So, you’re starting something new? I bet one big question rolling around in your mind is, “Do I have what it takes?” This week, John C. Maxwell, Mark Cole, and Traci Morrow start a new two-part series on questions leaders can ask themselves to know if they have what it takes to begin a new venture. Following John’s lesson, Mark and Traci discuss how to apply what you’ve learned to your life and leadership.
– Passion gives the vision energy. Vision gives passion direction.
– Stress is the gap between the demands placed on us and our ability to meet those demands.
– Many times, action is not the riskiest path. The riskiest path is inaction.
Our BONUS resource for this episode is the Do You Have What It Takes Worksheet, which includes fill-in-the-blank notes from John’s teaching. You can download the worksheet by visiting MaxwellPodcast.com/WhatItTakes and clicking “Download the Bonus Resource.”
Mark Cole:
Welcome to the Maxwell Leadership podcast. We’re back again with another episode of the Maxwell Leadership podcast with John Maxwell. And I just want to tell you again, we’re passionate about adding value to leaders who multiply value to others. Today we’re beginning a two part series where John Maxwell gives us questions to think through before starting a new venture in our organization, or perhaps even in our leadership. I’ll be back with Traci Morrow after the lesson to sit down and have a conversation about how we can apply John’s lesson to our life and to our leadership. If you would like to watch this episode on YouTube or download our free bonus resource for the episode, visit maxwellpodcast.com/WhatItTakes. Okay, grab a pen, grab some paper. Let’s get ready.
Mark Cole:
Here is John Maxwell.
John Maxwell:
Starting a new venture is not easy, and successful entrepreneurs have a lot of common personality traits. So we’re going to give you a yes no quiz to see how you measure up. In other words, we’re going to see how much entrepreneurial potential you have in your life to start a new venture. Do you have what it takes? Okay, boy, that’s kind of a challenging question. Come on, look at me. Do you have what it takes? Come on, show me your stuff. Show me your stuff. Let me see if you have what it takes.
John Maxwell:
Question number one, are you passionate about your venture? Just a great question. If you’re going to start something, it doesn’t start out there. It starts in here. Let me ask you a question. How many people do you know that have become highly successful doing something they hate? How many people do you know that just absolutely have continued to perform on a high level in something that they don’t care about? The answer is none. It’s zero. Zippo. Can’t happen.
John Maxwell:
Won’t happen. Why won’t it happen? Because passion. Here we go. Gives the vision energy. Passion is energy. And it takes energy to start a new venture. And by the way, vision gives passion direction. Vision and passion need each other.
John Maxwell:
They’re not the same, but they need to be together. The passion will give the vision the energy it needs, and the vision will give the passion the direction it needs to. So, are you passionate about your venture? Let me give you just a few thoughts on passion. Number one, passion gives you starting power. Abraham Lincoln said, thanks may come to those who wait, but only things that are left by those who hustle. In other words, you get the leftovers. If you don’t have passion, passion gives you starting power. It gets you going.
John Maxwell:
So when you have a person you know, don’t you always have these questions? Well, how do you get a person motivated to get doing something? Can I text? The person lacks passion. You’ve never seen a passionless self starter? Doesn’t have it. It’s not in DNA. Here we go. Being the first to do something is the most obvious way to set yourself apart from others. Let me tell you something else. Passion gives you staying power. Yeah.
John Maxwell:
The same passion that gets you going is the same passion that keeps you going. And starting power is easier than staying power. Isn’t that true? A little bit of passion will get you going. A lot of passion keeps you going. Little passion won’t keep you going. You know, after a few days and a couple of obstacles and three no’s and a couple dead ends, passion won’t keep you, it’ll get you going. It’s a passion that will give you that staying power. That is absolutely huge.
John Maxwell:
Question number two, are you a promoter? You say, boy, John, you think that’s an important question to get something started? I think it’s a very important question. In fact, I don’t hear people talk about this a lot, but I’m here to tell you, if you can’t promote something, you can’t start something. Let me define promoter. A promoter is an active supporter and advocate. They’re supporting what they believe in and they’re an advocate for what they believe in. And let me tell you something about a promoter. You never have to ask a promoter what they’re promoting. I’m going to help you get the DNA right now.
