Today, business leadership is more important than ever. For an executive to excel in business leadership he or she must integrate what I call the 5 Critical Indicators. I cover this all the time in my leadership coaching sessions. These indicators serve as a guidepost for the executive to excel in business leadership.

In my 30 years of leadership coaching, I have seen effective business leadership boil down to these 5 indicators.

I post my first blog entry with Indicator #1. Subsequent indicators with videos will accompany each post as we make our way up to Indicator #5.
I hope you enjoy my blog and let me know what you think.

Indicator #1 – The leader must know their story!

Why is it you do what you do?

If you don’t know that answer right now, stop and figure it out before you waste another day. Rick Warren, Senior Pastor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California and author of the phenomenal best seller Purpose Driven Life said, “We were made to have meaning. This is why so many people try dubious methods, like astrology or psychics to discover it. When life has meaning, you can bear almost anything; without meaning, nothing is bearable.” Those who understand what their story is are able to lead effectively and decisively!

The executive with a higher meaning in life will always be the focused executive! When Steve Jobs came back to Apple in 1997 he realized personal computing was not the wave of the future (remember he practically invented it) instead he focused on making Apple into a highly effective technology company.

Apple Crushes Microsoft even in record year for software giant!

Jobs knew to transition his company he had to articulate the vision of Apple which was to transform people’s lives. He had done that first with the personal computer and in the late 90’s was about to transform people’s lives in personal and portable computing devices.

He knew what he wanted and he articulated it clearly! Result: Apple has now crushed Microsoft in revenue and is the leading technology company (revenue wise!) in the world (Microsoft had their best year 2011 $69.4 billion – Apple crushed them 100.32 billion ($621 billion valued -2011)….techcrunch.com/2011/01/21/apple-is-a-100 billion company/).

Know your story and buy the LA Dodgers!

Peter Guber famed Hollywood producer and part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers equates knowing your purpose with articulating your story. “Stories have a unique power to move people’s hearts, feet, and wallet in the storyteller’s intended direction.” When you know your purpose in life, your story flows in a clear and cohesive way. For most leaders this is “make it” or “break it” in the battle of getting and keeping focus! Peter leveraged his ability to tell stories into part ownership of the famed L.A. baseball team. It’s a great gig if you can pull it off!

Apply it now:

What is your purpose in life and how does that drive your story and subsequently your business? Steve Jobs and Peter Guber both kept moving forward towards their dream of meeting the needs of others through moving stories and that aided  their decision to make both their businesses profitable no matter what.