Maxwell's 13th Law: The Law of Reproduction

Maxwell says on p. 133, "It takes a Leader to Raise Up a Leader." See, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You (Nelson Books, 1998).

He gives some statistics from an informal poll about how people became leaders. His results: 5% became a leader through a crisis; 10% through natural gifts; and 85% through the influence of another leader.

These results are skewed because he didn't survey scientifically. To be valid, a survey must be done scientifically. But the basic point is valid, and is exactly Keith Ferrazzi's: We accomplish things through and with others.

I was just talking about this last night. We too often see ourselves optimistically, as a person out there, surviving (or not) on our wits. Not true. Real accomplishments happen through group efforts.

Here's another quote, which I've altered slightly, from p. 140:

Cast a vision, offer incentives, encourage creativity, allow risks, and provide accountability. Do that long enough and with enough people, and you'll develop a leadership culture.

What do you think of this? My goal is to produce more, skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And check out my other enterprises. I'm no Twitter.com, Facebook, and Linkedin.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog.

For my ideas on writing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com, and If you want to get a short story or poem published, go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Maxwell's 12th Law: The Law of Empowerment

Maxwell says, "Only secure leaders give power to others." A leader's potential is determined by those closest to him," is John C. Maxwell's 12th Law, from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You (Nelson Books, 1998), p. 121.

He gives a quote from Theodore Roosevelt on p. 125:

The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

Unfortunately, "empowerment" has come to take on a nasty meaning: cutting people lose and letting them sink or swim by their own wits. This is not what a leader does. The leader allows people to take initiative on something, then steps back and makes sure that those they've empowered have the resources to do what they want.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more, skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know.

Follow me on Twitter.com and on Facebook

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog.

For my ideas on writing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com, and If you want to get a short story or poem published, go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Maxwell's 11th Law: The Law of the Inner Circle

"A leader's potential is determined by those closest to him," is John C. Maxwell's 11th Law, from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You (Nelson Books, 1998), p. 109.

Later (p. 110) he says,

Every leader's potential is determined by the people closest to him. If those people are strong, then the leader can make a huge impact. If they are weak, he can't. That is the Law of the Inner Circle.

Should you change your inner circle from time to time? That's an open question.

Here's what Maxwell says in the little box on p. 117:

Hire the best staff you can find, develop them as much as you can, and hand off everything you possibly can to them.

I'm in favor of having good people around me. Washington chose Hamilton and Jefferson to be in his inner circle. He let them argue things out and figured out what was the best course. The jury's still out on Obama.

But the word "hire" is a problem for me. As an entrepreneur, you should be hiring only as a last resort. Your vision and your example should be inspiring people. Make them feel a part of it. Trust them but always check. Build accountability into your system. Give them every prospect of prospering from your endeavor, and mean it. Then you will have something.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more, skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell's 10th Law: The Law of Connection

John C. Maxwell's 10th Law, from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You (Nelson Books, 1998), p. 99, reads: "Leaders Touch a Heart Before They Ask for a Hand."

This is a good one. I forget it from time to time in my impatience to drive sales. But then some setback occurs which tells me I'm trying to move too fast and everything in due time.

For example, he says, on p. 101:

Effective leaders know that you first have to touch people's hearts before you ask them for a hand. That is the Law of Connection. All great communicators recognize this truth and act on it almost instinctively. You can't move people to action unless you first move them with emotion. The heart comes before the head.

Or this quote from p. 102:

The stronger the relationship and connection between individuals, the more likely the follower will want to help the leader.

Or this one from p. 104:

They [Leaders] take the first step with others and then make the effort to continue building relationships. That's not always easy, but it's important to the success of the organization. A leader has to do it, no matter how many obstacles there might be to it.

And finally, from p. 107:

When a leader has done the work to connect with his people, you can see it in the way the organization functions. Among employees there are incredible loyalty and a strong work ethic.

So pay it forward. Do nice things for people, and keep in touch, regularly, over time. Take them to lunch and find out about them. You'd be surprised what can happen. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but down the road. Or maybe today, you never know when. You never know what. But you know something will. And it might be even more wonderful than you wanted.

