tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8152344823764273771.post-12834952089208681212008-01-04T11:41:00.001-05:002008-01-04T11:41:30.228-05:00I was pondering the other day the question of why some organizations (whether it be martial arts, sports, banks etc) succeed and others fail or fade into mediocrity. In many cases, I think that it comes down to visionary leaders who relentlessly push the organization to become successful. I believe that there are two kinds of leaders in an organizational setting. There are those who are successful leaders. And there are those who are, at best, ineffective leaders and, at worst, failed leaders. Organizationally, there are goals and objectives that need to be met in order for the organization to move forward, advance, obtain market share, and prosper. Very often, this requires that a leader not only clearly define present and future plans, but also puts in motion the execution of these plans. I do not have a business degree or the equivalent, but I think that a successful organization needs 4 things in order to succeed:<br /><br />(1) A strong leader;<br />(2) A vision;<br />(3) plans to implement the vision; and<br />(4) execution of the plan.<br /><br />If any of these elements are missing, the organization will not be successful. A strong leader is one who consistently strives for excellence and encourages others to do the same. When that leader fails to do so, how can he expect the rest of the organization to follow suit ? The vision is more or less the mission statement of the organization. The plan or series of plans is intended to make the vision a reality. Execution is needed in order for the organization to be successful and survive in an often cut throat business or sports environment. A good leader is one who oversees all these aspects. If one or more of the aforementioned elements are missing, it is virtually guaranteed that the organization will decline, fail, fade into obscurity or lose credibility. Particularly damaging is a situation where a vision and plans are in place but are rarely executed. When a leader lays out a vision, formulates plans/initiatives and then fails to follow up with timely execution, a loss of credibility is inevitable. However, if all elements (strong leader, vision, plans, and execution) are in place, then the organization has a reasonable chance of succeeding. <br /><br />Take, for example, Tae Kwon Do. Back in the 1970’s, the powers that be in South Korea developed a vision whereby TKD would become a sport and eventually gaining Olympic status. The plan was to use the Kukkiwon, a training/preparatory school for TKD instructors and encourage them to immigrate to other countries to serve as apprentices to other TKD instructors. They would, in turn, after a number of years as apprentices, open their own schools in the country they immigrated to. As a result, TKD has been phenomenally successful in spreading itself. Other martial arts such as Aikido (coming out of Hombu Dojo), Shotokan Karate (through the Japan Karate Association) and Brazilian jiu jitsu (through the Gracie and Machado families) have succeeded quite well. The point is that each of them had strong leaders, a vision, a plan and executed them. Other martial arts/organizations have not succeeded as well as the aforementioned arts. Some of them suffer from a lack of vision; others have a vision but no plan to implement the vision. Still others may have the vision and a plan but lack the follow through or fail to execute. It is unfortunate for martial artists to be part of mediocre or stagnating organizations.<br /><br />Very often, this comes down to failed leadership. Successful leaders are those who push the vision, the plans and follows through in a timely manner. Let’s place this in a non martial art context......take a look at the New England Patriots. Coach Bill Belichick and GM Scott Pioli have done an incredible job of coming up with a vision (getting high value intelligent football players with multiple skill sets at reasonable cost), planning (looking at the current roster and identifying current areas of need and targeting players they are interested in) and execution (signing those players they need). Admittedly, this is a bit simplified. But, this is an example of strong leadership, a vision, plan, and execution of that plan. No wonder, as of now, they have had one of the greatest seasons in NFL history.<br /><br />A leader risks losing a great deal of credibility when there is a lack of execution or follow through of announced plans or initiatives. Once that credibility is lost, it is often very difficult to regain. Others will start ignoring that leader. Once that happens, the organization will become stagnant, decline or die. Simple as that.<br /><br />On the other hand, a strong leader will most assuredly always retain credibility by consistently exercising his leadership skills with strong vision, viable plans and execution of those plans. There are personality characteristics to these type of leaders. They are the go getters, who never stop thinking about ways to improve, who seek out ideas, and whose desire to excel is never extinguished. It is those types of leaders who lead successful organizations. I think that the same applies to martial arts organizations. The truly successful martial arts organizations will almost always have strong leadership at the top.Going with the Flowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10317014147679419992noreply@blogger.com