In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

If you are like me, you learned that rhyme sometime in elementary school.

Specifically, Columbus left on his first voyage on August 3, 1492, sailing in search of a seagoing route from Europe to Asia with the vision of creating a trade route for spices, silk and more.

He led a crew of three ships on that voyage and, as history shows, instead found islands of North America. While not the first European to make this discovery (the Norse did it 500 years prior), it was his voyages that lead to the widespread awareness (and eventual colonization) of "the New World".

Enough history.

I am writing about Columbus not because of his discoveries, or even his major mistakes, but because of what his life can teach every leader.

Here are five specific lessons, as valuable today as ever, that we all can take from Columbus' legendary life.

Exercise your belief. Columbus believed the earth was smaller in circumference than most did. This belief led him to the logical (based on his beliefs) assertion that within a few weeks his ships could reach Asia. While he was wrong, he built his plan based on that belief, gathered support for his plan in spite of ridicule and disbelief, and crafted a plan to test those beliefs. This is what leaders do.

When did you last exercise your beliefs in a tangible way?

Find great supporters. Columbus didn't have the resources, power or money to put his plan into action. He tried to build support in Portugal and England, before finally persuading Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to support his plan. Even Royalty wasn't enough - his supporters also included a group of Italian business interests. Great leaders know they can't do it alone, and they are persistent in building support for their visions and beliefs.

Have you created a team of supporters for your vision?

Don't be satisfied. Columbus found land in his first voyage (what is now the Bahamas), but he didn't find the trade route he sought. So he went again, and again and again. Ultimately he led four voyages; each finding new territory (and getting as far as Panama). While you could classify him a failure in achieving his desired goal, you can't call him a quitter. When your vision is clear, and your belief strong, you can lead persistently.

How persistent are you? Do you lead past the first challenge or failure?

Build a plan. Columbus didn't just go to Queen Isabella, turn on the charm, lay out some ideas and then go hop on the ship. His navigational beliefs, his travel plans, and his funding support came together over several years. The funding process alone started seven years before he sailed. Over that time he honed his plan, made adjustments, and continued to build as he brought the plan to ultimate fruition.

Do you plan? Are you willing to adjust and modify when necessary in service of your beliefs and vision?

Think bigger. In the time of Columbus you could get spices from Asia on the overland route. Before he sailed, people had even gotten there by sea by sailing around the tip of Africa. Columbus, though, thought bigger. He believed from his study and planning that he could make it directly, more quickly and more cost effectively by sailing west. He didn't tie himself to conventional wisdom or approaches. He thought bigger. It was this bigger thinking that ultimately helped him sell his plan.

How big do you think? Are your visions large enough to captivate, persuade and engage others to follow you?

The story of Columbus proves that we can learn from events and actions from more than 500 years ago and while the context has changed, the lessons are as real and valuable as ever. The lessons are always there, when we look for them.

The other major message of this article isn't just the lessons, but is found in the questions after each idea; questions that beg application of the lessons. Learn the lessons, but answer the questions to really bring the lessons to life for you and those you lead.

Potential Pointer: Leadership lessons from history abound. Allow yourself to be open to these lessons rather than considering them obsolete or irrelevant. Cultivate your leadership skills by learning from the successes and failures of those who have come before you - both recently and long ago.

OK, right off the top, this book has a great title. That's why I picked it up in the airport bookstore - it wasn't because I knew the author or had heard about or read a review of the book. I, of course, still scanned it using my normal criteria once a book is in my hand to make a buying decision, but it started only with the title and its promise. (This isn't the first time I've done that, and it won't be the last.)

So it's established that I like the title and subtitle. And I'm guessing you do too. Since all of us, whether we think about it or not, are in the idea business anything that helps us turn "raw ideas into brilliance" has some allure.

Generally this book delivers.

The eleven steps make sense and clearly are written by a wise man who is good with words. The book is short (135 pages before the index), yet I did feel on some of the steps that I "had it" before the end. However, it was still worth finishing each chapter. It talks about an important process, and I liked Gerald's delivery.

One of the best measures of a book for me is how many ideas did it spawn? How many things did I underline or highlight? What made it into my journal or in the margins of the book?

By this measure the book does well. Some of the steps spoke more to me, but that likely says as much about my mindset and experience than anything else. The book closes with some great questions to ask of yourself and your ideas at each step - and these are very interesting and valuable.

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If you are breathing, you are communicating.

And you communicate in every role you play - friend, colleague, parent, spouse, coworker, leader, you name it. Since we communicate all the time, you'd think we'd all be pretty good at it, yet sadly that isn't the case.

