Wearing baggy pants doesn’t make you a skater, wearing spandex doesn’t make you a cyclist, looking at the world through Oakley shades doesn’t make you a snowboarder, saying, ‘dude’ doesn’t make you a surfer and—in business—printing ‘leader’ on your card doesn’t make you lead. Real leaders take us to places we've never been, turn nothing into something, transform good into great, help us grow as human beings and change the pieces of the world that they touch for the better. Real leaders are, in other words, Extreme Leaders. This site will help you make the choice to be one of them. So spend some time, poke around, and when inspiration strikes, chime in on the blog below...

Jack and Todd's Excellent Adventure

Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten of bookseller, 800ceoread, have written a book called The 100 Best Business Books of All Time, due to be released by Portfolio on 2/5/09.

Steve Jagler of OnMilwaukee.com has written an early review, in which he quotes several of the authors who made the top 100: Seth Godin, Joe Pine and James Gilmore, Stephen Covey, Jim Collins, Jack Stack, Warren Bennis, and, um...well...me.

The Radical Leap, it turns out, is on the list and in the book.

Believe me, I never in a kajillion years would have expected to see my name next to the likes of Bennis and Covey, et al, but I do love Leap (it's my first baby, you know) and I admit to feeling more than a little proud that Jack and Todd--with all the thousands of business books these guys read and sell--love it, too.

Posted by steve on 12.16.2008 | Comments (1)

A Buzz Begins

I'm happy to say that with the publication date for Greater Than Yourself still 3 1/2 months away (3/3/09), the buzz around the book is already starting to build.

Well...not a full-throttled buzz, exactly--so far it's more like the distant sound of a mosquito patrolling the borders of your bedroom. Just enough of a sound to let you know that you're not alone, and that you're not going to sleep very well tonight.

But, hey, it's a start!

Witness this nice piece on the book from the terrific on-line resource, Leadership Guide Magazine. They're wonderful folks who do great work, and you should read them often.

By the way, GTY will also be available as an audio book, read by yours truly. Release date for that is set for June 1, '09. Amazon in Canada has it up on their site already.

Hang your nets from your bedposts and stay tuned!

Posted by steve on 11.17.2008 | Comments (0)

Farber On Fox

Here's a video of my short chat the other day with Fox Business channel's Neil Cavuto. The question we kicked around was this:

Does a leader need to have Obama's oratory skill in order to be effective?

Take a look at this short interview and give us your perspective on the dynamics of leadership and inspiration.

Posted by steve on 11.10.2008 | Comments (4)

A Video Intro

My colleagues and I are in the process of creating a series of short films showcasing examples of Greater Than Yourself in action. Over the next few months, I'll be sharing some video clips on this site. We already have some great footage in the can (yeah...that's film jargon. Are you impressed? I used to think "in the can" meant something entirely different. It still does, just not in this context. But I digress...) and we're on the lookout for more examples.

Here's a little video intro to the theme, the project and the challenge. To refresh your memory you may want to read this first.

Posted by steve on 08.04.2008 | Comments (4)

Bounce Back, Dammit!

My friend, Karen Salmansohn, author, personality, and satellite radio jock has a great interview show on the Lime channel on Sirius called, Be Happy Dammit. Take some time and treat yourself to a few of her episodes in podcast form. I've been in the studio with her a couple of times--she's very smart and very entertaining.

The tagline on her blog is, "Self Help for People Who Wouldn't be Caught Dead Reading Self Help." If that doesn't make you want to read her stuff, then I don't know what will. And she's sold more than a million books, so she's written a whole boatload of stuff.

Karen's written a new, great little ditty called The Bounce Back Book, and she was kind enough to share this essay excerpted from it. If you've ever experienced uncertainty, setbacks and losses (if you are, in other words, a human being), and especially if you've lost a job recently, you'll want to take note.

