October | 2014 | Rod Schulhauser

I was reading a good friend’s G+ post this morning, and I was reminded of the fantastic leadership teachings that I’ve enjoyed from his conversations, presentations and books he’s written. His latest post was very timely, as I was spending time today on this very subject, for materials being assembling for a current project.

As my friends and associates know, LEADERSHIP is a topic that is #1 on my list! I never tire of learning more on the subject. I thought it would be timely to share the first 3 points from this current project, which are essential to Leadership.

When I develop a business system for a sales and marketing team, providing a steady flow of information into the team is essential for success. This provides the mechanism for the duplication of teaching points, strategy and the consistency of the mission-vision-values of the organization. A key strategy is the deployment of this information in formats that allows people to absorb it while doing other daily tasks (such as driving, working at home, etc.) – so using audios and videos are valuable here. Books too are vital. Daily reading, even if only for 10 minutes, is great habit of success and personal growth.

The influence of others is huge! I’ve often heard from mentors that “if you take your 5 closest friends that you spend the most time with, add up their combined income and divide by 5, there’s a very good chance that your income will be close to this number…” This is consistent with why people don’t want their children hanging around the wrong crowd – you become like those you spend time with! Associating with like-minded, positive and future-driven people, will influence you in the best and most productive manner.

What we tell ourselves influences not just our thinking – it influences our beliefs, attitude and energy. That little voice we often have conversations with can be a positive or destructive influence. This is why the power of positive affirmations can be a valuable tool. Anything you can do to aid your self-talk in a positive fashion – do it!

♦♦♦ ♦♦♦

Now, each of the above three Leadership Essentials, by themselves is a huge topic of discussion. Most of us could probably add some more key points, in addition to what you see here. What it boils down to, in my experience, is that the essentials are:

always be willing to learn – be that willing student!
hang around like-minded people that are focused on their future
keep positive and be aware of what you are telling yourself

These essentials can be deployed to sales and marketing teams of all sizes (even just one person) and in any industry. I have personally worked with them successfully in corporate teams, small start-ups, individual entrepreneurs and direct sales teams exceeding 10,000 people.

I better stop now, otherwise this is going to become a small book unto itself, and by no means do I want to be considered the source. I am, however, a good student who has had the pleasure of learning from many corporate, industry and expert leaders over the years…