Jump on the Bandwagon!

In his book, Bringing Out the Best in People, Alan Loy McGinnes discusses “12 Rules for Bringing Out the Best in People”. These rules are:

1. “Expect the best from people you lead.
2. Make a thorough study of the other person’s needs.
3. Establish high standards for excellence.
4. Create an environment where failure is not fatal.
5. If they are going anywhere near where you want to go, climb on the other people’s bandwagons.
6. Employ models to encourage success.
7. Recognize and applaud achievement.
8. Employ a mixture of positive and negative reinforcement.
9. Appeal sparingly to the competitive urge.
10.  Place a premium on collaboration.
11. Build into the group an allowance for storms.
12. Take steps to keep your own motivations high.”

While McGinnis’ book had many excellent points, Rules 5 & 10 are the ones which caught my attention: 5) If they are going anywhere near where you want to go, climb on the other people’s bandwagons. And, 10) Place a premium on collaboration. I’ll let you pick up a copy of the book to better understand McGinnis’ context and purpose behind these rules as it relates more specifically to motivating others. My intent is to share more of how it struck me personally upon reflection, which is a bit of a tangent.

Have you ever been around people who need to be the originator of their own ideas? Some might call them “mavericks”, people having their own brand and never following the herd. Others may refer to them as being Rascals, people that continually go against the grain. Well, I don’t have anything against Rascals and, in fact, I believe that I am a Leading Rascal according to Chris Brady’s book Rascal: Making a Difference by Becoming an Original Character. That being said, I do see a tendency in these types of people and would offer a word of caution. Sometimes, a “maverick” get’s so attached to his own ideas and strategies that he misses the “bandwagon” going in the direction of the desired destination. The reasons for not “jumping on the bandwagon” vary: unconscious thoughts, pride, selfish ambition, lack of belief, and more. However, the results are normally the same in which they are playing Russian roulette attempting to create their own ideas and miss precious time and energy which can be acquired through climbing on other’s bandwagons and creating synergies through collaboration.

This is the reason, we have recently partnered with a couple of organizations: Truth@Work and LIFE. Truth@Work is a 501c3 that develops, products, programs, and services designed to aid Christian business leaders, entrepreneurs, CEOs and executives in living out their faith in the marketplace. “LIFE is a learning experience unlike any other – primarily housed in the form of easy to use audio CD’s and books – it takes a consistent and effective approach to each area of life. The core program of LIFE focuses on these 8 F’s of life: Faith, Family, Friends, Freedom, Finances, Fitness, Following and Fun.” With Arnold’s vision of Equipping Leaders for Life, both of these organizations have over a decade of proven results and we are experiencing the fruits of jumping on their bandwagons. Truth@Work and LIFE are well on their way to becoming the top leadership and personal development partners worldwide with national recognition by many of the world’s top leadership experts. Best of all, they love having others jump onto their bandwagons and join their convoy of building a community of leaders of influence.

So, while Truth@Work and/or LIFE may or may not be bandwagons you would like to associate, clearly there are synergistic relationships lying right in your path. Will you take advantage of these bandwagons or continue to be a “maverick” needing to have your own brand and never following the herd?

Have a FANTASTIC day!