I’m deeply gratified to hear that my work has served as a confirmation of Coach Morrison’s natural impulses and instincts.  My hope is that his story will do the same for you.

Oh…and you may want to grab a hanky for this one:

I come from a tight-knit, middle class family, and I am the son of two retired educators.  I grew up having dreams of playing in the NBA, anchoring Sportscenter, and all kinds of different professions involving sports.  I was successful in school both academically and athletically, and I was involved in various programs that were offered in my high school.  I always cherished family time and family vacations because I had a fabulous home life.  I was very blessed.

I enjoyed the environment of school, and I saw the satisfaction my parents received from their profession, and ultimately my passion for family, school, and sports led me to decide on becoming a Health and Physical Education teacher.  I graduated college in 2006 and was fortunate to land in Delaware [Ohio] (only 30 minutes from my hometown) right out of school.  I taught Health and PE for 3 years at the high school level and then was the unfortunate victim of budget cuts at the end of the 2009 school year.

In July 2009, my mentor and good friend was killed in a plane crash.  He was the head basketball coach at the high school where I taught and coached, and he was also a PE teacher at the Elementary school within the district.  I had coached for him for 3 years, and he was truly one of the finest men I had ever met.  His passing has had an unquantifiable impact on my outlook on life that cannot be expressed in print.

At his funeral, his wife and parents approached me and subsequently put in motion the first OS!M of my professional career.  I knew that because of his passing, I would be contractually called upon to take over his position as the PE teacher at the elementary level.  He was beloved by many, especially his students.  I would have huge shoes to fill, but more so, I would have an audience of 25-30 kindergarten through fourth graders to answer to seven times a day about their beloved teacher’s passing.  His family’s message to me was that “there is nobody he, or his family, would rather take over for him, and there is nobody that is better for the job.”

I spent two amazing years at the elementary, and then was RIF’d again by the district, only to be moved back to the high school for the current school year.

This whole story is important for multiple reasons.  First, experiencing the joy that elementary students have for school opened my eyes to a glaring problem that we have in the educational system.  Somewhere along the way, students lose the love they once had for being present, learning, and engaging in school.  Second, I’ve stared down unemployment on two separate occasions, and surviving those experiences has helped to remove any fear of it happening again.  OS!M’s are now 100% directed at making a difference, and are possible because the fear sets a certain boundary, but it doesn’t drive the bus.

I spent the entire first semester of this school year frustrated with my profession.  I couldn’t stand the school culture compared the elementary.  I cringed each time I heard the word ‘standard’ or ‘test’ or any other term that has been saddled onto our school system that sucks the life out of our abilities to be creative and make an impact on the world.  I disliked getting up in the morning because I was reporting for duty to do something that I knew wasn’t the best, and had no ability to leave a lasting impact on my students.

The frustration built up so high that an OS!M was the only outlet.  I completely flipped my classroom philosophy and pledged to myself that I would do ONLY those things that I truly believed were advantageous for my students.  I knew that I LOVED having discussions with my students, so I pledged to do that at least 80% of the time.  I knew that I LOVED helping students become better people and learners, so I decided to scrap the traditional way of doing school and adopt a student-centered, project-based approach that allowed students to pursue a passion and develop a skill of their choosing, while using health-specific content as the base of their learning.

I was outspoken about this method.  I changed my grading policies to revolve around what students learned, not what a test told me they memorized.  I shared this and other happenings in my room on my blog, around school, and to anyone I knew.  And magic happened.  All of the sudden I started to see signs everywhere that what I was doing was, if not right, way closer to right than what I had always done in my classroom.  Student’s attitudes changed, smiles were shown, passion was creeping out from under its covers, and learning was happening.  It was an amazing transformation.  I was meeting with students one on one on a daily basis and the conversations I was having were life-changing for me.  These students were empowered to take hold of their learning and were doing it, but the personal connection I was establishing was satisfying not only to me, but the students were beginning to line up just for the chance to talk.  More students were saying “hi” in the hallways, other teachers were visiting me to see why there was a buzz from my students, and my administration team provided me with all kinds of support because they were hearing good things.  A culture that desperately needed changing was beginning to change, one student at a time.

