“The writers of Saturday Night Live quickly discover that something they say on Wednesday night might be seen by 10 million people just a few days later. Some people respond to this by saying less, by self-censoring, by holding back. And some view it as the chance of a lifetime.” – Seth Godin
November was a very productive month for personal reading. I read Andy Stanley’s Deep & Wide (best church leadership book I’ve ever read), Vertical Church by James MacDonald, and this weekend I completed Seth Godin’s classic Poke The Box.
What gives leaders their chance of a lifetime, their chance to do something memorable, their chance to stand out, their chance to do something great? The answer – INITIATIVE. Great leaders start things.
Godin’s book is an incredible tool for leaders on taking initiative and avoiding passivity. The following are of Seth’s insights that all leaders can learn from, take action, and apply. Who knows, the lessons below might prove to be your chance of lifetime!
- Wikipedia didn’t have to grab the reins of authority from the Encyclopedia Britannica; contributors just showed up and did the work. Britannica staffers sat and watched!
- Be productive, so you can be well-priced.
- The winners have turned initiative into a passion and a practice.
- Human nature is to need a map. If you’re brave enough to draw one, people will follow.
- Ownership comes from understanding and from having the power to make things happen.
- I define anxiety as experiencing failure in advance.
- The crowd won’t stop worrying, because worrying is what they enjoy doing.
- Somewhere along the way, ego became a nasty word. It’s not…(Ego) drives us to do even better work. Ego drives us to see acceptance, to make a difference, and to push the envelope.
- Initiative is a little like creativity in that both require curiosity…The difference is that the creative person is satisfied once he see how it’s done. The initiator won’t rest until he does it.
- Smart entrepreneurs understand that a thriving organization needs more than one person creating change.
- Being an initiator is valuable…Initiative is scarce.
- Please stop waiting for a map. We reward those who draw maps, not those who follow them.
- What differentiates us from every other creature is that we go places, places we’ve not gone before. We do it willingly, and often.
- Something new is often the right path when the world is complicated.
- Change always comes with failure as its partner.
- The best way to become an insider, a leader, someone who matters, is to initiate.
- You can’t snooze your way to greatness.
- People get good gigs because they stand up.
- Talk to any successful person. He’ll be happy to fill you in on his long string of failures.
- The greatest challenge any successful organization faces is finding the guts to risk that success in order to accomplish something great.
- Not starting is far, far worse than being wrong. If you start, you’ve got a shot at evolving and adjusting to turn your wrong into a right.
- The relentless act of invention and innovation and initiative is the best marketing asset.
- Action is easy once you have a plan. Formulating a plan, however, is a rare and valuable skill.
- Failure is an event, though, and with rare exceptions, is not fatal.
- When you’re late, they’re not a lot of room for choice or decision or initiative…late is incredibly expensive…It degrades quality, misses airplanes, charges overtime, and shuts down those around us. It’s also exhausting.
- Ideas that don’t get spoken always fail.
- The easiest way in the world to fit in is to never initiate.
- Forward motion is a defensible business asset.
Leaders, what is the one statement you read above that is causing you to take INITIATIVE TODAY?
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