My friend Angela Craig is a community organizer, among other things. Angela noticed people in our community that were making a difference. People that were giving sacrificially to help others. People who were doing good. And she noticed that not everybody noticed these people who were doing good things because they were the right things to do, whether anybody noticed or not.
So Angela started an awards program that has grown into one of our biggest annual community events, filling our local theater with people eager to honor local heroes and hear their stories. The Give Good Awards recognizes people who are making a difference in the lives of others and in so doing making our community a better place for all. Angela should probably win the award for making the biggest difference. But she is too busy making a difference by taking steps to help others, which is a reward in itself.
Angela possesses core values and convictions that compel her to serve others and make a difference. And she has learned that big projects can be broken down into small increments, making them doable. You just have to be willing to take that first step. And she’s written a book about taking steps to accomplish our dreams and become the leaders we wish to be. I’ve read it, and I like what I read. It made me feel encouraged to keep moving ahead. In simple terms, this is what the book is about, in Angela’s own words:
The principles of Pivot Leadership are simple. Small steps = Big change. Taking one small step can significantly change your direction. Vincent Van Gogh said: “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” When you take many small steps, it can drastically impact and change your leadership and your future.
I encourage you to read the book for yourself. It is filled with practical steps and application ideas that you can actually accomplish. It’s not just another self-help book filled with high ideals that are unachievable for the average Clark Kent. Nor does it preach you into a state of guilt for being a slacker or failing to measure up. Instead it leverages what you do have with insight and coaching that will encourage you to move forward.
Benjamin Franklin said “Small strokes fell big oaks.” In her book Angela teaches us how to pivot, how to take the small steps and make the small strokes that will effect great change.
In business this is sometimes known as the “Kaizen Effect.” Kaizen is the Japanese word for continuous improvement. Even though Angela doesn’t call it that, she helps us understand how little changes, small steps, can help us improve our mileage on the journey of life, and arrive at our dreams and destinations.
She shares what she has learned from others and her own experience to make a difference in your life, in your community, and in your future.
I like Angela and I like her book. I think you will, too.
You find out more about Angela and read a sample chapter here: www.angelalcraig.com
Book trailer video here: http://youtu.be/Tye4AcY4qPc
You can buy it here: http://www.amazon.com/Pivot-Leadership-Small-Steps-Changes/dp/1633931110/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439246340&sr=8-1&keywords=pivot+leadership