1. Keep Your Eye on the Big Picture. When things get tough, everybody’s temptation is to become acutely focused on the problem. The Extraordinary Leader, however, will keep his or her eye on the big picture. This doesn’t mean that we don’t address the problem. In fact, we have to address the problem. But what separates a leader from a follower is that the leader doesn’t get caught up in the problem. The leader sees the big picture and keeps moving toward the vision. The further they take their followers toward the vision, the further away from the problem they get.

2. Don’t Get Caught in the War or the Friendly Fire. When it gets tough even the most loyal team members can be tempted to start shooting and, unfortunately, they sometimes shoot each other! Rather than focusing on the enemy on the outside, they begin to question each other and find many faults with one another that they normally would not have seen. The Extraordinary Leader is the one who can keep from being drug into the fray. They keep their eye on the big picture and act rationally and objectively. They understand that people are heated and are saying things they don’t really mean. The people are firing because they are angry or scared. The Extraordinary Leader understands this and rises above it. This way, they take fewer arrows and they set the example for their followers.

3. Be First to Sacrifice. When it gets tough, like when there has to be cuts in salaries etc, the leader should do just that - lead. They need to not only be the one who is rewarded the greatest when all is well, but they need to be the first to sacrifice. The Extraordinary leader says, “I know many of you are concerned with the salary cuts. I am too. In the long run we will be healthy again but for the mean time, this is necessary. Understanding this, I want you to know that I am taking a 20% pay reduction myself. I want you to know that we are in this together.” The Extraordinary Leader is the first to sacrifice and will be rewarded with the loyalty of his or her followers.

4. Remain Calm. Panic is one of the basest of human emotions and no one is immune to it. The Extraordinary Leader, however, takes time out regularly to think the issues through so they can remain calm. They remind themselves that all is not lost and there will be another day. They remind themselves that being calm will enable them to make the best decisions - for themselves and for their followers. Panic only leads to disaster, while calm leads to victory.

5. Motivate. In tough and challenging times, people are naturally down. They tend to be pessimistic. They can’t see how it is all going to work out. Thus, they have a hard time getting going. The Extraordinary Leader knows this and will focus in on being the optimistic motivator. He or she will come to the office knowing that for the time being, the mood of the group will be carried and buoyed by them and their attitude. Above all else, they seek to show how the end result will be good - and with this they motivate their followers to continue on, braving the current storms, and on to their shared destiny.

6. Create Small Wins. One of the ways to motivate is to create small wins. The Extraordinary Leader knows that in tough times his or her people think that all is lost. They wonder if they can win. So the Extraordinary Leader creates opportunities for the team to win, even if they are small. They set smaller, more achievable goals and remind and reward the team members when they hit those goals. With each small win, the leader is building the esteem and attitude of his followers, digging them out of their self-created hole of fear.

7. Keep a Sense of Humor. Look, hardly anything in life can’t be laughed at. The Extraordinary Leader knows that even if the whole company goes down the drain, we still go home to our families and live a life of love with them. The Extraordinary Leader keeps perspective and knows that we humans act irrationally when we get scared and fail, and sometimes that is humorous. Don’t ever laugh at someone’s expense in this situation, because that will be perceived as cold and heartless, regardless of what you meant by it, but do keep the ability to laugh at yourself and the situations that present themselves. By doing this you will keep yourself and your team in an attitude that will eventually beat the tough times.

Today, some three hundred years later, the name of this craftsman who was committed to excellence is the benchmark for the best in musical instruments. His name? Antonio Stradivari! His Stradivarius violins sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars because they are the best.

When Stradivari labored, he did not know of the legacy he was creating. He was doing his best, day in and day out, to reach his standard of excellence. He didn’t spend the extra time and care to get the accolades of upper management or to be the top producer in the company. He did it because excellence was part of his focus, mission, and obsession.

It is easy to do world-class work when a boss is looking or a supervisor is around. But the test is in what you do when no one is looking. High achievers have developed the ability to stay focused when no one else is around. Does your quality or performance fluctuate based on who is in the office or which customer you are serving? Excellence is not something that you can just turn on and off whenever you feel you need it. It is a habit rooted in your attitude about your life and career.

Are you just going through the motions day to day, or are you creating a masterpiece? Autographs are valuable because they are rare and are tied to excellent performance. In today’s world, superior effort and service are becoming endangered species. Is the autograph you place on your work and service each day a Stradivarius or a Michael Jordan or a Tiger Woods? Or is it unknown, with little value? Autograph your career and your life with excellence.

