Category Archive for ‘Thought Provoking’ at DrivenLeaders.com

Archive for the 'Thought Provoking' Category

Would You Change Your Personality to Advance Your Career?

Published

on September 28, 2009

. 1 Comment

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personalities Would You Change Your Personality to Advance Your Career? Over the past few weeks, I’ve been on the road quite a bit and with each flight I find some needed time to catch up on industry journals, books, and whatever I can get my hands on. My last trip to Chicago proved to be just such an occasion, yet this time I found myself grazing the most recent issue of Spirit (Southwest’s in-flight magazine). Flipping through the pages, I came across an interesting article by Executive Editor Brad Cope, pondering an interesting question – is it possible to change your personality type to advance your career?

While there is no single personality type that can be label the “best” or “most successful,” it’s no secret that certain personalities seem to excel in the business. If you’re familiar with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), you will find that “ESTJ’s” or those labeled as - Extroverted, Sensing, Thinking, and Judging - are among those most frequently on the fast track for the corner office.

“More executives and managers are ESTJ’s than any other personality type,” says Rich Thompson, divisional director of research for CPP Inc., the organization that publishes the Myers-Briggs test. “ESTJ’s are the preferred personality of America’s business culture.”

To provide a little background, the MBTI enables one to discover and understand their personality preferences. Not necessarily a concrete picture of your every action, but in general, the natural preferences that make you who you are. The theory contends that:

An individual is either primarily Extraverted or Introverted
An individual is either primarily Sensing or iNtuitive
An individual is either primarily Thinking or Feeling
An individual is either primarily Judging or Perceiving

The possible combinations of these basic preferences form the 16 different Personality Types of which we all possess. (To learn more about each personality type visit the Myers-Briggs Foundation website.)

While I won’t ruin the fun of Doug’s adventure in changing his personality, his article brings to light the importance of understanding our own behavior, how we are likely to deal with different situations, and in which environments we are most comfortable. This understanding of our strengths and weaknesses will aid us in becoming a better leaders. Conversely, learning about others’ Personality Types help us to understand the most effective way to communicate with them, and how they function best - essential pieces to creating a winning team.

Don’t know your personality type? Visit the Myers-Briggs Foundation website to take the assesment and learn more.

Are You a Manager or Leader?

Published

Anthony Portuesi

on August 10, 2009

in Leadership, Managing and Thought Provoking

. 0 Comments

leader or manager Are You a Manager or Leader? Often people use the terms “leaders” and “managers” interchangeably, however, there are many distinct differences. While a good leader must be a good manager, it does not necessarily follow that a good manager is a good leader. Whereas both are essential for success, they each play different roles in getting there.

On which side do you fall?

leadersvsmanagers Are You a Manager or Leader?

Is Your Business Leveraging the Power of Social Media?

Published

Anthony Portuesi

on June 25, 2009

in Technology and Thought Provoking

. 3 Comments

Social media has been the hot topic for some time now, seemingly expanding its reach each and every day in various capacities. For marketers, these social platforms have already been marketing game changers, providing endless opportunities for connecting with consumers in deeper and more meaningful ways.

Social networking sites (“Member Community” sites) eclipsed E-mail in global reach at 68.4% vs. 64.8% in February 2009. And even more significant, in only the first few months of 2009, the reach of these sites is growing at a brisk pace, faster than any other online sector. – The Nielson Company

From a global perspective, it’s interesting to note how quickly this phenomenon is continues to expand. The graph below, from Nielsen’s Global Online Media Landscape shows the growth from 07′-08′ on a country-by-country basis. Significant growth in a one year period.

Statistics such as these make it hard to deny the rapid growth and raw power that social media commands. Nevertheless, many organizations have been less than speedy with their entry into this digital environment. Some with good reason as it may not fit their organizations objectives, yet others hold out simply due to lack of understanding and fear of the unknown. The thought of navigating the social landscape can be a challenging task, especially for beginners uneasy about getting their feet wet.

