Retreat? Advance!!

Introducing the Class of 2010 - 2011



Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2010

One can enjoy a wood fire worthily only when

he warms his thoughts by it as well as his hands and feet. 

~Odell Shepherd

Leaders "Advance" At Retreat
"Ha ha! - Ah ha!"

How great was that weekend!! 
From the sounds of it, we were all exhausted by Sunday afternoon -  in a good way!
Time flew...laughter bubbled up...friendships just happened...
& so did some important & unexpected ah-ha moments.


The First Follower:
Who leads? Who follows?
How do you start a movement?

This is the story of how one gesture -
(like writing instructions on a banana, "Ba Na Na Grams")
can spread to become a MOVEMENT ...
because one follower advanced the idea to others...

To see your  3 Minute XO What
(U Tube) video of the week,
go to:  http://sivers.org/ffA leader needs the guts to stand alone and look ridiculous.


UTube transcript (available at sivers.org/ff) begins:

But what he's doing is so simple, it's almost instructional.

This is key. You must be easy to follow!

 

Now comes the first follower with a crucial role: he publicly shows everyone how to follow. Notice the leader embraces him as an equal, so it's not about the leader anymore - it's about them, plural. Notice he's calling to his friends to join in.

It takes guts to be a first follower!

You stand out and brave ridicule, yourself.

Being a first follower is an under-appreciated form of leadership.

The first follower transforms a lone nut into a leader.

If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that makes the fire.

*  Some would disagree...Do you agree? 

Click on comments at http://www.xowhat.blogpost.com/  to post your thoughts. 

 

 

 

 

Another Example of Leadership  Momentum

(True Story! from John)

 

"Just prior to the retreat I received a ticket from the Legion to the Legion Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner at the Vahalla Inn on Saturday night. I had to decline, but said to the President of the Legion to give my ticket to a deserving volunteer who works tirelessly at the Legion to take my place.

 

Well it turns out that due to circumstances beyond their control other Legion invitees couldn't attend and they heard what I had done with my ticket and

they told the Legion Executive to give the tickets out to deserving volunteers and they did (including the President who couldn't make it either).

The Legion Sports Hall of Fame Inductee Dinner eventually turned into a

volunteer appreciation event

thanks in a very small part to me and to the lifelong lessons of leadership

I have learned from others.

I'm very excited about learning new skills as well in Leadership Thunder Bay!"