to go, how to get there. We could spend hours mindlessly debating the pros and cons of thousands of decisions. That is why we automatically do hundreds of little tasks everyday without thinking, through repetition we establish routines in a little part of our brain called the basal ganglia, and this part of our brain controls actions for us subconsciously. As a result we don't need to consciously think about many of the decisions we need to make, because they have been made in advance. We establish habits to save us time.

Coaches thus condition their players with habits so that they will make plays not as a matter of decision, but as a matter of instinct.

I can think of some good instincts that would stop a baseball from hitting my face.

Planning our Reactions
We react to things due to our habits. Our habits are our default reactions, our instincts, that occur when we are not consciously acting. If you are stressed and your kid spills milk everywhere and you react by yelling, it is because you have lost touch with your decision-making ability and you are simply reacting due to your instinct. 

This is possibly why I rudely snapped at the hospital doctor at 5am this morning. 

When you haven't had much sleep because your baby has been sick and crying all night, you are more likely to give an honest rather than a polite answer when the doctor asks you why you brought your baby to the hospital. I would have preferred to have planned a better reaction.

I may not be able to control my reactions, but I can shape my Character.

It is a well known adage that we need to watch our thoughts because they become our words, and we need to watch our words because they become our actions, we need to watch our actions because they become our habits, we need to watch our habits because they become our character, and we need to watch our character because it defines our destiny.

We can shape our character by intentionally leaning into destiny fulfilling thoughts. We shape our character by the books we read, by the people we spend time with, by the questions we ask.

We can set our life on a course that will crystallise into our character - and therefore most of our actions will align with it. We can start to predict our reaction because we know what we are becoming. A proactive reactive.

What is one thing you did recently that could have been a better response? What vision do you have of yourself in ten years time?

You can start to shape your character.

Lean in.

Jamie

The Power of Apprenticing

You only know as much you know. Like most people, I know what I know - and I know it confidently. So when I talk to somebody else who knows something I don’t - I don’t know it.

Know what I am talking about?

Let me explain
I often get into arguments with people who tell me something that I have never heard before. Not because they are wrong, but because what they are sharing exists outside the bounds of my sphere of understanding. And it can be painful when my brain collides with new and contradictory thoughts that need to be reconciled in a new idea. Change is a painful process. It also hurts to hear that you’re wrong.

The Wise Cousin
I grew up in the presence of a wiser, older cousin. He knew stuff. He once explained to me that the way that police know how fast you are going - is through the use of special guns they have that smell the smoke coming out of your exhaust pipe. This led to an interesting conversation with my grade four teacher in front of the class when she started explaining the basics of how radar works. Needless to say she learnt something new. And it was painful.

Be an Apprentice
After learning the hard way several times, I began to realise the importance of following in the jet stream of somebody who has been there an done that before. This is an idea that has been around for thousands of years - being an apprentice.

Get around somebody Great
In order to grow, in order to get better, and in order to learn - we need to be around somebody who exceeds us in knowledge and ability. It is well said that we are the average of the five closest people to us, so we need to be getting around better people.

Ruth 1:16 shows the power that a good leader can have on a good apprentice. As Naomi was trying to convince Ruth to stay behind, Ruth replies “… Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”

Leadership

I read this passage in the book of Ruth the other day and for the first time I saw beyond Ruth’s loyalty, and instead I got a glimpse of Naomi’s leadership. Naomi was an amazingly, inspiring, and motivating person. She knew how to get the job done. When the chips were down, she would lean in and find breakthrough. When resources got scarce, she positioned herself for a win. Naomi was a phenomenal leader - and Ruth wanted a part of it.

Ruth knew that she only knew what she only knew, so she followed Naomi as an apprentice of life. She gleaned and learned from her, and Ruth knew that she would continue to grow and her capacity would expand. 

Ruth was a hard worker - but she learned that from Naomi. Ruth was a gentle, kind, and humble person. Yet she was strong and a determinedly spirited woman - traits she gained from Naomi.

Naomi was a leader - and Ruth was her apprentice. Ruth is one of the most famous woman throughout the history of humanity, and all she did was learn the power of apprenticing - and position herself in Naomi’s jetstream.

Are you inspired by the five closest people to you? Who can you position yourself under to expand your capacity?

Lean in.

Jamie