Regardless of reason, that fact remains that there are many companies simply sitting on the sidelines, missing a prime opportunity to establish direct relationships with their customers and the possibility of transforming this “two-way communication” into increased sales.

While I don’t claim to be an expert in this area, my pure fascination of the digital marketing revolution fuels my desire to stay abreast of the changing dynamics. If you or your organization is one of the many sitting on the sidelines, I’ll challenge you to take the first step and educate yourself on social media and the possibilities it brings to the table. Introspectively evaluate your current marketing efforts and decide if this is a field you should be playing on. It may or may not be, but the one truth is that sitting on the sidelines waiting and wondering is no longer a viable option.

Where to start…

If you haven’t already done so, finding solid website hosting and creating a content rich home base is your first task. Taking it to the next level, 360i has developed a Social Marketing Playbook, designed to help marketers evaluate the social marketing opportunities available, determine which ones are best for their brands and develop a strategy following best practices for achieving success in social media.

The goals of the Playbook are to:

Provide a framework for establishing a set of clear objectives and strategy when approaching social marketing
Encourage thinking of social marketing as an opportunity to have a continuous, valuable exchange with customers
Advance discussions on amplifying marketing results through the integration of social marketing and offline campaigns

It’s an excellent read that will provide a foundation for the concepts and terminology you’ll need to understand. Download it here.

Secondly, I recommend following a few cutting edge digital marketers. With the landscape in a continual state of flux, they provide a fresh perspective on how to keep your company’s strategy current and relevant. While there are many excellent bloggers that I follow, I’ll keep the list short for the purposes of this post. A few that I recommend (in no particular order):

Dave Knox (hardknoxlife.com) -Dave is a CPG Brand Manager and true Marketing Technopologist. In may, Ad Age named Dave as one of their “25 Media People to Follow on Twitter.” As personal friend for quite some time, I can tell you first hand he will stretch your views on the mix of marketing and technology. (@daveknox)
Pete Blackshaw (consumergeneratedmedia.com) - Pete coined the term “consumer- generated media” (CGM) and authors a blog by that same name. He is an accomplished author, most recently publishing “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000.” Pete perspective in helping companies promote and protect their brands online is well worth following. (@pblackshaw)
Jeremiah Owyang (www.web-strategist.com/blog/) - Jeremiah is a big dog when it comes to web strategy. The focus of his blog is to discuss how web tools enable companies to connect with customers. An excellent place to start is with his analytical posts tagged Web Strategy. (@jowyang)

Feel free to comment on any additional resources that you have found helpful.

The Leader’s Lifelong Learner’s Permit

Published

Anthony Portuesi

on June 8, 2009

in Leadership and Thought Provoking

. 2 Comments

learnerspermit The Leaders Lifelong Learners Permit

This past week I connected with Sangeeth Varghese, founder of LeadCap, a leadership organization building future leaders in India, and the author of Decide to Lead. Sangeeth and I both subscribe to the belief that in a world of continuous change, one the most valuable skills is the ability to learn. Below are some of his thought provoking comments recently published on Forbes.com, pertaining to leadership and being a lifelong student.

You should be educating yourself at every moment.

Learning is like the weather. Everybody talks about it, but nobody does much about it. True leaders, though, can never be switched off to learning opportunities. As John F. Kennedy wrote in a speech he was to give the day he was assassinated, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”
True leaders are beings who go around with a permanent learner’s permit. They use their minds to learn from even the most mundane things in life, and thereby they grow unceasingly. There are three broad ways in which they keep learning and growing.

First, leaders learn constantly. They actively strive to learn at every moment. They view taking a break as a chance to chew on information newly acquired, and to create an ideal state for imbibing more new information. Perhaps the best story of constant learning is that of Friedrich August Kekulé, who learned even in his sleep. He was struggling to decipher the structure of the benzene molecule, and it is said that one night he dreamed of a snake forming a ring by biting its own tail. Inspired by this, and prepared by all the research he had done, he saw how the benzene molecule could be in the form of a ring. He was correct. His discovery was a leap for organic chemistry.

