This video reveals how you can leverage the power of leadership vision to increase your capacity for leadership influence.
Oh, and there’s a “surprise” announcement at the end of the video that you won’t want to miss.
I made this video as a “thank you” to all of the loyal members of the Mass Influence community. Our little “club” has grown over the past month or so, and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to see so many people getting so much out of the blog.
Enjoy the video, e-mail me and let me know what you think of the video, and please sign up for the e-mail newsletter and receive your free “The Secret to Mass Influence” report if you haven’t already.
“Jered… What’s more important… Focusing on the big picture or worrying about the little details?”
One debate that constantly circles the leadership world is whether leaders should spend their time focusing on the big picture or worrying about the little details.
On one side of the debate, there are leadership experts that say you should almost always focus on thinking about the big picture, and all the little details will fall into place.
Other leadership experts say that you must concentrate on all of the little details, and the more attention to detail you make at the lowest level, the better the quality of the big picture will be.
After reading into some of this “expert” talk, I’ve come to realize that both sides are on to something.
In my analysis, an effective leader first determines what they want the big picture to look like, and then focuses on influencing the little details to create the ideal big picture.
Researchers used a special x-ray machine that allowed them to examine various paintings by da Vinci.
The researchers discovered that:
Leonardo da Vinci used brush strokes that were thinner than human hair to create the shadowy dream-like effect of the famous Mona Lisa.
There may be up to 30 layers of paint to create the desired effect in many of da Vinci’s paintings.
Leonardo da Vinci used different types of metals and metal compounds in his paint mixes to create different effects.
Beyond the fact that da Vinci was a highly disciplined and skilled painter, one of the secrets to his success was that he was able to create an artistic vision in his head, and then carefully place all of the details to create the best work of art that he could.
First, da Vinci created the big picture in his mind. Then, he focused on making the little details the best they could be to create the big picture he envisioned.
Ultimately, the quality of the big picture relies on the supporting details, and the effectiveness of the supporting details relies on their usefulness to the big picture.
In other words, a leader should envision the ideal big picture and the little details that will make the big picture, and then the leader should focus on completing the little details to create the ideal big picture.
So perhaps the debate isn’t so much about wither the big picture is more important than the little details, or vice versa.
Perhaps the answer is that to be an effective leader, one has to learn how to hold a solid vision of the ideal future and concentrate on implementing the details to make that vision a reality.
So… anyone who knows me knows I do a so-so impersonation of the Cowardly Lion of The Wizard of Oz.
I found out I could do the voice in high school when I was practicing for my audition for the Wizard of Oz play.
I practiced the lion voice for weeks in front of the mirror. I studied everything I could about the cowardly lion. I watch the movie at least 20 times, repeating every line and gesture that he did.
But I was scared. No, not just scared, I was super-afraid.
Part of my lack of courage came from the fact that it was my first year at the school, and many of the other auditioners already had years of drama experience.
When it came time for the audition… I was first in line.
I didn’t know how my classmates would react.
I was so nervous I thought I would pass out. Still, I stood up there and told myself that I had to do it and that afterward I would be glad I did.
I remember the scene: where Dorothy, Scarecrow, and Tinman meet the lion… after the lion gets slapped in the nose and starts to cry.
“I didn’t bite him! You didn’t have to hit me! You hurt my little nose!”
After I got done performing, the entire auditorium burst into cheers. I about fell down to the floor. The girl beside me grabbed my arm.
“Oh my god, are you alright? You’re shaking,” she said. Shaking was an understatement. I was in the full-blown-super-jitters. I could barely stand my knees were so weak.
I put everything I had into delivering the best audition I could…
And then I had to wait. And wait. And wait. And finally the results came back the next day:
I got the part!
They said I did the best lion out of like 12 other people.
I was stoked. This was my big chance to show myself and everyone else that I could be an entertainer.
So… I did the Cowardly Lion, and I got a lot of praise for it.
To tell you the truth, I’ve never felt as loved and appreciated in my whole life.
The experience showed me that a little talent, practice of skill, and the right opportunity can lead to huge results.
I always had the ability to do it in me, I just had to push myself and focus on doing the best job I could.
3 Years later, I was goofing around and did a YouTube parody of Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl” called “I Kissed Dorothy” …
Well, I won’t spoil it for you… but it got over 20,000 views or something.
You can watch it here…
I couldn’t believe that it got that many views in such a short time, and it wasn’t even advertised. Actually, I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you this or not, but YouTube liked the video so much that they wanted to share advertising revenue with me for each view of the video.
I turned them down.
Now, before you go all “what the heck” on me, let me explain.
I used the background instrumentals of the song and some of her lyrics, so the whole video is not an “original” compilation. It’s a parody that uses elements of her song, but the copyright to the instrumental is Katy Perry’s record company… so I didn’t want to have to deal with any legal implications of accepting payouts from YouTube.
Sorry, but that’s just not for me.
Anyways, I constantly get hounded by people I see out in public to do the lion impersonation.
At first I thought: Seriously people? Don’t you have lives? Can’t we move on?
Then I realized: Apparently not.
And, because a good leader talks in terms of what people want, I decided to make this special, exclusive, Mass Influence Leadership blog readers only, YouTube video of me doing the lion impersonation.
Warning: I don’t think I’m “That” good at it, but apparently everyone else finds it’s funny. Maybe they’re just laughing at me, rather than the impression? I don’t know.
You decide:
Anyways, now that we got that out of the way…
This whole post was supposed to be about “Secret Skills.”
The thing is: As a leader, you have the ability to achieve your goals. You just have to uncover what makes you unique, and hone your skills to showcase your unique abilities.
In my case, I never thought in my wildest dreams I would be playing the cowardly lion, or that I would be hounded to do the impression all the time… but lo and behold, that’s what people wanted from me.
My secret skills came to the forefront, and suddenly I had something of value that people wanted.
Here’s the kicker: You have secret skills of value that when unlocked, will make people want your attention and thus make them susceptible to your leadership influence.
You just have to figure out what value you can offer, and then find opportunities to apply your value.