John Maxwell:
Okay. Promoters don’t have you guessing about what they’re thinking or what they’re doing. When a promoter is done with you, you don’t look at them and say, now, were they trying to say something to me? When a promoter is done, you know what they’re doing. You know what they’re going to do. They’re going to know what they want out of you. A promoter is real clear and is real passionate. They cannot help themselves. They believe in it so much that they cannot help themselves.
John Maxwell:
They can’t get in a reasonable conversation for a reasonable amount of time without becoming unreasonable in their promoting. So here are two questions to ask yourself. Question number one, do I believe in something so much that I have to talk about it? And number two, can I share my belief in such a way that others want to be a part of it? Question number three. Oh, this is a great do I have what it takes? Question can you handle stress? You see, stress is the gap between the demands placed on us and our ability to meet those demands. That’s what stress is. And when you’re in a new venture, can I tell you something? You’re always in that gap. You live in the gap of the demands that are placed on you with this new venture and your lack of ability to meet all the demand. I mean, when you start a venture, you don’t have enough people.
John Maxwell:
You get contacts, you don’t have enough experience. People who are not successful almost always fail to be successful, not because they don’t have capacity. The reason people fail to be successful in life is they can’t handle stress. Stress is the separator between successful and unsuccessful people. Question number four, are you healthy? Because taking new ventures, it takes some pretty good health. I love this. I love this comment. Will comment if you look like your passport photo, you’re too ill to travel.
John Maxwell:
I just love that. I wish I would have done better at this. When I was younger, I was healthy, but I wasn’t healthy. You know what I’m saying? I wasn’t sick. And I made a huge mistake of thinking because I was never sick, that I was healthy. That’s not a relationship. You do know that, don’t you? The challenge with making change when you make it late in your life is that it’s so much harder to make change later in your life. It really is, because we are people of habits.
John Maxwell:
And so the easiest change, change is never easy, but the easiest change is always when you’re young, before you’ve established patterns and habits in your life. Question number five. Are you comfortable with risk? I love people who come to me and says, you know, I would like to get in a good investment that’s risk free. You know what I mean? You know, what I really like to do is I’d like to make a lot of money. Do you know, like a risk free venture that I could get involved in. Let me read this to you. I think it’s unfortunate, but to some degree, the word entrepreneur has taken out on the connotation of a gambler many times. Action is not the most risky path.
John Maxwell:
Sometimes the most risky path is inaction. We never think of laziness as risk. We never think of doing nothing as a risk. We never think of saying nothing as a risk. We always think is the person who did something took the risk. The risk can be the fact you did nothing. Let me go on. Experience has shown me that taking risks has specific advantages.
John Maxwell:
One, you learn things faster than people who don’t take risk. That’s very true. When you take a risk, you’re just gonna get smacked quicker. You know what I mean? You do. Number two, you have a broader range of experiences. Number three, you bump into more obstacles sooner than people who play it safe. And four, you learn to get around those obstacles. Here’s what risk does.
John Maxwell:
Risk, handled appropriately, gives you a quick education. And while others are learning years later, you’ve already been there and you’ve done it. And you’ve learned to be creative, and you’ve learned how to broad range of experience. All those things are very positive about risk. I’ve had this quote for many years. To laugh is to risk appearing the fool and to weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out for another is to risk involvement. To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
John Maxwell:
To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss. To love is to risk not being loved in return. Live is to risk dying. To hope is to risk despair. To try is to risk failure. But risk must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is the person who risks nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing. They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, or live chained by their attitudes.
John Maxwell:
They are slaves and they forfeited freedom. Only a person who risk is free. Question number six, do you have strong people skills? If you’re going to have a new venture, you’re going to have to be good with people skills. In my book, winning with people, I have what I call the friendship principle. It’s just a true principle. All things being equal, people will work with people they like. All things not being equal, they still will. They just really will.
John Maxwell:
And there are four levels of business relationships. One is people knowledge. Your understanding of people that helps you build your business. Two is service knowledge. Your treatment of people helps you build your business. Another level of business relationships. Number three is the business reputation. Your reputation for relationships helps you build the business.
