Leaders Elevate...

Leaders Elevate…

Tom Brady elevates performance...

‘Tis the season for football’s biggest game…we’re all excited for Super Bowl Sunday.  Amidst all the hoopla, I took something away from last weekend’s Ravens/Patriots game. 

Tom Brady is the Patriots’ leader…everyone knows it.  However, in last week’s game Brady put up the worst postseason performance of his career; just 239 yards, on 22 completions, NO TOUCHDOWNS, and he threw TWO interceptions.  They still won the game. 

The Patriots are still going to the Super Bowl, thanks to Rob Gronkowski’s very clutch - 5 catches and 87 yards on the day. 

It wasn’t about Tom Brady…it was about Tom Brady elevating everyone else’s performance.

OneMoreStep Thought for SUPER BOWL WEEK: Effective leaders always bring their “A” Game, making contributions of their own…but the great ones ELEVATE EVERYONE AROUND THEM, making others better.  Leaders Elevate.

Rob Gronkowski is a good football player at 6 foot 6 inches tall, 265 pounds…he also runs about a 4.65 second 40-yard dash.  At the University of Arizona he was named an Associated Press Third-Team All American, and was selected in the second round – 42^nd overall – of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots.  Modest stats.

Tom Brady makes him a GREAT football player. 

Per Wikipedia:

Gronkowski owns a number of NFL tight end scoring and receiving records, including the single-season records for tight ends for most receiving touchdowns (17), most total touchdowns (18), and most receiving yards (1,327), all set in 2011.

Would Rob Gronkowski be a decent NFL player on another team?  No question.  He’s a very talented and physically gifted athlete.  Would he be breaking NFL records in just his second year as a pro without Tom Brady as his quarterback?  Doubt it. 

Tom Brady elevates Gronkowski’s potential and performance every single week.

I looked up synonyms for the word – Elevate – on Microsoft Word.  Here’s what I found:

RAISE…LIFT UP…LIFT…MAKE HIGHER…PUT ON A PEDESTAL…BUMP UP…BRING TO FORE…PROMOTE…ADVANCE…FURTHER

OneMoreStep application…

As leaders, it’s not always about our own stats. 

It’s less about what we do:

·      The idea we come up with and present

·      What we say in a meeting

·      How well we dazzle the team or audience with our analysis

·      The points we make while dominating a conversation

It’s ALL about how well we’re able to ELEVATE those around us:

·      Whose performance can we lift up by putting them on a pedestal?

·      Who, on our team, can we promote to help advance their career?

·      Rather than dominate, can we facilitate conversations to further progress?

·      How can we lift spirits with our positivity rather than feeding negativity?

If you want to make an impact that matters…be a true leader…ELEVATE.

Have a great day.

Taylor

Dream Diligently...

Dream DILIGENTLY…

What better time than Martin Luther King Day for a quick thought on DREAMS…

Dr. King had a dream…a dream that he so diligently shared through his passionate sermons, lectures, speeches, books, and nonviolent protests that his very dreams, in fact, changed the landscape of American society; and in many ways, the world.

OneMoreStep Thought for the week:

Everybody dreams…but those who dream DILIGENTLY not only achieve their own dreams, but they also become an inspiration to others.

The word – diligent – fires me up.  I looked it up on Dictionary.com, just to see how it is defined…loved the definition:

DILIGENT:

1.    Constant in effort to achieve something; attentive & persistent in doing anything

2.    Done or pursued with preserving attention

I don’t know about you, but anybody that’s “constant in effort to achieve something”, “persistent in doing anything” with “preserving attention” – I want them on my team. 

Some dream…but some dream diligently…like Dr. Martin Luther King. 

After earning his undergraduate and post graduate degrees from Morehouse College, Crozer Theological Seminary, and Boston University in the 50’s, he returned to the south.  Becoming pastor of a church in Alabama may have been his occupation, but his dream to put an end to racial discrimination in this country was his passion.

Dr. King, over an eleven-year period, traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action.  He wrote five books as well as numerous articles. He led nonviolent protests in Alabama so that African Americans could vote.  He directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his memorable "l Have a Dream" speech in August of 1963. (Nobelprize.org)

By all accounts, he truly was constant in his effort to inspire change.  What would have happened in the 60’s if he didn’t so diligently dream?  Would others have been inspired to put an end to the racial discrimination that kept so many people from living and experiencing the American Dream? 

It was Dr. King’s dream that gave hundreds of thousands of people hope, but it was his diligence that inspired radical change. 

“Whites Only” signs gave way to an overwhelming sentiment that “all men are created equal”…just like he dreamed. 

“Sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners soon sat at the table of brotherhood”…just like he dreamed.

“Even the sate of Mississippi” was soon “transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice”…just like he dreamed.

His “four little children,” eventually thrived in a nation “where they weren’t judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”…just like he dreamed.

Whatever you aspire to be, whatever you desire for others…rather than just “dream”, go OneMoreStep…DREAM DILIGENTLY.  That’s when dreams not only come true...they become a true inspiration to everyone around us.