When I shared my new methods with Mike [read about Mike McDonough here], he convinced me to read The Radical Leap because he told me I was doing exactly what the book spells out.  I couldn’t put it down.  Page by page I was feeling the fire inside of me to make a difference become stronger and stronger.  I was doing many of the things in the book, but I wasn’t doing them to the level necessary to represent my true level of passion.  So, I adopted Mike’s mindset of “being in constant pursuit of the OS!M” and sought them out daily.   Through my OS!M hunt I helped my colleagues, Jim Bibler, Jordan Blackburn, and Sean Duffy find the willingness to read The Radical Leap.  They too made adjustments to their classroom philosophies and a gradual change in culture got another boost it needed.  Students were hearing the LEAP message multiple times per day and an energy was generated in both the students and staff.

The impact that the LEAP philosophy was having could be felt within us all.  It wasn’t as if we didn’t know what was right, but we had never received the energy to unleash the audacity that it took to begin to change the culture here at Delaware Hayes High School.  We have a long way to go and huge mountain to climb.  But, each and everyday we are seeing colleagues and students have “aha” moments as a direct result of our adoption of the LEAP philosophy.  We see the signs, and pursue the OS!M’s on a daily basis thanks to your lessons from The Radical Leap.

Still doesn’t ring a bell?

OK, how about the band, Twisted Sister? Or their songs, “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” or “I Wanna Rock”?

There you go!

Twisted’s famed front-man, Dee Snider is the guy…well…out front, but Jay Jay is the founder of the band, the manager of the brand, and one hell of a guitarist, to boot. He is, when all is said and done, a savvy business guy, a philanthropist (have a look at his Pinkburst Project) and the consummate entrepreneur.

And, does he have some stories to tell?  What do you think?

And he happens to be a great guy, too.

That’s why, for all of the above reasons, I invited him to be a part of The Extreme Leadership Summit.

Says Jay Jay,

“At the end of the day, Rock and roll is a business with universal business rules. You need to posses the ability to look inside yourself, be honest with what you see, re-invent, and then re-apply. And be fully prepared to be knocked down again.”

A good rule for the rest of us, right?

I hope you can join Jay Jay and me, along with Sally Hogshead, Tommy Spaulding, Brian Mayne, Simon Billsberry, and Loren Slocum at The Summit in August–but for now, here’s a taste.

Surrounded by Platinum and Gold Records, music memorabilia, and a phenomenal vintage guitar collection, Jay Jay sat down with our video crew at his place in New York City for a chat about business, life, and Extreme Leadership.

Ladies and Gentlemen…here’s my friend, Jay Jay French:

Well…you are human.  I get that.  And we all have to deal with at least some people who need attitude adjustments–or maybe even lobotomies.

I get that, too.

Nonetheless, as valid as it might feel, finger-pointing is the last thing we should be engaging in–particularly if we aspire to be worthy of the handle, Extreme Leader.

There’s that old cliche that says for every finger you point at someone else, there are three pointing back at you. A little over-used, maybe? Kind of sappy? Yeah, I guess. But it’s still true. And it serves as a damn good reminder.

So, the next time you find your digit poking in some else’s direction, stop and ask yourself this (most?) fundamental of all leadership questions:

“What can I do, right now,

regardless of what anyone else around here is or is not doing,

to change my piece of this company/organization/world for the better?”

The solutions that pop out may very well surprise you.

Let me know what happens.

And don’t forget to watch your fingers.

This was my very first published piece. Originally titled An Airport Story, it ran in Tom Peters‘ old newsletter, On Achieving Excellence, and in The San Jose Mercury News. And I have to admit that after all these years (I think it first went to print around 1996, maybe?), I still think it’s pretty durn funny:

An Airport Story

I know airlines are service businesses with a responsibility to do whatever it takes to please us, the paying customers. But maybe we expect too much of them. After all, airports and airplanes do weird things to people. (This is because of a small vent near the terminal entrance that covertly sucks the brains out of your head.) Most of us would require years of therapy if we encountered a fraction of the resultant bizarre personalities flight attendants face daily. Take Judy–a seemingly normal traveler like you and me:

Not too long ago, Judy was rushing to catch a flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles. She hadn’t eaten, and her blood sugar was in the tank. Dashing through the airport she zipped into a newsstand and bought a People magazine and a Kit-Kat candy bar.

Settling into a window seat, Judy dropped her magazine on the empty middle seat, nodded to the guy buckling himself into the aisle seat and prepared for takeoff.

After the plane reached its “comfortable cruising altitude,” Judy unwrapped the Kit Kat, then put it back on the seat. But before she could dig in to it, the Guy on the Aisle reached down, broke off a piece and ate it. Judy was stunned. “That did not happen,” she told herself.

