Faith

Podcast Episode #11 — Failure Is Not An Option – 5 Lessons From Apollo 13

Apollo 13

Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission in the Apollo space program and the third intended to land on the Moon. The craft was launched on April 11, 1970, at 1:13 PM CST from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, but the lunar landing was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days later, crippling the Service Module (SM) upon which the Command Module (CM) had depended.

The Problems

Following the explosion, the crew onboard realized there were many problems with their equipment. Their chance to make it back to earth kept dwindling as time went on. Flight Control located in Houston, urgently provided assistance in resolving the issues they were encountering. They had to desperately search for answers to unique problems. They listed all the problems they could think of.

Batteries may freeze
Water system may freeze
Propellant may freeze
There were a large number survival issues
How do we get back through the earth’s atmosphere

Slow Down and Lose or Speed Up and Win, You Choose

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Change is happening at a faster pace now than it ever has in the past. There are new technological advances everyday. There are also new studies everyday that teach us how to be more productive and do things more effectively. With all the advances, people have the choice to either slow down and lose or speed up and win.

Why do people slow down?

With the ever-increasing pace of change, some people fail to keep up. So what do they do? They just slow down. They decide that since they can’t keep up, they might as well slow down. Does this approach make sense?

When people slow down for change, there are many negative side effects. Three of those side effects are:

1. Slow Down = Get Further Behind

Rather than pick up the speed to keep up with change, people slow down so they can take everything in to handle it. As a result, they get more behind, and change becomes more difficult to manage. Additionally, they feel more frustration and anger. [Read more…] about Slow Down and Lose or Speed Up and Win, You Choose

10 Lessons Learned From Leadership Examples

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Several great leaders in the form of teachers, athletic coaches, mentors, peers, youth group leaders, friends, and others have touched my life through their leadership examples. They’ve shaped me into the person I am today. They’ve told me when I was doing something wrong and encouraged me when I was going through a challenge. In addition, they’ve taught me correct principles to help me avoid mistakes. Of all the great leaders I’ve had, there have been two that have taught me more than anyone else.

My Leadership Examples

Those two great leadership examples are my parents. My dad and mom have been great leadership examples throughout my life. They’ve taught me many important leadership principles throughout my life. They both understand that they are leadership examples to me so they teach leadership principles whenever possible. Their leadership examples are very powerful. They’ve taught me the following ten lessons.

1. Lead By Example

My dad and mom taught me the importance of leading by example. As the leader, you can set the example for those you lead. When you lead a diverse group, you may not fully understand everything your employees work on, but you can still set an example when it comes to values.

2. Have Faith

As I mentioned in my previous post, my mom and dad have always taught me to have faith in God, other people, and myself. They taught me through words and by their leadership examples. As a leader, faith allows you to get things done that you never thought possible. [Read more…] about 10 Lessons Learned From Leadership Examples

This Week’s Top 5 Leadership Posts – 6/13/2012

Great Leaders Develops Both Themselves And Those They Lead By Beth Miller

Congratulations! You’ve worked hard to be a leader in your company. But don’t think you can sit back and relax from now on because great leaders understand that they must always be developing themselves and their employees.

Leaders lead others, but sometimes they don’t realize that the best leaders never stop improving themselves; they are passionate about learning and teaching, and their passion spreads to those who work around them.

It has been said that leaders are discovered, but really they are developed. Success is an ongoing process of improvement and adjustments.

Brandon’s Thoughts
As Beth pointed out, leaders must focus on their own improvement on a regular basis. They must also focus on the development of those they lead. As they train those they lead, they improve their team and the skills of their group. The training helps their team be more successful because it will increase the overall skills. Many leaders have a fear that training their followers is bad because it will make their followers replace them as the leader. In reality, the opposite is more often the truth; the leaders that train their followers to be successful end up being more successful themselves. By helping others succeed, they help themselves to move up the ladder because people see them as effective leaders. [Read more…] about This Week’s Top 5 Leadership Posts – 6/13/2012

Weekly Top 5 Leadership Posts

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Each week there are new leadership challenges that every leader faces. They face challenges to succeed and produce desired results for their clients and superiors. Because the demands are so strong, I am always looking at ways to do things better and more effectively. The weekly top 5 leadership posts below give pointers on how to help you, as the leader, succeed in addition to your followers.

How To Choose Not To Be Offended by Jeremy Statton

Has anyone ever offended you?

Reasons to find offense surround us. Bosses. Employees. Presidential candidates. Religions. Kentucky Wildcat fans.

Offense seems to be an obligation. A natural response to someone else. When we see things that we do not like, we feel we have no choice but to become upset. And express it adamantly.

We view our response as outside of our hands. We are only reacting to others.

Brandon’s Thoughts
When you choose to be offended you must understand that it is a choice within your control. No one can force you to be offended. As leaders, you should grow tough skin and be willing to take criticism. If you get offended every time you receive criticism, you are not cut out for leadership. Leaders must take criticism as an opportunity to learn from past experiences. [Read more…] about Weekly Top 5 Leadership Posts