Introduction

While there’s no perfect leader, you’ve probably known some pretty good ones—and perhaps even a few who’ve been truly great. If I challenged you to describe what makes great leaders great in a few key words, what would come to your mind? As president of a general management consulting firm called Management Action Programs, Inc. (MAP), I asked our consultants this question, and the word disciplined came up repeatedly.

In doing research for this book, however, I was curious to find out if people knew what a Disciplined Leader was. So I started asking a lot of other people, and this informal research project turned out to be quite an eye-opening exercise. The majority of people couldn’t give me a clear answer. Many could readily cite examples of the greatest, most famous leaders. Some rattled off leadership traits, describing their favorite leader’s style, as well as a few derogatory trademarks of their not-so-favorite leaders. A few quickly went off on a tangent, talking about the dire need for great leadership, not only in business but in our world. However, in spite of the varied feedback, every person I asked struggled with summarizing in one simple sentence what highly Disciplined Leaders always do to achieve significant results. It became clear this book could be a unique opportunity to define what a Disciplined Leader is and provide insight into becoming one.

But I also realized there was a problem. While the subject of The Disciplined Leader certainly piqued people’s interest, not everyone I spoke with was immediately in love with the idea of The Disciplined Leader because they weren’t sure what I meant by “disciplined.” This was understandable. Different perceptions about the concept of discipline exist, and many of them are anything but uplifting. For some of us, the very word discipline may conjure up ideas of punishment, whether emotional or physical memories or a combination of both. For others, it might remind us of a very specific, rigid experience with learning, perhaps one that included old-fashioned educational rigor, hands getting slapped by a ruler, perfect penmanship, remaining in control at all costs, and ascribing to a sort of God-like admiration for the teacher and principal—or else! Discipline may trigger memories of a particular religion or even an oppressive government.

As societal attitudes and norms associated with parenting, education, religion, government/politics, and lifestyles have changed over the past fifty or so years, the notion of discipline has evolved into something of a black sheep. For the purposes of this book, I want you to think of discipline in this more positive, supportive context: discipline is the consistent application of certain mindsets and actions that are vital for your success. It’s closer to the Merriam-Webster definition, “an orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior,” and it’s rooted in a relentless commitment to “self-control” and great habits.

In business, the element of discipline is at the heart of an organization’s success. That’s a truism I noted in my professional experiences with Fortune 500 companies I worked with over thirty years, as well as something I’ve found in working with MAP throughout the past decade. Within these organizations, I’ve consistently witnessed how discipline, which must always start with a leader, accelerates the excellence of organizations. That self-controlled, consistent adherence to certain mindsets and actions ultimately develops and drives the very best leaders and businesses.

However, because discipline is misunderstood or not as valued as it has been in even more recent decades, the United States—and some might argue the world—is experiencing a cultural leadership crisis. Simply talking about discipline in leadership just makes people anxious despite the alarming rate of business failure. Every month, more small businesses in the United States, defined as 500 or fewer employees, close than start up. Yet of those that make it beyond the first few years, half fold within five years while more than 70 percent fail within ten years, according to the Small Business Development Center and the U.S. Census Bureau. And one need only pay attention to media headlines to learn leaders of large corporations are struggling, too. Big brands, including Yahoo, Groupon, and Sears, are just a few of many that have not hesitated to replace their top leaders to remain in the game. Clearly, there’s a great demand for the kind of discipline I’ve defined, and, most importantly, there’s a critical need for leaders who honor and adhere to that discipline.

At MAP, we define The Disciplined Leader as someone who consistently excels at using the right mindset and actions to achieve results. This is done by “Focusing on The Vital Few” and ignoring or delegating The Trivial Many—a model for leadership that’s based on the Pareto Principle. The Pareto Principle is commonly known as the “80/20 Rule.” In MAP’s fifty-four years of experience, we’ve learned The Disciplined Leader is someone who focuses on the 20 percent of activities that drive 80 percent of results under three core areas of leadership:

 

1) Leading yourself

2) Leading your team

3) Leading your organization

 

Within each of these core areas of leadership, The Disciplined Leader learns to identify The Vital Few. These become the 20 percent of habits and actions that will drive 80 percent of the results tied to their most precious asset—people.

