Generate Energy
Energy is not abstract or metaphysical; it’s real, tangible, palpable. You know when you have it and you know when you don’t; you know when you have to drag yourself out of bed in the morning, and when you have to use the law of gravity to slide your slack, lifeless body off the mattress and smack on the floor.
I can tell within — and I’m being generous here — 30 seconds of walking into the reception area of a company whether the place is energetic, exciting and scintillating, or a morgue populated by zombied paycheck-collectors.
It’s not an accident, either way. Someone is creating that environment, and if it’s your place of employment, that someone may well be you.
Here’s a good question to ask yourself: “Do I generate more energy when I walk into a room, or when I walk out of it?”
Energy is what keeps us coming back to work day after day without waning in passion or enthusiasm. It comes, in part, from what John Chambers called the “higher purpose.” A CEO survey conducted in 2001 by Accenture and The Conference Board said, “Many CEOs observe that people want to feel a passion for the company’s work, to become part of a higher purpose than business results alone.” The Extreme Leader’s job is to help define and redefine, day after day, what that higher purpose is.
Michael Cunningham in his novel, The Hours, said, “If you shout loud enough, for long enough, a crowd will gather to see what all the noise is about. It’s the nature of crowds. They don’t stay long, unless you give them reason.”
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