Our Values Determine Our Results

We hear of businesses succeeding or failing, but it is not the business ... it is the people who succeed or fail. ~ S. Truett Cathy

Picking up where we left off....

If you missed my first post "The One Thing Leaders Need To Know" in this short series on values, you may want to take the time to review it before proceeding. If you remember, I ended it by asking you to consider the following questions:

1. How are my values impacting my results?
2. What do I need to stop valuing?
3. What do I need to keep valuing?
4. What do I need to start valuing?

Before I address these questions, I want to share an experience my wife, Ria, and I had just a week ago.

Learning from those that value what I value....

A few weeks back, I discovered Jimmy Collins and his book, Creative Followership: In the Shadow of Greatness. Having now read it and met him in person, I highly recommend it to all followers, aspiring leaders, and leaders. Creative Followership offers a seldom discussed "follower's" perspective.

Jimmy is perfectly positioned to write on the subject of followership because for 33 years he chose to follow a great leader, S. Truett Cathy, Founder of Chick-fil-A.

A person with the gift of leadership and a broad sphere of influence casts a great shadow. ~ Jimmy Collins

Jimmy assisted Truett with the design of the very first Chick-fil-A as a consultant in 1967 and retired from Chick-fil-A 33 years later in 2001, as the President and COO. Together, Truett and Jimmy laid the foundation for what is now a $6 Billion organization.

We can decide who we want to be and invent ourselves, or we can just drift through life and accept whatever we become. ~ Jimmy Collins

When it comes to values in the workplace, Chick-fil-A sets the bar high with their "Second Mile Service" program. Ria and I have learned much about Chick-fil-A and their values over the last two years as we have worked with one of the local stores on a leadership development program. It is a pleasure to serve their leadership team with leadership training and team coaching because they are always seeking to improve. Continuous improvement (kaizen) has been a core value for Chick-fil-A from the start.

The values that Truett and Jimmy put in place have yielded amazing results, not only financially, but also relative to the development of people. After all, it's the people that create the financial gains. When you do the right things for the right reasons at the right time, you get the right results.

We all face difficult choices in the workplace, and how we choose to respond to them either builds our character or tarnishes our reputation. ~ Jimmy Collins

Investing time with Jimmy Collins....

On June 18, 2015, Ria and I had the privilege of sharing a two-hour private breakfast with Jimmy Collins in Atlanta, Georgia at the location of Truett's original Dwarf House which was built in 1946. It's been replaced with a newer Chick-fil-A Dwarf House today. We asked a lot of questions and learned a lot about Jimmy's values (more on this in the next lesson). What an amazing opportunity that was for us. One of the highlights of our careers.

Jimmy is now 79, full of life and energy, and is excited to be sharing his values with high school and college students around the country. If you're interested in having him speak, click here. He'll be happy to hear from you and ready to make it happen. He's a high impact follower, and leader, on a mission to spread the word about followership.

Followers choose to follow a leader with a compelling purpose, vision, cause, or goal, the unifying purpose. It is the leader's unifying purpose that attracts the interest and loyalty of followers. The leader is someone who is able to communicate unifying purpose in a manner that is inspiring, persuasive, or motivating. The unifying purpose joins the followers to the leader. ~ Jimmy Collins

Intentional thinking leads to intended results....

Let's revisit the four value-based questions and reflect on them. Remember, high impact leaders always have high impact values. Who we are matters much more than what we know.

