Mikolaj's Monday Maunder - The main thing

Inspiration and lessons for your leadership journey!

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“Up until about the 20th century, there was no plural for the word priority.”
~ Rev. Rob Merola ~

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As you will hear Reverend Merola tells us in today’s video, the word priority had no plural version until sometime around the 20th century.  Before then, to be “a priority” was to be first or prime – there wasn’t anything else that could be first.  The word prioritize wasn’t even used until 1973.  Isn’t that interesting?

It seems like we’re overwhelmed with priorities, these days.  But what is your true priority – your main thing?  What is your organization’s main thing?  Your team’s?  Your school’s?  Your class’?

If you can’t answer that quickly and easily, how do you expect those you lead to know what that is and how to achieve it?

If you were to ask the members of your team today, “What’s our main thing?”  How would they answer?  Would everyone have a different or varied answer?  Until your team is united on what that is, how do you expect those you lead to know and how to achieve it?  What kind of mixed messages and lack of focus are you inadvertently creating?

I’m not talking about metrics – that’s just how you measure the main thing.  The main thing is something that gives vision and mission focus.  It is easily and clearly scripted, recalled, and communicated.  It becomes your team’s mantra or call to battle.

The example from David Cotrell’s famous book, Monday Morning Leadership, is that his team’s main thing was actually three main things:

1. Equip our employees with the tools to be successful.
2. Provide outstanding service to our customers.
3. Make a profit.

The coachee in the story, a manager for a Fortune 500 company, came up with something similar for his team:

1. Treat each person on our team with respect and dignity.
2. Deliver outstanding service to our customers.
3. Provide profits for our company.

I ask you again:  What is your main thing?  What is your organization’s main thing?  Your team’s?  If it doesn’t easily roll off your lips and/or your team members might have different answers than yours, this is your new ‘priority.’  Get a main thing.

Without a main thing, it will be difficult if not impossible to be effective as a team, create meaningful change, or add any real value to those you serve.  Know your main thing and then keep the main thing the main thing.  That’s what leaders do.

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Bonus Video!
Watch: The Main Thing is to Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing
This week’s video runs 23 minutes in total.  CLICK HERE for the full video.
CLICK HERE for a shorter version.  Stop the video at 15:50 and it will only be about 8 minutes.

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Thank you and…

Have an amazing journey today!

Alan

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