Having a firm commitment to excellence, like Stradivari, has an amazing effect on your achievement motivation. When people who are simply going through the motions or who are just working for a paycheck hit a challenge or obstacle, they often run to their boss and get him or her to do it, or they procrastinate by getting a cup of coffee or shuffling the papers on their desk. On the other hand, when individuals who are committed to excellence hit a similar challenge, they immediately bounce back with energy, and they are actually exhilarated by the chance to stretch themselves to overcome the problem. A commitment to excellence will create focus, and focus will assist you in maintaining your positive motivation and in creating a balanced life.

So, start today and autograph your work with excellence!

Dan was trendy and hip; Dave was straight-laced and steady. Dave held a 3-to-2 edge in contests against Dan, while Dan had recorded the highest-ever point total in a decathlon. The athletes’ good looks, dissimilar personalities, and tremendous talent made their rivalry the perfect fit for Reebok’s marketing strategy.

During the 1992 Super Bowl, Reebok introduced Americans to Dan and Dave. The cleverly written commercials were a sensational hit, and, almost overnight, Dan and Dave were vaulted to celebrity status. Sensing the popularity of the TV spot, Reebok poured $30 million into its efforts to put Dan and Dave at the forefront of their brand’s promotions.

From January through June, Dan and Dave were ubiquitous on television and in American pop culture. Anyone who cared anything at all about sports chose sides. Reebok executives patted themselves in the back (and padded their wallets) on account of their decision to market via Dan and Dave.

DAN & DAVE: THE EMBARRASING FAILURE

At the American Olympic Trails in June of 1992, the unthinkable happened. Dan O’Brien, gold medal favorite and marketing icon, failed to qualify for the Olympics!

Overestimating his ability in the pole vault, Dan set the bar too high — an epic blunder. On his first attempt, he missed. No worries though, he still had two more tries. On his second attempt, he didn’t even come close. By his final attempt, Dan was so tight with pressure that he had no hope of clearing the bar. His Olympic dream was dashed, Reebok’s ad campaign was trashed, and Dave Johnson headed to the Olympics alone.

DAN O’BRIEN: OLYMPIC CHAMPION

After the anguish and public humiliating of missing the Olympics, Dan could have given up his dream of winning Olympic gold. He was the laughingstock of the media, and he had missed a rare opportunity to compete on the world’s greatest stage. However, Dan was a competitor, and he bounced back.

For four long years, Dan O’Brien funneled the emotions of his failure to fuel his resolve to make the 1996 Olympic Games. Rather than drowning out the memory of his mishap at the Olympic Trials, O’Brien repeatedly watched his botched attempts in the pole vault. Refusing to wallow in his setback, he learned from it, and he redoubled his training efforts.

At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, O’Brien gained redemption and achieved his dream by capturing the gold medal in the decathlon.

LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM FAILURE

“That failure set the path of my life for the next four years,” Dan O’Brien said in reflection. “I learned more from it than I had learned the previous 30 years combined.”

Dan O’Brien’s Olympic journey is instructive on the nature of failure. Here are a few lessons from his experience:

1. Failure is inevitable

Everyone, even the most decorated Olympian, knows the taste of failure. We all lose, fall short, or miss the bar during life.

2. Failure is a fork in the road

When we fail, we have several paths in front of us.

• We can blame our failures on others.
• We can identify with our setbacks to the extent that we view ourselves as failures.
• We can ignore or deny our failure.
• OR, we can embrace failure, learn from it, and use it as a springboard to get better.

Our response dictates where we end up on the path of leadership.

3. Failure is fruitful

Failure is the surest path to success. It tests, strengthens, and refines us. Passing through it qualifies us to lead.

How many times have we heard—or practiced—that bit of advice?

If you ask me, that’s the cowardly way out. We lead by example, whether in business, family or friendships. So why would we expect anyone to do as we say, not as we do, if the two are in conflict with one another?

I just returned from Shanghai, China, where I spoke to 1,500 Chinese entrepreneurs and business people. While over there I heard the Chinese proverb, “Reserve the square-inch plot for your descendants to till.” I didn’t understand the meaning, but the explanation was intriguing: The “square-inch plot” is the heart, and the meaning is that parents must leave a good example to be followed by their children.

This brought back memories from my childhood and probably yours too. Do you remember the saying, “Monkey see, monkey do”? That’s how most kids learn. And kids, of course, grow up to be adults, who usually continue to follow examples set for them.