Real success lies not in getting what you want, but in realizing that what you have is what you would have wanted if you had known.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more, skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell's 9th Law: The Law of Magnetism

John C. Maxwell's 9th Law, from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You (Nelson Books, 1998), p. 89, reads: "Who you are is who you attract."

This is true. People like to be with people who are like them. It's no different for you as for people who gravitate to you.

A good leader will go out and find those who he or she can work with but who bring different backgrounds and skills to the table. Look at the difference between George Bush II and Barack Obama. George II grouped people around them he knew and were loyal to him. Not people who were diverse. Obama has made an effort to develop a group of people who bring different skills and abilities to the table. We'll see how this all works out.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more, skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell's 8th Law: The Law of Intiution

John C. Maxwell's 8th Law, from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You (Nelson Books, 1998), p. 77, says: "Leaders Evaluate Everything With a Leadership Bias."

So what is this leadership bias? As he usually proceeds he elaborates through example without really coming out and saying it But what he means ins their character and experience gives them the bias to read the situation before them and take the most reasonable action.

But the leader sees things that others don't Maxwell argues.

Here's a scene from the movie The Great Outdoors Maxwell narrates on p. 84. Two characters, Roman and Chet, are sitting on the porch of a cabin surrounded by miles of beautiful land, lakes, and trees. Roman asks Chet what he sees when he looks out around him. Chet says he sees a beautiful forest. Roman says he doesn't. Rather, what he sees is: "Underdeveloped resources of northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. I see a syndicate development corporation exploiting over a billion and a half dollars in forest products. I see a paper mill and--if the strategic metals are there--a mining operation; a green belt between the condos on the lake and a waste management facility...Now I ask you, what do you see?" Chet says he just sees trees.

Two lessons we should draw from this. Roman sees opportunities for exploiting a pristine environment. He sees a way to make money developing the resources. He sees something that most people wouldn't.

But Chet could see in the trees an opportunity for entrepreneuring a organization to protect the north lands against people like Roman who would seek to destroy it for their own gain.

Cycle back to the last line where Roman asks Chet a second time what he sees. Chet could have said, "I see we need to do something to stop people like you from ruining this beautiful land.

An entrepreneurial developer looks at a field and sees shopping centers and high rise office buildings and mixed-use condos. An entrepreneurial farmer looks at the field and sees stands of corn and sorghum. Many others look at the field and see a field. I guess we could rewrite Maxwell's law as The Law of Vision without doing much damage to it.

That shows that vision is vision. It can be an evil vision or a good vision, and who's to say which is which. Everybody had ideas about it. Development can bring jobs and financial prosperity. Environmentalism can enhance beauty in our lives and bring its own kind of prosperity. We desperately need both in our lives.

Check out Maxwell's book. He goes more deeply than I have time to.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more, skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell's 7th Law: The Law of Respect

For John C. Maxwell's 7th Law, see The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You (Nelson Books, 1998), p. 67, says: "People Naturally Follow Leaders Stronger Than Themselves."

He elaborates on this law, citing examples: Harriet Tubman and Dean Smith. For me Obama is the prototype, contemporary leader. People gravitated to him not just in the 10s or the 100s, but in the 100s of thousands. Whatever you think of his policies, his leadership abilities cannot be doubted (at least by me)

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more, skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell's 6th Law: The Law of Solid Ground

John C. Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You, (Nelson Books, 1998), p. 55, says: "Trust is the foundation of leadership."

On p. 58, he elaborates:

Trust is the foundation of leadership. to build trust, a leader must exemplify these qualities: competence, connection, and character. People will forgive occasional mistakes based on ability, especially if they can see that you're still growing as a leader. But they won't trust someone who has slips in character...Character makes trust possible. And trust makes leadership possible. That is the Law of Solid Ground.

He goes on a bit more about character, but I'll stop here. Trust is absolutely important. For more on trust, go to Steven M.R. Covey's book, The Speed of Trust (New York, Free Press, 2006).

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more, skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell's 7 Key Leadership Areas

PP. 50-1 of John C. Maxwell's book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You, (Nelson Books, 1998), lays out seven key areas that "cause [leaders] to step forward as leaders."

