Published by American Service Foundation
August 20, 2013
“We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” It is difficult to stop a group of strong and capable individuals who think that way, especially if they are united around a positive purpose that embraces the innate desires we all share. The men who signed that Declaration of Independence came from different religions, professions, political factions and backgrounds. When signing it they knew they were risking death at the hands of the greatest army in the world, with only untrained farmers and merchants by their side. They decided none of that mattered compared to the possibility of creating a better world for their children.
Can we create similar groups worldwide to confront very serious issues for a new century? A skeptic might suggest: ”Well, those were very different and perilous times.”
In a world with … non-stop wars, a stockpile of wmd’s capable of ending all life, a changing environment for which no one knows the consequences, a system of education that stifles creativity, inadequate energy, water and food solutions for 10 billion people, and an epidemic of legal & illegal drugs that endangers our ability to solve these problems … some might think to reply: ”These aren’t?”
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Democracies will never be perfect because none of us is perfect. Like most of us, democracies are “imperfect certainly, but generally benign, and intent on improving.” Those 3 qualities are what makes “democracy” the mirror image of its basic building block (the average person), and, because of that, the best system of government yet devised.
What’s the difference between a game-maker and a game-player in a free market democracy? Well, sometimes, in the business world, one creates strategy and the other executes it. But there’s more to it than that.
Game-makers and game-players are very different, but you can’t win without both of them. Think of a maestro and his orchestra. If they aren’t in sync there is no music. A great maestro (such as the Dalai Lama, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Warren Buffett, Arturo Toscanini, Alicia Keys, Richard Branson, Joe Montana, Bill Gates, Sir Ken Robinson, Yang Jianli) uplifts every performer and, by so doing, brings out the best in everyone around them.
That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by design.
Great leaders know it isn’t all about them, it’s about the game. Winning their game means caring about their players, and helping them win. A lesser maestro who is limited by the “need” to view himself as vastly superior to every member of the orchestra (picture Adolph Hitler in a tuxedo), may soon find himself conducting to (or lying in) an empty pit.
If you consider the 3 parts of man to be soul, mind and body, this analogy could be expanded to include the composer as the immortal soul of the thing, with the conductor serving as the mind, and the orchestra being the body. Those 3 working together could have as their Product … an audience that has been moved.
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A game-maker might be the company’s founder working with a certain vision in mind, or a new CEO on a mission to re-invent the business. A game-player could be a company executive impassioned to help with either of those. Assuming the game-maker has the requisite ability to generate passion in others for the game he envisions?
Someone who thinks the game is all about making money is neither a game-maker nor a game-player. He’s a money-maker. Money-makers can be very useful for a time. But, sometimes, they can also succumb to their Bernie Madoff moments. Help them conquer that tendency and they can be even more useful over a longer period of time. Fail in that regard and you may inherit a disaster.
The game-maker is, by definition, assuming more responsibility and risk for creating the game itself, so, when you have a good one, it is a good idea to take care of her. My wife is fortunate enough to work for one, and smart enough to realize it. No group will ever be perfect because none of us is perfect (least of all me). But any of us can study hard and work hard to get better at the game we’re playing. That’s the right idea, and it can be a lot of fun.
A true game-maker knows “the game” is about “Having fun studying hard and working hard to help your friends prepare to compete and win with integrity, so they can bring ever-increasing value to self, family, customers, employees, shareholders and community.” If you can do this you’ll make more stable income over a longer period of time. Losing with integrity is no more inspiring than winning without it. Strive to Win with Integrity.
A game-maker must be a very strong personality. But, if you think you can win by the sheer force of your will-power alone, you’ve lost already. You need to strengthen the entire group’s “will to win” by tapping into the innate willingness of the individual players. (In attempting this the few who are only there for a paycheck will become more visible.) That never happens through “force” alone. It happens by putting the right people in the right positions and encouraging them in the 4 Cs that underlie every advance in human history.
That is … to Connect, Communicate, and Collaborate in the development and dissemination of Creative ideas, services & products that bring value to the entire group – self, family, customers, employees, executives, shareholders, community, nation and planet.
