LEADERSHIP LAW #15
Reflections on John C. Maxwell’s “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”
Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE, famously said that business is about winning. He saw it as a game that, when played expertly, resulted in a massive success for the company, it’s employees, customers, and stakeholders.
I took a 6-week speaking seminar with a brilliant writer and keynote speaker. At the end of the program, he asked me about my next steps. I told him that I had a full-time job and was thankful I could work on my side hustle slowly. While he agreed that having a full-time job for a steady income was right, he alluded to the law of victory. He warned me not to get too comfortable or reliant on the security of my full-time job if becoming a speaker was my end goal. Sometimes, the blankets of security have to be pulled from under you to the light the fire that pushes you to accomplish your dreams.
The Leap
Remember the scene in the Dark Knight Rises?
Bruce finds himself imprisoned in Bane’s cave, and he has to make an impossible jump to get out. He tried hundreds of times with a harness, so that way, he had a safety net in case he fell. By wearing the harness, though, Bruce psychologically backed himself into a corner, guaranteeing failure. He had expected to fall, therefore, would never be able to make the jump. It wasn’t until he took off the harness and raised the stakes of actual life and death that he made it to the other side. Victory was now his only option.
Maxwell says there are three areas one must procure first to seize the law of victory.
- Unity of vision — Teams must have the same vision. As the leader, set clear expectations and show your team the bigger picture.
- Diversity of skills — You cannot have a team of quarterbacks; you will have no one to run the ball. Gather diverse people with different talents to build the most successful team possible.
- Dedicated to victory and raising players to their potential — You must be willing to put in the time to train others, helping them become better than you.
Only when you meet these three areas will you be ready to tackle the Law of Victory.