Here they are:
1. Character--Who They Are.
2. Relationships--Who they know.
3. Knowledge--What they know.
4. Intuition--What they feel.
5. Experience--Where they've been.
6. Past Success--What they've done.
7. Ability--What they can do.

Six of them--character, knowledge, intuition, experience, past success, ability--fall into human capital. #3. "relationships" falls under social capital. What's not included is financial capital--money or access to money.

So you're a leader whether or not you have money.Maxwell's view of leadership fits with Burt's entrepreneurial capital argument, if you leave aside the finanaicial component.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell's 5th Law: The Law of E.F. Hutton

John C. Maxwell's fifth law of leadership, from p. 43 of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You, (Nelson Books, 1998), says,

When the real leader speaks, people listen.

E. F. Hutton was a financial services company. They ran a series of ads set in a business meeting with a bunch of suits. There was a bunch of conversation, than one guy says to another, "What do you think?" The second guy starts to speak and every else shut up and turned to listen to the guy about to speak. The over-dubbed voice said "When E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen."

In 1977, my first wife and I had driven to Charleston, West Virginia, to pick up my son, whom we were adopting. We had my 4-year old, black, daughter with us. We'd driven 16 hours from Madison, Wisconsin. It was about 9:00 PM and we were all extremely tired and hungry.

We checked into our motel, then went to one of these chain restaurants to get some dinner. My daughter is black. Two white parents and a black child. Our entrance was such that we triggered what I called at the time the E.F. Hutton effect. As soon as we had entered the place, everybody stopped talking, turned, and stared at us. "Why are they looking at us?" my daughter said. "Because we don't match," said my wife. [We had long been aware of being noticed because two white parents and a black child was pretty much of a novelty then. Not so much now.] I knew the ads because they were all over the television that year.

The waitress seated us and everybody went back to their own lives. We ordered, ate, and left without incident. I called the head-turning effect the "E.F. Hutton Effect." Every time I reread this section of Maxwell, that incident comes back to me.

I've had it ocassionally as a Realtor. Somebody in a group will aske me, "Well, Tim, how's the market?" and everybody will stop and look at me.

Maxwell says you can tell who the leader in the room is, because he or she's the one everybody will look at or listen to.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell's 4th Law: The Law of Navigation

John C. Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You, (Nelson Books, 1998), p. 33, says, "Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course." This leader-as-navigator is key to Maxwell's thinking.

A navigator is one who helps others maneuver through rough seas. We have rough seas now. Much can be made by people who can successfully take people through rapid change. Look at the fees that are paid to guides up Mount Everest. How about safari guides or cruise companies. In real estate, buyer agents are navigators.

He argues for a navigational strategy which is the following as laid out on p. 41, under the acronym of PLAN AHEAD:

1. Predetermine a course of action
2. Lay out your goals.
3. Adjust your priorities.
4. Notify key personnel.
5. Allow time for acceptance.
6. Head into action.
7. Expect problems.
8. Always point to the successes.
9. Daily review your plan.

Good strategy for anyone to take.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell's 3rd Law: The Law of Process

John C. Maxwell, on p. 21 of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You, (Nelson Books, 1998):

Leadership develops daily, not in a day.

Take Obama again. He didn't fall out of the crib being a leader. No one suspected him of it. He studied and learned until leadership skills developed within him.

On p. 23, Maxwell says,

Becoming a leader is a lot like investing successfully in the stock market. If your hope is to make a fortune in a day, you're not going to be successful.

So if your leadership skills are not well developed now, work on them and keep at it. If you don't become a leader, you'll become a more effective and intentional person.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell's Leadership Myth #5: The Position Myth

John C. Maxwell, p. 16 of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You, (Nelson Books, 1998), says:

The greatest misunderstanding about leadership is that people think it's based on position, but it's not...'It's not the position that makes the leader; it's the leader that makes the position.'

Obama didn't get in front of all those people because he had a position. He had no position at the start. All those people followed him because he's a leader and able to develop a winning strategy to implement those leadership skills and get elected. You have to agree with this no matter what you think of his policies.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell's Leadership Myth #4: The Pioneer Myth

John C. Maxwell, pp. 15-16 of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You, (Nelson Books, 1998), says:

Another misconception is that anyone who is out in front of the crow is a leader. But being first isn't always the same as leading...To be a leader, a person has to not only be out front, but also have people intentionally coming behind him, following his lead, and acting on his vision.

