Few Leaders Are Successful Unless a Lot of People Want Them to Be

Lesson 24 from Leadership Gold

John Maxwell

• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781400275571
• eBook ISBN: 9781400275571
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Leadership
• Index: Business

Smart leaders learn from their own mistakes. Smarter ones learn from others' mistakes—and successes.  

John C. Maxwell wants to help you become the smartest leader you can be by sharing Chapter 24, Few Leaders Are Successful Unless A Lot Of People Want Them To Be, of Leadership Gold with you. After nearly forty years of leading, Maxwell has mined the gold so you don't have to. Each chapter contains detailed application exercises and a "Mentoring Moment" for leaders who desire to mentor others using the book. 

Gaining leadership insight is a lot like mining for gold. You don't set out to look for the dirt. You look for the nuggets. You'll find them here.

FEW LEADERS ARE
SUCCESSFUL UNLESS A LOT OF
PEOPLE WANT THEM TO BE

In 1998, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Dreamworks SKG produced an animated feature film called The Prince of Egypt. The movie was about Moses, who grew up in Egypt as a member of Pharaoh’s household and eventually guided the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. As the movie was being made, the producers invited a few religious leaders to consult with them about it. I had the privilege of being one of those leaders. The experience was very enlightening to me as I was able to observe some of what happened behind the scenes during the making of that film.

As the opening date for the film approached, Margaret and I were delighted to receive an invitation to attend the premiere. What an exciting night it was! The evening was filled with laughter and words of congratulations. Yes, there was a red carpet, camera crews, media, interviews, and movie stars. And yes, Margaret and I walked on the red carpet and waved to the crowd—who ignored us.

When we were inside the theater and the movie began, I noticed how focused everyone was. Certainly a few of the attendees had seen the completed film, but most of them, like us, were seeing it for the first time. And they all had one question on their minds: “How did the movie turn out?”

As we watched, the people responded positively to seemingly insignificant things to which a normal audience wouldn’t. Why? Because they were involved in the details. It was a unique experience, and Margaret and I enjoyed the movie.

When it was over, the crowd applauded enthusiastically, and I quickly stood up to leave. Anyone who goes to an event with me knows that I like to exit early. Margaret quickly pulled me back down into my seat; nobody else in the theater had moved. Amazingly, excitement mounted as the credits began to roll. There were cheers as name after name rolled by, and the movie’s stars were the main cheerleaders as the many support people were recognized f...

Table of contents

• COVER PAGE
• TITLE PAGE
• COPYRIGHT
• CONTENTS
• DEDICATION
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• FEW LEADERS ARE SUCCESSFUL UNLESS A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT THEM TO BE
• NOTES
• ABOUT THE AUTHOR