Leadership hacks are practical, simple, everyday tips and tricks to grow my leadership. Welcome to the inaugural edition.

We’ve all heard the phrase “leaders are learners.”  But with hectic schedules and so many demands, we struggle at finding the time.

Leadership Hack #1 works to resolve this by giving you an extra 3-6 hours a week to grow your leadership learning. Sound too good to be true? Let me show you how:

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the longest daily commutes average a little over an hour a day. And the shortest commutes, average about 30 minutes a day. The key is to use this time doing leadership learning in an easy and cheap way.

For me, it went like this….

A very good friend loaned me a book on CD. To be transparent, it rode around in my car for a LONG time. When I say “LONG time,” that translates to cleaning the car out and finding it in the center console, buried and forgotten. On my way to work a couple mornings later, the magic happened.

I was listening to the radio and the morning show was making me nauseated. So I stuck the first disk of my recently found treasure in my car CD player. By the time I got to the office, I was hooked.

Now, if you are reading this and your car doesn’t have a CD player:

1. There is a Leadership Hack coming just for you.
2. I went from a car with a CD player to one without and now I am back to a car with one. So even though you may not have a CD player in your car now, hang with me, Leadership Hack #1 may be important down the road.

What makes the CD player in your car an awesome way to learn?  It’s cheap and simple.

• When you turn the car on it starts playing. When you turn the car off it stops playing.
• Need to pause it?  Hit the power button.
• No headphones needed.
• It’s one of the cheapest ways to learn leadership.

How do you find great leadership CDs?

• The first place to look is Ebay. It’s a great source for used audio books and you can find almost anything.
• Used audio books are usually cheap.
• Thrift and secondhand stores can be hit and miss, but prices are usually very good.
• Used bookstores are also a good place to check.
• Not long ago I walked into a flea market and stumbled on a brand new, unopened CD leadership book for $4.
• Start on ebay.

Where there isn’t a lot of underlining or notetaking, CDs are my favorite. I usually do biography, autobiography, etc. I have a love for history and that is perfect on CD. I listened to David McCullough’s book on John Adams, it was incredible! Every day I couldn’t wait for my morning and evening commute. I also do audio CD when I want to refresh a physical book I’ve previously read.

Want to know what makes Leadership Hack #1 even better? 

When you’re done, give the CD to someone else. Find someone who needs to grow their leadership and walk them through the simplicity, then give them one of the books you finished.

Not only are leaders’ learners, but they are also influencers. So take the CD you’ve finished and influence others by passing it along.

So here’s your assignment: 

1. Go to ebay.com and in the search box type “leadership CD book.” You will get a long list of choices. Go through and choose at least one that appeals to you.
2. After you have completed your first book, be a leader and pass it along to someone else and challenge them to turn off the radio and listen to leadership CDs on their work commute.
3. Come back to the comments on this post and let everyone know what books you listened to.  

While supplies last, I will give a free leadership book on CD to the first few people who come back and in the comments, tell me what two CD leadership books they purchased on ebay.

I will also give a free CD book to the first few people who come back and tell me what two books they gave away to someone else.

Feel free to use the comments below to arrange sharing books with others.

Click here for leadership books on Ebay

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