So, without further ado, here's Karen "Not Salmon" Salmansohn:

Today's business world is especially challenging -- with economic unrest and rapid changes in infrastructure. If you recently have been let go, here are some tips to make sure you bounce back:

1. If you've just endured a career adversity, join the crowd--and by the way, it's a very distinguished successful crowd. Many members of the Fortune 500 Club could easily earn membership in the Misfortune 500 Club. Successful people are not people who never fail. They're people who know how to fail really, really well.

If they fall on their faces, they use that leverage to push themselves up higher. Bill Gates actually relishes the lessons of failure so much, he purposefully hires people at Microsoft who have made mistakes.

"It shows that they take risks," says Gates. Harvard business school professor John Kotter says it's more worrisome to executives if a job applicant claims they've never failed--because this means they've never taken risks.

Roberto Goizueta, Coca-Cola's CEO, says the risk-taker mentality is the very reason he hired back the guy who launched New Coke--a huge marketing failure. Goizueta recognized how you can become uncompetitive if you're not tolerant of mistakes. In fact, if you let 'avoiding failure' become your motivator, you¹re going dangerously down the path of inactivity.

"You can stumble only if you're moving," he says. So if you recently stumbled and fell in your career, re-focus on how your risky thinking makes you more knowledgeable. Own the positive lesson learned --as proof you are an outside-the-box valuable thinker. See work failure as 'fullure'--full of many lessons.

2. Think like a lion about your firing! Graham Thomas Chipperfield, a star lion tamer with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, got bitten by Sheba, one of his 500-pound lionesses. Before the mauled Chipperfield got back into the cage, he made very sure to see what happened from Sheba's point of view.

He recognized how lions tend to think of the trainer as another lion. And so when Chipperfield bounded into the cage to help out Sheba--by breaking up a fight between her and another lion--Sheba merely figured Chipperfield wanted to join in the fight too. Did Chipperfield sit around blaming Sheba for her inaccurate thinking? No.

Instead he took the time to see the biting from Sheba's perspective, so he'd make sure this bad event would not happen again. For this reason, many therapists--beginning with Freud--have clients create a 'mimesis' -- meaning they role-play the situation from the offending party's perspective.

The hope is that, through this mimesis role-playing, patients might better understand why someone might have emotionally taken a bite out of them, so they can avoid being bitten again!

Your Assignment: If you've been fired, rejected, yelled at-- any/all of that -- take the time today to try to see things from 'Sheba's Point of View' so you can perhaps avoid being fired - rejected -- yelled out again. Plus this exercise will help you lessen your anger at those Shebas in your life.

3. If you ask depressing questions, you will 100% get depressing answers. For example it does no good to ask yourself: Why didn't I ... ? What if . ..? Why me?

Would you accept some of the mean and nasty questions you ask yourself if they came from an outside source? Doubtful! So you gotta stop -- and swap -- immediately for these questions which bounce you upward: What can I do to move forward? How can I grow from this challenge? What¹s within my control to change?

4.Shrink negativity into nuggetivity. Limit the amount of time you allow yourself to think negative thoughts to 3-minute nuggets, three times a day. Set aside a specific time of day when you will allow yourself to think negative thoughts. Whenever a negative thought enters your head, tell yourself you can't think about it until your preset Negativity Appointment.

Who knows, maybe you won't even want to think negatively once this time swings around.

Posted by steve on 07.28.2008 | Comments (1)

Hug Team

This just in from the Central Penn Business Journal:

It's not about the hugs themselves, really. It's about working with people who are hug-worthy, who inspire that kind of love and affection in you.

So says Clear Channel Radio sales director, Anne Carnathan.

Read her article here.

Posted by steve on 07.08.2008 | Comments (1)

To Chutzpah!

My good friend and colleague, Ron Schultz, who is, among other things, a tireless advocate for the cause of social entrepreneurialism, has written a wonderful column on Applied Chutzpah, which he defines as,

"A willingness to step forward into audacious action even though one may have no idea how one will either pull it off, or where it will ultimately lead. The only real knowing at the moment of Applied Chutzpah is an intuition that if some audacious action were not initiated, nothing would get done." (Please download the whole article here).

