4. Your family, your company and your community are relying on you to lead them to a better place Leadership is the art of taking people down roads they don’t want to go down to places they do want to be 4 Academy ILP 2009
5. But, as you’ve accumulated the awards, rewardsand responsibilities of Success 5 Academy ILP 2009
6. You’ve found more you need to protect, less you’re able to risk, and an unsettling question you have to answer… …am I doing everything I can to make a difference? 6 Academy ILP 2009
7. Come Behind the Scenes of Your Own Hero’s Journey and Renew the Power and Purpose of Your Life and Work A coward dies a thousand deaths, a Hero, but one William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar 7
8. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; There is nothing new under the sun. --Ecclesiastes 1:9 New International Version Act I : The Call to Adventure There is nothing new under the sun (but there are lots of old things we don't know.) --Ambrose Bierce The Devil's Dictionary 8 Academy ILP 2009
9. C I The Empire Strikes Big The franchise meant big profits an unstoppable Death Star sized money machine that has still never been matched in Hollywood history May 2007
10. Cost of first Star Wars film: $13 Million Total Franchise Earnings: $22 Billion George Lucas’ Rank on Billionaire List: 243 What was he thinking?
19. I Heeding the Call Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. --Mark Twain
20. If the Hero Refuses the Call, the Journey cannot begin
21.
22. Warmup: What’s Your Appetite for Adventure? Calls I have accepted? Education Career Relationships Adventure Spirituality The Memories of a man in his old age are the deeds of a man in his prime --Roger Waters
23. Calls I have accepted Starting my first business out of college Executive MBA—nights and weekends for 4 years Climbing a volcano with my wife on our honeymoon in Maui Completing a half Iron Man Accepting deaconship in my church
24. Warmup: What’s Your Appetite for Adventure? Calls I have declined? Education Career Relationships Adventure Spirituality Any Patterns? Any Insights? It’s never too late to be what you might have been --George Eliot
25. Calls I have accepted Starting my first business out of college Executive MBA—nights and weekends for 3 years Climbing a volcano with my wife on our honeymoon Accepting deaconship in my church Completing a half Iron Man Calls I have declined Majoring in Military History instead of Econ Marrying my first true love in college Flyfishing in Alaska with my dad Leaving my secure job and starting the business I dream about Accepting God more deeply into my life
26. Table Groups – Find a Partner and Discuss Find a partner at your table Pair off into “A” and “B” “A” go first / “B” in listening mode “A” share your top accepted and refused Calls to Adventure Discuss any insights you had Switch roles at bell Repeat with “B” sharing When the timer is up thank your partner and return focus up front
27. Look to the Future to inspire action in the Present To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived… This is to have succeeded! - Ralph Waldo Emerson
29. Exercise: The Call to Adventure is an invitation to envision a new world I. Write a clear description of the Future you want New World Old World Focus on something ambitious but specific that you can realize in the next one to three years
30. What I really want is… To build a high performance leadership team that will grow my company to $100M so that I can create wealth for my family, my employees, and my shareholders.
31. What I really want is… Life balance. To get back in shape and have more quality time with my spouse and kids.
32. It’s important to me It will make a difference in the lives of key people around me It’s something I can take responsibility to make happen It’s framed in the positive How do I know what I really want? Step I Table
33. Once he accepts the Call, the Hero leaves his old world behind and crosses the threshold into the Unknown
34. One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time. - André Gide To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself. -Soren Kierkegaard Act II: The Road of Trials
35. II Temptation All men are tempted. There is no man that lives that can’t be broken down, Provided it is the right temptation put in the right spot. - Henry Ward Beecher Proverbs from the Plymouth Pulpit
36.
37. To persevere, the Hero must not be distracted from his path Did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts? Hot ashes for trees? Hot air for a cool breeze? Cold comfort for change? And did you exchange a walk-on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Roger Waters Wish You Were Here Pride Doubt Laziness Pleasure Safety Greed Fear
38. Exercise: What are you pretending not to know? I. The Future I Want Old World Write a clear description of everything you do and do not do that prevents you from arriving at the Future You Want II. Temptations & Distractions
39.