We can - and we must - get better at it.

Let me prove it with one question.

When was the last time you said, or thought, "I already said that, weren't they listening?"

I'm guessing your answer is less than 24 hours ago, and certainly not more than a few days.

The harsh reality is that just because we say something, doesn't mean our message is heard (or acted on). Depending on the situation and the role in which that happens, this could cause anything from an inconvenience or frustration to a huge issue and everything in between.

And while we can't make the other person hear us, we can do much to improve our communication skills and approaches. We can take command of what is in our control. The four factors that follow are in your control. You can refine your communication with any or all of them to be more consistently effective.

Amplitude

Of course what you say must be spoken loud enough to be heard, but this goes far beyond that. We want to use our amplitude to be noticed. Maybe you need to speak louder, but maybe you could whisper. And often we communicate best with our actions. Like the song says - "you say it best, when you say nothing at all."

Once, many years ago as a trainer, I practiced making a particular point by raising my voice to get people's attention. It worked, but I received feedback that, in that instance, it seemed out of character for me and wasn't as effective as it could be. My response? I changed my approach to almost whispering the key message. The result? Much more impact.

Amplitude matters.

Media

This area gets a lot of play today with new technologies for communicating emerging seemingly every day. Of course you should think creatively about how you can use Twitter, Facebook, Web videos, podcasts and the like (and the "old-news" stuff like email, voice mail and PowerPoint). But don't forget about a whiteboard or flipchart, the bulletin board, a post it, face to face conversations, effective meetings, and just asking great questions.

The number of media options is large, and therefore offers us many opportunities - from whatever role and to whatever audience we are communicating. Rather than getting overwhelmed, keep trying new things while remembering the old ones, and realize that the best answer is seldom only one medium.

Amplitude and Media should be flexible, tested and evolving. You will benefit by trying different things, mixing up your amplitude and media, and constantly looking for a fresh way to get people's attention. Remember, without their attention we have no shot at effective communication.

Frequency

For a communication to be heard and remembered, you will likely have to say it more than once. Why? There is lots of noise and distractions in our lives. There is lots of competition for our ideas. And, as you've probably heard before, "repetition is the mother of learning."

Ad agencies sell companies on this idea. Research says that we must hear a message 10 or more times before we really have it in our memory. Regardless of the source of the advice, the fact is clear. If you want to be an effective communicator, you must be willing to share your points over and over.

Once is seldom (if ever) enough.

Message

Want your message to be heard and remembered? Then make the message memorable. Think slogans (Just Do It) and alliteration ("Perfect practice makes perfect."). Think metaphor and analogy (how is your point or situation like something else that is unrelated?). Think acronym (like you will soon find in this article) or acrostic (where the first letters of the message spell out a real word).

These devices provide a shorthand for and a touchstone to your message. They work because they take into account how our brains work. They will work best when you put the memorable message in the larger context or meaning (so the slogan or acronym isn't discounted). But even with the risks of discounting or worry about dumbing down a message, these devices are important, when used as a part of your overall communication strategy.

Frequency and Message should be consistent. Through amplitude and media you are heard, now you want your message remembered, whether through pure repetition (frequency) or a particularly memorable way of getting our message across.

Amplitude, Media, Frequency, and Message - notice that they create the acronym AM / FM, an apt reminder of how you can "tune" your communication skills just like you tunes in your favorite radio station.

While I have shared examples from a leadership perspective, these four tools apply to all of your communication, from leading to marketing to parenting to any other situation you choose.

Consider and use all four of these suggestions. Each will help. Taken together they will greatly improve your effectiveness and your ability to be heard and influential with others.

Potential Pointer: Communicating isn't enough; you must be heard. Rather than lamenting the lack of listening by others, remarkable leaders (and human beings) take responsibility for communicating more powerfully and more effectively.

This is probably the first "career book" I've recommended. So why, after all the career books I've read, seen and been given over the years, do I recommend this one? Three reasons: because it's written by the very hip and sage Lisa Haneberg (whose books and blog I have recommended before), because it's MORE than a career book and, well, because Lisa told me I am an example of Hip and Sage (I'd settle for one of the two - either one!).

Lisa's point is that folks in the Baby Boomer generation may have the sage part, but might be lacking in the hip category, and she, born at the end of the boomer generation, wants to help.

The book starts with sage and shares some useful thoughts and a model for thinking about the components of "sageness," but the bulk of the book is about hipness. Really, it covers types of technology: defining and exploring some major types, how to use them and more.

