Cathcart Institute, Inc.
Video Clips of Jim Cathcart, founder of Cathcart Institute, Inc.
Author of The Acorn Principle, Relationship Selling and 11 other books.
Click each clip to view the video.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Video Clips of Jim Cathcart's speeches & interviews
Cathcart Institute, Inc.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Turnover is evidence of errors in leadership
by Jim Cathcart
copyright 2007, www.cathcart.com
If people are regularly departing from your team then something is wrong with your approach to leadership. How many people have come and gone from you in the past several years?
Am I saying that the problem is you? Not exactly, but if people aren't staying then something is missing. It might be that your compensation package doesn't hold up to the competition or size of the workloads. It might be that situational or geographic issues like long commutes could be the problem. Or it even might be poor selection processes; you just haven't been recruiting the right people.
But more often than not, heavy turnover is a symptom of poor leadership. I know, that hurts to hear. (Just bear in mind that I am not thinking of you personally as I write this.) Now, before your defense mechanisms start claiming, "but I have great motives and I'm a generous boss", or "I work harder and give more than anyone else around here," stay with me for a bit.
Good intentions do not make you a good leader. Great persuasion ability doesn't either. Hard work and personal dedication doesn't make you a good leader. Many things are required, but let's see if you even need to hear all this.
Question: Have you had trouble keeping good people?
If your answer is Yes, then you have a leadership problem.
Now we need to find out where the problem lives.
The Role of a Leader is to become progressively unnecessary.
Read that again.
At first everyone looks to the leader for direction, inspiration and guidance. But if they keep looking to you then you aren't leading, you are managing. Managers have to work indefinitely. Leaders grow their own replacements. They work themselves out of a job by developing the vision, motivation and skills of others.
If you have been "leading" for more than a year and nobody is in place yet to become your ultimate replacement, then changes in your behavior may be in order.
Here are a few thought stimulators to get you started in finding elements to improve.
1. Are your meetings fun, fascinating and full of energy?
2. Do people look forward eagerly to their next meeting with you?
3. Do you look forward eagerly to listening to what your coworkers think?
4. Do you find yourself complaining that others just don't "get it"?
5. When hiring do you look for people with talent or people who agree with you?
6. Do you feel like all the work is on your shoulders and others aren't stepping up?
Why do others not step up and take charge?
There are many reasons. Here are a few: (How many are you guilty of?)
You don't let them lead. You appoint them and then interfere with all their decisions.
They end up with all the work and none of the control. You don't delegate the necessary authority to go with the duties.
You don't celebrate or appreciate others effectively. They feel they are not valued.
They have seen others work hard only to have you change the plans at the last minute, thereby wasting all that effort.
You make decisions on your own and then announce them to the group, instead of seeking their input and approval. When it is "my way or the highway" most people will take to the highway to get away from you.
They don't want to do something just out of obligation or need. They want the joy and satisfaction of doing things that matter and doing them happily.
If you feel that nobody knows or cares as much as you, then you need to spend some serious energy developing the knowledge and caring in others. Otherwise, you will still be alone at the top next year and your team will have left you...again.
Stop the insanity! Change the way you lead. If you can't change then step aside. Life is too short for you to be constantly pressured and unhappy. Besides, you are probably making many others unhappy as well. So, make a change! Step aside and give up the power. Put someone else in charge and then assist (not control, just assist) them as they take the reins.
If you want to stay in charge then get some help to become more effective. Hire a coach or find a mentor. Turn to someone who doesn't fear telling you the truth.
Admit to the team that you see how you have missed the mark, but that you are willing to work differently in order to give everyone a chance to make a difference.
The greatest leaders of all time were people who listened to advisers and admitted their own weaknesses. They sought direction as well as gave it. To be the best leader that you can be you must make job one Telling Yourself the Truth!
Take a look at what is going on today. Ask yourself;
If nothing changes where is this headed?
At what point will there be a BIG problem if we don't change?
How much longer can I avoid telling everyone the whole truth?
What will the effects of that problem be after the initial crisis?
What can we, not I but WE, do about it? Don't try to go it alone.
Use all your strength, call on the people you care about and those who care about you and your "cause". Truly listen to them and consider following their lead instead of only asking them to follow yours.
Also, ask yourself, when is the time for me to step aside and be a supporter instead of "the leader?"
The purpose of your organization is to make life better for the people it serves.
How's that working for you?
If you aren't getting the results you want then now is the time to change the behavior patterns that created your current reality and start some new ones that will generate the outcomes you desire.
copyright 2007, www.cathcart.com
If people are regularly departing from your team then something is wrong with your approach to leadership. How many people have come and gone from you in the past several years?
