Many kids grow up wanting to play for the Red Sox or shooting hoops and making millions for the NBA. In the movie “21″ Ben Campbell (played by Jim Sturgess) grew up wanting to go to Harvard Medical School. But…there was just one tiny problem…he didn’t have the $300,000.00 it was going to take to make it happen.

So, Campbell, the most talented student at MIT, uses his mathematical skills (yes…he’s good with numbers), a few fake ID’s and creative disguises to join his brilliant stats professor (played by Kevin Spacey) and five friends in a plot of counting cards to break the Vegas casinos. And…he almost gets by with it.

As it usually goes in the movies, the mastermind plot begins to unravel, and young Ben Campbell has to decide which direction to turn…and in the end, he does the right thing.

I have to say, however, that Ben used some amazing leadership skills during the plot that we can all learn from. No…I don’t condone counting cards (I have heard that card counting is actually legal unless you are using an outside device…but maybe some of you who are Blackjack players can set me straight), but I am a believer in these leadership skills:

Vision: Ben can see, taste and smell that Harvard Medical School ride. He keeps this vision front and center through both the highs and the lows.

Hard Work and Drive: Ben studies, reads and pours himself into the game of counting cards. He does not want to just learn the skill…he wants to be the best!

When you make the rules, you change the game: Ben and his teammates made the rules, so they change the game of Blackjack. In leadership, you have the opportunity to change the rules (legally of course) so that you get the results you want. If you are leading your organization by worn out rules, there is a good chance you are probably getting the pants beat off you by your competition.

Team Work: The game of counting cards is a team sport, and Ben plays the team according to the rules spelled out by the team. He watches his teams’ signals (Folded arms = Table’s Hot) listens to their language (the word sweet means the count’s at 16) and follows the system to build team chemistry.

Risk: Ben does something that most people don’t. He takes risk after risk by accounting for variable change. Brilliant!

Calm and Composure: Even when the pressure’s on, Ben stays as cool as a cucumber…quiet, calm and quite composed.

Playing a System: In the movie “21″, Professor Micky Rosa (played by Spacey) makes it very clear to the team that they are not “gambling” but that they are counting cards…a methodical system that works over and over again.

LESSONS LEARNED:

As the plot begins to unravel, young Ben Campbell does the right thing (you’ll need to watch the movie to find out what that is,), and he learns these important leadership lessons:

1. Quick fixes almost always don’t’ last. The quick solutions almost always end in disaster.

2. Don’t justify your actions when you know they’re crossing a line! Be very careful about saying “I’m only going to do this negative action one time or until x happens.” Before you know it…you’re hooked!

3. Pay attention to your gut. Ben knew early on in the process that something was not sitting well about this whole scheme, but as with all humans, he gets lured in by the thought of wealth, fame, the hot girl and the thrill.

4. When you create rules that you know are not on the up and up, watch out! The system’ll get you every time!

5. When you become so engrossed in your work that you ignore what’s going on in the periphery of your life, there will be a cost to pay. Ben loses a lifetime opportunity in his quest for money, AND he almost loses his closest friends.

6. Let integrity guide your decision making. In the end, living in integrity and doing the right thing can bring you the greatest rewards in life.

I highly recommend this movie! I watched it two times in 24 hours, and I rarely watch movies two times:

Earlier in July, we had a great mega call with some of the world’s top business leaders and authors including Michael Gerber, Kimberly George, Michael Port, Andy Wibbels and a host of other great folks. The call was facilitated by David Charles Cohen of Writers of the Round Table. I was asked a question about skills leaders are going to need in the future. Here are both the question and the answer:

Question: Bea, as you know, our world is literally changing overnight and leaders are spinning and wondering which way to go next. Many are saying they cannot even plan 6 months ahead because the world changes and there strategic plan becomes obsolete. Now what new leadership skills will leaders be required to strengthen in the next 2 to 3 years in order to gain market share and stay competitive in the world talent?