John Maxwell:
And finally, number four, personal friendship. Your friendship with others helps you to build the business.
Maxwell Leadership Certified Team:
Hey, podcast listeners, many of you listening right now would probably love the autonomy that comes with owning your own business or becoming a coach that helps other businesses succeed. Well, we have a phenomenal strategy where you are 100% in control of your own business, earning income on your own terms, and have access to the people, tools and resources you need to build a thriving leadership development business. When you become a Maxwell leadership certified team member, you join a global community of entrepreneurs led by our expert team of mentors and faculty, including John C. Maxwell. You’ll also get one of the top leadership certifications in the world next to your name, giving you the boost you need to get started. Visit us online at maxwellleadership.com/jointheteam to find out more.
Mark Cole:
Hey, welcome back, Traci. It is so good to be able to go on a two part journey with you on answering the question, do you have what it takes? It’s so funny that tracy, right before we started recording, she said, okay, do you have what it takes? I went, yes. I said it before. Then I realized I don’t know what she’s asking me if I have what it takes for it. I met her, back up a little bit, or Traci will have me on some p 90 x. So right before we went live, Traci just said, like, do you have what it takes? And I’m like, yes. And then I went. Slowed down, went, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Mark Cole:
Wait. What is she asking? She’s gonna have me in some p 90 x, some 90 day trial to kind of show me how little I have in what it takes. But, hey, I know we’re talking about leadership in life, although you can’t talk with Traci without talking about relationships and health. And so, Traci, I do have what it takes, but on some things, you may have to take me a little bit slower than on other things. But isn’t it true? I mean, John, man, he is dropping some gold on us today, and, of course, we’ll be back next week with some, some additional things. It’s good to be with you.
Traci Morrow:
Wow. Yes. And this, this is a great episode. I love that it’s broken down into two parts, I think, for so many of our listeners who are getting ready to either launch a business, whether it’s their own product, or if they are even a lot of our Maxwell leadership coaches who are excited and launching their business and having this checklist, these questions to ask about themselves, ask of themselves as new entrepreneurs or existing entrepreneurs. Am I still loving what I’m doing? I love these questions, and I’m excited to get into them with you, Mark. I think we are all in that place where some of sometimes, like, do I have what it takes? Yes and no. Yeah. Do I have a little bit of work to do in some areas?
Mark Cole:
Well, it’s funny that you said that, though, Traci, because I was sitting here going, if you would have asked me 24 years ago when I started John Maxwell’s in John Maxwell’s company, hey, do you have what it takes to be the CEO? I went, no, but if you’d asked me if I had what it took to take the next step, I would have said, absolutely. And I think oftentimes we discredit ourselves because we’re trying to answer the question five, six, seven iterations down, rather than answer the question, do I have what it takes to take on today’s challenge and to reach for tomorrow’s opportunity? And the answer to that is yes. And John’s going to prove that in this lesson. If you’re trying to say, do I have what it takes for five, six, seven promotions or 567 opportunities down the road, you might say no, but by the time you’ll get there, you’ll have what it takes.
Traci Morrow:
I love that you clarified that, Mark. I think that is very important for people to hear, because I think sometimes that, unfortunately, we compare ourselves to somebody else who’s way farther down the road, and we start out thinking, do I have a what it takes to be that person? You are never meant to be that person. We are never meant to be John Maxwell or Mark Cole. We are meant to be ourselves and take up and apply these principles to ourselves and become the next best version of ourself. Today and tomorrow, we apply them and become the next best version. So the first question that he asks, are you passionate about your venture? I feel like that’s kind of a no brainer. What even gets us on the path is passion. So if you start out and you’re like, I have no passion about this, I’m kind of like I’m flatlining at the get go, man.
Traci Morrow:
That is an answer right off the bat. That first check Mark is like, okay, maybe you should not be on this path. Maybe if you have an entrepreneurial spirit, then you just haven’t found your product or you haven’t found your. Your mission statement or your. Or whatever you are, you know, the path you’re supposed to be on. But one thing, Mark, that I would love to hear from you about is I feel like many times people lead, when I hear people beginning a business is they lead a lot with the component. They are very passionate a lot of times in starting their own business, because financially, they are motivated. And what I found in working with the entrepreneurs that I work with, finances are not the great motivator.