Because Lisa is a personal example of diving in and learning and of very effectively using these technologies, she speaks in a sage and believable way about them. Consider this a good primer for you.

With the rapid change in technology and the web, this book will become outdated far too quick. This is one of my few problems with the book, but it isn't really a problem if you read it now! And, because Lisa is smart, she is maintaining a Hip and Sage blog to freshen the ideas and the technologies.

The book opens with a great story about singers Tony Bennett and k.d. lang - a story whose provocative lessons make it worth buying the book in itself.

If you are a Boomer or older Gen Xer who would like to be a bit hipper at work (or with your kids), Lisa's wisdom condensed in this book would be a great place for you to start - not because of the technologies themselves, but because she puts them into context and makes them more relevant to you.

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In May of 1961 in Houston, Texas, President John F. Kennedy set one of the biggest goals in human history - to put a man on the moon and bring him home safely before the end of the decade. And many in the U.S., and around the world, thought he was being utterly ridiculous.

The validity and wisdom of really large goals was debated long before Neil Armstrong's historic steps, and that debate will rage far beyond today.

The debate, of course, centers around these two questions: "If we set the goal really high and don't make it, won't we be disappointed?" and "Wouldn't we be better off to set a lower goal and make it?"

Let me answer those questions this way: if President Kennedy hadn't set that goal nearly fifty years ago, would a man have walked on the moon by now?

Unless another leader had set a similar bold goal, definitely not.

You can't reach a big goal, unless you aim for it. It won't happen by chance.

This challenge of what size to set our goals applies at all levels, from nations to businesses to teams to families and, of course, to each of us as individuals. To get past the seemingly safe logic of setting goals so that we won't be disappointed, we must ask ourselves what we really want and build our confidence in our worthiness to have what we really want.

The Four Reasons

If you aren't yet convinced, here are four specific reasons why you will benefit from setting BIGGER goals.

Big goals give you a shot at reaching your potential. Let's face it, your organization, your team and YOU have tremendous potential. The only way you have a shot at reaching that potential is by setting goals that stretch you, challenge you and push you towards that potential.

Better to come up a little short, than not be in the game. Which is better: setting a goal that is your heart's desire and achieving 90% of it or setting a much lower goal - and reaching it - or even exceeding it by a little? Would a little disappointment be worth the difference in results? I'll let you decide for yourself.

You are going to be working anyway. Regardless if you have a big goal or a small goal (or no goal at all), you will still be expending effort in that area of your life in some way, right? All the research shows that when we are focused on a goal, we will be more efficient and effective. So, since you're going to be working anyway, you might as well work towards the big goal that you really want!

You are worth it. It's true. You are worth achieving the most and the best for yourself. There is no reason you should settle or give in. This is what most people tell those they love, but they don't live it for themselves. If you believe you are worth it, great! If you don't, begin a process to improve your self belief until you can look in the mirror and know you are worth achieving your biggest goals and desires.

I've stated all of these for you as an individual because I want to do my best to persuade you to set higher and bigger goals for yourself. Having said that, remember that all four of these reasons apply to your team and your organization of any type.

However, and with whomever, you choose to set bigger goals, you will be glad you did.

Potential Pointer: The key question in setting big goals is "What do we really want?" not "What can we achieve?" The biggest goals, the ones that can change your world, will always seem large. Yet, if you don't set them, you'll never get there. Set bigger goals and know you will achieve more - even if you don't quite make it to that desired destination.

This summer as a part of our intern development program, we created a summer reading program. The process is that everyone on the team reads the book (or reads it again), and then we have a conversation, like a book club, talking about concepts, ideas and more.

Before we are done we have generated ideas for our business, and the interns have made connections from what they have learned to apply both to their work with us and when they get back to school in the fall (one as a Senior at Purdue and one as a first year Law Student at the University of Illinois).

When I've mentioned our 'book club' the last couple of months, everyone wanted to know what we're reading, so I'm sharing that list here. Each of these books have been recommended by me in the past, but here they are for again, with a quick comment and links to the past recommendations.

Remarkable Leadership by Kevin Eikenberry

OK, did you expect this book not to be included? If you are reading this, I hope you have a copy, and if not, today is a great day to change that! Here are some other recommendations for my latest best seller.

The Psychology of Influence by Robert Cialdini

This is a classic book on influence. If you want to be more persuasive in any part of your life, this is a must read. It is full of great stories and sound research. Here's my full recommendation.

Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath

These brothers wrote a best seller about how to communicate in ways to make your messages remembered. Like Influence, this book applies to all of us, because we all want our communication to be heard and remembered. Here's my full recommendation.

