Love Leadership

John Hope Bryant is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE. He is Vice Chairman, U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy and is the author of bestselling book, Love Leadership: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World

Earlier this year, in the midst of the worst global economic crisis in recent history, he was chosen to speak at the closing session for the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, joining Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Professor Klaus Schwab, founder and chairman of the World Economic Forum, H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Professor Pekka Himanen of Finland, on the subject of “dignity for all.”

Here is what he has to say about the crisis facing the USA today - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-hope-bryant/the-crisis-in-america-tod_b_293692.html

Love Leadership: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World reduces what Bryant has learned about 'love-based leading' into five fundamental laws:

1. Loss Creates Leaders. The storms of life offer an opportunity to respond in one of three ways to personal tragedy or failure: you can give up, you can try to cope using whatever dulls the pain, or you can grow and create something useful out of your experience or loss. The choice lies between legitimate suffering now and illegitimate suffering later. Only the last option allows you to harness fear and turn it into the strength to lead with love.

2. Fear Fails. We have all faced plenty of situations where it would be easier to allow a lack of self-awareness and high energy to bring down the people around us. But doing so is a reaction of fear: fear of oneself, fear of imperfection, fear of failing. Fear doesn't work. In the long term, letting fear motivate your actions - how you treat others, how you conduct business, how you live your life - leads to failure.

3. Love Makes Money. Over the long term, to succeed and to be happy simultaneously, you need to lead with love. If you lead with love for the long term, people will follow you forever, wherever - for their own good as well as yours - and you will be remembered as a person of greatness.

4. Vulnerability is Power. Admitting weakness and owning up to mistakes have counterintuitive benefits. When you are honest, people are more likely to forgive you for any weaknesses and mistakes. You are also able to make a stronger connection with others. Ultimately, this gives you an ability to persuade and influence people, which in turn strengthens your ability to lead.

5. Giving is Getting. Giving is a long-term commitment to others. When we start serving those who work in our organisation and expanding out to serving partners, vendors, and customers it translates to success. No great business was ever built on giving the bare minimum. Doing good for others pays off.

Love Leadership

Leading Into 2010 - Creating Cycles of Success

You know how it feels when you are “on a roll” – when you are consistently performing at your best and realising results. You have the ability to create these circumstances more often simply by experiencing your successes and building upon them.

As you begin to look toward 2010, start creating your own cycles of success:

Create small wins on a daily basis. Break down larger projects into a series of steps that are manageable and measurable. Acknowledge accomplishment of each step.

Take pride in each and every accomplishment. No matter how small, every accomplishment establishes a new step on your path to success. Don’t allow yourself to think that your accomplishments are no big deal. Celebrate them.

Take advantage of the momentum. Create your “on a roll” feeling by experiencing each success and proving to yourself that you can accomplish anything you put your mind and efforts into.

When you show yourself how successful you are, you will realise just how successful you can be.

Leading Into 2010 - Creating Cycles of Success