1. How are my values impacting my results? Hopefully, you've spent some time reflecting on the values (good and bad) that you hold close and have come to realize they are the foundation upon which you make all of your decisions (good and bad). Every thought is rooted in one or more of our values. Our values are the soil from which our thoughts grow. If we have fertile soil, we will produce thoughts that allow us to grow and develop positive influence with others. This is the key to making a high impact personally and professionally.
2. What do I need to stop valuing? What values do you have that are holding you back, preventing you from being promoted, preventing you from the career you dream about, and preventing you from making better decisions? What activities do you value? Those that serve others, or those that involve others serving you? What should you let go of in order to move forward in life? As a leader, what do you value more – positive change or the status quo?
3. What do I need to keep valuing? What values do you have that are serving you well, moving you in the right direction, and delivering the results you seek? When you do the right things and get the desired results, what values were those decisions based upon? What values do you have that will add value to others? What values do you have that are non-negotiable? What values get you the most compliments and the most positive feedback personally and professionally?
4. What do I need to start valuing? What values are you aware of that you need to adopt? Where do you need to focus your energy? What do you see other highly effective people doing? What do you see high impact leaders doing that you should be doing? How strongly do you value discipline? Do you value growth and development? If so, is it something you say or something you do, and does your calendar and your checkbook prove it? Do you value serving others? What are you willing to do that you aren't doing now to get from where you are to where you want to be?

The good news is that it matters little where you come from or where you have been, because you have the freedom to choose who you will become and what you will do in the future. ~ Jimmy Collins

Reflect, rethink, reset, and restart....

In my last lesson, I asked you to think on the four main questions above. Now, I've added some additional supporting questions that should help you dig a little deeper into who you are and why you are where you are.

My challenge to those that are truly serious about going to the next level: take each main question and the supporting questions and set aside some time each day over the next four days for yourself to evaluate yourself in each area. Think it out. Break it down. Write it down. Growth doesn't happen by accident. You have to be intentional.

Most importantly as you reflect and evaluate, attempt to identify the reason "why" you want to go to the next level. How will the organization benefit? How will those you lead benefit? How will your family benefit? If you are adding so much value to others, how will you benefit? Knowing why you want to make changes give you the power to make changes.

Why should a leader keep growing and learning? Your growth determines who you are. Who you are determines who you attract. And, who you attract determines the success of your organization. ~ John C. Maxwell

There's more to come in this series on values....

If you enjoyed these first two lessons, you don’t want to miss the next one as I continue by digging deeper into the values of high impact leaders. Click here for "Part 3." Continue to reflect on your values and the impact they are having on your ability to lead and influence others. In Part 3, we will be looking at examples of high impact leaders and how their values shaped their leadership.

FREE downloads available:

Click here now for a FREE download of the entire leadership principle-packed Chapter 11, "Get Out of the Way and Lead" from the first book in my Demystifying Leadership Series: Defining Influence. In this nearly 20 page chapter, I share about:

• Managing vs Leading
• Scarcity vs Abundance
• Formal Authority vs Moral Authority
• The 5 Types of Leaders
• Compare/Contrast 17 Manager vs Leader Perspectives

Click here to access the first 5 chapters of “Blue-Collar Leadership: Leading from the Front Lines.”

• 1: I’m one of you.
• 2: I believe in you.
• 3: You’re in the perfect place.
• 4: Common sense is never enough.
• 5: There is an “I” in Team.

Note: I encourage you to be a river, not a reservoir. Please share my blogs with others if you find value in them. I believe in abundance and write them to help others become more effective, successful, and significant.

Make an impact!

Mack Story

My passion is to help you live with abundance, achieve success, choose significance, and leave a legacy. In other words, I want to help you make a High Impact !

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Mack’s story is an amazing journey of personal and professional growth. He began his career in manufacturing on the front lines of a machine shop. He grew himself into upper management and found his niche in lean manufacturing and along with it, developed his passion for leadership. He understands that everything rises and falls on leadership.

Mack is the author of Blue-Collar Leadership Series, Defining Influence, & 10 Values of High Impact Leaders. He's an inspiration for people everywhere as an example of achievement, growth, and personal development. His passion inspires people all over the world! Order signed copies here.

Mack’s experience as a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Coach, Trainer, and Speaker includes an international training event in Guatemala with John as part of the Cultural Transformation in Guatemala where more than 20,000 Guatemalan leaders were trained.

Contact Mack at 334-728-4143 or [email protected] for Keynote Speaking, Corporate Training, Professional Leadership Development, Cultural Enhancement/Transformation, and Process Improvement.