The best leaders I’ve known all demonstrated excellent leadership characteristics (e.g., trustworthy, courageous, good communicators, etc.), some of which were stronger than others, depending on each leader’s unique talents and abilities. But here’s what these leaders all did well: they consistently disciplined themselves to focus on what really matters—again, people. They knew it was their people who were the driving force behind their products and services, so they learned to leverage that. What’s more, these Disciplined Leaders stood out because their habits and practices aligned to their belief. And that made them exceptional.

Today, while there are many leaders who know deep down they should value this asset above all others, they don’t do it. That’s because their activities don’t align with this mindset. Consequently, their habits and practices often tell a very different story about what they value most.

Case in point: Since 1960, MAP has helped accelerate sustained growth and development for over 15,000 organizations and 170,000 business leaders nationwide. When our consultants begin working with our clients, they often ask these leaders, “What is your business’s most important asset?” Right on cue, they usually respond, “Our people.” Most everyone gets it—people are the vital asset.

Then our consultants dig deeper: “What percent of your budget do you allocate to develop your people?” Silent, the clients usually respond with a wide-eyed stare. Breaking the awkwardness of the moment, the consultant next asks, “Well, how much are you planning to spend on products or equipment?”

At this point, most executives immediately pipe up, stating a specific number or at least a close estimate. They easily recall how much money they’ve allocated for the new phone system, facilities, computers, copy machines—the tangible things of business.

Again, the consultant says, “OK, you’ve got that down, so what’s your most important asset?”

And this time, they get it. The point is all too clear: either they have no clue what they’re spending on the development of their people, or the number is so small compared to expenditures for other business assets that it’s rather embarrassing to confess it.

However, they soon learn they are not alone in their error or oversight. These professionals are representative of the many business leaders who, for countless reasons, underinvest in their people and their own leadership development. More importantly, there is a silver lining: making the commitment to shift priorities, putting people first, is something they can accomplish through commitment and focus.

Understanding this is a major factor in the success of many of MAP’s clients. It is also a cornerstone to the MAP Management SystemTM, a proven management system that’s grounded in engaging and aligning employees through discipline, accountability, and achievement.

As stated, The Disciplined Leader knows how to “Focus on the Vital Few” and ignore or delegate The Trivial Many. That’s what I’m encouraging you to do so you, too, can become a Disciplined Leader, a model for leadership excellence. It may be tough, but call upon your willpower to stop, delegate, and ignore whatever is trivial and detracting from your ability to focus on your most critical asset—people.

How to Use This Book

Here in this book, you’ll find fifty-two meaty tips to help you become The Disciplined Leader. The information is based on the collective wisdom of MAP’s professional expertise and key client-consulting experiences. It is categorized into three parts, the core areas of leadership responsibility: leading yourself, leading your team, and leading your organization.

To get the most out of this book, read all the tips, using each part as a source to extract your “Top Three” Vital Few for each part. In other words, after you’ve read each of the three parts (or skimmed the chapter headlines and chosen a shorter number to read), pick out the top three lessons that resonate most for you—what you know is really important in terms of developing and sustaining your leadership, your team, and your organization. At the end of this process, you should have nine Vital Few selected. From that list, we’re going to challenge you to prioritize those nine to determine the “Top Five” Vital Few. These five will be the ones you want to take immediate action on once you finish this book.

To help, we’ve provided a Vital Few Template at the end of the Introduction. It will give you a place where you can record your “Top Three” Vital Few for each part and “Top Five” Vital Few for the book. Once you’ve identified your “Top Five,” flip to those chapters and revisit the suggested action steps in relationship to the lesson you have learned, the habit that should be adopted, or the mindset you must embrace. Record those action steps (or add your own) into the template.

If we were coaching our clients, talking about the Vital Few needed to become The Disciplined Leader, we could easily pull from the guidance and solid insights offered from within the pages of this book. Hopefully, you will find value here, too. Use this book as a guide to help you learn your Vital Few and build effective leadership strategies to support those vital aspects of your leadership. What’s offered here is a decades-proven process to transform you into The Disciplined Leader, a solution that provides critical, clear focus on what really matters.