Traci Morrow:
So everyone’s passionate about not being broke, but making money and having stuff doesn’t really motivate us. That isn’t really what the passion John is talking about. So how do you help your team identify the true heart passion connection, apart from a dream board that just has a bunch of stuff on it, versus the true passion about this product or this service is meant to serve somebody. And knowing the difference between that.
Mark Cole:
Yeah. So, two thoughts on that is one, I think we have to answer passion from the place of sacrifice or anticipating it, not working out flawlessly, and not from a place of emotion or excitement. Too often we think passion and just this incredible enthusiasm is one and the same. And I disagree with that. I think passion sometimes is in the still gaze of a determined woman or man that says, despite all the odds against me, I will continue. I will count the best passion statement I’ve ever had was about named Rob McClelland, who came in and helped us in a very critical time of equip. And I love this. I quote it all the time.
Mark Cole:
But it is the best passion statement that I know we will achieve. Or when you find my body, it’ll be pointed in that direction. And I think that right there, there’s a resolve, there is a determination, there is a, despite the odds stacked against me, statement or gaze in the eyes, that, to me, speaks more of passionate. I think one of the greatest points John made right here was not the passion that gives you starting power, like you said. I mean, if you’re starting a business and you’re not passionate at the beginning, before you have your first setback, before you have your first. No, before you have your first sacrifice and have to go take out another loan because you don’t have enough money or you’re going to use your last $5, all of those things is what’s really going to determine your passion. Your excitement and your determination on the front end will give you starting power. But that’s a lot of enthusiasm.
Mark Cole:
That’s a lot of, oh, this is fresh. This is new. When passion really shows up is when everything goes wrong. Everything predicted ends up being wrong. And when you have given everything, you have to ask the question, am I still in one of my greatest passion questions that I ask. I ask it every single year, at the end of the year, in my year in growth process, and it’s this, am I willing to pay the price again? Am I willing to pay the price again? And the only thing I can help you on the front end of doing that is trying to get people roleplay the worst things that could happen and say, are you still in it? I ask people all the time, hey, is it the paycheck that keeps you coming back tomorrow? Or is it the mission? Is it what we’re doing? And I’m not saying we can do anything for free, but I’ll tell you this. I would do what I’m doing for free. I’ve told John Maxwell that often.
Mark Cole:
Fortunately, he’s never tried me out on that. But I will tell you this. I would do what I am doing right now, and I can say this for the last 24 years, I would do what I’m doing right now for free because I believe in it that much. It’s what I’m supposed to do.
Traci Morrow:
I love that. That’s a great marker. Okay, moving on to question two. Are you a promoter? He says that’s an active supporter and an advocate. If you can’t promote something, you can’t start something. But also, like when Pat Lincioni talks about the six types of working genius, one of those six years is a galvanizer, which is really a promoter, which is that person who galvanizes the team and gets people on board. And so sometimes, if that isn’t your working genius, but you are an entrepreneur and you’re getting things going. First of all, you have to get people, you have to have the ability to get people on board and cast the vision and to bring on on board a galvanizer who will, if it’s not your working genius, who can bring it on for you.
Traci Morrow:
So I’m curious, on your team, Mark, whether or not that is one of your working geniuses being a galvanizer. First of all, is it one of yours? Just for our audience, if they’re curious, how do you create an advocate, advocate or a promoter on the Maxwell leadership team? Is that part of your bringing them on for your mission? Is that an important part of having someone who’s a galvanizer on your team? How do you, is that a part of your game plan? Is making sure that there are galvanizers on the team? Because that can’t be something. Even if it’s your strength, even if that’s your working genius, that can’t be something that you do. You can’t do everything. So you need to have a portion of your team doing that talk about how you hire that talk about how you make sure people know that that’s their key role on the team.
Mark Cole:
Yeah. So I am a galvanizer. You picked that up correctly. So, yeah, just. Just love to bring the team together. In a couple of weeks, we’re going to have. The best way I know how to answer this question is to illustrate it with our founder, our leader, John Maxwell. In a couple of weeks, we’ll have him come on.
