10 LESSONS ON LEADERSHIP

From Success Magazine comes 10 lessons on leadership from OfficeMax CEO Sam Duncan:

Lesson 1: Remember where you came from and be yourself. Be humble: “Pedestals are for flowers… not leaders.”
1. Establish and follow your core values.
2.Take responsibility for your actions and ownership for the results.
3. Take care of your customers and fellow associates and treat them with respect.
4. Work together, build trust and value in every idea.
5. Work efficiently and stay on task until the job is complete.
6. Move quickly to create change and stay ahead of the curve.

Lesson 2: Listen and learn. By listening, you’ll learn more than by talking.

Lesson 3: Know your audience. This includes your customers, associates, shareholders, suppliers and analysts.

Lesson 4: It’s easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission. “I can’t think of a single instance when I regretted taking action. But I have regretted not taking action.”

Lesson 5: Know your numbers. OfficeMax associates are expected to know sales figures from the prior day, quarter and year to date, and to take responsibility, accept the numbers, and move on.

Lesson 6: You pay for a training program, whether you have one or not. Training harnesses the built-in motivation most people already have to do good work. Investing the time and money for training results in lower turnover and lower shrink.

............

Lesson 7: Just be honest, no matter how much it hurts.

Lesson 8: Encourage constructive criticism.

Lesson 9: Remember that a leader’s job is to serve. “My motto is ‘Help Other People Every Day’ (HOPE). Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”

Lesson 10: Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.