 "Innovation is not relevant to me." What!? You lead a company, and you are in a business environment where the only constant is CHANGE. Don't you think innovation is relevant to your business? This guy would be the perfect leader at Old Spice, Polaroid, Blackberry, Darrell Lea, Toys R Us, or Blockbuster to name a few. Regardless of your title, role, or responsibilities, we must all put time and energy towards finding the next great idea to solve our customer's problem and stay ahead of our competitors. Understanding how innovation works, studying who is doing it well, experimenting with ideas, and taking the time to think through how we might apply it to our work are essential elements to great leadership. To say that leading, learning and creating a culture of innovation is not relevant to you, means you deserve a gig with Borders or Dick Smith. © GB
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 “I’m the overcoming guy,” said former Navy Seal Lieutenant Jason Redman during last week's Mojo Radio Show. He continued, “I would have something go wrong, be challenged, start to get pissed off, or begin to doubt myself and then I'd think - wait - I'm the overcoming guy. I got this.” Jason became the overcoming guy after being shot in the face during active combat in Afghanistan. While undergoing extensive medical treatment, he put the sign pictured above on his hospital room door. That sign is so well-known that even a former US President commented. Identity has been a dominant theme on the show for the last few months. What do I take away from Jason's story? That identity comes from how you see yourself based on the stories you tell yourself. When you strip away the jargon and get down to who you are as a person, your identity is mighty enough to get you through the hard times and reinforces the good times. If you can’t articulate to yourself your identity and the values that make up that identity, then it’s worth taking the time to journal and think about who are you. If you haven't heard this episode of The Mojo Radio Show with Jason, take the time to tune in - it's an amazing story of a true hero. © GB
 In Rollo May's book "Man’s Search For Himself," May writes that the opposite of courage is not cowardice -- it’s conformity. We know that any successful business has to have a point of difference. If it conforms with the industry, then it has no point of difference. As a country, we are unhealthy and unwell. One wonders whether that is because we conform to what big business and society say we should eat or do. If you’re looking to start a business, you can't conform. If you're looking to be employed by a company, you can’t conform - otherwise, why would they pick you? Not conforming is such an essential element in our lives if we want to stand apart from the herd. It can be difficult though. You will be labelled disruptive, disagreeable, uncooperative, and yet you will make your mark, be heard, be noticed, and ultimately move yourself to a place of confidence where you speak up for what you believe. © GB
 There is an old anecdote about three travellers who came to Rome. They went to see the Pope and he asked the first traveller, "how long are you going to be here?" The man said for three months. The Pope said, "then you will be able to see much of Rome." The second traveller replied that he could only stay for six weeks, and the Pope said, "then you will be able to see more than the first." The third traveller said he would only be in Rome for two weeks, to which the Pope said, "you are fortunate because you will be able to see everything there is to see!" They were puzzled because they didn’t understand the mechanism of the mind. For me, the lesson is that we think we have plenty of time and consequently put off those things which are most important. We live on Someday Isle. I like this parable because it reminds us to wake up with the dawn, with a crystal clear vision of what is important that day, and the motivation to get it done. None of us knows how long we have. Rome was not built in a day, but you can be confident that every single minute of every single hour of every single day was spent contributing to what we know as Rome today. © GB
 “Very few people, whether you’ve been in that job before or not, get into the seat and believe today that they are now qualified to be the CEO,” Howard Schultz CEO of Starbucks told the New York Times. This is the classic symptom of what is known as Imposter Syndrome, and I find the higher up the hierarchy you get, the more the imposter wants a piece of your mind. Even someone like Howard Schultz who runs a global company has to deal with the imposter. So what do we do? It’s complicated. However, my first step is to stop and recognise the imposter and ask "why would I choose to believe this voice? What rationale evidence do I have to say this is true?" Often, there will be none. Set the imposter aside and think, "what’s the one thing I can do immediately to be at the top of my game where I and everyone around me will know I deserve this gig?" Then do it! Nothing will put the imposter back in its box the way action can. © GB
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