Bea Fields: One of the things that we decided to do with EDGE! is to take a very radical approach by using the provocative story of a leader and his executive coach. Two of the main leadership principles that we used are really not new principles of leadership, but they are critical skills for today’s leaders: vulnerability and the ability to be candid and the book EDGE! both plays to vulnerability and is very candid. We did not really hold back on much of anything. Because this book is so unique, we were really putting ourselves in what we considered to be a quite open and vulnerable position

I actually have about 11 other areas I am working with leaders around but the next area I want to hone in on is the topic of strategic agility. Again, not a new, earth-shattering skills, but the urgency in developing out that skill is greater than any other time we have observed in history. The traditional methods of long term strategic planning taken on by a concentrated group of executive who hope the plan will then cascade down throughout the organization over a 6-9 month period are over. I don’t believe this approach is going to be quick enough in the future nor will it give us the global perspective we need to lead based on what’s happening right now…today. Our world is changing over night, and if you are leading based on a strategic plan you wrote even 6 months before, there is a good chance that the strategic plan has become irrelevant. We are living in what I call a “right now” strategic planning mode…a mode which calls us every day to pull together our teams, hold an important 5-minute meeting on what needs to get done today, and we then go do it.

The next skill area that I want to speak about is one that I know everyone is probably tired of hearing, but I am going to say it again anyway. Leaders of tomorrow have to develop the ability to lead across generations. This means that, as a leader, you have to be masterful with being able to communicate with and inspire men and women who are age 75 all the way down to age 20. They have to be able to lead across generations, cultures and a variety of socio-economic backgrounds. We have to be willing to open up our ears and our minds to a variety of perspectives from a cross section of ages and cultures. It is also critical to know that we have an army forming out there in the world right now…the army of Generation Y. And, I don’t mean an army that is going to cause us major problems, but they are forming in an effort to change the way we work and live and to be honest, they are teaching us all how to work smarter, more efficiently and in a highly collaborative way. Leaders have to stop being in denial about Generation Y being here. They have to stop rolling their eyes about their technological savvy and their view about wanting to live first and work second.

The final area to address is follower-ship. It is no longer enough to be able to just lead. Leaders have to know how to follow. I believe that the future of leadership will be based on a distributed leadership model, and leaders will be organically stepping up to take the baton every day. This whole notion of there being only one leader at the top of a hierarchy has worn out its welcome, and leaders are going to have to be willing to step back and take orders from people ages 22 and 23 and leaders as old as 80.

This morning on the Today Show they are discussing a new report out that demonstrates people viewing Obama as the riskier candidate over McCain. For some reason in the news, they are painting risk as a negative attribute. I found that fascinating. In business, we know, that where there is no risk–there is no growth. In fact, where there is no risk, there is often no leadership at all. Simply working to appease everyone does not lead to growth and advancement. Boards of Directors don’t hire CEOs as puppets, and I don’t expect we’ll be voting for a President that we prefer to flat-line through his White House residency. Give me someone who will provide higher highs and trust that I’m willing to risk the lower lows to get there. Great victory only comes from the willingness to make tough decisions because you believe they are the right choice, not the popular one. In business and in politics, risk is an attribute.

Podcast: Living in the Hot Zone: Seven Edge Strategies for Modern Day Teams with Tom Heck of Teach Me Teamwork

Date: One Wednesday, July 23, 2008 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. Eastern

Led by Bea Fields and Tom Heck, Founder of Teach Me Teamwork

We are living in one of the most radical times in the history of business, and radical times call for radical leadership. Teams are now living in the “hot zone”, that place in business where risk, fear, doubt, pressure, uncertainty and change can get the best of the most savvy leaders. During this special podcast, Bea Fields talks with Tom Heck of Teach Me Teamwork about the critical strategies teams of today need in order to not just survive but thrive in the business world.

And…while you are reading about Tom, be sure to download a copy of his great e-book: Team Activities on a Shoestring (is great…I have a copy, and all you need to run the games in the e-book is a shoestring!)

Listen to the audio below

 

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I had a great discussion this past week on the topic of retaining top, young, talented workers with Barbara Penn Atkins, who previously owned and operated for an Executive Recruiting Firm and a Data Processing Service Bureau for 15 years.

Currently, Barbara is President of Penna Group in Phoenix Arizona
She works with individuals who are 2Young2Retire and have a desire to master life changes; and transition from where they are currently to a higher level of personal fulfillment.

Listen in below.