6 Leadership Lessons From Dr. Seuss

Today is the day that the legendary Dr. Seuss was born.  Many images enter you head when someone mentions Dr. Seuss.  You may think of your first book, green eggs and ham, or even that pesky Grinch who stole Christmas.  When I think about Dr. Seuss I envision leadership lessons.  Below you will find a series of quotes from the collective works of Dr. Seuss and a brief explanation of how each relates to leadership. 

                     

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”

Leaders should be bold, take risks, and move organizations forward.  One of my favorite sayings is that managers do things right and leaders do the right things.  That's the difference between fitting in and standing out.  Dr. Seuss did not fit in and neither should you.  

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”  

I believe that leaders have a responsibility to be the "Lead Learner".  You set the tone for the rest of the organization through your actions.  The best leaders are typically learners first.  The great news is that you do not have to attend a conference or pay for an expensive workshop to get smarter.  Technology allows leaders to leverage the wisdom of the world.  You can even become smarter in a box with a fox or on a train in the rain.

“With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.” 

The not-so-good street that many leaders end up on has to do with actions not matching words.  A leader can have the best ideas and intentions yet go nowhere when the actions don't match up.  A leader’s actions must always match even if your wardrobe does not match like many of the characters in Dr. Seuss’ imagination.

“Be who you are and say what you feel, 

because those who mind don't matter, 

and those who matter don't mind” 

If everyone is happy with the work you are doing then you probably aren't leading much of anything.   Leadership is about change and relentlessly seeking a better way.  Somebody, somewhere will not be excited about change and a better way.  Make sure you take inventory of those who mind and those who matter.  

“You have brains in your head. 

You have feet in your shoes 

You can steer yourself 

any direction you choose.” 

Do not be afraid to abandon an initiative that isn't working.  Leaders often ignore signs that an initiative or project should change direction.  Leaders can and should admit when a project has failed or an idea hasn't panned out.  This type of transparency builds trust within an organization.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.”

 Everyone has a responsibility to lead.  You are the only one that brings your combination of skills to the table.  Nothing will get better without your leadership and today is the only day you are guaranteed.

There were many more quotes that I could choose.  

So next time you are reading a Dr. Seuss Book 

Make sure not to snooze.

Impossible is Nothing

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing." 

- Muhammad Ali

5 Free iPad Apps that Bring the News to You

I am a big believer in finding ways to be more efficient.  I love to Google and wander through endless resources online but I find myself utilizing apps that feed news, blogs, articles, etc. more and more.  Here are five apps that I am currently using to bring all of the smart information that is out there to me.

1. Zite is a free personalized magazine that automatically learns what you like and gets smarter every time you use it. I have expanded my interests and discovered new authors, topics, etc.  This app also allows you to share directly from the magazine.  I can even save into Evernote, ReaditLater, Instapaper, etc.  

2. SkyGrid is billed as a beautiful and captivating way to stay up to date on your news. You can follow sources, topics and receive updates on the interests you care about. The customized Photo Grid™ is also a nice feature.  

3. Flipboard also creates a personalized magazine out of everything being shared with you. I love that you can flip through your Facebook newsfeed, tweets from your Twitter timeline, photos from Instagram and much more. The interface is both beautiful and functional.

4. News360 is a new app for me.  It provides many of the same functions as the previous three.  News360 for iPad aggregates more than 7000 different news sources around the web to bring you news stories in a concise and useful stream.  I do like the way News360 can learn from your Facebook, Twitter, Evernote & Google Reader accounts to automatically create an interest graph that you use to get the stories that are most relevant to you.

5.  MobileRSS I'd be remiss if I didn't add a mobile RSS feeder to the list.  There are many different ones out there.  The one I currently utilize is very simple and straightforward.  You can move directly from the reader to email, Twitter, ReaditLater, etc.


I know that there are many more apps that you are utilizing to both become smarter and more efficient.  Feel free to share!

