Wednesday, May 29, 2013

2 Types Of Leaders: "Politicized" versus "Mission-Directed" - Which Type Are You???

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Finding REAL leaders, politics, goals, sacrifice, integrity, mission-directed, politicized, Taling Command Blog, Douglas E. Castle, The CFI Group Of Companies,


There are two types of leaders. As a leader, you are either Politicized or you are Mission-Directed, and in each case the true motivations are very different, as are the followers or teammates or charges who require your vision and action.

Politicians [Politicized Leaders] at the uppermost strata of the voted-in hierarchy, are usually heavily -invested in maintaining the status quo, getting rich while in office (or getting re-elected), shaming and blaming other parties (or even entire ethnic groups) for problems and offering them up as a blood sacrifice to the masses, who are being misdirected by "investigations," "revelations," and "resignations" while the real culprits (usually the leaders in concert with their puppeteers or at the behest of their masters) continue to do as they have been doing. They keep their power by misleading, misdirection, propaganda, and appealing to the emotions of the people over whom they hold sway. They care more about opinion and poll results than about action. They are, by and large, pretenders rather than doers.

Commanders [Mission-Directed Leaders] are absolutely focused on accomplishing a goal through orchestrating and coordinating the best efforts and resources of a team. They do not waste precious time on placing blame. They do not tell others to sacrifice when they, themselves are not prepared to walk through the fire. They lead by example, and through a credible demonstration of conviction and character.

You'll find the following article excerpt to be of interest. It comes from  SmartBrief, a wonderful source of industry - specific information and insights. While it is not in exact sync with the exact point of the portion of my article above, it resonates with a similar theme:

How to spot fake leaders
The world is full of bosses who can't tell the difference between leadership and management, and aren't that good at either, write Art van Bodegraven and Kenneth B. Ackerman. The real danger comes when second-rate bosses start bragging about their supposed leadership ability rather than simply demonstrating it. "Life's too short to waste on 'leaders' who can't lead and managers who can't manage. And you are too good to sell your soul to make the great pretenders look like geniuses," Van Bodegraven and Ackerman write. DC Velocity online (5/20)

Look to mission-directed, impassioned achievers instead of to slick politicos and gamers of the government promotional apparatus to find leaders who can truly affect change instead of  making sacrifices to mythical deities in order to temporarily palliate the masses.

Douglas E. Castle for The Taking Command Blog and For The Sending Signals Blog.






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Monday, May 20, 2013

Achievement? Success? You Need Momentum!

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Achievement? Success? You Need Momentum!In any endeavor where a team of Human Beings is to be deployed toward the attainment of any objective, a clearly-visualized common goal, a well-chosen team, leadership, management, measurement, monitoring and plenty of work are required. But the catalyst and alchemical synergist required to keep efforts from winnowing is not merely inspiration. No - the key is momentum.

Human beings, just like any physical objects being hauled or pushed up an incline, need momentum. In leadership, you may feel like a movie director, or an orchestra conductor, but what you can never lose sight of is the need, on your part, to exert force in order to keep things moving ahead.

A colleague of mine once remarked offhandedly, that in a military engagement (be it an insertion, an extraction, or taking additional territory), "A good leader is like a laxative. He makes you GO." The same applies to every business project, venture or initiative.

Never stop pushing that rock upwards until you have reached the very top of the mountain or the crest of the hill.

That is the magic of momentum.

Douglas E. Castle for The Taking Command Blog, and for The CFI Group Of Companies, at both http://www.CFIBusinessGrowth.com and http://www.CFIGroupOfCompanies.com.

As always, thank you for reading me, and for sharing my articles with your contacts across your social media platforms and hi-tech bullhorns.







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Thursday, May 16, 2013

15 Best Tips For Success, Achievement And Wealth

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There's a great deal to be said for following a successful example. The ones in the article which is hyperlinked below offer 7 of the 15 best tips. And as a Commander, I heartily endorse every single one of them:

The 7 Habits Of The Ultra Wealthy And Ultra-Successful
http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/7-habits-of-the-ultra-wealthy-181131868.html

The other appears courtesy of an article which appeared in my LinkedIn Newsletter -- It is useful indeed. Most of what I get from LinkedIn (with all due respect), is self-serving commentary about business philosophy, or about either applying for a job (I don't believe in them), or if I know of someone who is interested in an employment opportunity which meets a certain description, which somehow matches my own...

I sometimes get a feeling that LinkedIn is rather like a one-sided marketplace (more like a podium) where everyone wants to sell something and no one wants to buy any of it. Another great example is in some of the financial groups where half the posters is looking for deals to fund (these are brokers doing some wishful fishing), and the other half are talking about money instead of earning it. Every so often a request for financing floats by, but those generally don't get any attention, no matter how good they may be. (sigh)

This article is excellent, and you should read every word of it!

