“We will never transform the prevailing system of management without transforming our prevailing system of education.” In that statement, Dr. Deming connected work with education. “The relationship between the boss and subordinate is the same as the relationship between a teacher and student”, according the Dr. Edward Deming. I will paraphrase educator and author, Peter Senge, “ The only competitive advantage for the company of the future is its speed of learning.” The LIFE business powered by the Team leadership system has created just that… a learning organization.
Is your life a masterpiece in progress? Which areas have you targeted for growth in the New Year? Yes, the world has created busy people but are we to busy to be better? Which of the 8 F’s categories are worthy of continued focused improvement in the future? Does it make sense that someone would quit improving their own life? Olympic gymnast Peter Vidmar said, “People who get into something for the money, the fame, or the medal can’t be effective. When you discover your own desire, you’re not going to wait for other people to find solutions to your problems. You’re going to find your own.”
According to the Washington County Literacy Council as many as 23% of the adult population (40 -44 million) is functionally illiterate. Adult illiteracy costs society an estimated $240 billion each year in lost industrial productivity, unrealized tax revenues, welfare, crime, poverty, and related social ills. In George Leonard’s book ‘Mastery’, he states, “The typical school or college classroom, unhappily, is not a very good place to learn. It’s sad that over the past hundred years almost every aspect of our national life – industry, transportation, communication, computation, entertainment – has changed almost beyond recognition, while our schools remain essentially the same.” Any historian will tell you that an illiterate culture is a culture in decline. All thriving societies have literacy as a common denominator. Oliver DeMille sites Allan Bloom in his book, ‘Closing of the American Mind’ when he taught at the University of Chicago in the 1950’s and 60’s. He could tell what the national books were by asking students what books formed the core of their lives, the basis of society. The two answers he always got were the Bible and The Declaration of Independence. Demille states, “There is no true national book in America today. No national books means no culture: and this is ominous for the future. Any society which loses its national book declines and collapses in ignorance, dwindles and perishes in unbelief.”
Reading the book of the month may be the single most important part of your LIFE subscription. If your schedule was anything like mine, I just didn’t have time to read. I had all my time filled before I started on my LIFE subscription. My mentor Orrin Woodward told me that the Team leadership system has a program for busy people like me. I could fit in fifteen minutes a day somehow. This eventually became a habit. I was then able to add another fifteen minutes of reading time for a total of thirty minutes. I eventually finished a book a month. I have witnessed how this program has worked for thousands of people. Check out the ‘Testimony’ link to hear how this reading program has impacted people’s lives.
When you join the LIFE business you’re going to get more than what appears at first. It’s not every day that you get to partner up with Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady, two of the top 15 world’s rated leadership gurus. You’re joining a learning community, a network of relationships with a strategy that produces leadership. You’re joining a learning culture with you as the end product. The result is leadership in all areas of your life. By understanding more, you get different results. Mortimer Adler calls this, “The art of discovery, keenness of observation, readily available memory, range of imagination, and of course, an intellect trained in analysis and reflection.” You become the masterpiece, a learning machine. This is the year that you become the goal! God Bless, George Guzzardo