40. I take $750K a year out of profits and run it as a lifestyle business.
41. I don’t trust my team to make big decisions without me.
42. I don’t hire an experienced President too expensive and he’d never get our biz.What I really want is… To build a high performance leadership team that will grow my company to $100M so that I can create wealth for my family, my employees, and my shareholders.
43.
44. I eat out 10+ times a week and choose tasty over healthy
45. I drink alcohol excessively to unwind several nights a week
49. I unwind with latenight TV rather than talk to my spouse
50. I treat my kids as a distraction from my laptopWhat I really want is… Life balance. To get back in shape and have more quality time with my spouse and kids.
51. II The Belly of the Whale "Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.” --Henry Miller
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53. Exercise: What might you also want? I. The Future I Want Old World “What else might I be committed to that opposes the Future I Want but explains why I’ve been tempted and distracted ?” II. Temptations & Distractions III. Competing Commitment
54.
55. I take $750K a year out of profits and run it as a lifestyle business.
56. I don’t trust my team to make big decisions without me.
57. I don’t hire an experienced President too expensive and he’d never get our biz.What I really want is… To build a high performance leadership team that will grow my company to $100M so that I can create wealth for my family, my employees, and my shareholders. I might also be committed to the importance of… Being the King of the Hill Keeping an exec team in place that doesn’t question me Not making any big changes that might threaten my comfortable lifestyle
58.
59. I eat out 10+ times a week and choose tasty over healthy
60. I drink alcohol excessively to unwind several nights a week
64. I unwind with latenight TV rather than talk to my spouse
65. I treat my kids as a distraction from my laptopWhat I really want is… Life balance. To get back in shape and have more quality time with my spouse and kids. I might also be committed to the importance of… Avoiding real connection with those closest to me (with work as my excuse) and masking the extreme stress of my career with food and drink.
66. Exercise: What’s stopping you from raising your anchor? I. The Future I Want Old World “What catastrophic outcome would happen if I weren’t able to uphold my Competing Commitment?” II. Temptations & Distractions III. Competing Commitment IV. Big Assumption
67.
68. I take $750K a year out of profits and run it as a lifestyle business.
69. I don’t delegate strategic decisions because I don’t trust my team’s judgment .
70. I don’t hire an experienced President too expensive and he’d never get our biz.
71. I am personally involved in ALL big decisions.I assume that if I fail to uphold my competing commitment of…then… Any experienced “A” players I hired would challenge me and ultimately find out that I have been “making it up” as I go along. I would be exposed as an imposter and they would find out I’ve been draining company profits to support my personal expenses for years. My new team would conclude they were mislead, and leave; my company would go into a death spiral and I would not be able to provide for my family. What I really want is… To build a high performance leadership team that will grow my company to $100M so that I can create wealth for my family, my employees, and my shareholders. I might also be committed to the importance of… Being the King of the Hill Keeping an exec team in place that doesn’t question me Not making any big changes that might threaten my comfortable lifestyle
72.
73. I eat out 10+ times a week and choose tasty over healthy
74. I drink alcohol excessively to unwind several nights a week
78. I unwind with latenight TV rather than talk to my spouse
79. I treat my kids as a distraction from my laptopI assume that if I fail to uphold my competing commitment of…. then… I’d realize I love my job more than I enjoy my kids, I no longer even know my spouse and I am a workaholic and use alcohol as a crutch. And…. I’d be exposed as a failure as husband and father, I’d lose my family, and be so devastated that I would lose my business too. What I really want is… Life balance. To get back in shape and have more quality time with my spouse and kids. I might also be committed to the importance of… Avoiding real connection with those closest to me (with work as my excuse) and masking the extreme stress of my career with food and drink.
80. II Awakening Ring the bells that still can ring Forget the perfect offering There is a crack, a crack in everything! It’s where the Light gets in. It’s where the Light gets in. - Leonard Cohen
81. Move from the Big Assumption that holds us to an assumption that we hold
82. Exercise: Turn your assumptions into stepping stones Identify safe and recoverable experiments that let you test if your Big Assumption is always and decisively true Begin to use your Big Assumption as a touch stone—chisel away at it until what is left is what is still true for you Academy ILP 2009 51
83.