How To Achieve More And Work More Efficiently

Forget about your job title or profession – everyone is looking for ways to be more productive at work. It’s time to set down your gallon-sized container of coffee, toss out your three-page to-do list, and put an end to those ridiculously long emails you’ve been sending.
Experiencing a highly productive workday can feel euphoric.

But contrary to popular belief, simply checking tasks off your to-do list isn’t really an indication of productivity. Truly productive people aren’t focused on doing more things; this is actually the opposite of productivity. If you really want to be productive, you’ve got to make a point to do fewer things.

Recently I spoke with project management and productivity genius Tony Wong to find out the secret to a more productive workday. He provided me with some excellent insight into what he and other like-minded productive individuals do during their work week.
Harness your productivity by taking note of these eight things:

1. Create a smaller to-do list. Getting things accomplished during your workday shouldn’t be about doing as much as possible in the sanctioned eight hours. It may be hard to swallow, but there’s nothing productive about piling together a slew of tasks in the form of a checklist. Take a less-is-more approach to your to-do list by only focusing on accomplishing things that matter.

2. Take breaks. You know that ache that fills your brain when you’ve been powering through tasks for several hours? This is due to your brain using up glucose. Too many people mistake this for a good feeling, rather than a signal to take a break. Go take a walk, grab something to eat, workout, or meditate – give your brain some resting time. Achieve more productivity during your workday by making a point to regularly clear your head. You’ll come back recharged and ready to achieve greater efficiency.

3. Follow the 80/20 rule. Did you know that only 20 percent of what you do each day produces 80 percent of your results? Eliminate the things that don’t matter during your workday: they have a minimal effect on your overall productivity. For example, on a project, systematically remove tasks until you end up with the 20 percent that gets the 80 percent of results.

4. Start your day by focusing on yourself. If you begin your morning by checking your email, it allows others to dictate what you accomplish.{italics mine} Set yourself in the right direction by ignoring your emails and taking the morning to focus on yourself, eat a good breakfast, meditate, or read the news.

5. Take on harder tasks earlier in the day. Knock out your most challenging work when your brain is most fresh. Save your busy work – if you have any – for when your afternoon slump rolls in.

6. Pick up the phone. The digital world has created poor communication habits. Email is a productivity killer and usually a distraction from tasks that actually matter. For example, people often copy multiple people on emails to get it off their plate – don't be a victim of this action. This distracts everyone else by creating noise against the tasks they’re trying to accomplish and is a sign of laziness. If you receive an email where many people are CC'd, do everyone a favor by BCCing them on your reply. If your email chain goes beyond two replies, it’s time to pick up the phone. Increase your productivity by scheduling a call.

7. Create a system. If you know certain things are ruining your daily productivity, create a system for managing them. Do you check your emails throughout the day? Plan a morning, afternoon, and evening time slot for managing your email. Otherwise, you’ll get distracted from accomplishing more important goals throughout the day.

8. Don’t confuse productivity with laziness. While no one likes admitting it, sheer laziness is the No. 1 contributor to lost productivity. In fact, a number of time-saving methods – take meetings and emails for example – are actually just ways to get out of doing real work. Place your focus on doing the things that matter most as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Remember, less is more when it comes to being productive during the workday.

What’s your secret to productive workdays?

About Ilya Pozin:
Founder of Ciplex. Columnist for Inc, Forbes & LinkedIn. Gadget lover, investor, mentor, husband, father, and '30 Under 30' entrepreneur. Follow Ilya below to stay up-to-date with his articles and updates!

You've now gotten all 15 of the best tips for success, achievement and wealth. If you don't use at least some of them some of the time, you have been reading the wrong blog.

Thank you as always, for reading me, and for sharing my articles with your connections and colleagues through your social media network

Douglas E. Castle for The Taking Command Blog
and The Sending Signals Blog

 


Douglas E. Castle, The CFI Group Of Companies, Taking Command, Taking Control, Leadership
Apparently, someone has seen fit to posterize me. What's so sad about it is that I'm not even as good-looking as the guy in the image above.






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CFI, C.F.I., CrowdFunding Incubator,  crowdfunding, crowd funding, incubators, accelerators, finance projects, listing services, start up, small business, SME, funding, capitalization, financing, leverage, company services, management, marketing, fundraising, technology, mentoring, advice, media, branding, memes, business tips tricks tools and resources, entrepreneur, forum, discussion, applications, technologies, risk assessment, business model, strategic planning, organizational development, connections, networking, early-stage, first-round, angel  funding, venture capital, credit lines, assistance, business growth, biz builders, social media power, delegation, automation, monitoring, metrics, brainstorming, meetups, joint ventures, partnerships - http://CFICrowdFundingIncubator.blogspot.com, http://www.CrowdFundingIncubator.com, marketing, messaging, news releases, free, gain market share, increase backlinks, SEO, influence, disruption theory, directory, RSS feeds, Douglas E. Castle, blogroll, blogs, crowdfunding blogs...



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