On Leadership

On leadership
Thoughts, ideas and observations

2013 © Filip Maertens ¢ me@ﬁlipmaertens.com

Hi, my name is Filip

ex-hacker

explorer

founder

¢ Securax Hacking Community (1998)

¢ Eiger Nordwand (2006)

¢ Argus Labs (2012)


1/ SOME OUTRIGHT LIES

Everybody needs to be a leader
A reason to sustain a 2.4 US$ coaching industry


You can’t get it
from a textbook

Bullsh*t
(but big $$$)


Doesn’t come from
mimicking others

Pathetic
(and funny)


There is no formula
to develop it

Delusional
(and a bit sad)


Corporations don’t want leaders
They want obedient workers, the illusion of
leadership comes in a clever disguise


Everybody can be a leader
Sometimes you can’t. Not all of the time.


Your position deﬁnes leadership
Biased and antiquated opinion. Rubbish.


Titles don’t mean anything.
Manager
Entrepreneur
Teacher

≠

Leader

Inventor

Dick and Maurice
McDonald had annual
revenue of US$ 350k.
Ray Kroc bought them
out for 2,7M US$ and
today has 31,000
stores in 199
countries.


2/ IT’S A PERSONAL THING

Before you lead: prepare to give up
•  Be fearless. Your fears are a prison to yourself,
limiting your range of action. Being fearless give you
more power and freedom.
•  Let go of preconceptions. Become a free thinker.
Unlearn all corporate B.S. See mystery in everything
and everyone.


Some elements that may help
•  Charisma. A charm that can inspire devotion. Become
exemplary of character.
•  Eloquence. Conveying your message is everything !
•  Intelligence. Communicating sensibly is a plus J
•  Transparency. Allow others to look into your life
•  Optimism. A positive attitude radiates !

“ I honestly believe that
if Redﬁn were stripped
absolutely bare for all
the world to see, naked
and humiliated in the
sunlight, more people
would do business with
us ”, Glenn Kelman
(Redﬁn)


Passion is everything
•  Leadership is personal. Your passion is the most
personal and strongest leverage you possess.
•  There is no room for an ego. Everything you do is for
the greater good.
•  If you can’t sacriﬁce, you can’t lead. Passion is the
only thing that will keep you going.


“ Every time my company is
ﬁnancially challenged, I am
the ﬁrst to give up my
paycheck or invest my own
savings, even though my
family depends on it “,
personal story on the early
days of Argus Labs (2013)


You need to like and read people
•  Next to passion, empathy is your biggest asset. At
the end of the day, even your enemy is a human being.
•  A leader without followers is simply an idiot.
•  Learn to see the potential in someone, before he does.
•  Always (always) treat everyone with the greatest
amount of respect and honesty.


Know that people will attack you
•  Their main weapon will be to instill in you doubts
about yourself, your worth, your abilities and potential.
They will often disguise this as an objective opinion,
but invariably it has a political purpose – they want to
keep you down.
•  Learn to look at the world as populated with allies,
enemies and traitors.

You need to make sense
•  Most people don’t understand the world and seek for
guidance
•  A leader dares to takes a stand and creates clarity,
even though he is operating in complete uncertainty
•  Develop a strong Reality Distortion Field
•  Become outspoken about your vision.


Andy Hertzfeld ﬁrst
described the Reality
Distortion Field as “Steve
Jobs’ ability to convince
himself and others to believe
almost anything with a mix
of charm, charisma, bravado,
hyperbole, marketing,
appeasement and
persistence.”

Become a hero brand *
•  Your game deﬁnes what you do, and what it means to
people
•  Make your name stand out, brand yourself as to
support your game
•  Make sure can be recognized from far away, this is
your fame
•  Find and claim the right words for your acts

Game:
Revolutionize the world through innovation
Name:
Steven Paul Jobs became “Steve Jobs”
Fame:
Turtleneck, Jeans, Sneakers and Glasses and
the famous “oh, and one last thing”
Claim:
Make super user friendly consumer devices


You never back off
•  Everything is an experiment. Execute, learn, adapt and
have another go at it
•  Your perseverance is the only ticket to success for
you and your followers
•  Develop a disdain for anything or anybody that
restricts your mobility. Get a chip on your shoulder.


It’s a continuous learning curve
1.  You don’t know what you don’t know. Not aware you
could become, or are, a leader.
2.  You know that you need to know. You realize you
need to develop your skills.
3.  You know what you don’t know. You identify the
gaps you need to work on.
4.  You know, grow and it starts to show. Nearly there…

3/ SOME OBSERVATIONS

Leaders only do change
•  Leadership only is required in times of change
•  People don’t like change, so this means there will be
struggle or confrontation ahead. Prepare to dine in
hell.