You would have to check with Adam and Kim (our interns) for their personal opinions, but I think these have been great resources for all of us this summer and know they can help you too.

Recently I wanted to remove some concrete footings from the property of my boyhood farm home. On the surface these slabs averaged 2-3 feet across and about 8 feet wide. This surface area may not seem very large, but because they had been built to carry the weight of a very large tank I knew they were deep. I just didn't know how deep.

I arranged for someone to come with a backhoe and loader to dig and roll them out, so I could pull them with a tractor to a space at the back of the property, out of the way.

Along with (eventually) reaching my goal, this every day task gave me a major reminder of the power of alignment, and how the alignment of our work to a clearly stated goal creates the leverage to actually reach the goal with as little effort as possible.

The size of the challenge we faced became clearer as we began to see the size of the concrete pieces. Without going into all the minute details, imagine a solid piece of concrete the size of several large refrigerators! Once we unearthed the first one, we hooked it to a chain and began to pull it with my tractor.

I got about three feet, and was unable to pull it any farther.

Next, we moved the loader in front of my tractor and connected us together: loader . . . tractor . . . concrete. With this processional we were able to slowly but surely move one, then two, then three blocks to their final resting place. Of the eight total blocks we unearthed, five required this alignment of men, machine and strength in order to complete the task.

While I have just condensed a five hour process (that we initially thought might take two hours at most) into a couple hundred words, hopefully it provides a context and a metaphor for our organizational working lives and why leaders must consciously work to build alignment around our goals because when we don't performance and productivity can fall far short of what is desired.

The Four Ways

Here are four important ways alignment of work creates the leverage required for higher performance and goal achievement.

Strength in numbers. I couldn't move some of the blocks by myself, the loader was required. But the loader only helped if we pulled in the same direction. We operate our organizations in groups. Organizations are complex and require a variety of skills. Organizations also are sizable; no one person can do it all. This is an obvious statement, but leads to the first key to leverage. When we amass all of our force on a task or work output we can finish more quickly; but only if everyone is truly working together. Strength in numbers is reduced or even negated if all effort isn't focused in the same direction.

Momentum is maximized. Once we started to pull the block, even with all of its weight and resistance, the task got easier. In fact, at times, once we got going, it seemed like I could almost pull it without the loader's help. Momentum is an amazing thing for our work. Often getting started (whether a new product, an organization-wide project or even a process improvement for your team) is the hardest part. To launch successfully we need to truly get everyone on the same page, then the launch will be achieved and the work will become somewhat easier, due to momentum.

Friction is reduced. I certainly had friction as the several thousand pound mass of concrete moved along the ground. Imagine if the loader drive felt there was a better destination that had previously been determined and tried to go in a different direction than I went. The friction and tension in the system would have been huge! Often teams (or individuals on teams) find themselves in a virtual tug of war, pulling on opposite ends of the rope, creating significant effort, but no real progress towards the goal. When the goal is clear and everyone pulls in the same direction, friction is reduced.

Effort is multiplied. There's no question that both of us working on this project were working hard, but it wasn't until we worked together that we made the most progress. I could have continued to try to move the concrete while the loader unearthed the other pieces - after all that was his job. But it required flexibility and a clear understanding of the full goal to truly succeed. (Believe me, an unmoved pile of unearthed concrete in the yard would have been far worse than where they were to begin with!) When we worked together the results of our efforts were multiplied. Far too often team and individual performance is judged incorrectly, or at least incompletely. In order to accurately define performance it must be done in the context of the larger organizational perspective. Alignment to organizational goals must be considered as a part of the performance equation. Stated another way, effort isn't enough; it's accomplishment that is the real measure of success.

Potential Pointer: Having people working hard is the goal of many leaders; but it is the wrong measure. The right goal is people working towards predefined goals in concert and alignment. When we can create clear alignment, and people act on it, more results will be accomplished more quickly with less effort and more energy.

This book isn't for everyone. Some of you don't want to escape from "cubicle nation" some of you have long since made that leap; and for some this just isn't a topic of interest.

But for those of you who are interested, and have considered making that leap (or know someone who is), this book is perfect.

Pam was well prepared to write this book. After all, she's been behind the well written and vastly popular Escape from Cubicle Nation blog for several years. Plus, she is a life coach who has worked with many people making the transition from employee to business owner. When you pick up this book, you can rest assured you are reading from an expert.

This is a comprehensive book about the steps to take and the things to think about during that transition, and it covers the bases exceptionally well. As with any book covering a topic so big, you may find an area on which you'd like or need more information. Rather than suggesting that as a flaw in any way, it's simply a statement that Pam has done what she set out to do - give you the book that will point you and head you in the direction of your dreams.

