This years theme was Simply Lead.

Each speaker shared simple, timely, and

beneficial advice on how to be an effective leader. The answer, in a nutshell? You
must learn to SIMPLIFY. Doesnt that sound refreshing?
Below are some key takeaways from each speaker that draw from how we are
to lead simply:

Simply Lead
Andy Stanley, Best-Selling Leadership Author & Communicator

Andy opened by talking about complexity being the enemy of clarity, and yet we
all know that complexity is unavoidable. The key is, how do you handle
complexity well? He suggested that, in order to keep things simple, you must
constantly revisit these three questions:
1. What are we doing?
2. Why are we doing it?
3. Where do I fit in?
As leaders, it is our responsibility to bring simplicity amidst complexity.


Bringing Order to Chaos
David Allen, Best-Selling Author of Getting Things Done and Productivity Expert


David Allen talked about people not needing more time, but more space to think.
How much time does it take to have a good idea? Not long at all; however, when
our minds are cluttered and messy, we dont have the creative space to get it
done. He addressed the inverse relationship between what is on your mind and
actually getting it done. If something is on your mind, get it out; write it down so
you can focus primarily on that task.
The best scenario is when we have room at the forefront to make a mess. In fact,
we are more productive when we first have room to make a mess as opposed to
starting a project with a cluttered mind, which leads to feeling out of control and
experiencing a lack of focus.


Boundaries for Leaders
Dr. Henry Cloud, Best-Selling Author and Leadership Consultant

Author Henry Cloud shared wisdom from two of his books, Necessary
Endings andBoundaries for Leaders, on how opportunities become threats if you
dont have clear boundaries in place. He explained how organizations are like
plantsthey only have so many available resources, so they must be pruned
properly. To do this, make sure enough resources are given to the best
opportunities and put an end to the merely good opportunities. If everything is
important, then nothing is important.
These two questions are helpful to ask ourselves as we begin this pruning process:
1. Where am I being a hoarder in my business?
2. What projects, meetings, or relationships in my organization need to end?

Simplicity in Leadership
John Maxwell, Leadership Expert and Best-Selling Author

John says leadership is influence. Nothing more. Nothing less. As leaders, we need
to incorporate these four mathematical leadership tips in order to simply lead:
1. Add value to people every day.
2. Subtract your leadership land mines (destructive behaviors and thoughts).
3. Multiply your strengths by developing them.
4. Divide your weaknesses by delegating them.

A leader is like a quarterback. He doesnt get paid to run the ball. He gets paid to
put the ball into the right hands.


Simply Leading to Victory
Mike Krzyzewski, Head Mens Basketball Coach, Duke University and Team USA

Team USA and Duke Coach Coach K talked about shifting our focus from
winning to creating a culture of success. A leader is someone who puts his people
in a position to be successful all the time. He explained how trust is the key
ingredient to any great team because when you trust, you tell the truth and
expect the truth in return. When you have trust, two is better than one
because two does it better than one.
Rules dont lead because they arent always accepted by the team. If you can
develop standards on the team, you can ask people to own them and have a
chance to complete the mission. Ask yourself, Do I own the standards I am
holding others to? In order to consistently win, we must create a healthy culture.


Leading in a Complex World
Condoleezza Rice, Director of the Global Center for Business and the Economy at
Stanford University and Former Sercretary of State (2005-2009)

When John Maxwell asked Condoleezza what are some essentials to being a
good leader, she talked about:
1. The importance of being an optimist (no one wants to follow a pessimist)
2. Motivate people toward a common goal (sometimes that requires looking back
toward a time when things seemed impossible).
Life is a series of events that seem quite serendipitous. You need to put yourself
in position for every unexpected turn.


Necessary Endings
Jack Welch, Former Chairman & CEO of General Electric

Jack talked about spending more than 70 percent of his time at GE on people
development. In his words, My job was to take care of people so well that they
would never want to leave. If you arent giving your people the environment
they need to succeed, tell them they owe it to themselves to have the self-
confidence to find a better organization. Then work to make the job so good the
people wont want to leave.
Good teams know where they are going, why theyre going there and how theyre
going to get there (Vision-Mission-Process & Behaviors). You can give a thousand
speeches, but nothing has a bigger impact than the personnel decisions you
make. This includes who you hire, who you fire, and who you assign to your most
important projects.

Fighting for the Mission, at whatever cost
LCDR Rorke Denver, Navy SEAL and star of the 2012 movie Act of Valor

Navy SEAL LCDR Roark Denver talked about the contagiousness of leadership. In
fact, everything is contagious. Calm is contagious. So is panic. So is stupidity. As
leaders, people will naturally mimic your behavior. If you do something well, your
followers will do it better and likewise if you do it poorly, they in turn will do it
worse.
Give your people something positive to maximize. As audience members sat in
their seats, Roark asked everyone to lift their hands as high as they could then
asked to stretch another inch. Everyone gave that extra inch. The point? Everyone
has a tactical reserve to improve that little bit. You have one more inch.

SLI wants to thank Chick-fil-A Leadercast for hosting a wonderfully thoughtful,
wisdom-filled event. Leading today in a complex world requires simplicity to cut
through the clutter experienced on a daily basis and cultivate healthy
environments for teams, organizational cultures, and people to thrive and make a
profound impact.

Simplicity is Mission Critical!
Challenge yourself today with these questions from the 2013 Chick-Fil-A Leadercast!
1. If we ask you the leader to write a one sentence job description for you and every employee,
could you do it?
2. What are we doing? Why are we doing it? Where do I fit in?
3. What would happen to the industry and our community if our company ceased to exist?
4. Are you appropriately engaged with your organization?
5. Would your employees say that as a leader you have calm amidst chaos?
6. What is good, but not best in our organization? What do we need to prune?
7. How many company cultures are stuck in when we did this and what we did yesterday?
8. Who is your monkey? (Dr. Henry Cloud uses this analogy of a monkey being stressed out until
his buddy was in the cage with him-we need a team, we need each other.)
9. What projects, meetings or relationships in my organization need to end?
10. Who did I add value to today and how can I add value tomorrow?
11. What is one of my leadership landmines?
12. Do your employees know where they stand?
13. Who and what is filing your calendar?
14. Do you have a generosity gene?
15. Do your employees give you one more inch in everything they do?
- See more at: http://centennialinc.com/top-question-from-the-chick-fil-a-leadercast-by-mike-sipple-
jr/#sthash.07tZa8zC.dpuf