Before Judy could gather her wits, The Guy grabbed the candy bar and polished it off. Now that was too much. Judy’s incredulity turned to trembling, speechless rage. She gripped the armrests and boiled silently in her own bile all the way to LA.

They land, and The Guy gets off the plane, followed by Judy–still in shock. Walking through the terminal, she sees The Guy buying a muffin. Something snaps. She runs up to him, grabs his arm, takes a big bite out of his muffin and runs away.

She felt great! Vindicated! Empowered!

A few proud minutes later Judy gets into her car and puts her magazine down on the seat. Out falls her Kit Kat.

That candy bar on the flight had been The Guy’s.

Now…imagine you are the airline customer relations agent hearing this story from The Guy’s perspective: “I’m sittin’ on the plane, and the woman next to me reaches over and unwraps my candy bar…”

Well, in the airline biz, this kind of thing happens every day.

It’s the vent.

To maintain their sanity, airline folks sometimes resort to humor, especially during busy times like Christmas. But while many passengers appreciate a bit of stress-relieving humor, it’s a dicey strategy. One airport encounter recently taught me a priceless lesson in the dangers of holiday jocularity.

The woman ahead of me in the ticket line was obviously distraught. When her turn came, she rushed forward, flung her ticket at the agent and gingerly placed a box on the counter.

“Oh! A Christmas present for me?” the agent joked, “It’s so nice to be appreciated!” He picked up the box and started to walk away. The woman turned pale and screamed, “That’s my husband in that box!”

The agent could have made the situation worse. He could have shaken the box vigorously and said, “How’d you get him in there? Is the rest of your family in the Samsonite? They’re so well-behaved!” But unfortunately for those of us watching the show, he simply apologized and upgraded the woman to first class.

What a great scam, I thought. When it was my turn I said, “My wife is in this briefcase. Can I sit in first class?” This earned me a seat next to the lavatory.

So when you airline people feel a touch impatient with us, and when we passengers want to beat our crew senseless on landing, remember…we’re all brainless here.

5 words you’ll never hear on the campaign trail:

“Here’s How I Screwed Up.”

I get it; I understand their motives.  They want to get nominated, elected, or re-elected, and they don’t want to give any more grist to their competitors’ meat-grinding mill than absolutely necessary. They want to look perfect.  They want to look invulnerable.  They want us to love them. Or, at least, tolerate them just enough.

I understand that leadership in the political arena is, in many ways, different from the day-to-day, up-close-and-personal leadership you and I practice in our places of work.  But, still, I think our politicos are missing the main point:

There’s no such thing as a perfect human being, and the minute one tries to appear to be perfect, he or she is automatically suspect.

So, how about we all stop trying so hard to market ourselves as flawless?

In fact, how’s about we boldly talk about our mistakes and share what we learned from the experience of falling and failing and flailing?

Again, many people—most, in fact—in positional authority are afraid that if they publicly cop to their mistakes (and fears, too), others will see them as incompetent.  (Competence is an important part of the game, certainly. Let’s agree right now that if you’re incompetent you should just get out of the way).  But there is a difference between mistakes of incompetence and mistakes associated with boldness, innovation or experimentation.

Here’s the question: How bold and public are you willing to be with your own valuable screw-ups?  In other words, how willing are you to let us learn from your mistakes? Whether you’re running for office or not.

How have you screwed up?

Care to go first?

If you’re passionate about education (and in San Diego on Thursday), it’s not too late to register to join us for this phenomenal evening. Over 700 people are on the boat (literally as well as figuratively) so far.

Please share this video and spread the word:

Please read his words and comment away!

Passion doesn’t fuel work ethic; work ethic fuels passion.

Most people want to go about it backwards. They want to let their passions propel their efforts. They want an emotion-driven life, but our emotions don’t always lead us where we need to go or keep us where we need to be.

You won’t produce heat in your fireplace by saying, “Once there’s a fire, I’ll put in some logs.”  You put the logs in and build a fire, and then you’ll see some heat. Likewise, the passion you have for a job is directly related to the initiative you put into it. Many highly successful people in all walks of life have discovered that because they put a great amount of effort into their job, their job eventually becomes their passion. They didn’t set out to be the world’s greatest carpet installer, data entry clerk, or fry cook; they just set out to be the best they could be while in their jobs, and the next thing they knew they were awesome at it!