Leap Before You Look

This year is a leap year as evidenced by today being February 29th.  It should also be a leap year for your leadership practices.  I know you have heard the saying "Look Before You Leap" a million times. This concept was unsuccessfully drilled in my head throughout a series of leaping adventures growing up where both bones and many household items were broken.

What if we were to flip that saying around during this leap year?

Instead of "Look Before You Leap" we would "Leap Before We Look".  

Many people spend so much time looking that they become paralyzed by fear and never leap.  We also box ourselves into what people have done before and impose constraints that may not be necessary.  We are in need of some big changes in education.  Those changes will not be made by people who are afraid to leap.

Many changes are being made TODAY on the shoulders of teachers and administrators that have the courage to allow students to bring their own device, flip the classroom, engage students in service learning, and more.  Our students need us to leap today so that they have the tomorrow they deserve.

I firmly believe that you can lead from wherever you are.  Leadership is all about having the courage to leap forward knowing that failure is possible.

This is your leap year.  What leaps will you make to propel all of us forward?

Leadership Essential: I'm Not Making Excuses

"Excuses Change Nothing, But Make Everyone Feel Better." 

- Mason Cooley

Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and they say, 
"I'm not making excuses but ....."? 


Perhaps you are even guilty of using this phrase yourself.  What typically follows this phrase?  If you listen closely you will indeed hear a long list of excuses about why the organization is not moving forward.  

• What would happen if this phrase was banned from your organization?  
• What if you were only allowed to focus on your initiatives instead of all of the obstacles?  
• What if we weren't really making excuses?

I believe the results will be far more impressive than the reasons why we couldn't do it in the first place.

Leadership Lessons from Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have always been inspired by the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr.  This began at an early age when my mom showed me a napkin that he signed for her during a chance meeting.  It has continued through my professional career as I often quote Dr. King in speeches and presentations.  There are numerous lessons that one can learn from in studying the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.  The following are leadership lessons taken from quotes attributed to Dr. King.

“We must use time creatively. “

We are all given the same number of minutes each day.  Furthermore, we get the same number of minutes a day that Dr. King had when he was alive.  How are you using your time?  A leader’s calendar will always show his or her true priorities.   How does your calendar match up with your stated beliefs, priorities, and initiatives?

“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”

Leaders often search for consensus when beginning new initiatives or reaching critical decisions.  The idea of searching is quite passive.  Think about when you search for something on the internet.  Sometimes you are able to find it easily while other times you get distracted with different things you found.  The best leaders take control in critical situations and actively mold consensus.  

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

Leaders know where they want the organization to head before many of the other stakeholders.  There are many similarities between innovation and leadership.  One of the key ideas that both concepts have is that if everyone is happy and content then neither is taking place.  A leader is responsible for continually moving an organization forward.  This will likely be in direct conflict to people who really like the way things currently run.  A leader has to be okay with people not agreeing and directly opposing initiatives.  Many people cannot see the staircase and therefore refuse to budge.

“I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live.”

Leadership is about passion.  The best leaders in history were passionate about the initiatives they were leading.  Dr. King is the perfect example of this belief.  What are you passionate about? 

Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions.

People often look for the quick fix as it pertains to all areas of life.  This is no different when it comes to leadership.  The best leaders engage themselves and others in hard, solid thinking around critical initiatives.  The easy way is also the route that most other people are currently taking.  The path to excellence is never easy but always worth the work.

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”

Nowhere in this quote is the mention of bubble sheets, minimum standard assessments, and a deluge of data.  Leaders often set the bar too low in an effort to ensure success.  True leadership is about taking some risks in order to achieve greatness.  Greatness begins with an education system that teaches students to think both intensively and critically. 

“Whatever your life's work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.”

My father believed that if you weren’t going to do your best at a task (any task), then you shouldn’t even attempt it.  This also holds true for leadership.  The people whom you lead will both notice and emulate your relentless approach.  Similarly, they will also notice and emulate your approach if you are putting forth less than your best.  

These are just a few of the leadership lessons from a man who made a tremendous impact in the face of overwhelming adversity.  How will you employ these lessons into your leadership practices?

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