This One Leadership Quality Will Make or Break You

One of the most often overlooked aspects of leadership is the need for pursuit. Great leaders are never satisfied with traditional practice, static thinking, conventional wisdom, or common performance. In fact, the best leaders are simply uncomfortable with anything that embraces the status quo. Leadership is pursuit – pursuit of excellence, of elegance, of truth, of what’s next, of what if, of change, of value, of results, of relationships, of service, of knowledge, and of something bigger than themselves. In the text that follows I’ll examine the value of being a pursuer…

Here’s the thing – pursuit leads to attainment. What you pursue will determine the paths you travel, the people you associate with, the character you develop, and ultimately, what you do or don’t achieve. Having a mindset focused on pursuit is so critical to leadership that lacking this one quality can sentence you to mediocrity or even obsolescence. The manner, method, and motivation behind any pursuit is what sets truly great leaders apart from the masses. If you want to become a great leader, become a great pursuer.

A failure to embrace pursuit is to cede opportunity to others. A leader’s failure to pursue clarity leaves them amidst the fog. Their failure to pursue creativity relegates them to the routine and mundane. Their failure to pursue talent sentences them to a world of isolation. Their failure to pursue change approves apathy. Their failure to pursue wisdom and discernment subjects them to distraction and folly. Their failure to pursue character leaves a question mark on their integrity. Let me put this as simply as I can – you cannot attain what you do not pursue.

Smart leaders understand it’s not just enough to pursue, but pursuit must be intentional, focused, consistent, aggressive, and unyielding. You must pursue the right things, for the right reasons, and at the right times. Perhaps most of all, the best forms of pursuit enlist others in the chase. Pursuit in its purest form is highly collaborative, very inclusive and easily transferable. Pursuit operates at greatest strength when it leverages velocity and scale.

I also want to caution you against trivial pursuits – don’t confuse pursuit with simple goal setting. Outcomes are clearly important, but as a leader, it’s what happens after the outcome that you need to be in pursuit of. Pursue discovery, seek dissenting opinions, develop your ability unlearn by embracing how much you don’t know, and find the kind of vision that truly does see around corners. Don’t use your pursuits to shift paradigms, pursue breaking them. Knowing what not to pursue is just as important as knowing what to pursue.

It’s important to keep in mind that nothing tells the world more about a leader than what or who they pursue – that which you pursue is that which you value. If you message to your organization you value talent, but don’t treat people well and don’t spend time developing the talent around you, then I would suggest you value rhetoric more than talent. Put simply, you can wax eloquent all you like, but your actions will ultimately reveal what you truly value.

Lastly, the best leaders pursue being better leaders. They know to fail in this pursuit is nothing short of a guarantee they’ll be replaced by those who don’t. All leaders would be well served to go back to school on what I refer to as the science of pursuitology.

What’s been the best thing you’ve pursued? What pursuit has led you astray. Thoughts?

2K Millennium And The Nets Team Up For The 2011-2012 Season

2K MILLENNIUM and the Nets have agreed to a deal that would put the elite marketing firm as a distributor of game day tickets for the 2011-2012 season. Amongst other major news today, Dwight Howard has requested a trade to the Nets and it could go down as early as Friday December 9th 2011, according to a report.

Hoping to team with Deron Williams in a big market, Howard informed the Magic about his desire to be traded Friday - the same day training camp opened, ESPN reported.

Howard and Williams engaged in talks during the lockout about teaming up. There's a mutual desire to play together, Williams said, and the Nets could have the pieces and cap space to pull it off.

The move would transform the Nets into instant title contenders less than a year ahead of their move to Brooklyn, supplanting the Knicks in terms of core talent and excitement. This trade could make the Nets a big winner.