Leaders inspire
•  Leaders let their followers
work with the vision, not
with the execution
•  Leaders walk their talk

WHY

HOW

WHAT


Leaders work two shifts
•  Internal. To inspire and
influence their followers to
reach a common goal
•  External. To mitigate risks
and eradicate problems
and opponents.
•  Two different approaches.

Leaders are not managers
•  Managers need to maintain a process or system, and
ensure things are done right.
•  Leaders need to change a process, system, or
establish a new process or system, and ensure the
right things are done.


Leaders over vision
•  People follow leaders, not a vision (a common
misbelief)


When Maurice
Saatchi was ousted
by the board from
Saatchi & Saatchi, the
talent and accounts
followed him out the
door, and the
company’s stock
dropped 50%


Assess yourself
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Character – who you are
Relationships – who you know
Knowledge – what you know
Intuition – what you feel
Experience – where you’ve been
Past successes – what you’ve done
Ability – what you can do

Elements a leader has
to persuade followers
Requires continuous
Improvement !


4/ ON LEADERSHIP

Leadership is about influence
•  … not power, or manipulation
•  Most corporations still struggle with power plays, and
traditional hierarchical lines of command.
•  Power is to have people do stuff against their will
(army).
•  Influence is to empower and have people reach their
potential towards a common goal (startup).

Power plays don’t work. You serve…

Dream

Reality


It’s not a democracy
•  Leaders listen to what others have to say. This is
considered input before taking a decision.
•  Listening to everyone ≠ joint-decision making.
•  Democracy is a nice notion. But it doesn’t work. It’s
slow and a breeding ground for frustration.
•  Leaders don’t waste their time on issues that disrupt
momentum.

“ Mandela would later use his
father's technique, gathering
leaders at his kitchen table or in
his driveway and holding
discussions. Mandela would
always listen ﬁrst, and speak
last.” on Nelson Mandela’s tribal
decision making technique.


It’s charting towards a destination
•  Leaders see the whole trip in their minds before they
leave the dock. It’s not about steering the ship.
•  Draw on past experiences to ensure a safe travel.
•  Listen to what others have to say.
•  Include faith and fact in the decision.


“ I have no idea how the
landscape looks like, but I keep
my eye on the horizon. ”, when
discussing Tesla Motors,
SolarCity and Space-X with
Elon Musk.


Be strong, trustworthy and consistent
•  Character communicates consistency. Everything
around a good leader may be changing, even his own
strategy, but his character remains the same.
•  Assessment: do other people openly share their
opinion with you ? If not, you’re not a leader.
•  People are forgiving, if you admit to a mistake.


“… you might think that being
consistent with this image will
make others respect and trust
you, but in fact over time you
seem predictable and weak. ”,
50 Cent on consistency

As a weakness
(external)

“ He has the power of
drawing the hearts of men
toward him as a magnet
attracts the bit of metal. He
merely has to smile at you,
and you trust him at once. ”,
British Field Marshal
Bernard Montgomery on
Dwigth Eisenhower
As a strength
(internal)

Are you a respected leader ?
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Leadership ability – take things in charge
Respect for others – leadership is voluntary
Courage – a leader gives hope
Success – a leader demonstrate success
Loyalty – show loyalty towards others
Value added to others – engender respect

Leaders trust intuition
•  Intuition is a culmination of years of experience. You
can’t explain, you just “feel it in your gut”.
•  Leaders read people and can sense what’s happening
in a group, room or with people individually.
•  It seems magical, yet is a skill that can be trained.


Peter Crisp invested US$
300,000 for 10% equity of
Apple in 1979. “ We had
nothing to go on, other than
knowing that they were
honest and smart. “


You attract who you are
•  Effective leaders are always on the lookout for good
people.
•  Make a mental list of characteristics you look for in a
person.
•  Hire fast, ﬁre vast vs. patiently develop potential.
•  A positive attitude is a crucial element.


Touch the hearts, not the mind
•  Know who you are and connect with others
•  Always be sincere, even if it means admitting a
mistake
•  Know your audience and speak to what they care
about. Focus on them, not yourself.
•  Offer direction and hope (hope = future).


“You know, here in middle
Europe we have over 80 million
Germans. These people, too,
have a right to life. A piece of life
pertains to them. For 300 years
they have been cheated of this”,
Adolf Hitler at Berlin
Sportspalast (Jan, 1940)


Inner circle deﬁnes potential
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Do they have high influence with others ?
Do they bring a complementary gift to the table ?
Do they hold a strategic position in the organization ?
Do they add value to me and to the organization ?
Do they have a positive impact on other members ?


