Lead or Get Off the Pot!: The Seven Secrets of a Self-Made Leader

by Pat Croce, Bill Lyon (With)

Overview

Pat Croce's management and motivational expertise are world-renowned. His fresh, daring leadership philosophy launched a small physical therapy practice into a nationwide franchise and revitalized Philadelphia's famed 76ers basketball team -- stories that were relayed in his bestselling memoir, I Feel Great and You Will Too!
Now, in Lead or Get off the Pot!, the irrepressible count of carpe diem offers a unique leadership prescription that turns conventional wisdom on its ear. Everyone -- regardless of age, position, or station in life -- has the opportunity to take control and improve the lives of those around them. You can become a true leader: one who challenges, mediates, motivates, communicates, and inspires those in your workplace, community, or personal life.
In this practical and accessible guide, Pat shares his bold and unorthodox strategies for developing personal passion, a can-do attitude, and the motivation essential for cultivating leadership skills. His advice includes: Twelve Ways to Build a Passionate Team; Croce's Three Rules for Praise; Learning to Listen with a Leader's Eye; and much more.
Lead or Get Off the Pot! is an informative and highly practical collection of leadership lessons that can be used by everyone. Don't wait to gain a so-called leadership position to lead. Do it now!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780743258654
Publisher:	Touchstone
Publication date:	05/15/2004
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	315 KB

About the Author

Pat Croce is a minority partner of the Philadelphia 76ers, founder of Sports Physical Therapists, Inc., in-studio commentator and venture partner of Slamball, NBC commentator for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, columnist for Fortune Small Business magazine, creator of Pirate Soul Museum in Key West, and a knock-your-socks-off motivational speaker. He and his wife, Diane, have two children and reside in suburban Philadelphia.

Bill Lyon has been writing for forty-seven years and has been a sports columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer since 1972. He is a recipient of the National Headliner Award and a six-time Pulitzer Prize nominee. He and his wife, Ethel, have two sons and two grandsons. This is his sixth book.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction

In everyone's life, there are major influences and defining events that help shape who -- and what -- you are.

A pivotal moment in my life happened on a typical Sunday afternoon when I was a boy. My mother returned from church and was beaming -- not so much because of the weekly mass, but because of something that happened afterward.

As my mother made her way outside, a lady tapped her on the shoulder and asked, "Are you Mrs. Croce?" My mom answered, "Yes." The lady said that "Mr. Croce" used to be her insurance man, and explained how his generosity of spirit gave her sustenance, support, and most of all, hope, in her darkest hour. In those days, my dad would travel from door to door to collect his customers' insurance payments. Premiums were pretty low then, yet this lady found it difficult to keep up payments when her husband contracted a terminal illness that dragged on for months. After all corners had been cut, she decided to stop paying the insurance premiums. Following her husband's death, she was shocked to receive an insurance cash settlement; after all, she knew that the policy should have been canceled. Then she learned from the insurance company that my dad had continued to make the premium payments -- and even triggered the payment of death benefits -- without telling her. Instead of facing her twilight years not only alone, but completely broke, she would have the resources to live her final days with dignity and some measure of comfort.

Who knows why my dad did it? When my mom told us the story later that day, my dad just smiled and shrugged it off.

I may not have understood at the time, but my father's actions, in retrospect, taught me the most important lesson I've learned: You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give.

We will never know the final tally of random acts of kindness performed by my father in his lifetime. But I do know this: in every way, by word and by deed, the original Pat Croce was a leader. I have tried mightily to follow in his footsteps, and in the process discovered much of what I know about leadership.

Leadership is not about getting the money or the fame or the accolades or the status. It is not about one person making decisions and giving orders from a lofty perch, pulpit, or vacuum. Leadership is not possible without a leader who genuinely cares about the cause and those behind it. Leadership is not a dictatorship, but a fellowship.

Leadership is about compassion, and hard work, and dedication, and tireless enthusiasm for what you're doing and for the people you're doing it with. A leader challenges and mediates and motivates and communicates and inspires. Sometimes with a shout, sometimes with a whisper.

And always by example.

