As someone whose job responsibilities requires some travel, I spend many nights in Hilton properties. Therefore, I am a regular reader of the USA Today. In an effort to clean out my files this holiday weekend, the following are 15 Leadership Lessons On Peak Performance From Today’s Headlines I gleaned from several past articles.
Enjoy these insights and I trust they will make you a better leader.
August 10th, 2016
- Hard Work Results In Confidence And Consistency – United States women’s gymnastics captain Aly Raisman noted, “We’re confident because of the hard work. We’re consistent because of the hard work.” For more on this topic click What The Bible Says About Lazy People vs. Hard Working People.
April 11th
- Peak Performers Set And Achieve High Goals – 2018 Heisman candidate Saquon Barkley, running back from Penn State, said, “I want to break records. One of my goals when I got here was I wanted to break every single running back record before I left this place…I want to be the best player on the team. I want to be the best player in the country. When it comes to situations where somebody needs to make a play, I want to be that guy.”
April 12th
- Peak Performers Are Continual Learners – With its fourth round the Pittsburgh Steelers may have gotten the steal of the 2017 NFL Draft in Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Josh Dobbs. Dobbs, an Aerospace Engineering major, said, “Many people ask, ‘You know physics, does that ever come into play on the field?’ That’s not really how aerospace engineering comes into play? How it does is the preparation, in the time and in the effort to put forward to be successful in the classroom. Being a quarterback, you have to put together the same effort to be successful on the field, in your preparations in your study habits and just pushing your mind to another level. Everything you do is going to give you an extra advantage, especially if you maximize it. At the end of the day, you still have to go play.”
- Peak Performers Have Functional Intelligence – Former Tennessee offensive coordinator Mike Debord also noted of Dobbs, “Some guys can be book smart but not football smart. Josh Dobbs knows football. He knows coverages very well. He is a perfectionist. He wants to know everything, and that’s why, in my opinion, he’s so good and he’s going to continue to get better.”
April 19th
- Peak Performers Periodically Take Great Risks – Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, said, “Facebook has many times taken very aggressive stances on features and completely whiffed. I don’t think they know what will work. But they are not afraid to try.” For more on the culture of Facebook, click 20 Leadership Quotes And Principles From Mark Zuckerberg And The Facebook Effect Part 1 and 22 Leadership Quotes And Principles From Mark Zuckerberg And The Facebook Effect Part 2.
- Peak Performers Find Greatness In The Margins – In April, Neflix added its 100 millionth subscriber. CEO Reed Hastings said, “We are really competing with sleep on the margin.”
April 20th
- Peak Performers Have Great Body Language – Indiana Pacers forward Paul George said of teammate Lance Stephenson, “He’s gotta learn to control himself. He’s gotta learn to just be in the moment. Lance, in our locker room, is looked upon as a leader, one of our leaders. His body language has to improve.”
May 8th, 2017
- Peak Performers Never Have To Recover From A Great Start – In an Ameritrade survey 26% of Millennials state they are moving back home after college. Much of this is driven by student loan debt. 32% of today’s students expect to payoff their loans between ages 20-29, 40% in their 30’s, 14% in their 40’s, and the remaining 14% do not expect to become debt free of college loans until their 50’s.
May 11, 2017
- Charging Top Dollar Allows You To Deliver A Top Dollar Experience To Your Customers – The AMC theater near Universal Studios in Hollywood include full bar service, gourmet food, surround sound, and laster projection. The theater also has 1930 recliners, heated seats, and double-width loveseats. Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst for Exhibitor Relations said, “If you’re going to pay $20 for a ticket, (you) want luxury chairs.”
- The Fundamental Role Of Leadership Is To Define Reality – Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said, “This is fun-fun, especially when you know that you can go to the players and tell them in reality what the deal is, and they take it the right way…That’s why I love this team. They’ve been resilient all year, and you can coach them.”
- You Only Have Championships By Having A Team Of Champions – D’Antoni continued, “You can have all the numbers, and the system, plug in the pieces, and you only have championships by (having) champions. And those are having guys with big hearts and brains – and gamesmanship. Those are champions.” For more on creating a championship team, click 13 Qualities Of Championship Teams.
May 12, 2017
- The Most Under-Appreciated Peak Performers Are Stay-At-Home Moms – Columnist John Siniff wrote, “Monica (his stay-at-home wife) left the workforce through a circuitous route. When our first child was born, we both shifted our schedules as journalists to alternate child care. This was our routine until an unexpected job offer provided us financial flexibility – a privilege we realize many families don’t enjoy. Suddenly, what had been a dream became our reality.” For more on this topic, click 10 Leadership Skills Of Stay At Home Moms.
- Peak Performers Sense Opportunity And Seize It – Kentucky head coach John Calipari said, “If you think there’s anything (at the NBA’s draft combine) that would help you, come. If you have to play to help yourself, come.” Current players Jimmy Butler, Zach LaVine and Enes Kanter significantly improved their draft stock by attending. For more from Coach Cal, click 50 More Leadership And Quotes On Coaching Extreme Talent From John Calipari Part 2
May 24, 2017
- Peak Perform Learn From The Past, Focus On The Present, And Plan For The Future. – Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry said, “The past teaches you a lot, but it doesn’t matter right now. We have an opportunity in front of us, and we have to focus on that.” For more from Curry, click 16 Quotes On Faith And Leadership By Steph Curry.
- Except For Salvation, This Is A Moment In Your Life, Not The Defining Moment Of Your Life – Warriors forward Kevin Durant added, “We have a bigger goal in mind…When we look at it, this is just a blip on the radar in terms of our whole life. So every moment is definitely important, and you want to embrace it and enjoy it. But a lot of guys are seasoned now and know what it takes to get here, know what it takes to try to finish this thing off. So we’re excited, but we’re not satisfied.” For more on the Warriors organization, click Do You Want To Get Better As A Leader? Read 16 Leadership Lessons From The Golden State Warriors.
What is one thing you learned from these quotes which will make you a better leader.
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