Let me show you a brighter future:
Just believe in me
In the last posts, we talked simply but powerfully about the ONE thing people value more highly than anything else:
That one IDEA, whatever it may be, that gives their life meaning and purpose.
It doesn’t matter if that idea is smart or dumb, people will follow an idea they believe in.
And how do they come to believe in this idea and then follow it?
- For them to believe in their idea, they must believe in the person who originated it
- For them to believe in your idea, they must believe in you.
- And to believe in you, they must trust you.
And how do you begin to lead people who aren’t following you yet?
You fill their painful emptiness with anything:
Leadership is a dirty, hands-on, 24/7 job.
I understand that some leaders enjoy healthy morning massages … rigorous afternoons on the golf course … and sparkling evenings at four-star restaurants, top antique auction houses … mixed with a few quick Learjet jaunts to Paris just to add some extra zest to life.
And I understand most of them are movie characters.
So, how do you begin to lead people who aren’t following you?
First:
You need to have a vision of a brighter future you can share:
By this, I mean you need to have that golden idea so your followers have something to hold on to tightly with both hands, that idea that gives their lives meaning and purpose.
Why do people abandon their existing lives in the first place and follow a new idea? Because regardless of who they are, everyone is caught between unmet desires and dreams and the satisfaction of those desires and dreams.
Your idea — your vision — holds both the promise of greater satisfaction and the way to get them there.
You learned about this in Mass Persuasion with your overall theme.
Next:
You need to constantly improve the quality of your character:
Your every move is broadcast and rerun in the hearts and minds of those you lead, and with those who they lead. Put simply: people know when you’re not sincere and they definitely know when you’re lying. And you will be found out and tarred and feathered if you’re not sincere.
Have you been part of a successful enterprise that crumbled in a matter of days — due to the loss of faith and mass exit from the company based solely on the leader’s character flaws? I have an unfortunate number of times, and I even led the revolt and exit that crumbled the enterprise. Time from finding out to collapse and the launch of the legal battle? Twelve short, nerve-wracking days.
Can you imagine the outcry and backlash against you — once you’ve found out to be a liar or a cheat? Can you imagine how fast $300-an-hour attorney fees add up to defend yourself?
And, as you learned in Mass Persuasion, consistency is critical. If you’re consistent in your quality actions and behavior, your followers will interpret a foulup in your favor as a random statistical error — or even recite to others and back to you it in good humor as proof that you’re only human. You will have the benefit of the doubt. But only if you’ve been consistent and sincere.
Last:
Most of all, you need to constantly think of what you can give to your people.
To give you an idea how this works, let’s go to the silver screen:
In the 1962 Academy Award winner Lawrence of Arabia, Howeitat Tribe leader Auda abu Tayi says it best by roaring: “The Turks pay me a golden treasure. Yet I am poor, because I am a river to my people.”
You learned in Mass Persuasion about the “propaganda of the deed,” a fancy schmancy sociological phrase for “actions speak louder than words.” What does that mean? You need to take action to prove yourself. Your actions themselves, more than anything else, consistently performed over time, will prove to your followers your sincerity and true intent behind your gifts.
First: You need to have a vision of a brighter future you can share.
Next: You need to demonstrate the quality of your character.
Last: You need to give like an ever-flowing river.
People are literally dying to be led. Do you doubt that your followers will go this far? Look at what people are willing to do in order to gain attention and even minor celebrity status, whether with ridiculous 140-character posts on Twitter, 24/7 scrutiny and surveillance on reality TV, or anything and anywhere else.
People will gladly let themselves be exploited just to try to find meaning and purpose:
Yet, the fantastic part for you is that there’s a huge emptiness in people’s lives that you can fill.
I reveal how incredibly simple yet awesomely powerful this is. In our next post.
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