The end of last year and so far this year has seen a surge of speaking opportunities and training workshops that I am very grateful for and honored to participate in.
My belief is companies are preparing for growth and are realizing the past 4-5 years has left a preparation void for their people. The casualty of COVID and uncertainty was training, development, and the comradery of in person activities.
As part of my Keynote Addresses and always during the training workshops, I always enjoy and make sure to leave time for a Question-and-Answer period. Some of the best learning and summarization of what we spoke about happens during this time.
I would like to share some of the questions from the audience that I have received over the past 9 months. I find them to be insightful, thoughtful, and provoking. It sparks some of the best learning dialogue, and the spontaneity of the session is awesome.
It also reminds you that all of us have great life experiences that are wonderful lessons to help us along the way. These questions often create AHA moments for the audience but also for me.
So, let’s hear from the audience
Tell me about your definition of SUCCESS and a Successful Leader.
I believe the definition of success can be summarized in a person who can add immediate value as a leader, trusted advisor, mentor, and visionary who has a process approach.
As an organization you have a strategic vision, as an individual you also need a strategic vision, but you also need the ability to execute tactically the strategy. In these leadership roles you must develop a strategy, build a business plan, and execute that plan.
You do this by providing clear communication and walking the talk. A successful leader will coach their teams to take better control of their day and balance multiple priorities, measuring
and following up for continuous improvement, and accepting responsibility for their P&L. A successful leader must have the ability to assess quickly and effectively:
- who you are
- what you stand for, and
- what you will never compromise
More importantly, a leader’s strategy and vision must match the organization’s vision and strategy, and how it corresponds to what your people, your customers and investors believe to be your strategy and the company’s strategy and vision. Companies need to deliver advanced technologies with operational excellence through their dedicated people who are the best, brightest, most informed, and best educated in their industry.
What are your thoughts on education both formal and informal?
I believe people learn most things through the environment they are in, the experiences they have, and the people they engage with. I do not believe I was born with something special that made me better than others or gave me a leg up.
I am of the opinion that our values and skills are actively developed and are influenced by both the positive and negative experiences in our lives and utilized or can remain dormant depending on our desires and motivation. Success is an individual thing and each of us has our own measure of success and desire for success.
For example, I had a simple education, Catholic grammar school, public High School, Catholic college that was a commuter college as I worked my way through school. This ability to get good grades and work during college helped me to learn how to multi-task. A lesson and experience I had to use throughout my career.
Most learning came from experiences throughout my life and key leaders who touched me in good and sometimes less then desirable ways that I had to work through.
Follow up Questions:
Does background play a role in development?
Everything plays a role if you choose to learn from it and utilize the experiences. For me, for example, my life was simple, compared to others but very impactful as I look back now.
Although we were proud to be Italian, my father, who immigrated to the U.S. at age 14, was very happy to be in the United States and very proud to be Italian American. I lived in the same two-family house my entire life until I moved out when I got married.
We lived upstairs and my Aunt, Uncle, cousin, and Grandma lived downstairs. I had a very family-oriented childhood, and every weekend had family over the house. My father instilled in us all the values of hard work, integrity, and respect. I was a very active child playing sports. I was always doing something; most times it was good, sometimes on the edge, but always something.
My Dad always said, if you were going to do something why not be the best at it! If a team had a captain, it was something in which I was interested. I love sports and I was very competitive but not to a fault. I also spent as much time as I could understanding the sport. How it worked, the histories were all important to me.
Although as I look back and understand finances now, I would say we were on the cusp of being poor but never knew it because my parents and my Aunt and Uncle never spoke about money or how tight things were only that you have one family and make sure you take care of each other and nothing comes before or between you and your family.
I was very fortunate to be brought up in an environment where you were taught respect, and that you could disagree, but you could not be disagreeable. But most importantly that money was not the measure of success, character was.
Do you have any quotes you live by or think of often?
Yes, there are a few that have become ‘Rockyisms’
- Never allow anyone to affect you more than you can affect yourself.
- You are the architect of your own destiny.
- The Speed of the Leader Determines the Pace of the Pack…. Set the pace
- Sometimes we Lead, Sometimes we Follow and Sometimes we go where they need us to go.
What is something you wish you would have realized earlier in your life?
For me it was the realization of the importance of work life balance. To understand the difference between nice to do things and need to do things.
My strength of being all in, focused, committed, and enthusiastic at times became my weakness because I was all in on everything, even the things that in hindsight were nice to do and not need to do.
