Authentic Success and Authentic Leadership

Only Happen from the “Inside Out!”

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The MAXIMIZERS principles are the 10 Character Competencies that are the foundation to a

person’s Attitudes, Beliefs and Commitments and serve as an “Operating System” to help

maximize personal and professional growth.

Make Things Happen... how to change habits and personal disciplines.

Achieve Personal Significance... how to build a strong self-image.

X-Out the Negatives... how to deal with fears, problems, and other difficulties.

Internalize Right Principles... how to live a value-driven lifestyle.

March To A Mission... how to build a sense of personal mission and purpose.

Integrate All Of Life... how to develop balance in attitudes, priorities, and goals.

Zero In On Caring For People... how to listen, confront, empathize, and coach.

Energize Internally... how to live a character-based lifestyle.

Realign Rigorously... how to make mid-course corrections and handle change.

Stay the Course... how to stay focused and not quit on the important issues.

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Authentic Success and Authentic Leadership Only Happen from the Inside Out!

Real and lasting personal and professional growth only happens when a person is authentically transformed from the “inside out.” The majority of Human Capital Solutions in the marketplace only supply short-term motivational fixes that do not develop the kinds of habits that create positive and sustainable change.

A process for personal and professional transformation begins with having a better understanding of an individual’s core Character Competencies and primary Behavior Traits.

The MERIT Profile™ is a research-based, psychometric assessment tool that has been rigorously tested and validated.

The ABC’s of Personal Leadership Effectiveness

The 10 Character Competencies that are assessed within the MERIT Profile are formally referred to as the

MAXIMIZERS Principles and have been researched, developed and tested in over 50 countries since 1996 by

Future Achievement International®. The MAXIMIZERS Principles are grouped into three major categories:

Attitudes – A person's pattern of emotions and actions that indicate his or her mental state and

disposition.

Beliefs – A person's mental framework where he or she has formed opinions, judgments and acceptance

of what is true.

Commitments – The mental framework in which a person makes choices to act in a certain and consistent

manner that is aligned with his or her attitudes and beliefs.

Note: Be sure to watch the MERIT Profile 4-minute video: MERIT Profile Video

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Brief Descriptions of each MAXIMIZERS Principle

Developing the right Attitudes, Beliefs and Commitments will positively impact those that make the effort to do

so, both in their personal and and professional life. The MAXIMIZERS Principles serve as an operating system

around which a person will discover their overall character strengths and uncover potential areas that need to be

improved upon, by developing core habits that will have a positive impact on his or her life.

ATTITUDE PRINCIPLES (M-A-X)

Make Things Happen

This Character Competency teaches how to be proactive, create core habits and personal discipline. This

principle deals with eliminating a victim mentality and taking responsibility for developing the kind of

discipline and new habits that lead to healthy thinking and job performance. Developing this principle will give

a person the confidence and understanding that he or she is in control of his or her attitudes and actions.

Personal Application: Life is little more than a series of projects. When a person has an attitude to

Make Things Happen he or she is proactive not reactive. There are disciplines built into every daily

routine. Desired results are achieved through hard work while focusing on the things that can be

controlled rather than on the results, over which a person has limited control. Whether the

“project” is finishing an education track, buying a home or building a family there are proactive

steps that have to be taken to accomplish those things successfully. Living a life with “intentions”

is a recipe for failure. Living a life with the “habits” and discipline to convert intentions into results

is one of the secrets for authentic success.

Professional Application: High-performing organizations hire and develop people who are

empowered to make decisions and display a propensity to act in the organization’s best interest,

without fear of making a mistake or being punished for attempting to do the right thing. There is

an attitude of accountability and the discipline of focused execution. People put aside issues of

personality, politics, and territory, and take personal responsibility for enhancing overall

performance and productivity. Generally speaking these type of leaders, managers and

employees have a highly developed ability to Make Things Happen.

Sow a thought, reap an act.

Sow an act, reap a habit.

Sow a habit, reap a character.

Sow a character, reap a destiny.

Charles Reade

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Achieve Personal Significance

This Character Competency teaches how to build an accurate self-image. This principle

deals with the development of a healthy self-concept. The ability for a person to see his or

her innate value and significance, balanced with the development of humility and the proper

handling of criticism, is VERY IMPORTANT. Many personal conflicts and much stress come

from an improper view of oneself, which can lead to that person not maximizing his or her

personal potential.

Personal Application: When a person understands his or her uniqueness and begins to operate

out of his or her passion, experience and gifts (talents) then he or she stops wasting time and

energy on things that simply don’t matter. The desire to achieve something significant in the

world is worthy of our best attention. Many people would like to leave their mark on the world in

some way, but it's not going to happen by sitting around and wishing it was so. High-achievers are

people who diligently examine their strengths, their passions, their life experiences and their gifts

to determine the alignment of their personal giftedness with the needs of their communities and

the world.

