Leader V/S Manager

So what is the difference between a manager and a leader? Which one are you? You need to first understand the difference between a leader and a manager before you determine which you are.

I just finished reading the motivating The Wizard of Ads by Roy H. William. The following story is from his book and it should help you determine if you’re a leader or a manager.

What Makes Alexander Great?

Alexander is a dreamer who inspires everyone around him with visions of grand possibilities. Always the first over the wall of an enemy city, Alex is wounded in the neck at the Granicus River, in the thigh at Issus, and in the shoulder at Gaza, but he never quits fighting, never quits shouting encouragement to his men. A broken leg in Turkistan and a pierced lung in India barely slow him down. Is it any wonder he’s never lost a battle?

Alex commits to memory his soldiers’ names and deeds, calling each by name when publicly extolling their exploits. He often sends men home to rest and spend time with their families. Is it any wonder they adore him?

In Alexander’s presence, common men become radioactive. An unstoppable natural leader, he conquers all the known world before he is thirty-three and is charging off to conquer the unknown world when he is overtaken by illness and dies.

The life of Alexander profoundly illustrates the difference between leadership and management. Possibly the greatest leader ever to stride the earth, Alexander is a lousy manager. His hatred of bureaucracy and his need for excitement prevent him from building a governmental machine of systems, accountabilities, and procedures. Consequently, his legendary empire disintegrates immediately upon his death.

Not once in the following fifteen hundred years will the Romans have a leader who can fill the shadow of Alexander the Great. Yet their system for management will hold the Roman Empire together decade after decade, century after century, even when grievously incompetent leaders impose amazingly stupid decisions on their people.

Not even the most brilliant manager can do the job of a natural leader, yet even more rarely will a strong leader be a consistent manager. Success is the result of having the right person in the right job at the right time. Are you a leader or a manager? Which does your company need right now? There is a time for revolution and a time for evolution. Which time is this?

Can You Read

clipped from cubicleescapeartist.com Cambridge University Cognitive Research Filed under: Uncategorized, Accelerated Learning, Languages — timferriss @ 12:52 pm Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55% of plepoe can. I cdnuolt blveiee waht I was rdanieg. Due to the phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are. The olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses, and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig, huh? And I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Most people dream of traveling the world and being able to earn a living from anywhere in the world at any time. Here is a portion of an article that provides some great info on creating a mobile life.

clipped from travel.news.yahoo.com What are the biggest misconceptions people have about work, and making time for travel? Tim Ferriss: The biggest misconception about work is that you have to spend most of your life doing it. Take a step back and ask yourself a few questions: How do decisions change if retirement isn't an option? What is the exact dollar amount per month you need to live a well-off mobile lifestyle? The idea of sacrificing 20-30 years in the prime of life should be seen for what it is: absolutely unnecessary. So what is the best way to negotiate your way into a mobile work lifestyle? TF: Whatever you negotiate with a boss, the ground rules are the same: make yourself as expensive as possible to lose — and ask at the right time. Many people often can't stop thinking about work minutiae, even when they're far away from the traditional office setting. How do you get your mind, and not just your body, out of the office? clipmarks" style="border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" border="0" height="17" width="58">

What is innovation and how can companies encourage it?

There are two reasons that companies innovate:
1. - They are leaders, they choose to innovate because they want to maintain their status as leaders.
2. - They are forced to innovate. These companies innovate because if they don't they will be forced out of their market.

Many companies don't understand what innovation is so they struggle to develop a program or system that encourages it. There are several definitions of innovation, the one that is the most accurate to business is: Innovation - is an idea that is driven to the profitability of return on investment.

Most companies mistake innovation for inventions. An invention is simply an idea. Most companies generate numerous great ideas every single day, but these ideas have very short lives. Innovation actually begins once the idea is born. Companies who wish to innovate must learn how to measure innovation.

If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. This is the disconnect for most companies, they can't figure out how to measure innovation. Before any real attempt to develop a company that encourages innovation, they must first figure out how they will measure innovation.

So the question of the day is: how can companies effectively measure innovation?

Here's an interesting article about negotiating for a pay raise. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/03/technology/03money.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5087%0A&em&en=83cec6e19f632991&ex=1173070800