Happy Martin Luther King Day…

Taylor

FRED Friday...Meet Marcos

FRED Friday…Meet Marcos

This week has been a busy one.  Several deadlines approaching, multiple projects for which I’m responsible gaining visibility by the minute, and I’m beginning to feel the pressure…mostly because I just want to make sure I do a great job.

Yesterday I had a conversation with Marcos from our Public Areas Department.  His job is to ensure our public areas – bathrooms, breezeways, lobby areas, corridors, etc are kept up, tidy, clean, and sparkling for all our Guests in the hotel. 

I walked into the men’s room just off the casino floor for a quick pit stop early in the morning.  My day was about to take off shortly thereafter with meetings, initiatives, and ‘the race to deadlines’.  It was one of those moments when a million things were running through my mind, and I was making mental lists, planning out my attack for the day, and battling my nerves…all at once.

Then…I ran into Marcos…

He was mopping the bathroom floor.  I walked in, said ‘good morning’ to him, and as if he entered from stage left in a Broadway show or in a Disney parade, Marcos said with his usual smile from ear to ear, “Hello, sir…how are you today?!?!?” 

I replied with the normal, ‘just fine…how are you?’

He said, with conviction in his voice, “I…am…great!”

I always notice Marcos, working diligently, every single day keeping our hotel looking brand new and clean.  I was taken aback with his ever-positive attitude.  It never fails…every time I see him, he’s smiling, and almost bounding from pillar to post, working, cleaning, and being of service to anyone in his presence.

I said to him, “Man…you’re always happy…”

He said, with a smile, “…I know…”

When I asked him why, he simply looked up at me, stopped mopping the floor, smiled, and said, “It’s just my way…to be HAPPY…God is good…I have a great family – 5 kids and one grandchild…I’m from the Dominican Republic…and we’re laid back, happy people.”

I stuck around, in the hallway leading into the men’s room off the casino floor just chatting with Marcos.  I asked him about his story.  He moved to NYC from the Dominican Republic when he was young.  He was the top sales person for a clothing company, a role in which he travelled all over the country selling…ultimately becoming the number one salesperson in the company with over $1 Million in sales. 

Through conversation we discovered common ground in that a few years ago he worked at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Spa in Aventura, Florida.  A couple of years ago, I lived about two miles from that property and drove by it every single day, going to and from my office in Aventura, FL.  It's a small world, after all.

For the rest of the day, after my conversation with Marcos, I was a little less stressed…I felt a little less pressure…and all of a sudden my nerves settled a bit.  Everybody matters…Everybody makes a difference….and in this case, Marcos makes a true difference that matters for me. 

If he can have such a positive attitude toward doing his job everyday, then why can’t you and I?

Thanks, Marcos, for showing others and me “your way”…to just BE HAPPY.

“It’s harder to be miserable, negative, and insincere than it is to be happy, positive, and genuine.” – Mark Sanborn, The Fred Factor…page 30.

Have a great day.

Taylor

What is FRED Friday?

In my favorite book, The Fred Factor, Mark Sanborn tells an inspiring story of how a man named Fred goes OneMoreStep after OneMoreStep in his role as a Postman for the United States Postal Service.  I love this book.  Since my mom sent it to me in 2004, I've purchased the book for friends, coworkers, and girlfriends...I've even purchased and hand delivered copies of the book to several executives at both Wynn Las Vegas and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. 

Fred Friday is a series in which the OneMoreStepRevolution blog will showcase a real life "Fred" on select Fridays.   Reading The Fred Factor definitely leaves us with a desire to to be more Fred-like ourselves, but I also love looking for Freds.  Freds are everywhere. I love it when I experience a real life Fred.  I'm inspired just as I am every time I re-read the book.  I thought it would be fun to spread the magic of Fred to our OneMoreStepRevolution community.

Sometimes...

Sometimes

Last week a friend of mine was having a tough week.  I sent her some encouraging words, and I gave her an inspirational book that I read a couple of years ago.  She was grateful, it lifted her spirits, and she thanked me.

She’s a good friend, and sent me a text message (somewhat as a joke), “T. Scott, sometimes you’re a really nice guy…” We had a nice laugh about it, and on we went with our daily routines. 

Then it hit me...this is a OneMoreStep opportunity...

OneMoreStep thought for this week: We should make our “sometimes”…ALL THE TIME.

Sometimes we’re nice to people even when we’re having a bad day.

Sometimes we make others feel special.

Sometimes we put in the extra effort at work.

Sometimes we concentrate on  doing the little things others will appreciate.

Sometimes we make sure to listen to others instead of dominating conversations.

Sometimes we lend a hand without being asked to do so.

Sometimes we stay positive…PMA-ing the day (Positive Mental Attitude)

Sometimes we smile & laugh, and we inspire others to do the same.

Sometimes we say, “Thank You”

Sometimes we say, “Please”

Sometimes we take the focus off of ourselves and we make it “about them”.

Sometimes we let go of what we can’t control, and we have faith in a higher power.

What if we did these things ALL THE TIME?  How much of an impact would we make?  How much more magic could we make for friends, family, loved ones, and coworkers?  How much happier would we be as a result?

Go OneMoreStep in 2012…Make your SOMETIMES…ALL THE TIME…

Have a great day.

Taylor