Famous child psychiatrist Fritz Redl used to say to groups of parents: “Get out your paper and pencils. I am going to tell you the three most important things you will ever need to know about raising children—example, example and example.”

It doesn’t matter if you’re raising children or managing people, setting a good example is one of the most important leadership skills. You have to practice what you preach. Where we go and what we do advertises what we are.

Marshall Field, who founded the famous retail chain, always told employees there were 12 things to remember: “The value of time, the success of perseverance, the pleasure of working, the dignity of simplicity, the worth of character, the power of kindness, the influence of example, the obligation of duty, the wisdom of economy, the virtue of patience, the improvement of talent and the joy of originating.”

“The influence of example” is extremely important in business and life.

Actor Martin Sheen told this story: “One day a young mother brought her young child to the famous Indian leader Gandhi and said, ‘Please, Gandhi, you must tell my son to stop eating sweets.’

“Gandhi thought for a moment, then replied, ‘Well, all right, can you come back in two days?’

“The mother agreed and came back with her child in exactly two days. Gandhi took the child aside and said, ‘Don’t eat sweets.’

“‘Is that all?’ said the puzzled mother, and Gandhi said, ‘Yes.’

“‘But why couldn’t you have said that two days ago?’ asked the mother.

“‘Because,’ replied Gandhi, ‘two days ago I was still eating sweets.’”

You see, Gandhi practiced what he preached.

The Think & Grow Rich Newsletter shared the story of how the Federal Express field organization was having difficulty improving the accuracy of airbill documents, which are used to prepare invoices. Accuracy was vital but the error rate hovered around 10 percent no matter how much pressure was exerted on managers.

A senior vice-president called in one of his managing directors and told him: “The airbill error rate is really killing us. Would you please take a couple of your stations and ask the employees there to figure out a way to improve the accuracy to at least 99.5 percent? When they succeed, I’d like to use their approach as the model for our entire worldwide system.”

About six weeks later, the director called and said, “We did even better than you expected. There were only 51 errors all month out of the 21,000 airbills submitted.”

You can guess how the story ends. The entire company followed the example set for them, and the error rate for the whole Federal Express system soon improved from 10 percent to .5 percent.

Set a good example, and you can leave a lasting mark. Consider the duck. A duck is perhaps two feet long. Watch it move through water on a lake, and while you may not be able to see it paddling furiously below the surface, the wake the duck leaves behind fans out about 40 degrees, and the ripples follow for 50 feet or so. That duck leaves a wake nearly 600 times its size!

Now consider your actions. Will your example have the same effect?

Hispanic young men are at an average age of 18 with white/non-Hispanics only at 27.6% is under 9 years of age. The countries coveted purchasing power being from 18 to 35 years old.

Latino owned business growth according to the 1997 Economic Census. In March of 2001 nearly 6% of all U.S. businesses were Latino owned.

As the Latin population continues to climb researchers and marketers are rushing to learn more about this culture and how it is changing our country.  

Covey contends that every single day, people have 100 opportunities to be proactive or reactive. Let’s say you’re in your car on the freeway and an overly zealous driver is practically sitting on your tail in the fast lane. You’re driving at the speed limit, actually a couple of miles faster than the law permits. But the motorist behind you thinks he’s at the Indy 500. You can stay where you are, infuriate him and possibly get rear-ended. Or, you can move out of harm’s way, to that opening in the right-hand lane and let him pass. He’s in the wrong, and there’s no question about it. Will you follow his lead? Will you be proactive or reactive? It’s up to you.

It’s very empowering to look at life from Covey’s point-of-view. If you moved to the right lane, the reckless driver didn’t force you. He didn’t win. A vehicle can be a deadly weapon and you made the sensible, mature decision that shows why you deserve a driver’s license and the other driver belongs on roller skates.

At work, you can be proactive if you take the time to learn about the principles of nature - in this case human nature and people interaction.

“If you ignore the principles of human effectiveness, you (can) work very hard, but still not get what you want,” Covey says. Say that you’ve been working with a prospective client for the past three weeks, really putting a lot of effort into the new relationship. Then you learn, through some mutual acquaintance, that this would-be client ended up going to a competitor for the same service. It happens, and you don’t have to necessarily blame yourself. But, you should take time to reflect on the past three weeks. Were you really proactive or were you reactive? How did you interact with the client?