Mark Cole:
And I’ve got him agreeing to come into studio and spend four weeks to talk about his new book on high road leadership, bringing the world together, bringing people together in a world that divides. And I’m just going to tell you, you are going to love that four week time with John. And the reason you’re going to love it is because he is the best promoter I know. I mean, in fact, let me give you a couple of examples besides books. Now, number one, he’s never written. He’s never released a book. And this is number 89. He has never released a book that was not the best book he’s ever written.
Mark Cole:
Just ask him. I mean, he just gets all this giddy, boyish excitement when he’s releasing a new book. He’s a great promoter. But John, in our nonprofit, John is the chief fundraiser. He’s the chief promoter. And I’ve heard a lot of guys saying, john, I have never thanked somebody like, I thank you for me getting to give my money to you, because John makes it so exciting, not only compelling that you better do it or you’re chopped liver. Like, you’re just the worst thing in the world. He makes you do it in such a way that you’re going, how did I get lucky enough to give you money?
Traci Morrow:
What?
Mark Cole:
I can’t believe you’re gonna take my money. I mean, John truly has this ability to promote. But here’s the best example of that, because we have this program in our nonprofit called Legacy Program, and it’s people. Traci, you’re one of our legacy people. I’ve been blessed to be a part of John’s legacy program for several years, and it’s people that give a significant amount of money to John’s nonprofit. And then because of that, you’re just really plugged into a lot of different areas of the organization. Well, John will get these people given $100,000 a year, and they’ll come to his golf experience, and they have paid 100. Not paid.
Mark Cole:
They’ve given, donated $100,000 to be in this room, be at the golf experience, and then John brings a stack of dollar 100 bills and have spudding contest. So these people that give $100,000 come in and have a putting contest with him, and John will give them $100 if they make a putt and he doesn’t make it. And watching these people that’s just wrote a hundred thousand dollar check get giddy and excited about winning a $100 bill from John is one of the funniest things that happened. But I’m telling you, whether he’s getting you to feel like you need to say thank you for giving him 100,000 or whether you feel like this hundred dollar bill is getting ready to be the best thing in your life. John Maxwell is one of the greatest promoters, but let me tell you why, and he touches this a little bit. Do I believe in something so much that I have to talk about it? And then his second question. Can I share my belief in such a way that others want to be a part of it? I just illustrated that I don’t know of a better promoter than John Maxwell. And for you, for me, you don’t have to be a good salesman to be a promoter.
Mark Cole:
Some of you introverts that just kind of checked out while John was talking about promoting. It’s not true if it’s what you want to talk about, if it is what you do, so much so that others want to be a part of it, you need to work in that gift of being a promoter.
Traci Morrow:
So good. Agreed. And I agree that he is a good promoter. And you sometimes scratch your head, like, I just thanked him for that. Why do I feel so grateful that I get to be a part? He’s amazing. Okay, so let’s. We’ve got, we’ve got four more to move through, and they are. Can you handle stress? Are you healthy, comfortable with risk? And do you have strong people skills? I kind of like to land on stress because stress is such an important one that people deal with, and then maybe we can pick up on strong people skills.
Traci Morrow:
I feel like those two are important. You know, I want to land on health because it’s so important. But I feel like we’ve talked about that in past episodes. But stress. Stress is this great separator. I think we talked about when we hit on passion, the first one, and you said sacrifice will be a part of it. I think it’s important that we establish at any top of any beginning of any entrepreneurial business that something will go wrong. Something is going to be hard.
Traci Morrow:
Any, anything that you do, there’s going to come that moment of a stressor. And so we’ve talked about on the podcast before, you and I talk about it privately all the time. When you’re going to do something difficult, you need to establish your why so powerfully and that this really is something that you’re called to so that when hard times come, when they come, not if they come, that that is what you anchor to. And so talk a little bit about so that you aren’t whipped in the wind and so stressed because he says the reason people fail to be successful is because they can’t handle stress. And so can you share with a little, with us a little bit what mental process that you either learned from John or that you have walked through with him or that has just become a part of you, that you go through the process that you go through when that helps to anchor you when you are in stressful situations. And you shared on the podcast this last year, 2023, was truly a stressful year in your leadership journey. What kept you anchored? That leaders can plan for now so that when their stressors come, that they can grab those handles and stay anchored and not let stress whip them around and really beat them up and derail them.
