The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell. This book has so many good points and I found myself tagging many pages with comments that I want to remember. This would be a good book to keep on your bookshelf and refer back to and read again. I am not going to list all 21 laws because it's worth it to read them and then reflect on the information.
I will start with the fact that leadership stands the test of time and the laws are constant throughout the years. In this book John C Maxwell refers to sports teams and their stories as well his previous pastor jobs at churches to show examples of leadership.
"To change the direction of the organization, change the leader." This is why we elect new presidents, companies hire a new CEO, and sports teams hire a new head coach. "Leadership is influence-nothing more or nothing less." For example look at the lives of Mother Teresa or Princess Diana. Both women were more quiet and reserved, but had a tremendous amount of influence in helping the world in Humanitarian causes. As you look at a business, you need to ask: Who is the real leader? Look at a meeting of any staff and watch for 5 minutes. When someone asks a question, who do people watch? Who do they wait to hear? With body language, who do they turn towards or face? "The real leaders of a team speak later, need only their own influence to get things done, and influence everyone in the room." There are seven key areas where we see leaders emerge. 1) Character. Who they are 2) Relationships. Who they know 3) Knowledge. What they know 4) Intuition. What they feel 5) Experience. Where they've been 6) Past Success. What they've done 7)Ability. What they can do
John C. Maxwell talks about the law of process next. What matters is tasks that you do daily to achieve your long term goal. "The secret of our success is found in our daily agenda." This is true as we look at what you do in our companies daily and the emails, phone calls, meetings and social media posts that grow the vision of our business task by task. He also says successful leaders continue to learn. The learning process is ongoing and the goal is to be better and improve each day. "Leadership is developed daily, not in a day."
Another law I want to mention is the Law of connection. "Effective leaders have to touch people's hearts before you ask them for a hand." You have to move people by emotion and then they will follow you. I think that success in our business comes down to relationships we create. The relationships with our clients, product reps, designers, and other tile companies. I always think if you can just find one thing to connect with someone, it helps to form the relationship. Do they have the same hobby as you? Did they travel to a place you have always wanted to go? Are they from the same area you grew up? Ask questions and remember the answers. I like to talk with new clients and then make important notes in my phone so I can refer back. I hope to create a Welz Tile experience where clients feel like they are respected and listened to and their project matters. "To lead yourself, use your
head; to lead others, use your heart."
I would recommend this book to anyone who is a leader in their company or needs to work on leadership skills. Again, I think that it would be best to refer back to this book and reflect on each of the laws of leadership. There are times in the book when the stories he mentions get a little long, but overall I enjoyed learning about leadership and will apply skills to better myself and our company.
I will end with this quote "When the right leader and the right timing come together, incredible things happen."
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