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Brandon W. Jones

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5 Leadership Lessons From Steve Jobs

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The legacy and influence of Steve Jobs has set some of the best examples we have of what determination and being different can achieve. Even though Jobs was only able to have a professional career for 35 short years, the impact he had on the world in general and technological industry, in particular, will continue to inspire the generation for years.

5 Leadership Lessons From Steve Jobs

5 Leadership Lessons From Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs has changed the world with his exceptional leadership skills. He was a true leader who changed the shape of the Apple Inc. with his perceptive vision and new-fangled approach. For newbie leaders, he has left some inspirational lessons that can help them achieve success. Some of them deserve a mention here:

5 Leadership Lessons From Steve Jobs - Succession Planning

1. Train your Successors

Another lesson Steve Jobs learned from impending death is to make sure that if the main leader falls, the organization should not. This is the secret to a long-standing business or company. A leader should strive to make the people at each level capable of working in his absence. [Read more…] about 5 Leadership Lessons From Steve Jobs

This Week’s Top Five Leadership Posts – 10/3/2012

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Over the past few months I have not posted about my top five weekly leadership posts. I have missed writing these posts because I really enjoyed writing them and I think that my readers enjoyed them as well. This week the posts I selected covered a wide range of topics ranging from the importance of humor in the workplace to succession planning for the success of your organization. Each of the posts discusses a different aspect of leadership that must be considered as you lead.

Become The Best Leader By Being Funny And Being Humiliated by Bhavin Gandhi

Over the years, I have learned a lot about leadership and management. And when I was analyzing my knowledge, I realized that there are only two very important characteristics of a good leader, which separates him/her from the crowd. In this blog, I will focus on these two characteristics, which can make you the best leader.

Be funny: By being funny, I don’t mean that you need to be a superstar at the break room discussions. What I mean is……..you need to have a humorous side of you to laugh on your mistakes. More…

Rare Wisdom from Citrix CEO Mark Templeton about Hiearchy and Respect by Bob Sutton

I confess that as an avid reader of The New York Times, I have been disappointed in recent years because they devote too much space to interviews with CEOs and other bosses. Notably, it seems to me that they run the same column twice every Sunday: Adam Bryant’s “The Corner Office” and another interview column called “The Boss.” I do love many of these interviews anyway, as The Times gets interesting people and their editing makes things better. And I am a big fan of Adam Bryant’s book, The Corner Office, as it did a great job of transcending the column. What bugs me, however, is that The Times devotes so much of the paper to interviews now, I suspect, because it is simply cheaper than producing hard-hitting investigative journalism. They do an occasional amazing in-depth story, but there is too much fluff and not enough tough for my tastes.

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This Week’s Top 5 Leadership Blog Posts

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As leaders, there is a lot you can learn from the examples of others.  The top 5 leadership blog posts address several aspects of leadership that will help you to be a better leader.  The topics covered are:  1) Focus on your strengths. 2)  Understand the timeliness of your message. 3) Be somewhat transparent when it comes to succession or you will lose you qualified resources. 4) Know the politics within your organization and have an in. 5) Expect the best from your subordinates to stretch them.

Top 5 Leadership Blog Posts

Great Work is Hard Work by Wally Bock

The best description of a restaurant business model I’ve ever heard came from Mario Batali:

“We buy food. We fix it up. And we sell it at a profit.”

Most businesses are just that simple. And in the most successful companies, there are people who are excited about and concentrating on the core business, whatever  their company equivalent is to buying food and fixing it up.

[…] Like great companies, great business teams are excited about the work they do. Foster excitement in the work. Revel in it.

Brandon’s Thoughts
In leadership you need to focus on your core strengths.  It can be easy to focus on the new trend or fad and get away from your core competencies, but as you do that, you can slowly alienate your core customers.  It is very important to stay relevant by changing to keep up with your competition, but you must keep your core values.  [Read more…] about This Week’s Top 5 Leadership Blog Posts

Leadership Succession – Who Will Take Over After Warren Buffett?

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Recently, Warren Buffett announced that he has prostate cancer.  “The disease was detected early, and the 81-year-old Mr. Buffett is otherwise in excellent health. His prognosis is good.”  This diagnosis brought up many questions regarding what will happen to Berkshire Hathaway after Warren Buffett.  Warren Buffett has been at the helm since 1963.

Leadership Succession - Who Will Take Over After Warren Buffett

In the Wall Street Journal article, And Buffett’s Successor Is…, Jason Zweig explained, “But the news brought renewed attention to the question of who ultimately will succeed him. […] He has said the members of Berkshire’s board have chosen a successor whom they know and admire, as well as two backups.”

He went on to explain, “Yet he hasn’t disclosed the successor’s identity—even to the chosen person. Nor would he reveal anything during my brief conversation with him this past week.  Publicly naming his successor wouldn’t just make it hard for Berkshire to change its mind later if circumstances warrant; it would demoralize the two backup choices and make them more prone to poaching by competitors.”

Warren Buffett’s momentary health scare brought to light the importance of having a leadership succession plan.  Do you have a succession plan for your organization?  Do you know who will replace you or the other leaders within your organization once you are gone?

The Why Of Leadership Succession Planning

As leaders, it is very important to set up a leadership succession plan for your organization because it allows you to get the right people in place prior to unforeseen personnel changes.  When people retire, quit, get promoted, or move to another position, a succession plan allows you to have someone ready to take their place.  The leadership succession plan allows you to groom someone to step in when someone leaves by preparing them for the responsibilities of the future position. [Read more…] about Leadership Succession – Who Will Take Over After Warren Buffett?

What is in a Title?

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Every job has a specific title whether it is an entry level position or the CEO. So what does each title mean? Does the title give an accurate measure of the value of an employee? Titles are sometimes very good, but at the same time they can be very deceiving.

What is in a Title?

Career Progression

I recently spoke to a friend of mine that we’ll call Brad. He has a specific title within his company. At his company, each employee that starts out in his position has to work their way from step 1 to step 3 where they are then considered for management. Brad has been in his step 2 position for the same length of time and has the same responsibilities as step 3 employees. He also has the same amount of experience on high profile projects as the step 3 employees.
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