Mark Cole:
Well, let me first talk to those of you that may be having a year like I had last year, and I really want to encourage you, perhaps with an illustration that will help you. Because I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think I would look at 2023 Traci and go, man, I was pretty anchored. I pretty much stayed the course. But I’ve been on a but I’ve been on a boat before in the middle of a storm. Not recommended, by the way, in case anybody’s wondering. I mean, a massive storm. I mean, a storm that was so bad that we decided to drop anchor and ride the storm out in the middle of the water so that we didn’t drift and go into danger territory. We rode this sucker out in the middle of the ocean, and a big old storm popped up on us on a deep sea fishing trip.
Mark Cole:
They dropped anchor. We couldn’t see a thing. There was no land in sight. We were sick. We were all over the place. That boat was everywhere. And I’m telling you, I couldn’t wait for the storm to clear, for me to see how far we had gone off course. Do you know what happened when the storm cleared down? The waters calmed down.
Mark Cole:
I went up to the captain’s quarters and he showed me the coordinates. And while I felt like I had moved all over the place, all over the place, the reality was I was anchored right in the same place. And so let me tell you something, leader, that is going through a lot. And you feel like you’re the most unstable, uncertain, hardest person to follow, because life is so challenging right now. There’s a great chance you’re anchored right where you’re supposed to be and you’re riding the storm out. And when it clears, you’re going to realize how anchored you were. So let me say this about my 2023. I did not feel anchored.
Mark Cole:
I felt all over the place. I felt like it was so hard to follow myself, much less expect others to follow me. But as I now reflect on the difficult year, I realized I was pretty anchored. I was pretty steadfast in believing in my calling and believing in my team and believing in myself and my ability to lead. And I think you have to really get those. Are you sure? Or what are you sure about? And when I say are you sure? Hey, is the storm have a purpose? Are you certain? On the other side of the storm you’re going to see more clearly what it was about. And when I can resolve that there is purpose to the chaos, I can face any chaos. I’ve told this on the podcast before.
Mark Cole:
One of the greatest gifts I had from Stephanie, my wife, was when she came in one day on a particularly difficult day, and she said, mark, get over yourself. You were made for hard. You were made for hard. You were designed and constructed to lead through hard. I have went back to that statement not dozens, hundreds of times. I was made for this. I was made for heart. I won’t have more on me than I can bear.
Mark Cole:
I trust my creator. I trust my maker. I will not go through something that I was not built to withstand. That’s certainty in myself. The second thing that I really work hard to have certainty in a difficult time to eliminate or at least mitigate the stress that I go through is that this is for a calling. This is for something deep within me so I can handle it. But also there is a brighter purpose on the other side. And the third thing that I do to eliminate stress or mitigate stress is to look for the lessons along the way.
Mark Cole:
I really do love to learn. I love to learn. And if I have to go through a storm to test the chain on the anchor, I’ll test it. If I have to go through a storm to realize that I can handle very difficult things, I’ll take it. Because the purpose of the storm and the lesson learned through the difficulty will replace the stress with a optimism that this thing that I’m going through will actually make me better so I can get to the next thing. John’s making a statement with this new book as he’s working through and communicating it, and it’s this. Leaders often think that they need to do hard first so they can get to easy, he said. But great leaders understand they need to do hard first so they can be prepared for harder.
Traci Morrow:
Wow.
Mark Cole:
Oh yeah. I didn’t think you’d heard that yet, because I’ve just heard it a couple of times. I’m sure over the next couple of weeks when he starts talking about his book, he’ll say that again. He said, but leaders, great leaders, never look for the easy way out. They look for the hard way in because it will prepare them for the next hard assignment on the horizon. And I just went mic drop. And that’s how we deal with stress. It is going to be different.