Many years ago, coming to the elevator in an office building in Indianapolis, Indiana, on my way up to a client meeting, I saw several men in suits standing in front of the elevator, talking intently among to each other. I pushed the up button and waited.

A bell tinged the elevator's arrival. I got on and held the door so they could get on. They continued talking as if I weren't even there.

I motioned, but still no move toward me.

I said in a loud voice, "You can get on now."

One, startled, said, "Oh, we're not going up." So much for me leading that group.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell's Leadership Myth #3: The Knowledge Myth

John C. Maxwell, p. 15 of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You,Nelson Books, 1998, says:

Most people, believing power is the essence of leadership, naturally assume that those who possess knowledge and intelligence are leaders. But that isn't automatically true.

Agree, but I can't see how a leader can succeed without knowledge and intelligence. Knowledge can be acquired, and there's one writer I just heard about who argues that intelligence can too.

Maxwell's right that possessing knowledge doesn't make you a leader. I think an explanation comes from what Chip and Dan Heath, in Made to Stick; Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, (New York: Random House, 2007) on p. 46, call the Curse of Knowledge: when

we start to forget what it's like not to know what we know. [p. 46]

When we learn something, we have trouble understanding what it's like not to know when we know. Unless the leader makes a conscious effort to transcend this curse, he or she may not ever get people to follow them.

Read the Heaths' book it's really excellent from start to finish.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell's Leadership Myth #2: The Entrepreneur Myth

John C. Maxwell, p. 14 of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You,Nelson Books, 1998, says:

Frequently, people assume that all salespeople and entrepreneurs are leaders. But that's not always the case.

Obviously, Maxwell means something different here by the term entrepreneur myth than Gerber means by the E-myth. But, I take somewhat of an issue here anyway. I don't like equating sales people and entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs have to be good at selling, but not all sales people are entrepreneurs. Likewise, sales people who are leaders are better sales people, but not all sales people are leaders.

On p. 15, Maxwell refers to an entrepreneur named Ron Popeil, allegedly the sales person of the century. Maxwell says he was successful with $300 million.

People may be buying what he has to sell, but they're not following him.

But they are following him. If only I could be that kind of a non-leader.

I think an skilled entrepreneur is a leader. Entrepreneurs have to have vision and have enough leadership skills to get people to help them implement this vision.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell's Leadership Myth #1: The Management Myth

John C. Maxwell, pp. 14 of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You,Nelson Books, 1998, says:

A widespread misunderstanding is that leading and managing are one and the same. The main difference between the two is that leadership is about influencing people to follow, while management focuses on maintaining systems and processes.

Remember Michael Gerber, The E-Myth revisited (Harper, 1995)? He says every business has three roles: entrepreneur (leader), Manager (Manager), Technician. The entrepreneur has the vision, the manager implements and maintains the vision, and the technician gets the work done.

If you're going to be an entrepreneur, you shouldn't be trying to manage the enterprise. You need to be true to the vision. Lead somebody into managing it for you. For them, really.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell's 2nd Law: The Law of Influence

John C. Maxwell, on p. 11 of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You,Nelson Books, 1998, says:

The true measure of leadership is influence nothing more, nothing less.

He uses the example of Lady Diana, who traveled around the world forging relationships:

At first, she was simply a spokesperson and catalyst for fund-raising, but as time went by, her influence increased--and so did her ability to make things happen. [p. 12]

Forging relationships is where entrepreneurs need to be. Relationships with potential partners, customers, funders, banks, all of the above. They should be extending their influence beyond the narrow confines of themselves.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell's 1st Law: The Law of the Lid

John C. Maxwell, on p. 1 of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You,Nelson Books, 1998, says:

Leadership ability determines a person's level of effectiveness... Leadership ability is the lid that determines a person's level of effectiveness. The lower an individual's ability to lead, the lower the lid on his potential. The higher the leadership, the greater the effectiveness.

