20 Things Leaders Need To Be Thinking In 2017

To help leaders develop a framework for decision-making in the next year, the following are 20 Things Leaders Need To Be Thinking In 2017:

1. Jesus Christ Is Still At Work All Around The World – In 2 years, China will be the largest Christian country in the world.
2. Developing Your Team Is A Process That Takes Time – “It’s a process we go through every year.  It just takes time.  We might start four or five freshman at times.  So you understand that you are going to lose some games early and then try to right the ship by the end of the year.  When late February and March rolls around, we expect to be at our best.” – Kentucky Wildcats head basketball coach John Calipari in the November 17, 2016 edition of Sports Illustrated
3. Your Potential Customers Want Clarity – Perry Noble told the INJOY Stewardship Solutions staff in a recent training meeting, “People don’t always buy the best products.  They buy the ones they understand the best.”
4. Make A Big Deal About Little Things – Marcus Aerillius said, “The secret to all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious.”
5. Business Travelers Should Be Grateful While Standing In Long Lines – Excellence becomes average when it is all you have.  Traveling is still considerably better than standing in the long unemployment line.
6. Hard Work Is A Competitive Advantage – If I am ahead of you today and work harder than you today, you will never catch me.
7. Preparation Is More Important Than Presentation – Washington Huskies head coach Chris Peterson said in the September 29, 2016 USA Today, ““The only really good quarterbacks that I’ve been around are really high-level film guys.  I’ve just never seen a quarterback that’s even pretty good that’s not obsessed with the stuff.  And he (Jake Browning) certainly fits that mold.”
8. Not Everyone Should Get A Trophy – As a society, we have chosen to allow people to avoid short-term disappointment ensuring they will receive long-term pain.
9. Focus Is Not Enough.  Be Sure To Focus Within The Focus. – Truett Cathy said of Chick-Fil-A,  “We don’t do chicken.  We don’t do chicken wings.  We don’t do chicken legs.  We only do chicken breasts.”
10. Learn When To Say “No” – Until age 45 you get ahead by saying “Yes”.  Afterwards, you get ahead by learning when to say “No”.
11. Kings Talk To Kings – You can’t delegate high-capacity people to your staff.  High-level leaders do not like to be handed off.
12. Positive Reasons To Change In 2017 – Dr. Sam Chand has said, “Change is hard because we overestimate what we have and underestimate what we might gain.”  Winston Churchill also said, “To improve is to change.  To be perfect is to change often.”
13. You Can’t Have A Healthy Workplace Culture Without Humility – Casey Wasserman, CEO of Wasserman Group, said on the June 22, 2016 The Herd With Colin Cowherd show, “”Part of being the boss is putting your ego and your issues aside and being the sounding board for everyone else’s.  It’s about creating the right culture and that culture is about creating an environment for people to be successful and do what they’re best at and that usually means putting your stuff aside and embracing theirs.”
14. The Law Of 3s – Mike Lombardi taught The Law Of 3s on the December 6, 2016 Make Me Smarter podcast.  He said, “The Law of 3s – One group of player will do anything you want them to do.  The second group of people are undecided.  They’re not quite sure what’s going to happen.  And you have the third group you can’t make happy…You cater to group 3 and all the people in group 1 get mad and the people in group 2 become jerks.”
15. Prioritize Thoughtful Conversation With Employees, Staff, Neighbors And Family – Tech writer Lee Pender said about Twitter in July 1, 2016 USA Today, “(The 140 character limit) encourages shouting instead of thoughtful conversation.”
16. Failure Is Never Final But It Can Become Easier And Easier If You Are Not Careful – Padraig Harrington in the April 4, 2016 Sports Illustrated said, “The funny thing about golf is that once you miss an eight-footer that matters, it becomes a little bit easier to miss the next one.  Even for Tiger Woods.”  One thing which will help you avoid unnecessary failure is to work hard on developing your character.  Otherwise, your character will take you to a place your talent cannot sustain you.
17. Know How To Hire – The most important thing about hiring is not finding talent.  The most important thing is eliminating the talent who does not fit your culture and criteria.
18. Great Leaders Should Become Intolerant – Jeff Van Gundy said, “Your best player must set the level of intolerance for anybody who gets in the way of winning.”
19. Learn To Think Differently Than Other People – Bill Walsh said, “If everyone is thinking the same thing, no one is thinking.”
20. Enjoy The Rewards Of Your Hard Work – Mike Lombardi said on the November 15, 2016 edition of The Herd With Colin Cowherd, “There is a temperament to handling success.  The greatest reward for doing is the opportunity to do more.”

And I hope you are rewarded with getting to do a lot more in 2017.

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