I had never been sick a day in my life until at age 34 when I found “the lump”. I had testicular cancer. Less than 24 hours after my initial diagnosis, I had emergency surgery to remove my right testicle.  

Following three months of brutally aggressive chemotherapy, I needed one more procedure to be cancer-free: Surgery to remove half of my left lung. The surgery was successful. However, I was left confined to a wheelchair unable to do ANYTHING by myself. 

The UFC is the hottest sport on the planet.  The Ultimate Fighting Championship as it is known, brags of having the highest viewership among both male and female millennials.  And Gen-Xers, and Gen-Yers, and any other Gen-ers you want to mention.  Come on — admit it.  You’ve watched it too, haven’t you?

I proudly admit to being a big fan of the UFC and mixed martial arts (MMA) in general.  As a matter of fact, I’ve practiced martial arts for over 40-years and spent 10 of those glorious years living and training in Japan learning from the best.

I was a millimeter away from closing a HUGE sale.  The customer was sitting right in front to me — he even came to my office.  However, I also had my laptop open and was looking at something on it (probably an email).  And I also had my cell phone in hand and was texting a client, or a colleague, or another prospect, or a friend, or a family member.  Cant’ remember who.

Now where was I with that sale?  Oh yeah.  I was closing it.  Except I wasn’t.  The dude split.  I lost a HUGE deal.  And I don’t blame the guy for walking away.  If someone would have “phubbed” me, I would have done the same thing.

I just spent five hours in my grocery store’s cereal aisle trying to make a decision.  Like a surreal Salvador Dali painting, the aisle went on forever.  I was tempted by the multitude of colorful boxes and the deliciously unhealthy sugar-memories of my youth — Lucky Charms, Coca Puffs, Apple Jacks!  Five hours later, I was somewhere near the middle of the aisle with a cartful of cereal boxes I didn’t need, having long forgotten, or just stopped caring about, the original cereal I did need.

Has this ever happened to you?  (And I don’t mean spending eternity trapped in the cereal aisle trying to make up your mind.)  I’m talking about suffering from the decision-making trap of extremes — you give yourself, your team, or your business too many choices to decide from.  And end up making a bad decision, or worse, NO decision at all, while your leadership, performance, and business suffers.

We honor two specific servant leaders on Presidents’ Day — Washington and Lincoln.  General Washington was the first US president, having served heroically in the Revolutionary War.  Lincoln was the 16th president and gallantly lead the US during the Civil War.

What comes to mind when you think of these two servant leader?  For me, its honesty — brutal, right-between-the-eyes honesty.  Washington is quoted as saying, “I cannot tell a lie….” when questioned as a six year old boy by his father.  Abraham Lincoln was nicknamed “Honest Abe” because he always told the truth.

Were you part of the millions of people who watched Sunday’s NFL playoffs to determine who goes to Super Bowl LIII on February 3, 2019?  Whether you are a fan or not, you probably heard there were two BIG games played over the weekend.

There were missed calls by the referees, questionable decisions by the head coaches, and supremely gutsy plays by the participants on all four teams.  The bottom line?  Two teams won and two teams lost.  

Prior to working in corporate America, I served in the Marine Corps for eight honorable years.  During basic training and advanced leadership training, my fellow Marines and I were always taught to lead with dignity and honor and respect.  To do what is right — not necessarily to do what is easy.  

During my time working and consulting for global Fortune 500 companies, I saw many fine business executives make the right, tough decision and lead honorably.  I also saw some executives choose to do what was easy and commit fraud, waste, and abuse. 

“A ‘no’ uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a ‘yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.”  ~~Mahatma Gandhi  

I love this quote and call it “The Honorable No.”  Do you have people in your life — a colleague, customer, or boss — that you have a hard time saying “no” to?  Are there situations in your sales cycle where you find it easier to say “yes” because you don’t want to deal with the hassle of what a “no” will produce? 

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the beautiful rural Pennsylvania house, Fallingwater, in 1935.  He built the house around an existing waterfall, ensuring the house’s super-strong foundation was firmly anchored into massive boulders found all around the waterfall.  

83-years later, the house still stands — iconic, memorable, regal — because of the rock-solid foundation.  Can you say the same about your leadership style?  Is it built on a rock-solid foundation that will withstand the test of time?

Successful sales professionals, and their managers, are never satisfied.  Yesterday’s major achievements are today’s performance standards, and surpassing quota is the expectation, not the exception.  As old methods become commoditized and ineffective, new creative sales techniques are needed more than ever.

What new creative sales techniques are you using to remain relevant? 

In 1999, the number two search in behind Yahoo! was a company called Excite.  Excite had the opportunity to purchase a little start-up called “Google” in 1999 for $750,000.  Turns out the founder of Google, Larry Paige, wanted to sell it so he could go back to Stanford and finish his PhD.

On paper, the numbers worked and the deal looked great.  Larry Paige showed Excite’s leadership that if they used his algorithm, they would increase their search engine revenue by $150,000.  Per day.  The deal would pay for itself in less than a week.  There was one stipulation:  Excite had to swap out their inferior algorithm with Google’s superior one.

As a cancer survivor, successful entrepreneur, and battle-hardened business executive, I learned many valuable leadership lessons.  Take cancer for example.  I had never been sick a day in my life when I was diagnosed with cancer at age 34.  I was at the height of my mental and physical prowess then — invincible, confident, independent.  I’d out work anyone, try harder, work longer with more effort to achieve any goal I set my mind to achieving.  

I was also egotistical, naive, shortsighted, and woefully under supported.  

Do you use your cell phone as an alarm clock?  I used to.  This was my morning routine for years:  Cell phone alarm goes off, I turn it off, and immediately start looking at emails, text messages, calendar items, to-do lists, social media posts, and a million other alerts.  My heart rate increases, stress levels spike, and I start worrying about all the things I have to do.  I jump in the shower, eat breakfast (sometimes), and rush to get in front of my laptop.  Then, off to the races — a hamster on that “electronic wheel” — spinning, running, working.  Going nowhere.  Getting nothing accomplished.  Panic sets in…

“Did you see the McGregor fight on Saturday?”  I’ve been asked that a bazillion times the last few days.  So…..did YOU see it?  Did you see the mixed martial arts event of the century that showcased the brash, Irish loud-mouth Conor McGregor against the stoic, Russian steam-roller, Khabib Nurmagomedov?  (Don’t worry — I still can’t pronounce it either.)

In a nutshell, loud-mouth McGregor got his butt beat by the stoic Russian.  After Khabib defeated McGregor in the 4th round, the raucous crowd became even more raucous and rowdy.  Someone from McGregor’s entourage yelled something at Khabib.  And boys will be boys:  Khabib quickly climbed over the octagon “cage” and jumped into the crowd to fight with McGregor’s entourage.  

The gorgeous Greek temple, the Parthenon, was built in 438 BC to honor the goddess Athena and still stands today.  It is supported by a multitude of strong, sturdy, and stable  45 foot tall pillars!  Some pillars have crumbled and collapsed even, however, the ornate and extremely heavy marble top of the temple is still strongly supported.

And consider that our leadership style is just like the Parthenon — it must be supported by strong, sturdy, and stable “leadership pillars”.  So even if one or two of those pillars weaken, crumble, or collapse, your leadership style will withstand the test of time and thrive — especially in the face of adversity.