Am I saying that the problem is you? Not exactly, but if people aren't staying then something is missing. It might be that your compensation package doesn't hold up to the competition or size of the workloads. It might be that situational or geographic issues like long commutes could be the problem. Or it even might be poor selection processes; you just haven't been recruiting the right people.
But more often than not, heavy turnover is a symptom of poor leadership. I know, that hurts to hear. (Just bear in mind that I am not thinking of you personally as I write this.) Now, before your defense mechanisms start claiming, "but I have great motives and I'm a generous boss", or "I work harder and give more than anyone else around here," stay with me for a bit.
Good intentions do not make you a good leader. Great persuasion ability doesn't either. Hard work and personal dedication doesn't make you a good leader. Many things are required, but let's see if you even need to hear all this.
Question: Have you had trouble keeping good people?
If your answer is Yes, then you have a leadership problem.
Now we need to find out where the problem lives.
The Role of a Leader is to become progressively unnecessary.
Read that again.
At first everyone looks to the leader for direction, inspiration and guidance. But if they keep looking to you then you aren't leading, you are managing. Managers have to work indefinitely. Leaders grow their own replacements. They work themselves out of a job by developing the vision, motivation and skills of others.
If you have been "leading" for more than a year and nobody is in place yet to become your ultimate replacement, then changes in your behavior may be in order.
Here are a few thought stimulators to get you started in finding elements to improve.
1. Are your meetings fun, fascinating and full of energy?
2. Do people look forward eagerly to their next meeting with you?
3. Do you look forward eagerly to listening to what your coworkers think?
4. Do you find yourself complaining that others just don't "get it"?
5. When hiring do you look for people with talent or people who agree with you?
6. Do you feel like all the work is on your shoulders and others aren't stepping up?
Why do others not step up and take charge?
There are many reasons. Here are a few: (How many are you guilty of?)
You don't let them lead. You appoint them and then interfere with all their decisions.
They end up with all the work and none of the control. You don't delegate the necessary authority to go with the duties.
You don't celebrate or appreciate others effectively. They feel they are not valued.
They have seen others work hard only to have you change the plans at the last minute, thereby wasting all that effort.
You make decisions on your own and then announce them to the group, instead of seeking their input and approval. When it is "my way or the highway" most people will take to the highway to get away from you.
They don't want to do something just out of obligation or need. They want the joy and satisfaction of doing things that matter and doing them happily.
If you feel that nobody knows or cares as much as you, then you need to spend some serious energy developing the knowledge and caring in others. Otherwise, you will still be alone at the top next year and your team will have left you...again.
Stop the insanity! Change the way you lead. If you can't change then step aside. Life is too short for you to be constantly pressured and unhappy. Besides, you are probably making many others unhappy as well. So, make a change! Step aside and give up the power. Put someone else in charge and then assist (not control, just assist) them as they take the reins.
If you want to stay in charge then get some help to become more effective. Hire a coach or find a mentor. Turn to someone who doesn't fear telling you the truth.
Admit to the team that you see how you have missed the mark, but that you are willing to work differently in order to give everyone a chance to make a difference.
The greatest leaders of all time were people who listened to advisers and admitted their own weaknesses. They sought direction as well as gave it. To be the best leader that you can be you must make job one Telling Yourself the Truth!
Take a look at what is going on today. Ask yourself;
If nothing changes where is this headed?
At what point will there be a BIG problem if we don't change?
How much longer can I avoid telling everyone the whole truth?
What will the effects of that problem be after the initial crisis?
What can we, not I but WE, do about it? Don't try to go it alone.
Use all your strength, call on the people you care about and those who care about you and your "cause". Truly listen to them and consider following their lead instead of only asking them to follow yours.
Also, ask yourself, when is the time for me to step aside and be a supporter instead of "the leader?"
The purpose of your organization is to make life better for the people it serves.
How's that working for you?
If you aren't getting the results you want then now is the time to change the behavior patterns that created your current reality and start some new ones that will generate the outcomes you desire.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
God's reply to our fears of causing Global Warming
by Jim Cathcart, 9-9-07
I thought you might enjoy this item I wrote today in reply to one of my colleagues who is concerned that we may be ruining the Earth. No reply sought, I just wanted to share a different point of view from all the news we've been reading. Jim C
Oh arrogant human, God thought as he smiled. What makes you so confident that you can spoil MY plan?
Want to make me laugh? Tell me YOUR plans.
This world is designed to work, even when you don't.
It already knows how to adapt to volcanic eruptions, quakes, tidal waves, huge fires lasting months on end.
It cleans up oil spills even if you don't. It is the ultimate self-renewing resource.
I know what I'm doing. My system works for all elements within it.
