Leadership Inspiration: The Wisdom of the Flying Pig

A while back on PMThink, I referenced a great blog site by Jack Hayhow called Pig Wisdom. Well, I finally got around to reading Hayhow's book, The Wisdom of the Flying Pig. It's an insightful book, chock full of common sense ideas, where you can pick it up at any page and be inspired to lead better.

Some examples of the insights found in the book are as follows, each supported by a wealth of examples and quotations in the book (I've summarized in some cases):

• Great achievement is always preceded by great expectation (which is communicated, the individual has the skills to achieve, and which can help the individual grow).
• The number one reason people don't do what you want them to ? They don't know what you want them to do.
• Great managers provide the information and resources to do the job right (note: this would seem to go without saying, except that so few managers really do this!).
• With proper measurement (key drivers), productivity can double.
• No one responds well to manipulation, no matter how cleverly or skillfully the manipulation is done.
• According to research by Dr. Gerald H. Graham, "the most powerful motivator was personalized, instant recognition from their managers."
• When an old pond gets a new frog, it becomes a new pond (great leaders are compelled to find a better idea and put it into action).
• Management and Leadership are not the same, although managers sometimes lead, and leaders sometimes manage. In simplistic terms, managers look first to the individual, in the present moment. Leaders look first to the group, and toward the future.
• Leaders are responsible, not only for their personal relationships, but also for the relationship environment that exists in the companies they lead.
• In the past, the manager kept people in line. Today the manager must lift people up. Managers must be concerned with getting the barriers out of people's way.

These are just a few of the many seemingly common sense lessons found in Hayhow's book (and you know what they say about common sense). But the real value is in the concise, well supported, and curmudgeonly advice that supports these truths. I highly recommend it.