"Not much happens without a dream. And for something great to happen, there must be a great dream. Behind every great achievement is a dreamer of great dreams. Much more than a dreamer is required to bring it to reality; but the dream must be there first." - Robert Greenleaf, 1991.

I think this quote from "The Servant as Leader" is a beautiful piece of advice and carries a profound life lesson. In order for something great to happen one must first dream, but it takes more than merely a dreamer to make those great things happen - it takes a true leader. This concept goes beyond leadership, but I think it's an important part in being an authentic leader so I'll share my opinion on the subject. 

There's a general tendency to believe that doubting yourself is a bad thing and something that should be overcome or completely avoided. Of course there are different levels of self-doubt, and there is certainly a self-destructive level of self-doubt where a person will never accomplish anything because of being stuck in a vicious cycle of what-ifs. However, a little self-doubt has never hurt anyone and in leadership self-doubt is immensely important. 

I'm not going to talk about why this will go viral (because it already did, and it'll only get worse for Taco Bell), but I'm going to talk about how and if you can prevent this from happening in the first place.

1. It's perceived as marketing

People are not stupid. They know that if you make a promotion telling them that you are socially responsible then it's still just promotion. Have a CSR policy, but don't promote it like it's your only competitive advantage. Engage in socially responsible activities because it's the right thing to do, not because it looks good. When CSR is attached to the marketing department to enhance the reputation of the company then it will come off as advertising.

In today's society it's generally unacceptable to fail; losing a business, losing a sports game or working on any project or start-up that doesn't quite turn out the way that it was meant to. We should encourage failing more, as failing at anything will make you stronger as long as you remember to learn from it. Failing at something is inevitable but if you're prepared and you know that good things come from mistakes you can come back stronger and increase your chances of success the next time.

Being good at failing

Being good at failing entails a few things such as getting back up quickly by stopping feeling sorry for yourself, learning from the mistakes you make and failing small to limit risk. Combining these 3 steps you limit your risk of failing in the first place, get over the failure quickly so you become more productive and learn how to do things better through careful reflection.

1. Getting back up quickly

Imagine how unproductive a person can be if he doesn't move on after failing. The people that get things done in life are the people that quickly realize that they made a mistake and then move on to other projects. Barbara Corcoran from Shark Tank says this about entrepreneurs that get rejected: "The only difference between the superstars making the millions a year and the persons barely getting by is how long they feel sorry for themselves once they get hit." (Video here). I'm not saying that you shouldn't feel sorry for yourself but limit it to a reasonable timeframe and then move on and get productive.

Even though this video is from 2006 (there's no way that you won't notice) Seth Godin's ideas behind this 20 minute talk still hold true. Too many services are just plain broken and as a student of service design and customer satisfaction the examples in this video bring out the worst in me! Okay, maybe not the worst in me, but in general service failures bug me and I quickly lose respect for companies that can't get it right.

Here's the talk. It's funny and ridiculously true. If you've seen it before then watch it again.

Pine & Gilmore said that first there were commodities, then they became goods, then services, and now the new value generator is experiences, as experiences allow for a price premium. Some would argue that the process of flying is an experience, but I refuse to agree. There are many ways that airports can create a truly amazing traveling experience and here are five steps how.

1. Free wifi

In this day and age, no wifi means impatient guests. But make sure it's fast because a bad experience with the wifi may eliminate the gain from wifi being available in the first place!

2. Noise reduction

Imagine a world where every guest got treated like first class - where the waiting areas are filled with egg chairs by Arne Jacobsen just for the sake of giving the guest an experience. Why is it the airlines that own the lounges and not the airports? If an airport owned a lounge all of a sudden they could give incentives to guests passing through Copenhagen.

I hear it all the time: "Starting a business is risky because 9 out of 10 businesses fail!" Now first of all, this may be true, but I'm not going to do the research to disprove it since it doesn't apply to the point that I want to make. I don't care if 9 out of 10 businesses fail because that doesn't apply to me. Or ANY person who went to business school and graduated with an okay average, or a person with a genuinely good idea who can lead people. 

The reason that the percentage of business failures doesn't apply to you (yes you - I'm pointing at you, which is a little strange since we are both in front of computer screens) is because you have to think about who it is that is starting those businesses that fail. The businesses that fail are most likely family owned restaurants and hot dog stands where the "entrepreneurs" have little to zero business education or a sole proprietorship where the owner decides that he doesn't want to do business anymore. You know about the importance of creating a sustainable competitive advantage. They don't. You know how to do accounting. They don't. You know how to brand yourself. They don't. You have the network to make it happen, and guess what, they most likely DON'T.

I have a one goal in life: Making the world better. It might seem like a joke, or something truly unobtainable, but when you think about it there are many ways to make make the world a better place. You can make it more affordable, greener, more livable, healthier, safer, or more fun. It doesn't have to be on a global level (even though you should definitely aim for it!), but it can be on a local or even an individual level.

Here's something to think about: How does your business benefit the world? Is your community really better off with your product than without it?