Leading Indicators

My brother is an airline pilot and captain. He tells me about the discipline of pre-flight checks before executing the flight itself. The leaders of the flight take no shortcuts with these indicators otherwise people die. The checks are not optional, they are critical.

I enjoy listening to Inky Johnson on YouTube. He talks about purpose and process, rather than products and prizes. A clear and compelling higher purpose with a commitment to proven process will keep you honest even when your life is changed in an instant by a life-threatening injury. Inky was on course to be a professional American footballer before an injury left him unable to play ever again.

He is now a world-class inspirational speaker because his leading indicators did not shift merely because his dream of playing pro-football was dashed. Being a great man, husband and father drive him ever onward, and doing the best he can with every opportunity he gets to move the needle towards his purpose, is the process he follows. Simple. He speaks with a visible energy that inspires even if the audio is muted on your device!

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit." This quote, attributed to Aristotle, sums up the value of the right habits to predict excellence.

Inky makes a great statement; "I never cheated... but it is not about me anyway." In response to extreme adversity, he continues to commit to the leading indicators which made his family proud. His purpose was to make life better for his family, so his process was to go the extra mile as standard. His work ethic is exceptional. That has not changed, and never will.

Leading indicators involve mindset as well as method. Inspire the right mood as well, and magic can happen. When James Buster Douglas defeated Iron Mike Tyson in 1990, it emerged afterwards that he had promised his mother that he would win to make her proud. She died weeks before the fight took place but he fought for her memory, and the promise he had made to her.

Douglas was knocked down in the 8th round, but he struggled up as the count reached ten and the bell rang to end that round. Incredibly, he went on to knock out Tyson in the 10th for the first time in Tyson's phenomenal boxing career. Against all expectations Douglas won the fight. The challenger defeated the champion.

Leading indicators require discipline. The gains are often so marginal they are invisible from one day to the next. But the little things become the big things.

"Rome wasn't built in a day, but the Romans were laying bricks every hour."

In his famous poem Invictus, William Ernest Henley concluded thus; "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Leading indicators need to be mastered by your inner captain in order for consistent excellence to be unlocked.

In the same way that leading indicators of disease can be found through medical checks, the leading indicators of good health can be measured and practiced as rituals and routines. Consistent themes for individuals and teams include these three indicators.

1. A clear and compelling higher purpose worth pursuing.
2. A simple and proven system worth following.
3. The discipline and determination to never quit doing the right thing.