Ironically, the month my father died, in 1993, I was putting the finishing touches on the deal to sell my Sports Physical Therapists franchise, marking the earnest beginning of my journey as a speaker and motivator. (Of course, becoming minority owner and president of the Philadelphia 76ers was on the horizon, too, though no one knew it at the time.) All of the theories and practices and ethics and ethos that I would begin to advocate with massive adrenaline had started with my father. And though he would not be there to witness the next stage of my life, his guidance and exemplary, seamless leadership would be put to great use.

I have always believed that if I can do it, so can you. And I am not afraid to tell you so. Now, in Lead or Get Off the Pot!, I lay out all of the concepts and systems and skill sets, as well as the overall philosophy of leadership, that I've used from the training room to the boardroom and beyond. Some of these I got from my dad. Some I learned from the many books I've read and other influences that I cherish (you'll see that I have a tendency to refer to these things often, and with great passion). And some I learned from experience -- questioning, listening, reacting, erring, learning, challenging, and always growing.

These skills and this mind-set apply everywhere, from the playground to the office of the CEO, because the laws of leadership are universal. They apply to every circumstance, grade school through retirement home. And they work for everyone, from the quiet and meek to the loud and sleek. You don't have to be the top dog to stir up the pack; every dog can have his day -- every day. And every man or woman, boy or girl, can develop the qualities that make a great leader, whether you're rubbing elbows with the titans of industry or the common man.

I see leadership as a bold and daring adventure, and I challenge you to attack it in the same way that I do. You don't have to tattoo a pirate ship on your forearm (like me) to express your insatiable desire to set out and conquer. But I do urge you to take every chance you can to get on the ship! Every day offers an opportunity to lead; it's up to you to grab the wheel with both hands and steer your journey toward that glittering treasure chest of dreams.

It is my hope and intent that this book will enable you to become a leader -- or to become a better leader -- no matter in what venture, situation, or station in life you find yourself.

Copyright © 2004 by Pat Croce

Table of Contents

Contents

FOREWORD

BY STEPHEN R. COVEY

INTRODUCTION

ONE: PAINT THE VISION IN VIVID COLORS

The Vision Quest

The Vision Keeper

Write It Down...Please!

The Vision Breakdown

Whose Choice Is It Anyway?

Oh No! The Fred Incident

76ers Vision Breakdown

TWO: BUILD A PASSIONATE TEAM

Triple A: Attitude, Assets, and Ambition

Delegation Built a Nation of Forty

Slogans Don't Guarantee Success

What About Chaplain Bob?

Goals, Roles, and Tolls

R and R on the Rocks

Team Building's Dirty Dozen

THREE: PREACH THE MISSION...FROM EVERY MOUNTAINTOP

An Equilateral Attack

The Strongest Muscle

A Leathery Negotiation

I Found Six Cs in Communication

The Meat of the Message

Lights, Camera, Action!

The 93 Percent Rule

A Cigar, a Top Hat, and a Silver Tongue

FOUR: WALK THE TALK

Me, Myself, and Integrity

"Trust Me" or "Screw You"?

Influence or Influenza

Inspiration in a Habit

Intensity Sets the Vision on Fire

Insomnia Is Not in My Dreams

FIVE: LISTEN WITH A LEADER'S EYE

Listening Between the Lines

Keep Your Attention on Your Intention

Presence with Presents

The Ladder of Flattery

That's a Slammin' Idea!

Keep Your Finger on the Pulse

The Daffodil Principle

SIX: SLAY THEM WITH SUPER SERVICE

The Golden Rule

The Ten Commandments of Service

A Hole in One!

Short Circuit to Success

One-of-a-Kind Special Delivery

Lifters and Leaners

SEVEN: CELEBRATE THE JOURNEY

Celebration Education

Sharing in Others' Success

A Cause to Celebrate

Atlantic City or Bust

CONCLUSION

What People are Saying About This

M. Night Shyamalan

This book is for people who didn't go to Harvard; for people who didn't have a relative at the top; this book is for regular people with extraordinary dreams. It is the blue-collar book for the self-made leader.

Tony Robbins

Get ready to laugh, learn, and be inspired as Pat Croce takes his eaders on a journey of success. Be more than a successful person, become a leader and inspire others toward greatness!

