Leadership, Lighthouses, and Lions - Blogging from A to Z Challenge

This year for the Blogging from A to Z challenge, I'm focusing on going through my homeschooling files that I've created from the time that Sophia and Olivia were in preschool.

Some of the files are still relevant while others I will be decluttering and recycling in the process. Each day during April, I will pick one of the files to focus on - either doing a hands-on activity or sharing some information from one of the files.

For the 12th day - Letter L - I am focusing on Leadership, Lighthouses, and Lions.

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Leadership

I'm not sure where this flyer came from - Leonard Lauder's Aspect of Leadership "Dozen Desirables." There are 12 qualities that a leader should aim for:

- Vision - Set a dream for yourself and accomplish it in your life. Share your vision. People will want to hook on to your star and will love following you. Make sure your vision is fun. My vision is to build the best company in the world. My reward is to see my people develop and grow. I want them to say the best choice they made in their life was to work for Estee Lauder.

Source

- Strong Sense of Self - Who are you? Keep your ego under control. Know what you do or do not believe. Have a sense of humor.

- Decision Making - A leader will have the appropriate person make the decision. If you are too far away from the problem, how can you make the right decision.

- Fairness - Be fair to others. A leader does not accept unfairness in an organization. Give credit where credit is due. It gives people a sense of security. They will be happy.

- Determination - You must be determined and have the will to accomplish it.

- Trust - People will trust you if they know they can depend on you. Never, never lie.

- Listening - A good leader listens. Listen to the customer. Listen to your associates. Listen to the advice from your mother.

- Be Visible - Be available to all. MBWA - Management by Walking Around. Always be very visible with your people. Out of respect for them, go to their office. Always be aware of the responsibility you have as a role model. Believe in being seen.

Source

- Encourage Risk Taking - People don't always have to agree, but people must feel secure to risk. When you see someone taking a risk, give them a BRAVO for trying to take a risk. Don't dwell on mistakes - act to correct them. If you tolerate a problem, it discredits you as a leader.

- Decisive - Make the decision and encourage others to do so. There is a point when patience becomes neglect. How long do we let mediocre people be mediocre? A wrong decision is better than no decision.

- Dignity and Recognition - If you have to fire someone, let them leave with dignity. Let them save face - similar to the Japanese honor code. Everyone in this world has a worth and value. If I hire someone and it doesn't work out, it is my mistake. Maybe they are not right for my company. Praise in public. Correct with care and love in private. Always write personal, hand-written "thank you" notes. People need to be remembered.

- Set Goals - Communicate to others. "To lead the people, you must walk behind them." You must articulate over and over again very clear and specific direction. Always restate your goals.

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Lighthouses

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was a lighthouse - the famous Pharos of Alexandria, Egypt. It is the first one that is recorded in history and was built about 280 B.C.

Those records tell us that it was the tallest one ever built - 450 feet tall (comparable to a 45-story skyscraper) and used an open fire at the top as a source of light.

Source

This structure survived for 1,500 years until it was completely destroyed by an earthquake in the 14th century.

Slave labor was used to build it, and it took 20 years to complete.

At night they believe tits lighted fire could be seen for 30 miles, whereas by day it produced a column of smoke for a daymark.

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Today we all people who study (or who are interested in) lighthouses pharologists. The name comes from that famous lighthouse.

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Lions

Some facts about lions:

- Most big cats roar, but the lion roars the loudest: It can be heard five miles away.

- Lions begin roaring at age 1; and a male is louder than a female.

- Lions live in prides of up to 40. Each pride may include 2-3 males plus lots of females and their cubs.

- The lion is the only cat with a mane. This makes a lion look even bigger for scaring away enemies. Manes range in color from blond to black; and start growing when lions are 2 years old.

Male lion.

(Taken on October 27, 2011.)

- Their whiskers help lions feel their way in the dark. They are especially helpful for hunting at night.

- Lions sometimes sleep up to 20 hours per day.

- Cubs are born weighing about four pounds - smaller than most house cats. When fully grown, they can be 400 pounds and about eight feet long including the tail.

- A lion's forepaw is so strong that it can knock down a zebra with just one swat.

Lion paw that we saw at the zoo.

(Taken on June 20, 2011.)

- Cubs first learn to hunt at about 4 months old, when they begin accompanying their mothers.

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In the process of going through the files that began with "L," I recycled 1 more bag of photocopies and clippings. I'm up to 11 bags of recycling since starting the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.