But the ultimate winner seems to be 2K MILLENNIUM; the leader in sports and entertainment marketing for sports teams in the tri-state area. Why? 2K MILLENNIUM executes face to face marketing for the Nets and sales are projected to be up in a big way especially after all the attention that has come over the trade rumors and player acquisitions. 2K MILLENNIUM focuses on creating a win-win-win strategy because, there is no front or back end cost to the client, the customer gets a great deal on the clients' services, and the marketing firm keeps the revenue generated from sales.

With game day tickets in hand for the the up coming battle of the Atlanta Hawks and Deron Williams lead Nets, this December 27th 2011 (Prudential Center, Newark NJ); 2K MILLENNIUM is in prime position to experience continued success as they execute their marketing efforts for the Nets.

2K Millennium has been servicing a variety of clients in the sports and entertainment industries. 2K Millennium pride themselves on developing and executing personalized promotions designed to raise client awareness in the community and drive new business through their clients' doors. Clients turn to 2K Millennium for their sales and marketing needs due to their ability to produce results in a way that is impossible for their clients to duplicate themselves. The amount of time, money and resources necessary to develop an in-house sales and marketing department equal to 2K Millennium is simply not an investment their clients find realistic.

2K Millennium Provides Opportunity and Internships For Recent College Graduates

For recent college graduates, hopes are dashed and dreams deferred as they struggle to kick off a career amidst the storm Americans call the economy. Understanding that the addition of jobs will give impetus to the economy, 2K MILLENNIUM recently announced that they will offer several internships to qualifying college graduates to help them gain hands on experience in the marketing and promotional advertising field. Not only will they familiarize themselves with the various approaches to marketing and know how, but also interns will learn skills applicable to every career they may pursue in the future.

"An intern's capacity to work independently or on a team widens--skill sets that every employer seeks in a candidate. More importantly, they gain invaluable leadership experience," notes Adam Targan, one of 2K MILLENNIUM's top Account Executives. "We're really looking for a candidate with an entrepreneurial spirit--someone who will go above and beyond to get the job done on time. Here at 2K MILLENNIUM, we work on several campaigns simultaneously, and we see to it that the client gets exactly what they want--results. It is essential that we find someone who has that excellent work ethic and awesome attitude," adds Keith Cherney, another top Account Executive for 2K MILLENNIUM's Promotional Advertising Department.

2K MILLENNIUM will present several college graduates with the opportunity to be a part of an exciting and energetic environment and see firsthand 2K MILLENNIUM's unique grassroots approach to marketing—the same method that has garnered them a little over one hundred clients within a two-year period. Interns will learn how to represent 2K MILLENNIUM's clients on a daily basis, and they will get a balanced dose of both sales and marketing. In the past two years, 2K MILLENNIUM has been inundated with resumes from college graduates. 2K MILLENNIUM's hiring managers make it a point to meet with all applicants, however only a small number will be selected from that large pool of candidates. "These are recent college grads--we understand they may not have much experience, so we look for people skills. In marketing, it's all about excellent people skills. Add to that an amazing work ethic, attitude, and leadership potential, and you've got our perfect candidate," states Said Gaida, an Assistant Director.

2K MILLENNIUM is the leading marketing firm for sports and entertainment businesses, and they spearhead campaigns for clients all throughout the New Jersey/New York area. They employ a unique grassroots approach that has not once failed their clients, and is also the same reason why more clients are added each month. This continuous addition of clients is largely the reason why 2K MILLENNIUM is one of the few companies that have bucked the trend of layoffs ever since the economic downturn. With more than one hundred clients and five promotions to managerial positions, 2K MILLENNIUM started off 2011 with a bang, and will continue ahead with the same momentum.

2K Millennium has been servicing a variety of clients in the sports and entertainment industries. 2K Millennium prides Itself on developing and executing personalized promotions designed to raise client awareness in the community and drive new business through clients' doors. Clients turn to 2K Millennium for their sales and marketing needs due to their ability to produce results in a way that is impossible for their clients to duplicate themselves. The amount of time, money and resources necessary to develop an in-house sales and marketing department equal to 2K Millennium is simply not an investment our clients find realistic.