“ If you can’t feed
your team with two
large pizza’s, your
team is too big “,
Jeff Bezos, CEO of
Amazon.com


Only secure leaders empower others
•  Barriers you might face as a weak leader:
•  Desire for job security – won’t I make myself obsolete ?
•  Resistance to change – won’t things change too much ?
•  Lack of self-worth – won’t others be better than me ?

•  A secure leader is conﬁdent and aims to make an
organization consisting of your best people that live to
their fullest potential

Only secure leaders empower others *
•  Intrapreneurship = empowered employees
•  For serial entrepreneurs, this is a detrimental
characteristic and process:
• 
• 
• 
• 

Found company
Attract talent
Cultivate and empower talent
Step down (and restart)

“ None of the big expensive seat
design firms seemed able to solve
the design problems posed by our
specifications for our Upper Class
cabin, but a young designer, Joe
Ferry, volunteered (insistently) to
give the project a go “, Sir Richard
Branson on Virgin inventing the
herringbone-configured private
sleeper suites

Monkey see, monkey do
•  Remember that people are watching you
•  Walk your talk, all the time
•  Improve yourself before you improve others :
• 
• 
• 

Make a regular character audit. What core values you want to work on ?
Ask a trusted colleague to observe you and record inconsistencies.
List ﬁve things you want others to do better, then compare to yourself.


Jim Sinegal (Costco) has
an ofﬁce without walls,
wears a nametag “Jim” and
works together with his
workers day-in, day-out.
Employee turnover rate is
ﬁve times less than his
competitor Wal-Mart…


Leaders hate losing
•  Leader mindset is as following :
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Leadership is responsible
Losing is unacceptable, a leader is dedicated to winning
Creativity is essential
Quitting is unthinkable
Commitment is unquestionable
Victory is inevitable

•  Embrace the failing forward principle

JK Rowling was
turned down by more
than 10 publishers
before securing a book
deal, only then to be
told to get a part time
job as there is no
money in childrens’
books

Leaders apply Pareto everywhere
•  Leaders are able to make 30 decisions in 30 minutes
•  Leaders don’t do meetings, they talk with people and
work together with them
•  Focuses on the 20% in order to achieve 80%
•  Decision making must be done on little facts, where
intuition helps to speed things up


Momentum is everything
•  Leaders develop a sense to create momentum, the
place where luck meets preparation.
•  Igniting momentum requires shifts in attitudes,
behaviors, methods, and results.
•  Some famous moments:
•  Landing on the moon = space exploration gives hope
•  Release of iPhone = reinvents the way we communicate

Growth or multiplication ?
•  To add growth, lead followers. To multiply, lead leaders:
•  If you develop yourself, you can experience personal success
•  If you develop a team, your organization can experience growth
•  If you develop leaders, your organization can achieve explosive
growth

•  Leading leaders is hard ! Hard to ﬁnd, hard to gather,
hard to keep. Clear away the red tape !

“ Jack Dorsey, the only cofounder who still works for
the company, is said to
rarely speak to fellow cofounder Evan Williams, who
actually replaced Dorsey as
CEO early on ” on the
Twitter leaders


Seek counsel or advisors
•  Refrain from having shrink sessions.
•  Having a beer and speaking your mind, and listening to
others who have gone before you.
•  Select strategic and meaningful relationships.
•  Keep the relationship mutually rewarding. When no one
gets rewards, stop the relationship.


Succession is one’s greatest reward
•  Deﬁne the legacy you want to pass on. This should be
already deﬁned in your vision.
•  Become the legacy during your leadership period.
•  Choose who will carry on your legacy. Choose someone
that has more potential than you.
•  Ensure you pass the baton… Transfer power !


5/ IN A NUTSHELL

Make others feel safe to speak up /1
Make decisions /2
Communicate expectations /3
Challenge people to think /4
Be accountable to others /5
Lead by example /6
Measure and reward performance /7

Provide continuous feedback /8
Properly allocate and deploy talent /9
Ask questions, seek counsel /10
Avoid procrastination /11
Positive energy and attitude /12
Be a great teacher /13
Enjoy your responsibilities /14

Personnel determine the potential of the organization
Relationships determine the morale of the organization
Structure determines the size of the organization
Vision determines the direction of the organization
Leadership determines the success of the organization


6/ THANKS FOR HAVING ME !

On Leadership

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