Thomas Edison's Laws of Leadership

He made possible the following technologies, some of which you may have heard of:

• Sound recording industry
• Electric lights
• Movie industry
• Electrical power stations
• Telephone

Of course he is most famous for the invention of the light bulb (in 1879)

He did not think of the idea of light bulbs

For thirty years people had had the idea of using electricity to create light.
But the technicians were stuck on the practical difficulties.

More than twenty years, other research scientists had attempted to invent the light bulb, but could not crack nature's code.

Here was the problem they were all stuck on

Electricity would heat a wire to incandescent white heat but the wire would then melt and the circuit would be broken.
So the pre- Edison light bulb lasted one thousandth of a second before you needed to replace it.
Consequently, they did not sell very many.

The "EDISON success formula" consists of five steps that can be summarised in just five words.

1. Purpose
2. Plan
3. Action
4. Feedback
5. Change

You could learn this formula in five minutes and then use it to achieve any goal you set your mind to.

That would be a good use of five minutes

Let's look at the Edison success formula - one step at a time

Hear Edison speak on the need for goals.

"Restlessness discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure. Personally, I like to start where the last man left off."

The lack of desire to achieve is a negative factor, according to Edison
He once said to a colleague in a loud voice "There's a way to do it better - find it!"

His desire at this time was to create a practical method to light the world that did not involve flames!

Having a goal but with no plan to carry it out, is patently useless.
So, sit down with a pen and start thinking out your first plan.
Edison says "I believe that chief function of your body is to carry your brain around. "

A colleague of Edison called Jehl says about Edison's logical methods:
"Mr Edison made detailed plans for every trial. Every one of the thousands of experiments were recorded methodically in note books"

Edison added "I never did anything by accident" .

Edison was meticulous and scientific, but he was not above trying inspired guesswork too!

Jahl admits "Mr Edison and I even tried human hair plucked from a colleague who sported a particularly lush beard!
But it didn't work"

Above all Edison was a hard worker.
He often slept in the lab and on occasion worked 20hrs a day.
But he never really saw it as work. Hear him:
"I never did a day's work in my life. It was all fun. I believe that if we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves. Many opportunities are missed because they are dressed in overalls and looks like work. "

Be active, not passive in the pursuit of your goal.
Do not let a day go by without taking at least one step forward.

Jahl recalls "We made thousands of trials. We had to; the hunt was a long and tedious one"

Gather the feedback results, both the positive and the negative.
Much of your feedback results will be disappointing or painful to hear.
Edison had lots of disappointments to overcome. He was NOT an overnight success. His results came slowly:

"Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work!"

Results can come in various flavours:
The GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY,
What I like to call ON and OFF target feedback

Let's look at each:

On target feedback: good results

Some feedback results will be good news.
If the feedback is positive, - use it!
Edison says ""The value of an idea lies ONLY in the use of it."

Off target feedback

Some feedback seems like BAD news or UGLY news.
I.e. Your results are NOT what you wanted to hear.
In this case your task is to ponder the meaning of the negative feedback and re-write your plan anew
Here is where most people mistake "feedback" for "failure."
As a result many people are put off by bad results and they give up.

Edison has a lot to say on this; Hear him" Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless. Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

Jahl says that Edison applied his stick- ability to the light bulb problem.
In the morning, I saw Edison note books for the previous night. There was simply the name of the fibre followed by "try again" written in Edison's distinctive handwriting."

Your first plan will probably not work. It will have to go through MANY changes before you succeed.
Edison says "The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time"

Keep changing and refining the plan until you write one that does work

This takes persistence something that Edison had in abundance:
"When I have fully decided that a result is worth getting I go ahead of it and make trial after trial until it comes."

Persist until you achieve

Edison persisted until he achieved. His breakthrough finally came when Edison realised that nothing burns in the absence of oxygen.

Edison evacuated a flask and used a carbonised cotton sewing thread.
Jahl says with a wide grin "We sat up all night and watched it shine!"

You can find success, just as Edison did

And you MAY make your fortune as Edison did.
Yet Edison was not really concerned with money.
He says
" One might think that the money constitutes the reward. But I continue to find my greatest pleasure, in the work that precedes the success. "

Thomas Edison may not look like a FUN GUY but his method can teach all of us how to go about succeeding in life
The Edison Success Formula does not look magical but it holds the practical key to everything you want to achieve:

So memorise this formula

1. Purpose
2. Plan
3. Action
4. Feedback
5. Change

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• Leadership Training


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The emphasis is on helping you increase your confidence and develop your personal effectiveness.