Mark Cole:
John says there’s no two good consecutive days in a leader’s life. You’re going to have an opportunity to stress, but your ability to find anchors in the middle of the chaos will move your perspective from stress to your perspective of opportunity to grow.
Traci Morrow:
So good. Wow. And for those of you who are a little disappointed, you’re just getting some big girl, big boy leadership lessons that you do hard so you can do harder. I’m sorry that it’s not do hard so you can do easier.
Mark Cole:
That’s exactly right. Exactly right.
Traci Morrow:
Papa John. Just serving us up some grown up lessons, not some easy lessons. But that is what we’re trying to find out. Do we have what it takes? And sometimes we get easy lessons and that don’t serve us well and they aren’t actually reality. And so the last one, I know we’re at the very end, but I would love to hear you because I think people and relationships are just so important to both of us. But I think it’s important that we address this one. Do you have strong people skills? He hits on four levels of business relationships, but I would love to hear. He says the friendship principle from winning with people is that all things being equal, people will work with people they like.
Traci Morrow:
All things not being equal, they still will. And so I’m curious, Mark, how has this affected your leadership journey personally? Has it made it harder or easier to work with people that you like?
Mark Cole:
It’s harder because I’ve said this on the podcast before, I’m a recovering people pleaser, and there are often times that I know the right leadership decision that needs to be made, and I get paralyzed because of all the non leaders that won’t understand the leadership decision because there’s no, there’s no. In fact, being a leader, as John talks often, is not this privilege that most people think. I mean, so the parking spot only feels good for a little while, you still gotta go in and lead something. Leadership’s very hard. Leadership’s very difficult. And so this concept that, oh, I’m the leader, and therefore I can just make decisions, it’s not true. You have to feel the weight of that. There’s been times that I’ve led our company through very difficult times because of my own bad decision making.
Mark Cole:
And I’ve watched people and their families struggle and suffer because of my leadership decisions. That’s not easy. And so, as a people pleaser, often I allow the relational context to slow me down from making a decision that, had it been made sooner, would have had less collateral damage than what it ended up having. It’s very hard to overcome the relational aspect. And the closer the people, the more connected the friendships are, the more challenging is now all that considered? Do I still want to work with people I like, people I’m friends with, as opposed to people I don’t like, and people I can’t wait to leave. At the end of the day, I’ll take the people that I like. But it does create big challenges. If you’re a recovering people pleaser, as I am, it’s difficult.
Mark Cole:
It’s extremely difficult. And I have been slow to make decisions because of how it would impact people and ended up impacting them even worse because I waited. It’s happened more times than I want to admit on this podcast. Cause I want you to keep listening.
Traci Morrow:
That’s right. And the more we intentionally choose to value people and the more we get to know their stories, then we actually like and value all people, the fewer people we actually don’t like, and that actually makes it better in the long run. Thank you for your honesty.
Mark Cole:
Yeah, for sure. You know, we’re talking this week, and next week come back. We’re going to talk about six more. Six more ideas, six more questions that John’s going to challenge us with. On do you have what it takes? One of the standout statements that I want to close with today is many times, action is not the most risky path. The most risky path is inaction. And so when you’re talking about, do you have what it takes? Don’t become paralyzed until you’re certain you have what it takes. Go out and start doing something, because it’s the action that proves that you have what it takes, not the inaction of analysis.
Mark Cole:
And that’s what I want to leave you with today. I want to celebrate Robert. Robert is. He’s a podcast listener, and he listened to ten secrets to success. That’s a podcast. We’ll put that episode, the link to that episode in our show notes. But he said, my take home lesson today is the key to our dreams, and adding value to ourselves and to others is through action. Thanks, Robert.
Mark Cole:
We’re on the same page right here with my standout statement. He said, that takes me back to the reasoning of faith without works equals to zero. Thanks to John Maxwell and your team for the intriguing lesson shared today. Robert. You’re welcome. Thank you for being a part of our podcast family, our podcast community. To the rest of you, give us a note. Share with us an impact moment hey, ask a question.
Mark Cole:
I’d love to take a moment at the end of our podcast and answer a question from our podcast family. You are the reason we do what we do, because everyone deserves to be led well.
