Don Yaeger: What I know now is that everybody in life, no matter where...

We should all strive to be extraordinary, and that starts with a focus on our own capabilities instead of those of our opponents.

Don Yaeger

strive opponents focus

You gotta do common things, uncommonly well.

Don Yaeger

common-things wells common

In sports and in business, the greatest leaders are those who make the best decisions in the most crucial of situations. They are the ones who focus their energy on turning tough decisions into winning decisions.

Don Yaeger

leader winning sports

I'm a believer that charisma makes a huge difference in people's decisions to follow you. However, it's not just that you say it well, but it's that you know it well. It helps if you can say it well enough that people want to follow you. Charisma isn't required, but it makes a big difference.

Don Yaeger

decision helping people

It’s not about making money for themselves or the company, but making a difference in the lives of others.

Don Yaeger

making-a-difference making-money differences

Decisions are the frequent fabric of our daily design.

Don Yaeger

fabric design decision

In the end, leadership comes down to consistency and strong, confident action upon which the team can rely - and this doesnt mean imposing a bunch of rules.

Don Yaeger

team strong mean

There is a strong sense of understanding, appreciation, shared responsibility, and trust that unites and motivates the team to work together.

Don Yaeger

team strong appreciation

Sometimes legends find themselves remembered more for what they have not done than for their accomplishments. But those resume gaps can also help drive them to achieve even greater things in new arenas.

Don Yaeger

legends gaps accomplishment

Emmitt Smith has run past legends, danced with stars and posed for the sculptor crafting his Hall of Fame bust. Hes built upon his athletic talents by working hard, seizing opportunities and reaching out to others for advice when he needed it.

Don Yaeger

stars opportunity running

If Albert Einstein was right, Cal Ripken should have been a CEO or politician rather than a shortstop, because Ripken led by example over and over... and over again.

Don Yaeger

politician example should-have

A group of amazingly high achievers can be brought together and play together, and all believe that they are competing for something bigger than themselves. Those players are so used to being patted on the back and told how good they are. Frankly, those are usually the hardest people to remind that they are aspiring to achieve something bigger than themselves.

Don Yaeger

player believe people

The great ones realize that what you did yesterday guarantees you nothing today. The challenge is too many people are busy celebrating yesterday's success.

Don Yaeger

challenges today people

My formal education as an extension to my college degree in journalism was the time that I spent working with the student newspaper. I would argue that my greatest education occurred by working for the student newspaper. It wasn't necessarily the classroom work that made my formal education special. It was the idea that I had the opportunity to practice it before I went into the real world.

Don Yaeger

real college opportunity

The challenge CEOs will face three to five years from now is the same one that they face today. That is engagement. It's hard to keep people engaged in what they are doing. As this generation grows up around social media like Twitter where things are 140 characters, how do you keep them engaged all hours every day at work? How do you keep them focused on the big goals you have?

Don Yaeger

growing-up character people

Leadership belongs to all of us. I'm a big believer in John Maxwell, a leadership speaker and author, who talks about the 360-degree leader. Before leading others, you have to learn to lead yourself. Wherever you work in an organization you have to learn to lead up, lead down, and lead side to side. Leadership belongs to all of us. You have to see yourself, and believe in yourself in the way that we are talking about here to give to those that you lead.

Don Yaeger

leader giving believe

External scouting is of limited value if it's not teamed with rigorous self- examination. Successful coaches or managers have learned the value of utilizing an outside opinion to give them a fresh look at their personnel. This unbiased view provides an even greater insight, which in turn helps the coach develop flexibility within the team.

Don Yaeger

team successful giving

Knowing your opponent is a crucial part of emulating and defeating that opponent. But scouting is only the first step. Too many leaders spend countless hours studying an opponent's every move in the search for an edge. The Great Teams understand not only how to scout but also how to exploit the weaknesses of a competitor. These teams analyze every perspective and option and position themselves to take full advantage of any knowledge gained about an opponent.

Don Yaeger

perspective team moving

When leaders of a professional team perform a scan, they examine the trends dominating their customer demographics, education, government policy, and especially their competition.

Don Yaeger

competition team leader

We all think that the answer to everything is to add more and to do more and to try more. Sometimes you have to have the discipline to say no and to believe in the process that you have established.

Don Yaeger

discipline believe thinking

What I know now is that everybody in life, no matter where you are or what you do, must be able to sell in order to be successful. I used to believe that I could be successful on talent alone. What I realize now is that I can only be successful if I can have people buy my talent.