("Chutzpah," in fact, may have been a better word than "audacity" in my Extreme Leadership model, except that The Radical Lecp would have been much harder to pronounce.)

And in that spirit of Applied Chutzpah, Ron has launched The International Social Action Film Festival, which will commence in locations all around the world on September 11, 2008--and if either you or someone you know is an aspiring film maker, you still have time to submit your work!

It'll be an event that promises to inspire chutzpah, audacity, and Extreme Leadership in all who attend.

Posted by steve on 07.06.2008 | Comments (1)

A GTY Lesson from Youth Lacrosse

In this short video, Boom Daniel offers a GTY example from the world of youth lacrosse and challenges business people to take the lesson to the office. Click here to watch: it's already cued up to the right spot.

What's your GTY story? Write it up or put it on video, send it along to me, and I'll post it here.

Maybe you'll get famous for all the right reasons.

Posted by steve on 07.04.2008 | Comments (0)

For the second year in a row, this site has been named a finalist for the Best of Leadership Blog competition hosted by author, Kevin Eikenberry over at the Remarkable Learning blog.

The contest runs through the month of July, so you have some time take a look at the nominees and cast your vote.

The 2008 winner will be announced August 4 on Kevin’s Blog and in his weekly newsletter, Unleash Your Potential.

Kevin says that he and his team "created the contest to give leadership bloggers the opportunity to spread their wisdom more broadly and for readers to gain from that. It was definitely a success last year with more than 1,000 voters and increased awareness about all the nominated blogs."

Very true.

For example, blogger Guy Harris just found Extreme Leadership through Kevin's contest. Take a look at his blog to see his response to the idea of GTY.

Thanks, Kevin.

Gotta love the blogosphere...

Posted by steve on 07.03.2008 | Comments (0)

What Will YOU Ask Our Candidates?

I've written recently about my experience at the Leadership and the Next Presidency session at Harvard. Our deliverable for the day was a list of 15 interview questions for the presidential candidates. These aren't questions about policy; rather, they seek to uncover the candidates' leadership qualities and characteristics.

Now it's your turn to join in the process of both refining the questions and getting them asked (and answered) by the next president of the United States.

Here's what you do:

1. Watch the five-minute video (below) about the dialogue we've begun.
2. Go to Harvard's Center for Public Leadership site at www.howyoulead.org and read the 15 questions.
3. Tell us (and the candidates) whether you think these questions should be asked by responding on CPL's blog.
4. Forward this post to your friends and business colleagues so that they too can join this conversation about Leadership & the Next Presidency.

Posted by steve on 06.27.2008 | Comments (0)

HR World's Top 100

I'm honored to say that this site has been named as one of HR World's "Top 100 Management and Leadership Blogs that All Managers Should Bookmark."

Thank you, editors. I'm grateful for the mention.

Posted by steve on 06.22.2008 | Comments (2)

Your GTY Project

The essence of the principle of Greater Than Yourself (GTY) is this:

Your own greatness as a leader (or in just about any other role, for that matter) lies, paradoxically, in your ability to cause others to be greater than yourself.

You could argue that this is just the right way for one decent human being to act towards another, and I'd whole-heartedly agree, but let's set altruism aside for a moment.

Is there a personal payoff for you? A benefit other than a warm, toasty feeling in your chest?

Oh, yeah.

Consider this: If you get a reputation for being the one who elevates people, for being the one who gives freely to others at work, and, as a result, for turning out superstar after superstar, what’s going to happen?

Everyone will want to work with you, that's what. And because of that, you’ll be able to accomplish anything you set out to do. Anytime you want or need to get anything done—any idea that you want to pursue, any venture, you’ll put out the word and they’ll all come running to help. And for good reason: everyone will know that by the time your project is completed, your idea implemented, your vision realized, they’ll be all that much better for having worked with you, because you will have given them far more than they’ve given you.

And so it goes, over and over again. Give; get more. Give more; get even more. Consider the possibilities and you’ll see why keeping others down is eminently unproductive and—to be blunt—just freaking stupid.