Second, leaders learn continuously. That is, when they’re really at it they brook no distraction. Research has shown that it is more efficacious to study for one hour straight than for two hours with interruption. Interruptions break our train of thought and limit our ability to retain information. They take the power out of learning. Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective, attributed much of his success to his remarkable ability to detach his mind at will to focus on the problem at hand. Would-be leaders can learn a lesson from that idealized, imaginary detective.

Third, leaders learn cyclically. They understand that life is never one-dimensional. It must be studied from every side and turned upside down. They learn by repetition and repeated review. Whatever subject they choose, they always find more to learn. When they move to new areas of knowledge, they stay alert to picking up knowledge pertinent to previous topics. This builds deeper understanding. sangeethvarghese The Leaders Lifelong Learners Permit

Leadership takeaway: Leaders never let their minds shut down. Whatever you are doing at any given moment–watching the news, working on a business deal, talking to a friend, reading this article–give it your full attention, and keep on learning.

Stepping Up in the Absence of Leadership (drivenleaders.com)
5 Attributes of Inspirational Leaders (drivenleaders.com)

3 Secrets to Becoming a Super-Resilient Person

Published

Anthony Portuesi

on April 26, 2009

in Personal Development and Thought Provoking

. 0 Comments

bounce back paddle ball1 3 Secrets to Becoming a Super Resilient Person We all learn something about ourselves in difficult times. For some the lesson is reassuring - no matter what the setback or scenario, certain people always seem to remain positive and maintain their emotional balance. Yet for others, adversity provides the opportunity to slip into mental spiral that can be harder to recover from than the original setback itself. The ability to bounce back from adversity – known as “resilience” - is looked at as both highly valuable and a little mysterious. While it’s sometimes looked at as a special trait enjoyed only by an extraordinary few, resiliency is actually something that can be developed with a conscious effort.

Some psychologists, such as Dr. Robert Brooks of Harvard Medical School, look at the ability to bounce back from adversity as a mindset – one that defines the way in which we understand and approach all aspects of our life. He states his rational for this view by saying;

“The reason I do so is my strong belief that mindsets can be changed, that they do not have to remain fixed ideas that are cast in stone. I realize that many people have held on to certain self-defeating ideas for years, but with insight, courage, and support these ideas can be changed.”

There’s not doubt that enhancing your ability to bounce back quickly will change your outlook in business, relationships and life in general. The question is, How can you consciously improve your resilience?

Through her research, Suzanne Kobasa teaches that to truly improve your resiliency, you must learn to embrace the 3-C’s. Mastering all three can help you find balance in difficult times and give you the strength to overcome them. If you’re facing a setback or difficult situation, reflect on the following and you’ll be one step closer to becoming a more resilient person.

The 3-C’s: Keys to Becoming More Resilient

Challenge

View change as a chance to grow. Focus on the positive and build from there. Successful people appreciate that change is a constant in life and interpret change as a challenge to confront and master rather than as a stress to avoid.

Control

Believe you can change your situation for the better and act on it. Focus on what you can control, instead of concentration on things that are outside of your influence. It is only natural that you will feel more stressed when you attempt to alter uncontrollable circumstances. Stay focused and spend your energy on things you can control.

Commitment

Be passionate about your pursuits and remember the bigger picture. When you have a purpose, when you are guided by a vision, you never lose sight of why you are doing what you are doing. When this happens, an energy and passion is triggered that provides meaning and lessens the negative impact of stressful situations.

Are You a Duck in Eagle School?

Published

Anthony Portuesi

on February 14, 2009

in Guest Posts and Thought Provoking

. 4 Comments

duckling 300x264 Are You a Duck in Eagle School? (Today’s thought provoking guest post is by Derek Halpern. Derek recently launched a free Sales Training Workshop at Prevential.com).

Do you constantly feel out of place despite being a leader at work? You’re smart and ambitious, but everything you do just doesn’t feel right? Well, you may be a duck in eagle school or visa versa.