Covey says principles are “natural laws that govern the world.” To attain a proactive mind-set, he emphasizes one must create beneficial relationships, build trust and commit to self-renewal.”To be trusted, you must be trustworthy over time,” Covey asserts. As for self-renewal, he says renewal means “preserving and enhancing your greatest asset - yourself.”

Action. The whole world loves to watch those who make things happen, and it rewards them for causing waves of productive enterprise.

I stress this because today I see many people who are really sold on affirmations. And yet there is a famous saying that “Faith without action serves no useful purpose.” How true!

I have nothing against affirmations as a tool to create action. Repeated to reinforce a disciplined plan, affirmations can help create wonderful results.

But there is also a very thin line between faith and folly. You see - affirmations without action can be the beginnings of self-delusion. And for your well-being there is little worse than self-delusion.

The man who dreams of wealth and yet walks daily toward certain financial disaster and the woman who wishes for happiness and yet thinks thoughts and commits acts that lead her toward certain despair are both victims of the false hope which affirmations without action can manufacture. Why? Because words soothe and, like a narcotic, they lull us into a state of complacency. Remember this: TO MAKE PROGRESS YOU MUST ACTUALLY GET STARTED!

The key is to take a step today. Whatever the project, start TODAY. Start clearing out a drawer of your newly organized desk … today. Start setting your first goal… today. Start listening to motivational cassettes … today. Start a sensible weight-reduction plan … today. Start calling on one tough customer a day … today. Start putting money in your new “investment for fortune” account … today. Write a long-overdue letter … today. ANYONE CAN! Even an uninspired person can start reading inspiring books.

Get some momentum going on your new commitment for the good life. See how many activities you can pile on your new commitment to the better life. Go all out! Break away from the downward pull of gravity. Start your thrusters going. Prove to yourself that the waiting is over and the hoping is past — that faith and action have now taken charge.

It’s a new day, a new beginning for your new life. With discipline you will be amazed at how much progress you’ll be able to make. What have you got to lose except the guilt and fear of the past?

Now, I offer you this challenge: See how many things you can start and continue in this — the first day of your new beginning

THE BUZZARD: 
If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top. 

THE BAT: 
The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble 
Creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place.  If it is placed 
On the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, 
No doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it 
Can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash. 

PEOPLE: 
In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. 
We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing 

That all we have to do is look up! 

Sorrow looks back, Worry looks around, But faith looks up! 

What guides us to different destinations in life is determined by the way we have chosen to set our sail. The way that each of us thinks makes the major difference in where each of us arrive. The major difference is the set of the sail.

The same circumstances happen to us all. We have disappointments and challenges. We all have reversals and those moments when, in spite of our best plans and efforts, things just seem to fall apart. Challenging circumstances are not events reserved for the poor, the uneducated or the destitute. The rich and the poor have marital problems. The rich and the poor have the same challenges that can lead to financial ruin and personal despair. In the final analysis, it is not what happens that determines the quality of our lives, it is what we choose to do when we have struggled to set the sail and then discover, after all of our efforts, that the wind has changed directions.

When the winds change, we must change. We must struggle to our feet once more and reset the sail in the manner that will steer us toward the destination of our own deliberate choosing. The set of the sail, how we think and how we respond, has a far greater capacity to destroy our lives than any challenges we face. How quickly and responsibly we react to adversity is far more important than the adversity itself. Once we discipline ourselves to understand this, we will finally and willingly conclude that the great challenge of life is to control the process of our thinking.

Learning to reset the sail with the changing winds rather than permitting ourselves to be blown in a direction we did not purposely choose requires the development of a whole new discipline. It involves going to work on establishing a powerful, personal philosophy that will help to influence in a positive way all that we do and that we think and decide. If we can succeed in this worthy endeavor, the result will be a change in the course of our income, lifestyle and relationships, and in how we feel about the things of value as well as the times of challenge. If we can alter the way we perceive, judge and decide upon the main issues of life, then we can dramatically change our lives.

The reality of fear is that fear is human. Fear is part of growing and it isn’t going away. It is part of every person’s life and exists in every success story. In all the research I did for my book, “Conquer Fear!” I heard story after story of successful people who experienced fear. The names would change. The circumstances were different. But the fear was the same – and very real. What I noticed was the successful person was willing to face and expose their fear.

The difference between a mediocre success and a breakthrough success is your willingness to deal with your fears.

What about you? What hidden fear are you ignoring that is causing you to repel success? Acknowledging the fear is the first step to defusing its power over you and taking control over your emotions and your life.