So, here's my challenge to you:

Build your GTY legacy. Starting right now.

Don’t worry—I’m going to make it easy for you. Great, lasting legacies are built one brick at a time. All I ask is that you pick one person. Just one. And make that one person your own, personal GTY project. Raise that person up, boost him or her above yourself. Start there and see what happens.

In my previous post I mentioned that Pat Lencioni and Matthew Kelly will be co-writing the forward to Greater Than Yourself.

Now you know why.

Matthew is, in essence, Pat's GTY "project." Pat wants to see Matthew become a more successful author/speaker/consultant than he is. And he's helping him get there.

He really is.

So...who do you have in your life right now--let's focus on work for the moment--who could become your own GTY project?

Posted by steve on 06.19.2008 | Comments (2)

A GTY Update

Well...

I've been absent quite a bit from this blog, but now that I'm in the home stretch on the new book, I plan on showing up here 2 to 3 times a week. For those of you who are new to this site, I hope you'll tune in often and respond to the posts with candor and gusto. For those of you who've wandered off while I've been otherwise occupied, I hope to make it worth your while to come on back and hang around.

Let me start by catching you up on the latest publication developments:

I've finished the rough draft of Greater Than Yourself (yep, we finalized the title--subtitle is still to come. Suggestions?) submitted it to my editor at Doubleday, and now I'm waiting for his edits. Then, the...um...joys of the re-write will ensue.

The official publication date is January 13, 2009. Hey, I'm not saying it should be made a national holiday or anything, but maybe you can mark your calendars anyway.

And I'm happy to say that the forward to the book will be co-written by author/gurus Pat Lencioni and Matthew Kelly.

Why do you need two people to write the forward? I hear you cry.

True, it's a little unorthodox. But there's actually a damn good reason.

Which I'll be sure to explain next time around.

Posted by steve on 06.18.2008 | Comments (1)

A Remarkable Day

As I expected, yesterday's session on Leadership and the Next Presidency was just plain riveting. I encourage you to read the Kennedy School blog to get a taste of the conversation. And what a collection of people.

For example, my table group included the legendary Werner Erhard whose original claim to fame (and some would say infamy) was his development of the EST program/movement. I found him to be a warm, smart and very accessible teammate for the day's conversation. And in damn fine shape for 72 years old. For any age, actually.

And speaking of table groups, I also had the chance to catch up with my old friend Pat Lencioni who remains one of my favorite people on the planet.

Warren Bennis is one of my leadership development heroes; unfortunately, he wasn't physically able to travel, so he sent us a note via the blogosphere. Here's the last bit of his take on the requirements of the next president. Note the conspicuous use of the "L" word towards the end. Sounds like a Radical Leap to me:

"What all the candidates must have is an inexhaustible supply of mental and physical energy. When I think about the great leaders I’ve studied and know-Pete Carroll, USC’s remarkable football coach or the exemplary Bill George, come to mind-they are always on. Always intense. They never get to say 'I don’t want to.' They win on their bad days as the great pitcher, Nolan Ryan, once said. They just can’t be ready for something. They’ve got be ready and prepared for anything. Yes, even that-cough-3 am phone call. And, if I can be personal for a minute-I mean real personal-I know I’ve got to finish this blog, my first ever, before morning because I said I would and because I want to. Because I love writing about ideas. Because the topic you are engaging in today is so important. Because I care deeply about the mission of CPL and its success. The job of the US Presidency dwarfs any other as far as energy, commitment, and desire go. You’ve got to love it, every minute of it, 24/7. [my italics, of course!]

I wish I could be with you today and be part of the conversation. But right now an airplane for me is no country for old men."

