MARTIN LUTHER KING JR: 5 POINTS OF LEADERSHIP

From the Investor's Business Daily, January 20, 2015.

This weekend's story in the Investor's Business Daily was apropos about Martin Luther King Jr., whose name day we will all celebrate on Monday.  

Yes, we know he turned a radical tide for everyone.  So, the paper had a unique perspective about Dr. King because he provided many lessons about leadership that have broad applicability.  They bear repeating: 

1. Set goals and make a detailed plan of action to reach them.  We've all heard this one.  What I didn't know about Dr. King was that he skipped two grades because he made a detailed plan of how to get to College faster. 

2. Understand your adversary's point of view.  In studying the great leaders, Dr. King's signature was to find common ground and work together peacefully. 

3. Conduct a postmortem analysis of every action to learn from mistakes.  I read that Dr. King worked in an atmosphere of relentless adversity -- almost like a tsunami of negativity. Wow. 

4. Understand your adversary's point of view. Very difficult to do.  In constant transformation, Dr. King understood: "What does it profit a man to be able to eat an an integrated lunch counter if he doesn't earn enough money to buy a hamburger and a cup of coffee."

5. Practice what you preach. "I would like to live a long life ... But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go up to the mountain...and I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But ... we, as a people, will get to the promised land." 

The next day, after uttering those words, Dr. King was killed on the balcony of his hotel. Dead a 39.  What a testimony he left us. RIP Dr. King. Let's all be leaders if only for a day.