Avoiding Stagnation

Recently Michael Hyatt addressed this topic in his new podcast, "Lead to Win."

Most people think of Albert Einstein as the greatest scientist of the 20th century. But they are unaware of the fatal flaw that ultimately undermined his achievements. 1905 - while working in the Swiss Patent Office in Bern Switzerland, Einstein developed a new explanation for how light travels, called the "photoelectric effect."

Einstein eventually landed a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 based in his discoveries. In 1905 he also published what became the world's most famous equation.

Yet unknown at the time, Einstein published several of the most significant papers in the history of science. He was only 26 years old.

In his book, "Einstein's Greatest Mistake," writer David Bodanis notes Einstein's downfall in his later years when he was largely by fellow scientists, "I am generally regarded as a petrified object," and one colleague described him as a "landmark but not a beacon."

Einstein's name is considered synonymous with "genius." Yet, as intelligent as he was, he fell into "career stagnation," which can happen to any of us.

One of Einstein's professors saw this flaw, "you have one great fault. You do not let yourself be told anything."

Solution: Lifelong Learning Attitude

Stanford studied nearly 200 CEOs and executives and discovered that nearly two-thirds of the CEOs do not receive coaching or leadership advice and nearly half of the executives were not benefiting from coaching/consultation.

Past Knowledge Can Be the Enemy

When we are through learning, we are through. Fortunately the tide is changing and leaders are looking to coaches for help and insight with conflict management, team building, delegation, master planning and work/life balance.

Yesterday's Solutions Don't Work With Tomorrow's Problems.

There is always more to learn. When the leader grows, everyone wins. When the leader stagnates, the organization will eventually begin to sputter.

If Henry Ford asked people what they needed in the early 1900's it would have been a faster horse. Yet Ford also stagnated and almost lost everything when the public wanted something more, proclaiming, “You can have any color you want, as long as it’s black.”

So Buick stepped into the gap with the "White Streak."

Coaching

This is why I am so excited about engaging others through Legacy Coaches. We specialize in helping people get un-stuck, keep learning and keep growing through sharpening the saw, staying on the cutting edge of effectiveness moving forward.

According to the Pew Research Center, a quarter of Americans in 2014 read no books at all. A third read between just one and five books a year. Only 28 percent read 11 books or more a year.

By comparison, in 1978 when Gallup polled Americans on their reading habits, 42 percent read 11 books or more and only 8 percent read no books at all, which means that the trend is heading in the wrong direction.

A Leader is a Reader

Charlie "Tremendous" Jones said, "You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read."

Bill Gates, Phil Knight, Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg and many of the most effective entrepreneurs are voracious readers.

What are you reading?

Who are you following?

Talk to me...