Posted by steve on 05.13.2008 | Comments (0)

Leadership and the Next Presidency

I'm off to Boston to participate in a day-long session co-hosted by Ken Blanchard and the Center for Public Leadership. I'm very excited to be spending the day in such esteemed company and to be a small part of the discussion of a singularly critical question. This article, which was posted at ascribe.org, will give you an idea of the day's agenda and a partial list of the participants (see the end of this post). I've done my best to add the appropriate links:

Center for Public Leadership Hosts a 'Conversation on Leadership and the Next Presidency'; Focus on Competencies - Not Policies - the Times Demand

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 9 (AScribe Newswire) -- To help move the national debate beyond slogans and sound bites, Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Public Leadership (CPL), in partnership with The Ken Blanchard Companies, will convene a daylong conversation on leadership entitled "Leadership and the Next Presidency" on Monday, May 12.

More than 200 leaders from the public and social sectors, corporate world, academia, and the media will gather in Cambridge, with support from the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust and The Charles Hotel, for a program whose focus will be markedly different from many of the public discussions held so far in this presidential campaign season.

"A crisis is a defining moment of any presidency," noted CPL director David Gergen. "When you look at the daunting challenges that must be addressed in the next four years, and the equally daunting impediments to taking meaningful action - the weakening economy and the increasing volatility in global affairs not least among them - then it becomes clear that the next administration will not lack for defining moments."

"Given the likelihood of such a scenario," Gergen continued, "the character, wisdom, and resilience of the next national leader become vital - as important as the particular policies the president puts forward."

"Leadership and the Next Presidency" will take place at the Charles Hotel, located at One Bennett Street in Cambridge, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The morning will include a conversation on the challenges ahead for the next president, and what is required to address them. The participants will leverage their own vast leadership experience in the afternoon, as they look at the presidential election from a job interview perspective and develop the best questions to evaluate leadership capacity. The afternoon program will also feature messages to would-be presidents from Harvard graduate students representing the next generation of leaders.

"In studying the effectiveness of organizations for more than 40 years," added Ken Blanchard, leadership consultant and best-selling author, "there is no doubt in my mind that the key ingredient that determines success and human satisfaction is leadership. Every time you talk to people about an organization that is admired, people want to talk about the leaders. Similarly, our next president's 'leadership point of view' will determine what kind of organization runs our country, and what our country becomes. So the critical questions are about the characteristics we need in our next president - and in the appointees and advisers the next president brings into the administration."

The Center for Public Leadership is committed to continuing this conversation up to and beyond the coming election. For that reason, May 12 will also mark the launch of the CPL Leadership Forum through a weblog to augment this discussion and continue highlighting leadership issues, and Harvard Kennedy School-related topics. On the day of the event a blogging station will be available for attendees to comment on posts by guest bloggers such as Warren Bennis, a legendary figure in the world of leadership studies, and Col. Thomas Kolditz, Professor and Head of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at the United States Military Academy at West Point. The blog will be available at http://www.hks.harvard.edu/leadership/blog .

Participants in this Conversation on Leadership include:

Graham Allison, Douglas Dillon Professor of Government and director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Max Bazerman, Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Ken Blanchard, founder and Chief Spiritual Officer, The Ken Blanchard Companies

Erv Brinker, CEO, Summit Pointe

Andrew Card, former chief of staff to President George W. Bush

Cheryl Dorsey, President, Echoing Green

Robert Edgar, President and CEO, Common Cause

David Gergen, Professor of Public Service and director of the Center for Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School

Fred Greenstein, Professor of Politics Emeritus, Princeton University

Bill George, Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School and former Chairman and CEO, Medtronic

Rev. Wilson Goode, former Mayor of Philadelphia

Steve Grove, political director, YouTube

Kerry Healey, former Lt. Governor of Massachusetts

Ben Homan, President, Food for the Hungry

Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship, Harvard Business School

Barbara Kellerman, James MacGregor Burns Lecturer in Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School

Joe Klein, columnist, Time Magazine

Patrick Lencioni, founder and President, The Table Group, Inc.

Harvey Mackay, author and Chairman, MackayMitchell Envelope Company

Pete Meinig, Chairman and CEO, HM International, Inc.

Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Chairman and CEO, Carlson Companies, Inc.

Bill Pollard, Chairman, The ServiceMaster Company

Roger Porter, IBM Professor of Business and Government, Harvard Kennedy School

Garry Ridge, President and CEO, WD-40 Company

Kevin Sharer, Chairman, CEO, and President, Amgen, Inc.