Because of Pam's work, you will likely find this book reads like a coach, helping you through each thought process and step. It is practical, filled with thought provoking ideas, and extremely well laid out to be as helpful as possible.

The best recommendation that I can give is that if I were making the transition today that I made 15 years ago, I would want this book on my desk. If it had been available then, it would be well read, dog-eared, highlighted and a valued part of my library.

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The young leader might not recognize it, and the veteran may no longer think about it, but neither situation obscures the truth: leaders influence all the time.

At one level this makes complete sense. After all, as leaders we are trying to take people towards a desired destination, and since we can't force anyone to do anything (at least not successfully for any extended length of time), we must rely on our ability to influence others to move them towards the goals.

This sort of planned or intentional influence is important, and seldom forgotten, yet it isn't the only influence that matters, nor is it the most common.

The more "everyday" influence is what may be forgotten or ignored because we don't realize the subtle forms influence can take and how pervasive it is.

The reality is that as a leader everything we do is noticed, analyzed, and has meaning placed on it.

Let's look at the five ways all leaders share their influence, intentionally . . . or not.

The Five Influencers

We influence in each of these five ways all the time. The more aware of this we are, the more successful we will be.

Our words. The things we say - and don't say - have a huge impact on the thoughts and behaviors of others. This can take the form of the carefully planned and rehearsed comments of a politician (or of you before a big planning meeting), or the seemingly mundane way we say good morning (or if we say it at all). Everything leaders say plays a part in how successfully their influence moves people in the desired directions.

Our actions. The cliché is that actions speak louder than words. For a leader, this is more than cliché; it is truth. What do you do when someone shares a new idea? How do you we react to the news about a new Customer or a problem? Your team takes cues about the things you place a priority on simply by watching what you focus the most energy/time/attention on.

Our body language. Do you nod your head eagerly or roll your eyes? Do you smile broadly or are you continually wearing a frown? Do you sit alertly in meetings, or lean back in comfort? Those around you are picking up on these cues all day long. The biggest challenge here is that our body language may be misinterpreted - so we must be vigilant and aware of this risk.

Our attitude. Most everyone knows and believes that enthusiasm is contagious, unfortunately, the opposite is also so true. Our attitude is contagious regardless of what it is, especially as a leader. A participant in a workshop once told me, "I can tell if it is going to be a good day based on the supervisor's attitude when he walks in the door." Enough said.

Our decisions. Of course many of our decisions influence people's thoughts and behaviors, but I'm not taking about the overt decisions about actions and directions that we might share in a staff meeting. Rather, I'm talking about the subtle decisions we make that have a direct impact on the other four ways we share our influence.

If I had asked you to come up with the list after reading the title of this article, you likely would have come up with the first four ways. While they are all important, it is the fifth way - influencing through our decisions - that might be overlooked, but arguably is most important because our decisions and choices directly impact the other four influencers.

As a leader we influence, whether we like it not.

The best leaders make decisions to influence positively and constructively and realize that those decisions are the critical first step to making it happen.

Potential Pointer: Leaders are influencing others all the time, whether we are aware of it or not. Remarkable leaders are aware of the subtle ways they influence others and make conscious decisions to make sure they are sharing the influence they want, and need, to be most successful.

This isn't a page-turning, read-on-the-beach book. That isn't an indictment, just a fact. This is a workbook designed to help you do exactly what the title promises: get more for your training and development dollars.

Actually, this isn't one book, it's two.

One cover is subtitled "A Guide to Breakthrough Learning for Managers." Flip the book over and the other cover is subtitled: "A Guide to Breakthrough Learning for Participants."

When you read the book from the perspective you are most interested in, you will find a surprise in the middle. It ends. And, the next page is upside down (which is the end of the book starting from the other cover)!

This unique and functional approach to creating the book is a telling sign of the usefulness of the content itself. As a workbook it contains specific tools, techniques and templates that you are encouraged to use. Sporting good learning approaches, solid and easy to follow examples are included to make both the concepts and the suggested tasks easy to follow and apply.

If you are a training professional, you will love this book. If you are a passionate learner who gets frustrated by your inability to apply what you learn in workshops, this book will help you. If you are a corporate leader who wants to know how to create a better return on your training investment, this book will give you practical clues as well (but be prepared to get involved and not just hand it off to someone else).

Beach reading? No.

Valuable and practical reading? Absolutely.

If you fit any of the descriptions shared above, this book deserves a spot on your desk - not just your bookshelf.

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