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Joe Montana is usually regarded as one of the greatest Quarterbacks in football history. He won championships in high school, college and the NFL. But he didn’t do it by being overly serious about it. He enjoyed helping his friends win, but he also wanted them to have fun doing it. In one NFL Championship game his team was losing with just 3 minutes left. Each of them had worked a lifetime for this moment and they were tense. During a time-out he lightened the tension by pointing out to his team-mates: “Hey, isn’t that John Candy in the stands?” Candy was a famous and beloved comedian standing visibly at a nearby exit ramp. Glancing at him the players were briefly reminded of a time he made them laugh. They smiled, relaxed, re-focused and then drove down the field to score the winning touchdown. Montana did that instinctively because it aligned with what had motivated him for a lifetime. To win while having fun.
Poor leaders tend to use increased force to create fear as a way to incite others. As we saw in Nazi Germany, a fearful group accomplishes very little. Great leaders tend to use increased understanding to create willingness as a way to inspire others. As we saw in Colonial America, a willing group can accomplish miracles. Of course Colonial America wasn’t burdened by a Dictator, like Hitler. Instead, our Founding Fathers formed a Committee of Game-makers. Each of them was a strong individual, but each of them was also able to put the well-being of the group above their own personal interests. When rare people like that can fully include others in the game at hand, rather than just viewing them as underlings or opponents, good things happen.
“There is no limit to the good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.” Presidents Truman, Reagan and others.
No one likes the slower speed of ‘management by committee’ but sometimes … having balanced oversight that “Takes a little longer to do the right thing.”… is better than … no oversight that “Quickly does the wrong thing.”
A business owner who can figure out how to fully include others in the game at hand can be very successful. JW Marriott inherited a million $ hotel business but, instead of just living comfortably off his Dad’s productivity, he worked hard to turn it into a billion $ empire. In his aptly titled book, “The Spirit to Serve”, he describes how he focused on bringing value to his staff, who then focused on bringing value to their customers. It was an upward spiral of growth that included everyone. That didn’t happen by accident. It happened by design. Marriott knew that Bringing Value comes before making money, in sequence as well as importance.
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In any game, the game-maker needs to figure out how to include others in his or her game by making it their game too. She knows that requires creativity, communication, and collaboration with others so they feel included. So, she won’t look down on them. She’ll include them. Someone needs to be in charge certainly, but your Executives are far more likely to buy-in to your vision if you let them weigh-in on how they think they can help you achieve it. Bright people have bright ideas. Find out about them (and their ideas).
The game-maker or Leader can’t accomplish anything alone. Red Auerbach was short, overweight and balding. He wasn’t a great game-player and would never have beaten any such player in a game of 1 on 1. But he was one of the greatest game-makers in the history of professional basketball. He knew how to get, develop, fit-together, prepare and coach the right game-players. Players who had the complementary skill-sets needed to Win. And he knew how to inspire them to put winning a championship together as a team, above personal income or fame.
I grew up in a small town south of Boston as a fan of Red Auerbach. Red knew what he wanted to do from an early age. I distinctly remember one Summer afternoon when I was 9. My friends and I were playing penny-poker under a big tree in the park at the end of my street. I looked around and everyone seemed a little bored. So, I suggested we play some baseball. A few kids who lived close-by ran to get some bats, balls and gloves and the game was on. I can remember it like it was yesterday. A ball wrapped in black electrical tape to extend its usefulness, and (when its 5 on 5) a hit to the opposite field was a foul ball. It was then that I first realized what I wanted to do with my life … “Help my friends have fun playing bigger and better games”. I’ve worked for no pay in Literacy Programs, Prison Reform, and Drug Rehab work. I’ve also made a lot of money building my company from a kitchen table and taking it public. But, in each case, that purpose is what drove me. It still does. It drives me to write this book. Perhaps you can recall (and rekindle) something you wanted to do when you were younger?
Coach Auerbach worked with people of all races, but it never occurred to him to wonder about their religions or their politics. Same with America’s Founding Fathers. If we are going to have a chance to create a better world we too will need to forget our petty differences and focus on what we have in common. Those are our strengths.