Tommy Spaulding, President and CEO, Up With People

Larry Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University

Noel Tichy, Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management and the director of the Global Leadership Program, Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan

Walter Ulloa, Chairman and CEO, Entravision Communications Corp.

Andy Zelleke, Lecturer in Public Policy and co-director of the Center for Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School

Patricia Zigarmi, co-founder, The Ken Blanchard Companies

AScribe - The Public Interest Newswire / 510-653-9400
www.ascribe.org

Posted by steve on 05.10.2008 | Comments (0)

A Little (pre-edited) Peek

For all the right reasons--which I'll tell you about soon--Random House / Doubleday / Currency has decided to move back the publication date of my next book from September, '08 to January, '09. We've got some cool things going behind the scenes that will coincide with the book's launch, so I'm ecstatic that we're waiting just a bit to make sure that all the proverbial ducks are lined up and quacking in unison.

In the meantime, here's a preview of what I've been cooking up. Since my editor is yet to whack at it with his magic pen, I can't promise that you're looking at the final form. We're still wrestling with the title, so for now let's just say that the story explores the principle I've been referring to on this blog as Greater Than Yourself. Here then, is the current state of the prologue and Chapter One:

Prologue

The obsession seized me with all the subtlety of a sumo wrestler hopped up on anabolics.

I’d been playing guitar for 35 years, and I’d owned a couple of decent ones from time to time, but suddenly I needed—needed—that 1959 Gibson hollow-body electric hanging on the rack at Vintage Brothers Guitars in Carlsbad, California.

I don’t know what it was. I’d seen nicer guitars, to be sure. There was nothing unusual about its sunburst finish, and with only one pickup in the middle position, the ES-330 wasn’t considered the most desirable of collectable instruments. But other than a few minor nicks on the headstock, it was in perfect condition, and as I sat in the store’s small demo room, playing it hour after hour, I fell deeper and deeper in love. The neck was fast, the tone, sweet, rich and mellow. Yeah, I was in love, man, but not all love and obsession winds up in marriage, so eventually I put it back on the rack, inquired just one more time about the price, and walked out into the salty, San Diego, Pacific Ocean air.

I’ve played better guitars, I kept telling myself, and I’ve seen better deals on vintage instruments. But as I walked towards my car, I couldn’t shake it. Then the sumo got me, spun me around and shoved me back down the parking lot from where I’d come. My pace quickened as I approached the shop, and my wallet was out before I even got through the door. I paid the price and grabbed the case, and, minutes later, grinning a grin that tested the limits of my cheek-muscles, I tucked that baby into the passenger seat and buckled it in like the prize it was.

I had to have that guitar. Had to.

And now, just a few days later, I know why.

Chapter One

I’m not really sure what to call it when things line themselves up without my slightest knowledge or influence. It’s like someone is executing a profoundly interlaced conspiracy to make all the random pieces of my life fit together. What is it? Karma? Kismet? Synchronicity? I don’t know, but it happens to me a lot, and more often than not it works out well. I just seem to meet the right teachers at the right time.

I’ve been blessed (maybe that’s the word) with the opportunity to work with some of the world’s preeminent thinkers in business leadership—like Tom Peters and Jim Kouzes to name a couple. And in recent years, under extremely odd and seemingly fortuitous circumstances, I’ve learned directly from some of the masters of Extreme Leadership—like William Maritime and Agnes Golden and Ted Garrison, names that’ll be familiar to readers of my previous books.

I’ve done a pretty good job of conveying the lessons I’ve learned along the way, and I think that’s why I’ve made a bit of a name for myself in certain circles. Some have even used the words “Steve Farber” and “leadership guru” in the same sentence, which, although gratifying to my ego, makes me squirm like I have a load of wet worms in my socks.

Right teachers. Right time. Odd circumstances.

I was thinking I should print that on my business card, because it was starting to happen all over again.

