Miraculous Leadership

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Miraculous Leadership

It was a time of turmoil. In November 1979, supporters of the Ayatollah Khomeini took 71 Americans hostage in Iran. On Christmas Eve that year, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Gasoline prices, inflation and interest rates were soaring as 1980 began. President Jimmy Carter said America was in a "crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will."

Then on February 22nd ? 25 years ago ? our American spirit received an unexpected boost. A group of U.S. amateur and college athletes took on the mightiest hockey team in the world in the Winter Olympics. Prior to the game against Russia, coach Herb Brooks told his team: "You were born to be hockey players. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours." Hand-picked by their coach and having survived a grueling seven-month training regimen, the youngsters absorbed his inspirational words, then went out and did the impossible. As the final seconds counted down, a then unknown Al Michaels made the famous call: "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!"

Herb Brooks crafted what may be the greatest upset in American sports history. He was a visionary leader, and understood how to select players who fit his style and blend each one's unique skills into a high-performance team focused on winning. As a small business owner, one of your most important roles is to lead your team to achieve incredible results.

Success Handler Action: The first step to making your small business soar is to ensure your team understands their goals ? the definition of winning your gold medal. For them to know their goals, you have to know yours. After you finish reading this E-Newsletter, spend some time thinking about two major goals you want to achieve in the next six months. Here are some questions to help you get started:

~ What are the biggest potential opportunities for your small business?

~ Where is your competition focusing its marketing and sales efforts?

~ Why are you better than your competition, and why do customers/clients choose you?

~ When you talk to customers/clients, what are they asking for that you don't provide, and which of these could you provide?

~ Who among your existing customers/clients could give you referrals and prospect leads?

Team USA beating the Soviet Union was like a bunch of college football players defeating the New England Patriots?and the celebration was incredible. Yet in the locker room after the game, Brooks immediately went to work focusing players on their next goal ? the gold medal match-up with Finland. He told them lose and the world would quickly forget their victory over the Russians, and they would have to live with the disappointment the rest of their lives. Players said later he actually scared them into winning.

Success Handler Action: While it's not necessary to strike such fear into your team, it is important to keep them focused. Meet with them regularly to share information and discuss ways to better serve your customers/clients. Here are five ideas for inspiring the employees in your small business:

1. Ask for their input?and be sure to hear what they have to say.

2. Include them in your goal-setting?and engage them in executing your plan.

3. Lead by example?and help them grow as employees and individuals.

4. Teach them new skills?and encourage them to seek new challenges.

5. Involve them in the game?and reward them for completing key steps along the way.

We may never see another "Miracle on Ice." The Cold War ended, and the "evil empire" Soviet Union dismantled. Olympic athletes are now professionals. Tiny hamlets like Lake Placid, NY can no longer accommodate the rush of spectators, media and corporate sponsors. However, we may always hope.

In an interview shortly before his death in August 2003, Herb Brooks, referring to one of his favorite movies, is quoted as saying: "You know, Willie Wonka said it best: 'We are the makers of dreams, the dreamers of dreams.' We should be dreaming. We grew up as kids having dreams, but now we're too sophisticated as adults, as a nation. We stopped dreaming. We should always have dreams. I'm a dreamer."

Listen to the coach. Keep dreaming?and go for the gold!

The Coach, David Handler, is the founder of Success Handler, (http://www.successhandler.com), and specializes in helping small business leaders find clarity and take action. He understands the challenges of running a business, because he's been there ? as a small business owner, franchisee, franchisor, corporate leader and trainer. Much like sports coaches, his coaching will show you how to compete on a level playing field in your industry.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Democrats criticize Obama's proposed tax cuts (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama's proposed tax cuts ran into opposition Thursday from senators in his own party who said they wouldn't do much to stimulate the economy or create jobs. Senators from both parties agreed that Congress should do something to stimulate the economy. But Democratic senators emerging from a private meeting of the Senate Finance Committee criticized business and individual tax cuts in Obama's stimulus plan.

UN Security Council calls for immediate Gaza truce (AP)

AP - The U.N. Security Council called for an "immediate" and "durable" cease-fire in Gaza in a resolution Thursday night even as fighting between Israel and Hamas raged Â— with early morning airstrikes killing seven Palestinians and pushing the death toll to about 760 in the near two-week conflict.

