“An essential quality of leadership is developing the ability to persuade others to align their goals with yours and those of the organization. Until you, yourself, are able to join forces with others in the pursuit of a common objective, you will never persuade them to join your cause. Effective leaders recognize the value of working together, and they learn how to follow directions before being entrusted with the responsibility for the performance of others.

Good leaders who by example how they expect others to behave. Even though the troops may be trained to follow orders unquestioningly, the officer always leads them into battle. You cannot push others to follow your example; you must pull them along with you. When you show by your every word and deed that you are a person of character, one who works for the greater good of the entire organization, your people will follow.”
– Napoleon Hill

“If you really seek to understand, without hypocrisy and without guile, there will be times when you will be literally stunned with the pure knowledge and understanding that will flow to you from another human being. It isn’t even always necessary to talk in order to empathize. In fact, sometimes words may just get in your way. That’s one very important reason why technique alone will not work. That kind of understanding transcends technique.”
– Stephen R. Covey

If you are an irresponsible or argumentative worker who cannot accept instructions from others, you are destined to remain at the bottom of the workforce. Before you can ever hope to manage other people, you must learn to manage yourself and your relationships with others effectively, particularly with those in higher positions in the organization. Unless you can learn how to manage your relationship with your own boss or bosses, you will never be able to manage a relation with your subordinates.
– Napoleon Hill

Lose/Win people bury a lot of feelings. And unexpressed feelings come forth later in uglier ways. Psychosomatic illnesses often are the re-incarnation of cumulative resentment, deep disappointment and disillusionment repressed by the Lose/Win mentality. Disproportionate rage or anger, overreaction to minor provocation, and cynicism are other embodiments of suppressed emotion.

People who are constantly repressing, not transcending feelings toward a higher meaning find that it affects the quality of their self-esteem and eventually the quality of their relationships with others.
– Stephen R. Covey

“Armies spend endless hours training people to follow orders without questions. It’s an essential quality in a solder. In everyday life, however, things don’t work that way. Business, political, and civic leaders have learned that ordinary people will perform exceptional tasks when they are asked – no ordered – to do so.

Even when you are managing other people, you will achieve far more if you convert every order to a request. Introductory phrases such as, “Would you mind …” or “Could I ask your assistance in …” or the always effective “Please …” will ensure success for more often than intimidating those who work for you. And when you need help from those whose paychecks you do not control, you will find them far more responsive to requests than to orders.”
– Napoleon Hill

“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
– Will Rogers

In any organized endeavor, obstacles are going to occur. Sometimes they appear in the form of technical problems; sometime they are disputes between members of the team over which course is best to follow. If you have set an example of initiative and open communication, you will find that your team has the mental and spiritual resources to overcome these kinds of struggles.

A group of people who trust their leader and one another don’t waste energy jockeying for prestige. They know that they will all benefit form a solution, and they are motivated to find it by sharing the knowledge and ideas. From these many parts a skilled leader can create the necessary solution, but only if a spirit of friendliness and honesty prevails.
– Napoleon Hill

If we do not develop our own self-awareness and become responsible for first creations, we empower other people and circumstances outside our Circle of Influence to shape much of our lives by default.
– Stephen R. Covey

“The toughest thing about the power of trust is that it’s very difficult to build and very easy to destroy. The essence of trust building is to emphasize the similarities between you and the customer.”
– Thomas J. Watson

“How did Bernie Madoff do it? How did he steal twenty billion dollars from people who should have known better? It doesn’t matter if you went to university or not–you can still be played as a chump.

To pull off a significant deception, you generally need two things: A deceiver and a crowd of people open to being deceived.

Once those are present, the deceiver brings out the big lie.

For lots of reasons, people are open to looking for shortcuts and a new reality, even if no shortcuts are available. They may have been mistreated, might be struggling, or they may merely be greedy, looking to outdo the other guy. In the case of Madoff, he was even able to take in charities, with boards that meant well but were in a hurry to scale.

Frustration in the face of the way things are makes us open to the big lie. Frustration and fear and anger can suspend our ability to ask difficult questions, to listen to thoughtful critics, to do our homework.

And the big lie is always present when we get played. To be a chump (not merely the victim) is to be open to the big lie. Not merely open to it, eager to buy into it.

Numbers make it easy to tell a big lie. People hate numbers, and they seem so real.
Anti-intellectualism, disregard for the scientific method and conspiracy theories also set the stage for a big lie.

And demonizing the other, the one who is already held in low esteem or feared by the chump, this is usually part of the big lie as well.

In retrospect, the warning signs around Madoff were obvious. Just about any skeptical, thoughtful investor could have seen through the big lie if he wasn’t so busy being a chump.

When a population gets played, the responsibility lies with the liar, with the con man, with the person so craven that they’ll trade trust and productivity and a bit of civilization for some power and authority.

But the chump also has to take responsibility. Responsibility for looking for the shortcut, giving into the fear and for eagerly believing the big lie, ignoring the clues that are all around.

Chumps aren’t restricted by nationality, by education, by income. Chump is an attitude and a choice.

We’re not chumps. Not if we don’t choose to be.”
– Seth Godin