I was back in my apartment on the bay side of the Mission Beach area of San Diego. The ocean and its frenetic boardwalk were a couple of blocks to the west, but calm, tranquil Mission Bay lay just a few short yards to the east of my building, affording a view through my living room window worthy of tourist’s post card.

I had returned from Carlsbad a couple hours earlier, cleared my agenda by taking care of a few time-bound tasks, and was now—finally!—ready to spend some quality time getting intimate with my new companion.

I gingerly placed the tattered, 49 year-old, mottled brown guitar case on the dining room table, flipped open the latches, lifted the top, and let my gaze linger over the sunburst-colored curves of my new six-string babe.

Sitting on a bar stool with the guitar propped in my lap, I twisted the tuning knobs until the sound was just right and fired off a couple of quick blues licks in the key of E. I’d plug it in later; for now I was enjoying the smooth feel of the Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and the muted, rich sound resonating off its un-amplified, maple body. I was just about to settle in for a few hours of serious playing (which sounds like an oxymoron—but it’s not), when something in the case caught my eye. I set the guitar in a stand and got up to take a closer look.

The pink, plush lining on the inside bottom of the case was pulled slightly back at the seam and a small, yellowed piece of paper stuck out from under the fabric. I pinched the corner and pulled on it gently. It slid easily from under the velvet and revealed itself to be a handwritten note.

I felt a voyeuristic jolt similar to what an architect must feel when finding a relic that gives a glimpse into another’s life in another time.

“Dear Jessica,” the note began. “This guitar is my gift to you. It was made in 1959, 31 years before I taught you your first lesson. What a player you’ve become in just 5 short years, and now that you’re old enough to vote and on your way to school and the distractions of adult life, you’ll need this guitar to remind you of your wonderful musical gift. And may it help you to become a better player than I ever hoped to be. I have no doubt you will.

You have brought this old teacher of yours more joy than you could possibly know and I want you to know that I’m very, very proud of you.

“Your friend and teacher,

GZ”

“You’ve been around, haven’t you?” I said to the guitar in the stand.

I read the note one more time and tried to imagine the teacher, the student and the strong bond that had obviously existed between them. It was an unusual thing, that kind of connection. I’d been lucky enough to experience that student-teacher bond in my professional life, and I knew how rare and priceless a thing it could be, so, naturally, I found myself wondering where these people were today and what, if anything, had happened with Jessica’s life as a guitarist—or if she even continued playing at all.

The way I figured it, (I had to use a calculator, I admit), this note was written somewhere around 1995, and if Jessica had just been reaching college age, that would put her in her early 30’s today.

Had “GZ’s” pride been well-placed? Had Jessica grown into the kind of adult he’d hoped she would? And why, if their relationship had been as special as the teacher’s note implied, had Jessica eventually gone on to sell this wonderful and sentimental gift? And you’d think if she’d returned even a little of her teacher’s affection, she’d at least have kept the note.

I know I would have.

Given my sudden and intense curiosity about all this, I found myself faced with two possible paths: I could either make up imaginary answers to these questions, or I could snoop around to see if I couldn’t uncover the real story of Jessica and GZ.

And I bet you can guess which road I traveled by.

Posted by steve on 02.27.2008 | Comments (12)

An Invitation from Tommy

Recently, I posted a speech by my friend, Tommy Spaulding, CEO of Up with People. As you may know, I sit on the organization's Board Of Directors and am a raving fan of UWP's program and everything it stands for.

I'm also a total sucker for their tremendous, inspiring show.

If you happen to live in the Denver, Colorado area, or if for some reason you'll be there on the evening of February 9th, you have an opportunity to see the show in all its glory.

I'll be there too, so please come on by and say hello.

I'll let Tommy fill you in on the details for this exciting event. Here's a personal invite from the man himself (oh, and be sure to click the "parade" links to get a taste of the Up with People spirit):

Dear Farber Friends,

I would like to personally invite you to a night that Up with People has been planning for quite some time – our Denver Premier of our new Up with People show. Please invite your family, neighbors and friends to a very special evening at the Buell Theatre in downtown Denver on Saturday, February 9th at 7:30pm.

