“One of my favorite stories is about a newly hired traveling salesman who sent his first sales report to the home office. It stunned the brass in the sales department because it was obvious that the new salesman was ignorant! This is what he wrote: “I seen this outfit which they ain’t never bot a dim’s worth of nothin from us and I sole them some goods. I’m now goin to Chicawgo.” Before the man could be given the heave-ho by the sales manager, along came this letter from Chicago: “I cum hear and sole them haff a millyon.” Fearful if he did, and afraid if he didn’t fire the ignorant salesman, the sales manager dumped the problem in the lap of the president. The following morning, the ivory-towered sales department members were amazed to see posted on the bulletin board above the two letters written by the ignorant salesman this memo from the president: “We ben spendin two much time trying to spel instead of trying to sel. Let’s watch those sails. I want everybody should read these letters from Gooch who is on the rode doin a grate job for us and you should go out and do like he done.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Just as personal values influence and guide an individual’s behavior, organizational values influence and guide the team’s behavior.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Believe in what you say. Then, live what you say. There is no greater credibility than conviction in action.”
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John C. Maxwell
“A forgiving spirit is the one basic, necessary ingredient for a solid relationship. Forgiveness”
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John C. Maxwell
“Of all the things a leader should fear, complacency should head the list. —John C. Maxwell”
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John C. Maxwell
“The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance. It is the illusion of knowledge.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Any married man should forget his mistakes—there’s no use in two people remembering the same thing.”
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John C. Maxwell
“For a team to succeed, responsibility must go down deep into the organization, down to the roots. Getting that to happen requires a leader who will delegate responsibility and authority to the team. Stephen Covey remarked, “People and organizations don’t grow much without delegation and completed staff work, because they are confined to the capacities of the boss and reflect both personal strengths and weaknesses.” Good leaders seldom restrict their teams; they release them.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The first key to greatness,” Socrates reminds us, “is to be in reality what we appear to be.”
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John C. Maxwell
“A CHECKLIST FOR CHANGE Below are the questions you should review before attempting changes within an organization. When the questions can be answered with a yes, change tends to be easier. Questions that can only be answered with no (or maybe) usually indicate that change will be difficult. YES NO ____ ____ Will this change benefit the followers? ____ ____ Is this change compatible with the purpose of the organization? ____ ____ Is this change specific and clear? ____ ____ Are the top 20 percent (the influencers) in favor of this change? ____ ____ Is it possible to test this change before making a total commitment to it? ____ ____ Are physical, financial, and human resources available to make this change? ____ ____ Is this change reversible? ____ ____ Is this change the next obvious step? ____ ____ Does this change have both short- and long-range benefits? ____ ____ Is the leadership capable of bringing about this change? ____ ____ Is the timing right?”
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John C. Maxwell
“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they may have planned for you? Not much.”
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John C. Maxwell
“You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have really lived, are the moments when you have done things in a spirit of love.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.”
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John C. Maxwell
“I may not be able to change the world I see around me, but I can change what I see within me.”
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John C. Maxwell
