Wed, June 17, 2009 - 4:15:29

The Best Leaders “Think Small”

image courtesy of Stratford College’s photostream on Flickr.

Every day it seems we discover another person jumping on the SMALL bandwagon, and we couldn’t be more excited to see that little by little the SMALL revolution is travelling across the nation.  As two entrepreneurs who made it to the top of the advertising industry by sweating the small stuff, we’re big believers in the idea that each of us has the distinct power within to make real changes in our lives.  By starting small, we can truly accomplish anything, even the most daunting of tasks.  And as Stew Friedman writes on his blog, Better Leader, Richer Life, the best leaders in business and beyond are those who think small.

As Friedman writes, the best leaders embody three key characteristics: adaptability, flexibility, and innovation.  In today’s times, he further explains, this often means handling chaos with playful creativity and in essence, thinking small.

Over the years, thinking small has gotten a bad rap.  We write people off for getting lost in the little details and not concentrating on the big picture.  But the truth is, the little things matter, so we want to revolutionize the way in which people perceive small thinkers.

When we think small, we not only make things more doable, we take control of the situation.  It’s not about micromanaging; it’s about looking at problems with micro-focus and dissecting them into basic components.  And, as Friedman states, it’s about coming up with little, but creative innovations that he calls “small wins.” Learning to apply these subtle but powerful changes throughout your life will not only make you more productive, he argues, but more creative as well.

It’s just another example of how SMALL can be a powerful catalyst for change.  The more we think small, dig deeply, assess problems and discover little solutions, the more we can achieve.  Simply put, in order to grow, you have to shrink your outlook.

So, to all of you leaders out there, whether you’re business execs or stay-at-home moms, we want to know: how are you thinking small to effect real change at home, in the workplace, and in your communities?  We can’t wait to hear your stories as you share them with us on Twitter and Facebook, email them to us at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), and comment here on the Small Blog.

Posted by Linda and Robin