How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Page 471

“Smart leaders believe only half of what they hear. Discerning leaders
know which have to believe.” John. C. Maxwell
Effective leaders need discernment, although even good leaders don’t
display it all the time.
Examples of Famous last words:
“I think there is a world market for about five computers.” Thomas
J. Watson, chairman of IBM.(1943)
“I don’t need bodyguards.” Jimmy Hoffa, one month before
disappearance (1975)
 Discernment = The ability to find the root of the matter, and it relies on
intuition as well as rational thought.
 “Nothing in life is to be feared, only to be understood.”
 Discernment enables a leader to see a partial picture, fill in the missing
pieces intuitively, and find the real heart of the matter.
 The closer a leader is to his area of gifting, the stronger his intuition and
ability to see root causes. If you want to tap into your discernment
potential, work in your areas of strength.
 “Never ignore a gut feeling, but never believe that it’s enough.”
Focus: “If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.”
The Sharper It Is; The Sharper You Are
The Keys are Priorities and Concentration
A leader who knows what his priorities are but lacks concentration knows
what to do but never gets it done.
If he has concentration but no priorities, he has excellence without
progress.
But when he harnesses both, he has potential to achieve great things.
How should you focus your time and energy?
Focus 70 Percent on Strengths - Develop them to their fullest potential
Focus 25 Percent on New Things - Growth = Change
Focus 5 Percent on Areas of Weakness - Minimize weaknesses as much as
possible, delegate

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