In our 43 year history, over 20,000 people from 72 different countries have traveled the world with Up with People. We have performed at four Super Bowl Halftimes, the Olympics, the White House, The Vatican, World Cup, and most recently the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and The Tournament of Roses Parade.

But it's not just about the show. Up with People’s new business model highlights a local charity in every city we visit throughout the world and gives 100% of all tickets sales from our Up with People show to that local charity. We are now in the business of raising money and raising awareness for local non-profits throughout the world.

Up with People’s international world headquarters is in Denver, Colorado, and this is our first appearance at the Buell Theatre. It's particularly fitting, therefore, that 100% of all tickets sales for this special event will go directly to the Metro Denver Habitat for Humanity.

Please visit www.ticketswest.com or www.upwithpeople.org/denver for tickets. This will be a sellout show – so please get your tickets ASAP.

I know that Steve Farber's readers are all over the world, but I hope that those of you in the Denver area can join us for this exciting event.

All The Best,

Tommy Spaulding

Posted by steve on 01.24.2008 | Comments (0)

The 2007 Kineticom LEAP Awards

I've written extensively on this site about Kineticom, a young, hot, vibrant San Diego-based company. (We profiled them recently in a mini-documentary about Extreme Leadership).

As you'll see from the previous posts, the principles of Love, Energy, Audacity and Proof are an integral part of their culture, and, once again, they've been kind enough to share a bit of themselves with the rest of us.

Here, then, are the Kineticom LEAP awards for 2007. They may only look like little plaques to you, but believe me, these awards are a big honor for the participants.

Consider doing something like this in your company, maybe? Just a thought...

Click on each image to see and read the full picture:

Posted by steve on 01.06.2008 | Comments (2)

What Do You Title Yourself?

In my last post I asked for your help in choosing a title for the new book, and the results are in:

With 60% of the vote, Greater Than Yourself was the hands-down winner for the main title. As far as the subtitle goes, well, let's just say that's still unclear. (My old friend, Sam Nitzberg, contributed my favorite write-in, But I Still Have You Beat, which is hilarious and therefore not an option). I still have to work it out with the publisher, but I've made an executive decision to stop worrying about it for now. It'll all be a moot point unless I finish writing all that stuff that comes after.

Thanks to everyone who helped out--I appreciate it very much.

And with all this thinking about titles, I've been revisiting what I title myself.

You know what I mean, right?

I'm really not sure what to say when--on an airplane, for example--someone asks me what I do for work. What am I? Keynote speaker? Leadership speaker? Motivational speaker? Author? Business author? Speaker author motivational keynoter person?

"I'm a speaker and a writer," I usually say. To some that probably sounds romantic, but to me it just seems bland. Vanilla.

It used to be faddish to come up with a really snappy title for yourself--one that describes the uniqueness of your work. My title at the Tom Peters Company was "Vice President and Official Mouthpiece."

And I've known more than one receptionist who titled herself "Director of First Impressions."

Is it still cool to do that snappy title thing, or has it gotten to be a little too precious?

I'm not sure.

So maybe you can help me out again. But this time, let's talk about you:

How do you answer the what-do-you-do question?

What do you title yourself?

Posted by steve on 12.19.2007 | Comments (15)

Birth Of A Title

I'm coming into the home stretch (okay, it's a long home stretch) on the new book, and the pressure's on to finalize the title. The working version has been Greater Than Yourself, but we're also playing with several variations on the theme, as well as opening it up to a start-from-scratch-anything-goes approach.

I'd love to get your help on this. Please take a couple of minutes and fill out this survey at Zoomerang.

Just a couple of clicks and you'll be done--and you can rest easy in your bed tonight knowing that you've helped this author and a major New York publisher make a decision that could change the very course of human existence.

Or whatever you have to tell yourself to feel good about it.

In any event, I'd greatly appreciate your help and creative input. (In case you missed it the first time around, please click here to take the survey).

Posted by steve on 12.05.2007 | Comments (3)

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The Radical Edge

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