My wife Heather and I had the very recent pleasure of dining out with Bill Byrne (no relation) and his wife Lynne. Bill is a very successful entrepreneur and author of the best selling book "Habit$ of Wealth".
I met Bill by chance when looking for offices in Sioux Falls SD and indeed ended up moving in to his old offices for a while. It's rare for me to meet another Byrne with the same spelling as mine so I have a clear recollection of the meeting. We had no further contact until we accidentally met again in a car wash as we both looked through the glass at our cars going by. We both drive the same model of car the Jaguar XK8 convertible. It turns out that we have both invested in and produced a movie, both written business books and last but not least, he owns 17 restaurants and I love to eat.
With these coincidences in mind it may come as no surprise to you to discover certain similarities between what Bill has written about leadership and what I have preached through Measurable Management. In Bill's book he gives 15 Leadership Habits and as I read through them a couple jumped out at me. Habit number 7 "Tell Me, Are You Thinking or Are You Feeling..." and habit number 11"Will You Listen To Me?"
In the latter of the two Bill describes successful leaders as " inquisitive and have a genuine interest in you and in your subject matter. They are more inclined to listen than to talk and are likely to control the agenda, sculpting enquiries targeted to elicit specific knowledge. If you consider yourself a leader, chances are excellent your also a good listener.... "
Coincidence or ??????
No comments:
Post a Comment