84. We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. - T.S. Eliot Act III: The Return Act One: The Playwright’s Vision
85. III Master of Two Worlds Wisdom tells me I am nothing Love tells me I am everything and between these two banks flows the river of my life - Nisagardatta
86. Having faced his Past, the Hero now dwells in the Present, bringing the Future into Being The future enters into us, in order to transform us, long before it happens - Rainer Maria Rilke
87. The Hero learns to be in this world and not of it I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity. - Oliver Wendell Holmes
88. He returns to the Marketplace with helping hands Barechested, barefooted, he comes into the market place. Muddied and dust-covered, how broadly he grins! The gate of his cottage is closed and even the wisest cannot find him. His mind is finally quiet. He goes his own way, making no attempt to follow the steps of earlier sages. Carrying a gourd, he strolls into the market; leaning on his staff, he returns home. He leads all those he encounters in the Way. The Tenth Zen Oxherding Panel
89. III The Role of Practice Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired. - Martha Graham
90. Streamline rituals to optimize your practice Success Principles Link your rituals to something deeper— a core value or purpose (like stopping smoking to live to see your grandkids) Commit to it for 30-90 days Be precise and structured about scheduling and carrying out the ritual so that it becomes an automated habit (like hanging your car keys on a hook by the door) Onboard no more than 1-3 rituals at a time Focus on the Future you want, not the Past you don’t Anchor behaviors with a training/accountability partner 59 Academy ILP 2009
91. Move from “problems we solve” to “problems that solve us After Action Review What did you actually do? What happened? How did people respond? If you received feedback on your new behaviors, what was it? What were your thoughts and subjective impressions as you did this? Are there any alternate interpretations you can think of for the same data? Generate at least one to counterbalance the familiar assumptions that guide your thinking. What does the data tell you about the validity of your Big Assumption—always true, sometimes true, rarely true? What is the next safe experiment you can devise to further test your Big Assumption (or another big assumption) and learn more? 60 Academy ILP 2009
98. If not us, Who? If not now, When? --Winston Churchill Entrepreneurs hold our best hope for the Storms ahead
99. Your family, your company, and your community are relying on you to go behind the scenes of business as usual and unlock the Power and Purpose of your Hero’s Journey 66 Academy ILP 2009
In Mark Twain’s novel “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, Tom, Huck and another boy run away to an island in the middle of the Mississippi river, leaving the town to think they have drowned. On Sunday morning they sneak back into the church to listen to their own funerals, and after everyone get so worked up with loss over these trouble makers, they march down the isle to a heroes’ welcome. * You get to pull a Tom Sawyer, and everyone, including the most esteemed business publications, has marked your untimely passing. Write the obituary of your dreams and then read to the group. * Now fast forward to the end of a full life well-lived. We all have to die sometime, and you were no exception. The only difference is, unlike the WSJ obit, your tombstone has room for a lot less type, and will likely only be seen by those closest to you. What’s on it? Write and discuss. * Compare your WSJ obit and your tombstone—what’s the same? Different? Why? Take a moment and write down the Three Most Important Things you need to say, do or be in order to close the gap between your current existence and the life described on your tombstone.
“Plato has said somewhere that the soul is a circle. I took this idea to suggest on the blackboard the whole sphere of the psyche. Then I drew a horizontal line across the circle to represent the line of separation of the conscious and the unconscious. The dot in the center of the circle, below the horizontal line, represents the center from which all our energy comes… Above the horizontal line is the ego, which I represented as a square: that aspect of our consciousness that we identify as our center. But, you see, it’s very much off center. We think that this is what’s running the show, but it isn’t” (p142).--Joseph Campbell
“Plato has said somewhere that the soul is a circle. I took this idea to suggest on the blackboard the whole sphere of the psyche. Then I drew a horizontal line across the circle to represent the line of separation of the conscious and the unconscious. The dot in the center of the circle, below the horizontal line, represents the center from which all our energy comes… Above the horizontal line is the ego, which I represented as a square: that aspect of our consciousness that we identify as our center. But, you see, it’s very much off center. We think that this is what’s running the show, but it isn’t” (p142).--Joseph Campbell