Key panel recommends impeaching Ill. governor (AP)

AP - A key panel unanimously recommended impeachment for Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday, setting up a vote that could make him the first governor to face such fate in Illinois' sordid political history. Blagojevich should lose his job for abusing power, mismanaging government and committing possible criminal acts, including federal allegations he tried to sell off a U.S. Senate seat, the special committee concluded.

Mini Dynasty: Tebow leads Gators past Oklahoma (AP)

AP - Tim Tebow gave Florida the jolt it needed to become a national champion. But all his efforts in a sloppy, choppy BCS championship game likely did little to quiet fans of Utah, Southern California and Texas, all of whom already claimed the top spot.

Job losses stack up as recession deepens (AP)

AP - Trying to survive a deepening recession, employers are cutting their work forces to the bone, leaving more Americans unemployed and with dim prospects of finding a new job any time soon.

Oversight panel wants better answers from Treasury (AP)

AP - Less than a month after its first report, a congressional panel overseeing the Treasury Department's $700 billion financial bailout is demanding more answers.

Critics' final answer: `Slumdog' wins 5 awards (AP)

AP - The critics have spoken, and "Slumdog Millionaire" is their final answer.

Petraeus: Afghan, Pakistan problems are really one (AP)

AP - U.S. policy to win in Afghanistan must recognize the poor nation's limitations and its neighborhood, especially its intertwined relationship with U.S. terrorism-fighting ally Pakistan, the top U.S. military commander in the region said Thursday.

Cheney: CIA did nothing illegal in interrogations (AP)

AP - Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that he sees no reason for President George W. Bush to pre-emptively pardon anyone at the CIA involved in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists. "I don't have any reason to believe that anybody in the agency did anything illegal," he said.

Prosecutors: Madoff was ready to send out $173M (AP)

AP - Prosecutors said Thursday that investigators found 100 signed checks worth $173 million in Bernard Madoff's office desk that he was ready to send out to his closest family and friends at the time of his arrest last month in what is alleged to be largest financial fraud in history.

U.N. calls for immediate Gaza truce (Reuters)

Reuters - Israel pushed ahead with its offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday, ignoring a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire to the 14-day-old conflict.

Citi backs measure to help avoid foreclosures (Reuters)

Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc will support a proposal in Congress to rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said on Thursday.

Panel steps up criticism of Treasury over TARP: report (Reuters)

Reuters - A report being released on Friday alleges that the U.S. Treasury has failed to reveal its strategy for stabilizing the financial system, not answered questions asked by a government watchdog, and has done nothing to help struggling homeowners, the Wall Street Journal said.

Illinois panel recommends governor's impeachment (Reuters)

Reuters - A legislative committee on Thursday recommended the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, citing widespread abuse of power including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Qaeda Pakistan leader believed dead: U.S. official (Reuters)

Reuters - Al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan and a top aide are believed to be dead, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on Thursday, in what appeared to be the latest results of a campaign targeting the militant group's leadership.

Accused swindler Madoff "warm and charming": report (Reuters)

Reuters - Some friends of accused swindler Bernard Madoff considered him a "warm and charming" man, and one of his alleged victims praised him just before his death in 2005, Fox Business Network reported on Thursday.

EU seeks gas supply return after deal on monitors (Reuters)

Reuters - Europe on Friday looked for a swift restoration of gas supplies, after striking a deal with Moscow on monitoring gas shipments via Ukraine that have been halted by a rancorous pricing dispute with Kiev.

U.S., Iran share interests in Afghanistan: Petraeus (Reuters)

Reuters - The United States and its allies share some interests with Iran when it comes to stabilizing Afghanistan, Army Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. military's Central Command, said on Thursday.

UN Security Council urges immediate Gaza ceasefire (AFP)

AFP - Israel was under intense pressure Friday to end its two-week-old offensive in the Gaza Strip after the UN Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire as the death toll from the war rose past 760.

Progress in resolving gas row as Russia agrees to monitors (AFP)

AFP - Hopes for a quick resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe were rising Friday after Russia agreed on the terms for the deployment of monitors in Ukraine.

Miraculous Leadership

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