Guidon Leadership founder James R. Lyda had a 30 year career in the U.S. Air Force. He served as Wing Command Chief twice. During those three decades he had the opportunity to advise and interact with some of our military’s senior leadership – while also taking care of and mentoring younger airmen. During his last position before retirement, he was responsible for 55,000 personnel – that would be a good size town or a major corporation.
Guidon Leadership is a full service leadership development consulting firm that helps companies make better leaders, managers and people. Among his clients are numerous McDonald’s franchisees.
We discuss various concepts that his Guidon Leadership team emphasizes when working with private sector clients. One of the most important is developing relationships. James says many leaders don’t take the time to build a real relationship with their employees and this can cause weaknesses in the overall structure.
James says that sometimes in business (or life) one can reach an inflection point where they must decide to “burn the boats”. This concept is derived from the story of explorer Hernan Cortes who is said to have burned his ships upon arriving in the new world in order to communicate to his men that they had only one way forward.
He also shares some parallels between sports and teamwork in business. Examples include a sacrifice bunt so that a teammate can advance. In the military purpose is prioritized over function. James seeks to build this “mission first” attitude in the private sector; everyone must know they are contributing to the mission whether they own the business or are a fry cook.
James wraps up with advice for younger members of our military just starting out in their careers.
TAKEAWAY: “Never leave your fate in the hands of judges. Define your own success and pursue it.”