Tim Russert

Vision — Passion — Leadership. Pat Croce has them all — and so does this book!

Paul Fireman

Lead or Get Off the Pot! Only Pat Croce could come up with this kind of title for his book. After reading it, it definitely says it all. Croce at his best is inspirational, demanding, enlightening, and persevering. Thumbs up!

Rich DeVos

Croce says it well, direct, and in a way anyone can catch. Get it and go for it.

Editorial Reviews

The Seven Secrets Of A Self-Made Leader
Leadership author and motivational guru Pat Croce has once again encapsulated his greatest thoughts and lessons about leadership into an inspirational page-turner. Full of personal stories and useful ideas about leading others, Lead or Get Off the Pot! turns practical advice about business and life into numerous action lists, including "Twelve Ways to Build Passion," "Croce's Three Rules for Praise," and "Team Building's Dirty Dozen." The latter includes such timeless gems of wisdom as, "Praise in public and criticize in private," and "Be more curious and less critical." Stories from Croce's childhood and professional life make this an exciting read that reverberates with colorful anecdotes and memorable take-away points.

When Croce explains that one of a leader's most vital jobs is to make people feel good, he draws from his credibility as a leader who during his five-year tenure as president of the Philadelphia 76ers led the team with the worst record in the league to become first in the NBA standings, breaking franchise attendance, revenue, merchandise, and consecutive win records on its way to the NBA Championships against the Los Angeles Lakers. Croce's high-energy entrepreneurial spirit and depth of common sense make him one of the most enthusiastic leadership experts to put his ideas into a framework anyone, anywhere can use to lead others to success.

'Pat Croce Pointers'
Using examples from his experiences as a business leader and public figure to dramatize the lessons he imparts, Croce communicates valuable business truths in as few words as are necessary to take leaders to the next level of success. Throughout Lead or Get Off the Pot!, he uses dozens of "Pat Croce Pointers" — brief yet eloquent sidebars that sum up the book's leadership principles — to express the crux of his ideas. These pointers include:

• One of the most crucial promises a leader makes, whether she knows it or not, is that she'll consistently rise above the bar that she herself sets.
• What's worse than making a mistake is not admitting it and correcting it.
• The leader must be fully aware of the goals, roles and tolls that affect each member of the staff. Knowing these things will lead to proper action, and effective interaction.
• Customer service can be boiled down to two words: Listen and React - with action!

Croce's book overflows with advice that can make the job of being an effective leader, or becoming one, easier. Simple yet relevant tips include how to remember somebody's name, how not to treat customers, how to inspire a creative team of staff members, how to lead while practicing the Golden Rule, and how to celebrate successes, both big and small.

Inside Sports and Business
Croce illustrates his lessons with many stories about his own experiences inside the world of sports and business. From the touching story of a boy and his family who were deeply moved by Croce's telephone call after the child underwent brain surgery, to the valuable lessons about customer service learned by Croce and his business partner while the two went on a shopping spree for their employees, the stories contained here illustrate Croce's remarkable ability to turn stories from his exceptional life into timeless leadership lessons about listening, restraint, respect, curiosity, honesty and trust. His success, insightful wisdom and positive attitude provide the right mix to make his practical lessons about improving workplace, community and personal life hard to ignore.

Why We Like This Book
Lead or Get Off the Pot! is written in such a compelling, conversational tone that the lessons Croce imparts come to the reader as if they were imparted by a close personal friend or mentor. By offering up his experiences and knowledge in an accessible way, Croce provides his readers with memorable milestones with which they can better guide their own personal journeys into a full life of fulfillment and leadership. Copyright © 2004 Soundview Executive Book Summaries

Soundview Executive Book Summaries

"Get ready to laugh, learn, and be inspired."
— Anthony Robbins, bestselling author of Awaken the Giant Within

"[A] book for regular people with extraordinary dreams."
— M. Night Shyamalan, award-winning filmmaker, The Sixth Sense

"Just as Pat Croce reinvented the 76ers, we can learn how to reinvent ourselves... [in] this practical, real-life, and down-to-earth guide."
— from the Foreword by Stephen R. Covey, bestselling author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

From the Publisher