Fire Them Up!

I recently read Fire Them Up! by Carmine Gallo.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

Only 20 percent of all U.S. employees want to be with their current employer in two years.

What’s truly alarming is that most employees cite a lack of leadership as their reason for going elsewhere.

Today’s workers crave meaning in their lives and a professional role that represents something larger than themselves.

Unfortunately, few leaders communicate meaning, hope, and optimism.

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THE CHIEF INSPIRATION OFFICER – This person is an extraordinary communicator. He places a strong emphasis on the way he crafts and delivers his message, vision, and values.

He is successful at getting listeners actually to change what they have come to believe.

He successfully rallies people around the vivid future he sees and helps them find meaning in their roles.

This leader is magnetic. He leaves everyone energized, enthusiastic, and electrified.

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You do not need a book to teach you how to act like a jerk.

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Poor managers think that motivation means scaring the heck out of people. It doesn’t.

Other managers think we’re all like Pavlov’s dogs: Give us a treat and we’ll perform. These managers believe that offering incentives… is all the motivation his team needs. It’s not.

Financial or material incentives might work for a few hours or days, but they will fail to inspire people over the long run.

Fewer than half of U.S. workers are happy with their jobs, and only 14 percent are  ”very satisfied,” according to a Conference Board survey.’

This low level of engagement costs the American economy an estimated $350  billion a year in lost productivity.

I could offer more statistics, but why bother? Clearly, people are desperate for inspiring leadership.

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Be the type of person people want to stick with for the long term, the person whose vision people want to follow, and the person who brings out the best in others.

Your customers, colleagues, clients, employees, staff, team, students, and children are searching for someone to satisfy their chief want.

If you miss the opportunity to engage them, they will look elsewhere for inspiration: another company, a competitor, a boss, a congregation, or, saddest of  all, questionable peers.

We all want to be around someone who makes us feel good about ourselves and engages our hearts and minds with  the vision of a brighter future. You have the ability and, I would argue, the obligation, to play this role for those in your life.

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Energize yourself before you attempt to engage the hearts and minds of your audience.

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Successful leaders are fired up about what they do and have an extraordinary  ability to generate excitement in others.

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When you talk to customers or colleagues, do they leave that conversation inspired, energized, and enthusiastic or uninspired, disillusioned, and bored? That is up to you.

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A leader succeeds only when they find a way to make people  excited and confident in what comes next.
- Marcus Buckingham

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Create an emotional connection with an audience by articulating a  vision so bright, so magnificent, the rest of us cannot help but come along for the ride.

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According to Buckingham, a leader carries a vivid image in his head of what a future could be.

“Leaders are fascinated by the future. You are a leader if, and only if, you are restless for  change, impatient for progress and deeply dissatisfied with the status  quo….

As a leader, you are never satisfied with the present, because in your head you can see a better future, and the friction between `what  is’ and `what could be’ burns you, stirs you up, propels you forward.

This is leadership.”

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Ordinary business professionals sell a product or service. But as the leader of your personal  brand, you must offer much more – the promise of a better life for your customer, client, or employee. Peddle hope.

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A vision that changes as often as Lindsay Lohan switches nightclubs does no good for anyone.

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Life is too short to do something small.

There  are two things that really matter to great people: They want to do something big with their lives and they want to learn from other great people. Those are two very powerful motivators.

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Positioning is about what you do for your customers – not  about what you want to become.
- Guy Kawasaki

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Stories have the power to inspire, motivate, and persuade anyone in everyday situations.

Stories speak to both parts of the human mind – its  reason and emotion.
- Howard Gardner

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We tend to forget much of what we hear, but we remember 100 percent of what  we feel.

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Young people are asking themselves “Am I important? Am I offering value?”

The key to managing this generation is to create excitement about the company’s achievements and help employees recognize their own roles in accomplishing that mission.

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The opposite of a leader isn’t a follower. The opposite of a leader is a pessimist.
- Marcus Buckingham

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Inspirational leaders are beacons of hope. They project an aura of confidence and resolve that is quite literally contagious.
- Celia Sandys

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Churchill had an unbreakable spirit, which he transmitted to others in his speaking.

He acknowledged the hurdles to overcome, then shifted the focus to reasons for hope.

Churchill’s genius was to find a way to talk about bad news while finding hope in what others might see as defeat.

He could put nearly any disaster in context.

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When people are most likely to see defeat, you must radiate hope, confidence, and possibility.

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Surround yourself with builders, not detractors.

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Want to be loved? Be an optimist.

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Blow them away.

Make people feel better about you, themselves, and the organization in which they are placing their trust.

Peddle hope and possibility.

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The ripple effect of a leader’s enthusiasm and optimism is awesome.

So is the impact of cynicism and pessimism.

Leaders who whine and blame engender those same behaviors among their  colleagues.

Spare me the grim litany of the realist. Give me the unrealistic aspirations of the optimist any day.
-General Colin Powell

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If you live in a perpetual state of “gimme, gimme, gimme,” you will end up with far less than you deserve.

Building people up and helping them reach their fullest potential as human beings will bring  far more pleasure than you could ever imagine.

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Satisfy a Basic Human Need.

Sincere praise is the easiest way to connect with another human being.

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In all the years I’ve been studying human behavior  and attitude, I’ve heard hundreds of employees say they feel under-appreciated, but I’ve never heard a single one say they feel over-appreciated.

Your job as a motivator is to make people feel good about themselves and boost their self-esteem, confidence, and courage.

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When people receive genuine praise, their doubt diminishes and their spirits soar.