Example: the last presidential campaign. Obama, whatever you think of his politics or his policies, was followed by millions of people and raised nearly $1 billion. McCain was relegated to uttering random thoughts in the grocery store.
Basically, Obama found a crowd and went and got in front of it. But he saw that crowd was there and showed incredible skill in spreading his vision of a changed society to millions of people.

True, a lot went into Obama's incredible leadership success. Economics, societal trends, the legacy of George W. Bush. Nonetheless, he created an organization and took advantage of tools that put him out there. This was not casually done. Obama's been honing his leadership skills for years. A good measure of leadership is how many people are following somebody. He got Michelle to follow him, that's amazing enough.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell on Leadership and Effectiveness

John C. Maxwell argues that your level of leadership measures your personal effectiveness. If your leadership measures 3 on a 10-point scale where 10 is highest, then your personal effectiveness cannot be more than 3 unless you improve your leadership level.

This is the good news: that leadership is a set of skills that can be learned. Maxwell also says that each law stands alone but each complements the others, that by not learning them you will not be able to lead others to the extent that you want to; and that the laws are the foundation of leadership.

Together these laws form a system which entrepreneurs need to learn and practice. If not, they may have a dream, but they're the only ones there pursuing it.

The citation here is: John C. Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership; Follow Them and People Will Follow You,(Nelson Books, 1998, p. xx.)

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Maxwell on the Unchanging Nature of the Laws of Leadership

John C. Maxwell, in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership; Follow Them and People Will Follow You,(Nelson Books, 1998, says that the laws of leadership are unchanging. Maxwell argues they are as valid today as they were in the times of Jesus or Muhammad:

Times change. Technology marches forward. Cultures vary from place to place. But the true principles of leadership are constant.--whether you're looking at the citizens of ancient Greece, the Hebrews in the Old Testament, the armies of the last two hundred years, the rulers of modern Europe, the pastors in local churches, or the businesspeople of today's global economy. Leadership principles stand the test of time. They are refutable. [p. xx].

I have to agree with Maxwell here. Wikipedia gives a short biography and a lengthy bibliography. You should go there and follow those links.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

John C. Maxwell's 21 Laws of Leadership

John C. Maxwell wrote the book on leadership. 50 of them in fact. A common theme throughout Maxwell's books are that leaderhips is a measure of your personal effectiveness.

Here's what Wikipedia, the free, on-line encyclopedia, says about him:

John C. Maxwell (born 1947) is an evangelical Christian author, speaker, and pastor who has written more than 50 books, primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow. His books have sold more than thirteen million copies, with several on the New York Times Best Seller List and translations in over fifty languages.

You need go no further than Maxwell. Go to the Wikipedia article for his bibliography. His books are an absolute must-read for entrepreneurs, or anyone for that matter.

Here are his 21 laws laid out in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership; Follow Them and People Will Follow You,(Nelson Books, 1998, pp. ix-xii:

1. The Lid.
2. Influence.
3. Process.
4. Navigation.
5. E.F. Hutton.
6. Solid Ground.
7. Respect.
8. Intuition.
9. Magnetism.
10. Connection.
11. The inner circle.
12. Empowerment.
13. Reproduction.
14. The buy in.
15. Victory.
16. The Big Mo.
17. Priorities.
18. Sacrifice.
19. Timing.
20. Explosive Growth.
21. Legacy.

Go to Maxwell's book and read what he says. And check out his other books as well.

Here's the citation:

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Franchising

Wikipedia, the free, on-line encyclopedia describes franchising this way:

Franchising refers to the methods of practicing and using another person's business philosophy. The franchisor grants the independent operator the right to distribute its products, techniques, and trademarks for a percentage of gross monthly sales and a royalty fee. Various tangibles and intangibles such as national or international advertising, training, and other support services are commonly made available by the franchisor. Agreements typically last from five to thirty years, with premature cancellations or terminations of most contracts bearing serious consequences for franchisees.

Franchising has been around for many centuries but didn't come to prominence until 1930's, the establishments of electricity, vehicles, and the Interstate highway helped propel modern franchising, most notably franchise-based food service establishments. According to the Small Business Administration approximately 10% of all businesses are franchises.

Go to the Wikipedia article, read the whole thing, and follow the links.

