“Leadership is not

just telling people

what you want…it

is getting people to 

do what you need 

them to do.”

– JON ALTERMAN, Senior Fellow,

Center for Strategic & International Studies

     There’s a classic leadership-style story about (pre-US President) General Dwight David (“I Like Ike”) Eisenhower on the battlefield during WWII, when he was addressing his team of officers at a makeshift table with a piece of string.

     He first pushed the string across the table with thumb and forefinger and demonstrated the end result being a tangle. Next he took the end of the string between the same two fingers and shook it a bit before gently pulling it, demonstrating the straight-line formation of the string…and made his point clearly that troops who were pulled by their leader from the front would outperform those whom the leader pushed from behind.

Are YOU 

p~u~l~l~i~n~g  

or   P U S H I N G ?

     Because you own or manage a business or part of one, you are responsible for motivating your troops. You set the example. If you are pushing people, others below you are pushing people. Pushed people get resentful, uncooperative and disruptive.

     People who exhibit these attitudes will cost you untold amounts of money, time and effort. In fact, such behaviors have been known to cause and lose wars. Surely, they will lose your customers.

     If you are always the first to step up to the frontlines and then pull others along, you will inevitably gain and retain the respect and loyalty of those below you. They will believe in you, trust you and follow you. They will be more productive more often.

     This thinking and approach is as critical for government as it is for multinational and Fortune 100 corporations, even Mom & Pop stores and your own family! Every organization can gain from Eisenhower-style leadership.

     In fact, small and mid-sized companies are places to ignite the kinds of larger, global applications that will eventually revitalize and bolster world economy. Managers in giant corporations who lead by pulling, succeed at cultivating more entrepreneurial, innovative solutions to chronic problems. 

     It matters not that you sell pizza, luxury automobiles, chickens, well-drilling, website designs, media advertising, crabs, healthcare services, insurance, pickles, legal services, clothing, real estate, or microchips…you will be more successful “getting people to do what you need them to do” by pulling instead of pushing.

     What does matter is that you keep working every single day at making your leadership style better because the solidity of your customer base is only as good as the day-to-day performance of those who work for, with and around you.

     Your people’s performance is only as good as the constant attention you give to the kind of leadership you provide. We are living in a low-trust business climate. Raise the bar!

     Remember that “integrity” is doing the right thing even when no one else is looking. Your integrity is your brand and people buy the benefits they believe are attached to your brand. It all starts and ends with how effectively you motivate others…

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