In Leadership Gold, John C. Maxwell, illustrates one of the most important factors of becoming a successful leader and that is “Don’t send your ducks to eagle school.” After all, a duck will never soar like an eagle, just like an eagle will never swim like a duck.

When pursuing a life-time of leadership like John C. Maxwell, you need to make sure you’re doing the right things in the right profession and if you’re not, you need to stop doing the right things in the wrong profession.

It seems simple right? Unfortunately, there are countless people sticking out a job that does not resonate with their strengths or values. It’s demoralizing and hinders success. So, remember, you’re only on Earth for approximately 75 years and you might as well give it your best shot to achieve your fullest potential.

So, what are you going to do about it?

Is There Such a Thing as a “Typical” Entrepreneur?

Published

Anthony Portuesi

on October 31, 2008

in Entrepreneurship and Thought Provoking

. 1 Comment

entrepreneurship1 Is There Such a Thing as a “Typical” Entrepreneur? Self-confident, driven, visionary, a risk-taker, all traits that quickly come to mind. Even so, the SBA Office of Advocacy has looked to give the question a more definitive answer by taking it one step further. This month the SBA released the results of an ongoing study, which attempts to determine if and what college experiences lead one to wear the hat of an entrepreneur.

The study looks at a group of college graduates from the class of 1993 and periodically tracks their job progress for 10 years. By delving into “college experiences” they were able to identify specific characteristics of individuals who are self-employed versus those who opt to work for a for-profit business, a not-for-profit entity, or the government. It’s an interesting study that establishes some thought provoking conclusions.

According to the study, if you did one or more of the following in college, you are more likely to be an entrepreneur than work for somebody else:

Majored in something outside of the hard sciences (engineering, math, chemistry, biology, etc.);
Tended to be a “jack-of-all-trades”—taking many different courses, but not mastering any;
Have not go on to graduate school;
Had a lower GPA than your peers who ended up working in the nonprofit and government sectors.

The study concludes that entrepreneurs seem to be more “average” than exceptional in respect to the general population. Keeping in mind that this was only a sample from one year, my experience shows the assumption to be fairly accurate. I’d be more interested to hear if the self-employed out there agree…

The Power of Personal Branding

Published

Anthony Portuesi

on September 19, 2008

in Gen-Y, Personal Branding and Thought Provoking

. 4 Comments

personalbranding The Power of Personal Branding

Personal branding is the red-hot buzzword these days and for good reason. The term, first discussed by Tom Peters in 1997, is a powerful topic whose significance is growing by the day. No one will disagree that in the digital age, the importance of establishing and maintaining a strong personal brand is vital to your future success.

“It’s what you do that makes you who you are and how you project that to others that makes you memorable.”

- Dan Schwabel, Personal Branding Blog

Incase you’re new to the subject, personal branding is treating your personal image as if it where a consumer brand. It’s a process of articulating your unique values and attributes, consistently, across multiple platforms. Being a marketing guy at heart, this concept has intrigued me ever since I first heard it years ago.

In today’s marketplace, a strong personal brand gives you the ability to stand out in a crowd - a competitive advantage. Tomorrow, on the other hand, will be different. The absence of one (or a negative one) could be devastating. Just this month, careerbuilder.com released some eye-opening statistics related to employers using social networking sites to screen potential employees. Here are a few memorable stats directly from their site:

Of those hiring managers who have screened job candidates via social networking profiles, one-third (34 percent) reported they found content that caused them to dismiss the candidate from consideration. Top areas for concern among these hiring managers included:

41% - candidate posted information about them drinking or using drugs

40% - candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information

29% - candidate had poor communication skills

27% - candidate lied about qualifications

On the other hand, social networking profiles gave some job seekers an edge over the competition. Twenty-four percent of hiring managers who researched job candidates via social networking sites said they found content that helped to solidify their decision to hire the candidate. Top factors that influenced their hiring decision included:

48% - candidate’s background supported their qualifications for the job

43% - candidate had great communication skills

40% - candidate was a good fit for the company’s culture

36% - candidate’s site conveyed a professional image

To see the complete results of the survey, view the full report.