I look back at some of the events and family gatherings I missed because I was attending nice to do events was a sobering lesson on balance, and the understanding that nice to do things are about choice.
What habit or behavior that you have pursued for a few years has most improved your life?
I would say that during my difficult times I learned that you do not let your highs get too high and lows get too low. It allows you to balance your emotions and helps keep your vision clear. It helps to avoid the emotional roller coaster and for me, keeps me focused.
What are your strategies for being productive and using your time most efficiently?
For me, it goes back to my book, Tighten The Lug Nuts. Do not allow important things to become urgent. You can only manage a few urgent things at a time so do not let important items that can be quickly taken care of to become urgent, and they can overwhelm you. NO LOOSE LUG NUTS so Tighten The Lug Nuts!
Finally, these questions remind me that as leaders we are purpose-driven people who put their morals, character, and honesty first. Without purpose, we drift. With purpose, we steer. You have a responsibility to yourself and to others to use your best judgment, weigh your options carefully, and make the right decisions—even if they’re not the most favorable or popular, even when no one is watching! When you do that, you honor yourself and your values.
Wherever your path takes you, know that your trustworthiness is your highest honor. For if you are a trusted leader, others will believe in your vision, mission, and values and will trust in you enough to follow you. That will be your legacy.
As a person your core beliefs are not what you would like them to be, but rather what lives and breathes in you as a person. The good news is that you will have many opportunities in a career and in life to demonstrate these values and beliefs, but only one chance to get them right each time.
Take Your Leadership Skills to the Next Level with Tighten the Lug Nuts: The Principles of Balanced Leadership.
https://tightenthelugnuts.com
LOOKING TO BOOK A SPEAKER FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT?
Let’s work together. I am a practitioner as well as an educator and motivator, and an experienced senior leader and CEO with over 45 years of boots-on-the-ground experience. I led one of the largest rebranding initiatives in franchising history – The UPS Store, revolutionizing the $9 billion retail shipping and business services market.
I believe that none of us can achieve success without some help along the way. For each of us, there is a person, a mentor, who we are grateful towards and who can help us get to where we aspire to be. Sharing stories and experiences as a speaker is a way of recognizing the value of these experiences and giving back to the next generation of leaders. It also is a way of demonstrating in words and deed the value I am placing in mentorship. As for me, I have been fortunate to have worked with and mentored by some incredibly special people, and none more incredible than Coach John Wooden.
“Rocky was the Keynote Speaker at our FragilePak Connect Conference. His presentation on Balanced Leadership was educational, informative, and delivered with great energy and enthusiasm. We especially appreciated Rocky attending the conference to learn more about who we are, what we stand for and what we are trying to accomplish as a team. He received a 4.9 score on our survey and the following comments best represent the overall comments.”
“He was the best speaker and had useful life tips”
“Fantastic”
“Amazing”
Rick Schad / VP FP Certified Providers Network
FragilePak
I have broad experiences to share that can help others as they grow and take on new challenges. During my time as president of UPS Supply Chain Solutions, I integrated over 20 acquisitions that became UPS Supply Chain Solutions. I steered UPS’s entry into the health care industry and created the mantra, “It’s a patient, not a package. ®” With the ability to see a clear vision of the changing business landscape, the passion to develop strategies, tactics, and metrics to drive desired results, and the passion to develop the Best, The Brightest, Most Informed, and Best People in the industries they serve.
Please give me a call today at 610-322-0720 or email at
[email protected]
THE LEADERSHIP LIBRARY PODCAST SEASON 8
Looking for quick morning leadership advice in under 5 minutes?
Check out Rocky’s leadership library podcast.
https://tightenthelugnuts.com/podcasts
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST: LEADER OF THE BAND
For more information visit our website https://www.3sixtymanagementservices.com/. My book,
Tighten The Lug Nuts, will also serve as a workbook for these important topics and discussions.
Read my latest Forbes article:
TIGHTEN THE LUG NUTS: THE PRINCIPLES OF
BALANCED LEADERSHIP
Looking to become a better leader or get noticed at your job? Buy Rocky’s best selling book:
Visit our website, https://3sixtymanagementservices.com, as well as my book, Tighten The Lug Nuts, for additional information.
Contact me at: [email protected].
Have a leadership question for Rocky? EMAIL ROCKY TODAY
For more information or to book Rocky at your next event visit our website at https://3sixtymanagementservices.com
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