Entrepreneur.com defines franchising as:

A continuing relationship in which a franchisor provides a licensed privilege to the franchisee to do business and offers assistance in organizing, training, merchandising, marketing and managing in return for a monetary consideration. Franchising is a form of business by which the owner (franchisor) of a product, service or method obtains distribution through affiliated dealers (franchisees).

Check this one out, too. It has a good summary as well as some thoughtful questions to ask.

Franchising is worth looking at because the failure rate among franchises is lower than most businesses. That's because many franchises have a pretty good idea of what it takes to make a franchise successful. And you benefit from the experience of the people who run the franchise. Many offer consulting services to help you succeed. They're interest is in your success because they will benefit if you benefit. And you get to taken advantage of a proven business model. After all, they did all the work.

But you have to do your due diligence. You have to be able to work within someone else's framework. And you have to be credit worthy and have a chunk of change to put down and to be able to bear the cost of the franchise fees which can be substantial.

Look on Entrepreneur.com. It's good stuff.

If you're the kind of person who can't work for other people, franchising isn't for you.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Personal Corporation

The Personal Corporation (PC) is yet another hybrid.

From Investopedia, we have a personal service corporation as:

A corporation that is created for the purpose of providing personal services to individuals or groups. To be considered a personal-service corporation by the IRS, the employee-owners must perform at least 20% of the personal services themselves. The employee-owners must also own at least 10% of the outstanding stock of the personal-service corporation on the last day of the initial one-year testing period...

If you function as the owner-employee of a personal-service corporation and your primary business is related to creative/fine arts or photography, any current expenses you incur pursuant to creative work are deductible for the corporation. However, either you or your family members must hold all or nearly all of the corporation's outstanding stock. This rule does not apply to other types of personal-service corporations.

Go to Investopedia. Look up personal corporations and follow the links. There's a lot of information there for you to chew on. Before you decide to incorporate as a PC, consult your attorney and your accountant. And be consider your options carefully before taking any action.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Is this helpful? Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)

Here's another hybrid: the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) My friend David Sobel, an accountant, thinks it's just another way for lawyers to make money. I don't know, it's a legal hybrid form. Should you form one? Only you, with advice and counsel of an attorney and an accountant, can make that call.

From Wikipedia, the free, on-line encyclopedia:

A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a partnership in which some or all partners (depending on the jurisdiction) have limited liability. It therefore exhibits elements of partnerships and corporations. In an LLP one partner is not responsible or liable for another partner's misconduct or negligence. This is an important difference from that of a limited partnership. In an LLP, some partners have a form of limited liability similar to that of the shareholders of a corporation. In some countries, an LLP must also have at least one "general partner" with unlimited liability. Unlike corporate shareholders, the partners have the right to manage the business directly. As opposed to that, corporate shareholders have to elect a board of directors under the laws of various state charters. The board organizes itself (also under the laws of the various state charters) and hires corporate officers who then have as "corporate" individuals the legal responsibility to manage the corporation in the corporation's best interest. An LLP also contains a different level of tax liability than a corporation.

Go to Wikipedia and read the entire article and follow the links.

Carefully consider everything you do in business. And consult an attorney and an accountant.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs.
Does this help? Tell me. Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

Back in 1983 when I started National Research Services, Inc., there were no LLCs. LLC stands for Limited Liability Company. Now they seem all the rage.

From Wikipedia, the free, on-line encyclopedia:

A limited liability company (abbreviated L.L.C. or LLC) in the law of the vast majority of United States jurisdictions is a legal form of business company that provides limited liability to its owners. Often incorrectly called a "limited liability corporation" (instead of company), it is a hybrid business entity having certain characteristics of both a corporation and a partnership or sole proprietorship (depending on how many owners there are). The primary characteristic an LLC shares with a corporation is limited liability, and the primary characteristic it shares with a partnership is the availability of pass-through income taxation. It is often more flexible than a corporation and it is well-suited for companies with a single owner.

Be aware, though, of what I said before. Your LLC will not protect you when you've personally guaranteed a loan or personally guaranteed that you'll pay your lease, or your product has broken because it was defective and someone was harmed. You're going to get sued along with your LLC.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs.
Does this help? Tell me. Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com.

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.