Stephen H Baum Leadership

I hear great leadership development stories often. They are always worth sharing. One of my senior executive friends was the first in his family to go to college. At one point it was not even clear to him that college was worth a shot. He had a decent job, a decent income and minimal expenses while still living at home.

By way of context, in his later career, he has been president of a large telco (telephone company, though that is a misnomer these days), chairman of a hi-tech firm and an active and key board director of companies in the top 200 in size.  Yet he shows up as modest, unassuming, open, good-natured and with an easy style of conversation.

And of course, in addition, thoughtful, wicked smart, observant, authentic, eager to keep learning and with a point of view about values and behavior in life and business.

What prepared him for such responsibility? What fueled his appetite to lead his life this way?

Please know that he, you and I have had more than one experience which shaped who we are, how we “show up” to others and how we perform. Ten of the archetypes are presented in my book about how ordinary people become extraordinary leaders. Over the next month or so, I will share several of Tom’s (as I will call him so as not to embarrass him) stories.

Here is the first.

What can you learn by having a paper route when you are ten or eleven years old? Well, if you are not used to commitment to a set schedule, try getting up at 5 am to deliver papers on your bicycle. Year round.  Without fail.  Commitment to customers? Work ethic? Keeping your tools (e.g., bicycle)  in working order? Understanding the expectations of different folks?  “Blending” rather than fighting to get what you want?

With a customer base that included some who were not young and spry and had outside front stairs, Tom climbed those stairs to leave the paper so as not to get complaints or give people a reason not to pay up.

Oh yes, and have you tried to collect cash money from a housewife who will keep you at the door lecturing you on her faith? Or from a shopkeeper who can never seem to find his wallet or cookie jar? Or from people you know are home but wont answer the door? Tom did. And his supervisor demanded his collections at the end of each week. Failure to “make your numbers” was grounds for not getting paid.

And when he did get paid, what did it feel like to have his own money in his pocket to do with as he pleased? Right: terrific. Liberating. Motivating.

Maybe you figured out how to do your route in the shortest time or whether you have a good route or a lousy one. Maybe you figured out who gets the best routes and how that works. Maybe you figured out how to get more than one contiguous route so you can really make money. Or subcontract to one of your friends to do part of the route.

Tom was running a small business, his own “P&L with Training Wheels.”

So, what seems like common, ordinary experience was (and can be for you) full of memorable lessons for life by being aware of more than the task at hand. It is never too late for such experiences. You can both find them and create them at any stage in your life.

Next time: learning in the pool hall!