If a young worker says, “I don’t have a passion for selling shoes,” the first thing he or she needs to do is show some initiative by making selling shoes a short-term passion. If he throws himself into it, does all he can to learn the business and make himself the best, and he still doesn’t develop a passion for the job, that’s fine. He has still improved his reputation for adding value to a job, made himself more hirable, and developed his work ethic in the process. And then he can do his boss and himself a favor and quit. She’ll likely give him a good reference or help him find another position within the organization.

Following up on that line of reasoning (which makes A LOT of sense to me), Eric offers you this advice if you’re feeling disengaged or disenfranchised at work:

1. Do whatever is within your control to eliminate the things that demotivate you. For example, when you’re choosing who to go to lunch with or hang out after work with, surround yourself with coworkers who enjoy their job as opposed to those “Debbie Downers” who are always complaining about the boss, the company, etc.  If the break room makes you feel like you are in a jail cell, volunteer to come in on your day off and repaint it or bring in some table games, or posters, or music, etc. In other words, take steps to create a more positive space for you to operate.

2. Get out of the mindset that ‘work sucks’ or that ‘you’re stuck’.  This is a free country and no one is making you work where you do. No matter who you are, what skills you currently have, or what you do to earn your daily bread, you have options. You can work harder and perform better in an attempt to get a promotion. You can use your off work time to take classes or improve your skills to move up in your present company or to become more hirable to another. You are in control of your career, so don’t allow yourself to develop a defeatist attitude or you will end up stuck, or worse, fired.

3.  Work like you’re showing off. Approach your next shift as if your every move is being video recorded for a worldwide audience and that your parents, kids, friends, and future employers are all tuned-in. If you perform your normal job as you would under these conditions for an entire day, it would be impossible to feel down and disengaged.  In fact, it will be impossible for your employers not to notice you. Very soon, you will be the very best at your job, and once you are, you will be promoted, you will see a dramatic increase in your pay, and you will be sought out by other employers.  When you are the best at your job, your future is unstoppable.

Eric Chester is on a mission to revive America’s work ethic.

Shouldn’t we all be?

Over the last couple of years, we’ve developed, piloted and field-tested The Extreme Leadership Workshop, and now, for the first time, we’re offering it in a public forum.

You now have a chance to participate in the workshop and become certified and licensed to facilitate it for others—your team, your company, or your clients.

In this powerful and transformational experience, you’ll explore the key tenets of the Extreme Leadership Framework—Cultivating Love, Generating Energy, Inspiring Audacity, and Providing Proof—and learn how to apply them to your personal and professional leadership challenges.

I know it sounds like an old marketing cliché, but in this case it’s true:

Space is limited!

This inaugural program from The Extreme Leadership Institute will be held in San Diego from March 22 – 24. It’ll be a great combination of work and fun (Like a visit to Mission Beach and a BBQ at my place).

If you’d like to learn more, my colleague, Steve Dealph, is standing by to give you all the pertinent info.

By design, we’re making this an intimate gathering, and an announcement email that went out last week may have filled us up already.  So if you’re interested, please contact Steve Dealph right away at Dealph@ExtremeLeadership.com

Hope to see you here in sunny San Diego!

Now about that BBQ…

How do you like your steak? Or would you prefer a veggie burger?

It is, of course, closely related to the broader Declaration of Extreme Leadership that I posted a while back, but focused on the specific mission of lifting up our kids to magnificent heights.

Please sound off in the comment section below and pass this declaration along to every educator in your life.

The cynics will disregard it out of hand (and, frankly, I’m cool with that),  but wait till you see what the rest will do by taking this to heart:

Declaration of Extreme Leadership in Education

I, one of the undersigned educators of today’s youth, recognize that my students are greater than the test scores they achieve, greater than their ability to master the required curriculum, and greater than their grade point averages.

And I also understand and accept that I am more than an administrator, staff member, teacher or professor—I am responsible for helping my students grow to become our world’s future leaders.

And to that end, I believe that the principles of Love, Energy, Audacity and Proof, when applied to the way I lead and teach in my school, university, college or community, will help all of us not only improve the world of education (which is a noble mission), but transform it into something magnificent.

I agree that big, broad, systemic changes need to happen in our field: policies need to shift, pedagogies need to evolve, and priorities need to change—and I’ll do whatever I can to contribute to those transformations over time.

In the meantime,

Regardless of what is or is not happening “out there”, and regardless of what other people are or are not doing to change my students’ education for the better,

I commit to making a difference in the way I lead TODAY in my district, school, university, college or classroom; I am an Extreme Leader, committed to taking a Radical LEAP,

Right now,

For our students, our youth, and, therefore,

For all of us