How long do you humans live? Want to compare life spans with me? I didn't think so.
Your concerns are heard, and yes, of course I care. You are my children.
But, folks, I'm going to outlive you all. There will be more children and each will go through life's cycles as you have.
Civilizations come and go, continents shift, and (because I intended it this way) the weather patterns constantly change. What I've frozen during one year I might choose to bake in the next. Every inch of the planet will ultimately get its day.
Droughts always follow floods, fires always purge thick growth, species fade from existence and new species replace them.
This ALWAYS works...always, get it?
The problem is perspective. You think only in terms of your own lifespans. You see the world as yours, not mine.
Silly humans. Earths are for God.
You are not able to change my weather, even if all of you agree on a process for doing it. Believe me, it won't happen.
First, you won't ever all agree on anything. That too, is part of the plan. Second. You don't know enough to make the right decisions about things as big as global weather. I'll heat Earth when I choose and cool it too. When you do something that converts some of my elements into other forms you do not change the overall makeup of Earth. You simply processed it into a different form...temporarily.
I'll put it back in the form I want it when I'm ready. You cannot change the amount of carbon on Earth or the size or nature of the planet. Your "pollutants", which I simply call "reformatted elements", are not going to spoil things for me or my Earth.
Now, they may spoil things for YOU but that's not my problem.
So, be responsible, work together, think beyond your generations, and enjoy what I've given you.
Of course, you will benefit from smarter actions and less waste. Sure you will get more from the Earth when you care for it better. After all it is the right thing to do.
But don't ever get the impression that you can damage my world.
What would you do? Set a fire? I do that all the time.
Would you redistribute some element like oil products? I do that too.
Let's see you cause an earthquake or a volcanic eruption. Try changing my atmosphere.
Can't do it can you? Nope not even with nuclear technology. Why? Because that's the way I made it.
My world is smarter than you. It's not just a dumb rock, it is an intelligent living system, an organism just like you.
So, lighten up folks and enjoy the life I've given you.
Oh, and by the way, be nicer to each other.
See you on the other side.
Dad
I thought you might enjoy this item I wrote today in reply to one of my colleagues who is concerned that we may be ruining the Earth. No reply sought, I just wanted to share a different point of view from all the news we've been reading. Jim C
Oh arrogant human, God thought as he smiled. What makes you so confident that you can spoil MY plan?
Want to make me laugh? Tell me YOUR plans.
This world is designed to work, even when you don't.
It already knows how to adapt to volcanic eruptions, quakes, tidal waves, huge fires lasting months on end.
It cleans up oil spills even if you don't. It is the ultimate self-renewing resource.
I know what I'm doing. My system works for all elements within it.
How long do you humans live? Want to compare life spans with me? I didn't think so.
Your concerns are heard, and yes, of course I care. You are my children.
But, folks, I'm going to outlive you all. There will be more children and each will go through life's cycles as you have.
Civilizations come and go, continents shift, and (because I intended it this way) the weather patterns constantly change. What I've frozen during one year I might choose to bake in the next. Every inch of the planet will ultimately get its day.
Droughts always follow floods, fires always purge thick growth, species fade from existence and new species replace them.
This ALWAYS works...always, get it?
The problem is perspective. You think only in terms of your own lifespans. You see the world as yours, not mine.
Silly humans. Earths are for God.
You are not able to change my weather, even if all of you agree on a process for doing it. Believe me, it won't happen.
First, you won't ever all agree on anything. That too, is part of the plan. Second. You don't know enough to make the right decisions about things as big as global weather. I'll heat Earth when I choose and cool it too. When you do something that converts some of my elements into other forms you do not change the overall makeup of Earth. You simply processed it into a different form...temporarily.
I'll put it back in the form I want it when I'm ready. You cannot change the amount of carbon on Earth or the size or nature of the planet. Your "pollutants", which I simply call "reformatted elements", are not going to spoil things for me or my Earth.
Now, they may spoil things for YOU but that's not my problem.
So, be responsible, work together, think beyond your generations, and enjoy what I've given you.
Of course, you will benefit from smarter actions and less waste. Sure you will get more from the Earth when you care for it better. After all it is the right thing to do.
But don't ever get the impression that you can damage my world.
What would you do? Set a fire? I do that all the time.
Would you redistribute some element like oil products? I do that too.
Let's see you cause an earthquake or a volcanic eruption. Try changing my atmosphere.
Can't do it can you? Nope not even with nuclear technology. Why? Because that's the way I made it.
My world is smarter than you. It's not just a dumb rock, it is an intelligent living system, an organism just like you.
So, lighten up folks and enjoy the life I've given you.
Oh, and by the way, be nicer to each other.
See you on the other side.
Dad
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