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After learning about Buck’s compelling story through the movie, his website, his book Believe, and other sources, I can’t help thinking of the Native American quote, “Come with me into nature, and I will teach you all you need to know.”

Buck is a keenly observant student of nature, especially horses. His students are fortunate that he has chosen to share those lessons with them through his work.  The profound lessons that he teaches his students not only help them develop better relationships with their horses, but also help them build more positive relationships with their family, friends, co-workers, employees, and themselves.

Here are some lessons from Buck that might be particularly useful for business leaders: 

1. When encouraging others to follow you, be vigilant for either little steps in the wrong direction (which should be corrected immediately) or little steps in the right direction (which should be rewarded immediately.)
2. Always give others a “good deal” if they follow you. If they don’t accept the good deal, then start applying pressure (without bullying them) until they do follow you. Eventually, they’ll just take the good deal because it’s a win-win for the whole team.
3. Just like animals, all people want a place to be safe. Make your business a safe place for everyone who touches it, including you.
4. If your strategy isn’t helping you achieve your vision, then change your strategy.
5. Stop lamenting over a past job or past accomplishments and focus on where you are today. Buck said, “My favorite place is where I am today. And then tomorrow I’ll say the same thing.”
6. Learn about others before asking them to follow you. In the film, Buck frequently asks questions to learn the age of the horses, how much contact they’ve had with human beings, and other questions that help him understand the horses and their owners before he starts working with them. He doesn’t assume that his vast knowledge of people and horses means he knows about that person and that horse.
7. Be a balanced leader. Learn how to “take hold” and how to let go. Empower people without coddling them. Be clear in your expectations for others without trying to control or fight with them. Get people out of their comfort zone without paralyzing them with fear. As one woman wrote in Believe, “With Buck, it’s all about knowing when it is time to be soft and subtle, and when to take hold and mean it, to apply as much pressure as it takes to get a change.”
8. Take control of your reactions. You don’t need to display knee-jerk responses to fear, anger, and other negative emotions. In Believe, one woman wrote, “I never saw the man [Buck] lose his temper or act frustrated.”
9. Everyone is important. Everyone matters. Everyone should be counted. Everyone should be accepted exactly as they are.
10.   Be authentic. In the movie, Robert Redford said he quickly realized that Buck is the real deal. Buck’s authenticity is understandable because he learned so much from horses, which he described as “honest.”  

Buck will open in select cities starting on June 17, 2011. For more information, see Buck the Film.

The event will be hosted by Planeta Feliz, whose website states:

“Planeta Feliz is a non-profit organization dedicated to help create a happier and sustainable world through education, medical care, small business development, structural work and humanitarian assistance — one family, one community at a time.”

For more information about the event, click here.

“Congressman West will discuss how small business can effect change and impact the success of the Florida economy. Attendees will receive tips on jumpstarting their small business, including the newest financing options; resources and challenges in import/export; where to invest and how to find tax breaks; and methods for attracting and retaining the best employees.”

For more information, or to RSVP, send an email to cc@research-park.org.

The book offers tips designed to help young people focus on the kind of job that would make them happy, and some ideas for succeeding in whatever that job might be. The 80-page book is a very quick read in contrast with a classic career counseling book such as What Color Is Your Parachute? Different readers might prefer different books, but I do think this type of information is needed by all of today’s teenagers — particularly when jobs are so scarce.

As a reader, I hope that Lakstins writes a follow-up book about the lessons he personally learned from job hopping. What were the advantages and disadvantages of working at so many different companies? What lessons did he take from each job? What did he learn about differences across companies in terms of organizational climate, management styles, and more?

In an economy where many college graduates from 2009 and 2010 are still seeking employment, it’s more important than ever to have a long-term career goal and a strategy to help you reach it!

This idea would probably be met with strong resistance in chilly Maine or other colder areas of the country, but if you have a business here in South Florida, it might be worth following Palm Beach’s lead. According to a 2009 article in the New York Times, your hands will be just as clean after washing them in cold water as they’d be if you’d used hot water. So why not save money and help the environment at the same time?

The same concepts apply when you’re offering a free evaluation, a free trial subscription, or anything else for free. The ultimate goal is to convert those free offers into paying customers. Unless you have a strategy for making that conversion happen, you’re just giving away free merchandise/services with no return on that investment.

The issue is particularly salient in today’s difficult economy. The president of a local Chamber of Commerce recently pointed out that customers seem to be making decisions solely on price, so they might buy from you when you’re offering a great deal, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll buy from you again after the promotion has ended. So be sure you have a strategy in place for attracting and retaining new customers before you give away something for nothing!

Tickets are $45 for the workshop and reception, or $25 for just the reception. There is a $5 discount for United Way Young Leaders. For more information, contact Mercedes Garcia at 305-646-7029 or garciam@unitedwaymiami.org.

For more information, call 954-486-2426 or visit http://inventorssociety.net.

Whether you’re planning to launch one business that will take you to retirement, or a series of businesses that you will sell over time, no one can afford to make the exact same mistakes that other entrepreneurs have been making for decades. Learn from books, the internet, and your fellow professionals so you can focus on growing your business(es) without running into problems with the IRS, the law, and other common challenges!