BE A LEADER THAT LASTS–Dave Kraft [ff64]

 

The life of a leader can be compared to running a race. It’s not how you start the race that matters but how you finish. If you are to be a leader who finishes well it will take preparation, personal discipline, constant attention and the help of others.

To be a truly successful leader that lasts you’ll not want to be all alone at the finish line.  You’ll want others at the finish line with you. People like your family, friends and other people whose lives you’ve impacted.

However, there are many obstacles that get in leaders way that prevent them from finishing well. We live in a fast paced and distracted world that causes fatigue and failure. Leaders fight enemies from within and from without causing them to get off track, be disqualified or quit.

Professor Bobby Clinton in his book, The Making of a Leader, comes to the conclusion that only 30 percent of leaders finish well. That is not very many.

My guest Dave Kraft has beaten the odds and has devoted his life to helping other leaders do the same. He has coached, formally or informally well over five hundred leaders in both business and ministry groups. He has written three books on the subject, Leaders Who Last, Mistakes Leaders Make and Learning Leadership from Nehemiah. In his seventies Dave still travels the world teaching on leadership and continues to coach leaders across the country.

Dave was my business and life coach during my transition from private practice ownership into my teaching and mentoring business to therapists. Dave and I sat down for a conversation about leadership, maintaining a work/life balance and the keys to finishing well. He shared so many pearls of wisdom during our conversation I needed to divide it up into two episodes to get it all in.

In the 1st episode will will cover:

• Keys to becoming a leader who lasts

• 3 Characteristics of a successful leader

• How to be productive but maintain a healthy work/life balance

• What you can tell about a leader by his calendar and checkbook

I appreciate Dave coming on to the podcast and sharing his time tested wisdom with us. Dave is one of the most energetic, positive and wise leaders I’ve had the priviledge to be around. He has literally influenced thousands of leaders all over the world and it was my privilege to be coached by him. I can’t wait to share the second half of our conversation with you next time.

You can reach Dave at his website davekraft.org. Take a few minutes and acquaint yourself with what’s on this website. You will find a leadership goldmine and a lifetime of inspiration.

Announcements

I have just one announcement I’d like to share with you today. The Cash Practice Roadmap Pilot Course began on January 13th. I have a great group of therapists in the first ever course and we are off to a great start. The pilot course is designed to help students build a solid business foundation that will take their practice idea to making a profit from their first patient.

We have therapists all the way from California to New Mexico to New Jersey. A varied group of individuals that are at various stages of building their own practice. It’s been a great time and I’ll keep you posted on our progress.

If you’re interested in the next class please email me at heypaul@paulpotterpt.com and type Pilot Signup in the subject line. I’ll arrange phone call so I can answer your questions about the next course course.

The last announcement is I want to make my listeners aware of an upcoming change to the title of the Functional Freedom podcast. The focus of my podcast and blog has evolved into helping therapists launch and grow their own private practices. A new name and brand will better reflect the focus and direction of the podcast. Anticipate those changes taking place sometime in the 2nd quarter of 2016.

I will be adding new podcast features in 2016 that will help you gain the personal and professional freedom to have a successful and meaningful practice. I’ll share more about the upcoming changes in future podcast episodes.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for listening to my podcast show after show. The number of downloads and subscribers is slowly growing. I had the opportunity to speak with a few of you during my research for the cash practice pilot course. Getting to meet you and hear about your dreams and steps you’ve taken to fulfill your calling as a therapy entrepreneur has been the greatest pleasure of doing the podcast and blog.

You all are amazing people and you are doing some pretty amazing things. Keep it up. I hope to inspire, encourage and provide you quality information so that you can continue to make a difference in your part of the universe.