Though I won’t claim to be an expert on the subject, it’s hard to deny that the power of personal branding is only growing by the day. Below are some of my favorite resources in regard to personal branding. Each provides a slightly different outlook and strategy as to creating and promoting your own personal brand. My only advice is, that you don’t wait, start today…

Additional resources on personal branding:

- Dan Schawbel’s Personal Branding Blog
- Reach Communications’ Personal Branding Blog
- Rob Cuesta’s Personal Branding Blog
- Chris Brogan’s Free E-Book on personal branding
- Brand-Yourself.com

Secrets of Great Leaders

Published

Anthony Portuesi

on September 14, 2008

in Leadership and Thought Provoking

. 0 Comments

lincolnmemorial Secrets of Great Leaders

As Election Day approaches, it’s all too easy to get caught up in the hype that’s conjured up by the media. Each day mistaken words, abridged interviews, and campaign ads attempt to influence the millions of voters that will be heading to the polls. Attempting to cut through the nonsense, one historian urges Americans to consider the leadership strengths of our most successful Presidents when deciding to cast their ballots this November.

“Focusing on the qualities that have made some of our leaders exceptional provides a better perspective on our current candidates than what’s so often reported…” - Doris Kearns Goodwin

Doris Kearns Goodwin, a renowned historian and Pulitzer Prize winner, is featured in Parade, this week with her article entitled, “The Secret’s of America’s Great Presidents.” Using the lessons of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt as her guide, she attempts to identify 10 leadership attributes that distinguish truly great presidents.

Though her full article goes into much greater historical detail and is worth the read, the following is a summary of the 10 key attributes that Goodwin identified.

The courage to stay strong. A leader needs the ability to withstand adversity and motivate oneself in the face of frustration.
Self-confidence. Good leadership requires you to surround yourself with people of diverse perspectives who can disagree with you without fear of retaliation.
An ability to learn from errors. To lead successfully, you must be willing to acknowledge and learn from your mistakes.
A willingness to change. Conditions change and Presidents must respond.
Emotional intelligence. A President must encourage his closest advisers to give their best and remain loyal.
Self control. Great leaders manage their emotions and remain calm in the midst of trouble.
A popular touch. The best presidents have an intuitive awareness of public sentiment, a sense of when to wait and when to lead.
A moral compass. Only strong leaders have the courage and integrity to follow their convictions when the risk of losing popular support is great.
A capacity to relax. FDR held a White House cocktail hour every evening. Its cardinal rule: Nothing was to be said of politics or war.
A gift for inspiring others. One of the key qualities of a great President is his ability to communicate national goals to the people and to educate and shape public opinion.

Regardless of the Presidential connotation, her aforementioned attributes are clearly applicable to great leaders in any capacity. Each attribute seamlessly builds on the next, yielding a leader poised for success. How does your leadership approach compare to the list?

The Entrepreneurial Mindset

Published

Anthony Portuesi

on August 20, 2008

in Entrepreneurship, Gen-Y and Thought Provoking

. 2 Comments

The Entrepreneurial Mindset BusinessWeek published an interesting article this month through the perspective of Marshall Goldsmith, co-founder of Marshall Goldsmith Partners, a network of top-level executive coaches. Goldsmiths article revolves the concept of globalization, and the need for workers of all ages to exemplify the true entrepreneurial spirit to forge ahead in today’s competitive business world.

Goldsmith’s key thoughts:

“In an era of uncertainty, nothing can be taken for granted. Young people are going to have to develop skills and talents that make them globally competitive. And they are going to need to keep upgrading and changing their skills and talents to fit the needs of an ever-changing marketplace. In other words, not only will you be expected to know more and work harder, you will also be expected to keep learning in your increasingly precious spare time.”

“Old people have historically liked to brag: When I was young, things were tougher.” I no longer believe this lament is accurate. I say: “When I was young, things were easier.” “Young people in the West need to learn the meaning of one word that all successful entrepreneurs know well: compete.”

Gut check: What are you doing to set yourself apart and boost your entrepreneurial mindset?