Professional Application: High-performing organizations understand the value of honest,

transparent, and effective communication throughout the organization. These successful

organizations effectively communicate the significance of each employee as he or she contributes

to the achievement of the organization’s vision, mission and core values. They communicate the

expected employee behaviors and point out when those behaviors are being modeled and when

they are not being lived out. They communicate each person’s responsibility and contribution to

achieving the organization’s goals. And they also teach their employees how to communicate

effectively with one another. Individuals that have mastered this Character Competency know

how to operate from their strengths and continue to develop in the areas that need improvement

in an effort to make the most significant contribution to the organization’s overall performance,

productivity, team efficiency and bottom-line results.

Everyone has certain Passions, Experiences and Gifts

(Talents), commonly referred to as their PEG.

The better an individual’s PEG is aligned with their

career goals and job function in the workplace, the

more a person will contribute to the overall success of

any organization!

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X-Out the Negatives

This Character Competency teaches how to deal with fears, problems and other difficulties.

This principle addresses what a positive attitude is and how to cultivate it in multiple areas of

life. Negative emotions and attitudes can cause stress that can seriously handicap a

participant’s individual performance. Inevitable stress and negative emotions managed

properly can be turned into positive energy as long as a person can identify the weaknesses

exposed and then strive to overcome them.

Personal Application: There are negative attitudes, thoughts and emotions that can cause a

person to live well below their abilities and keep them from their highest and best. Life has a

way, if a person is not careful and diligent, of bringing him or her into a form of bondage where

attitudes and thoughts hold him or her in the vise-like grip of ineffectiveness, frustration and even

depression. The consequences of this for productivity and the ability to rise to a level of personal

excellence are disastrous. Every human being has free will. A person can choose to allow the

negative circumstances of life to cause fear, anxiety and discouragement. Or, he or she can

choose to X-Out the Negatives in life and focus on the things and people that are positive,

affirming and encouraging.

Professional Application: Organizations are seeking leaders, managers and employees that

approach their professional careers with a “can-do” positive attitude. Leaders today desire to

recruit and retain high-performing individuals that are capable of enhancing the overall culture of

their organization and improve overall team effectiveness. Other highly sought-after qualities are

the ability to focus energy and resources toward satisfying their customers, a passion to out-

perform competitors, and a determination to make a positive contribution to the integrity and

reputation of the organization, no matter what. Those skilled at Xing-Out the Negatives eradicate

unhealthy internal behavior and are intolerant of a culture that over-indulges in organizational

political games, employee conflicts, and personal agendas that are at odds with the organization’s

vision, mission and core values.

Optimist

Hopefulness and confidence about the future or successful outcome of something; a tendency to take a favorable or hopeful view. Derived from the Latin word optimum, meaning "best".

Pessimist

The idea that life has a negative value, or that this world is as bad as it could possibly be; a state of mind in which one perceives life negatively. Derived from the Latin word pessimus, meaning “worst".

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BELIEFS PRINCIPLES (I-M)

Internalize Right Principles

This Character Competency teaches how to live a value-driven lifestyle that is projected at

home and at work. This principle teaches the critical importance of learning to build a value

system around foundational principles. Without such foundational alignment the frequent

inner turmoil of wanting to do the right thing but not being able to do it becomes stressful

mentally, emotionally and physically.

Personal Application: It is from the inside out that we need to live. Let's consider the computer.

Computers are wonderful tools, but for the average person to be able to utilize a computer

successfully and smoothly that computer must have an expertly developed "operating system." A

computer operating system is going to function in the ways that the programmers designed it to

function. When they write the program codes that create the operating system, they are

determining how it will function. In a very similar fashion individuals gather data throughout their

lives that becomes ingrained in them. The primary depositories of this data are in their values and

“life-operating principles.” A value is something that demonstrates what is important to a person

at a point in time. A principle is absolute. It is true in every circumstance. People achieve more

when they live an empowered and authentic life that is grounded in their well-defined values and

life-operating principles. The values and principles that reside in people at a core level come out

in a practical and genuine way when they are living as men and women of integrity.

Professional Application: A high-performing organization creates alignment and congruency

between its stated vision, mission, values, and goals, and the way it actually functions through its

strategies, policies, hiring processes, compensation structures and operational processes. When

acquiring talent for key leadership positions these high-performing organizations look to recruit

individuals that will eagerly embrace the core values and mission of the organization, adopting

them as their own. The better organizations can understand the “internal values” of an Individual

the better they will be at determining if that individual aligns with the core values and culture of

the organization. An individual that has a highly developed PLE Factor in this particular Character

Competency will typically be a more reliable Human Capital asset than someone that is lacking a

defined set of core values in his or her personal and professional life.

Learning to build a value system around foundational

principles and acting in accordance with them is crucial.

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March to a Mission

This Character Competency teaches how to build a sense of personal vision, mission and

purpose for all of life. The essence of this principle addresses how to achieve the goals and

vision that are reflected in an individual’s ultimate desire for success. A clear sense of mission

has been documented by researchers over the years as vital for personal wellness and

preventing mental and physical illness. Individuals that lose hope when they don’t have a sense of vision for

their life can even be plagued with health challenges, which can then become dangerous to their mental,

emotional and physical well-being.

Personal Application: March to a Mission means living with a sense of destiny, passion and

excitement. The language conjures up a sense of militaristic discipline. Marching implies learned

behavior, discipline, practice, intention and even cooperation with others who are like-minded.

Mission implies having a distinct purpose for living. It is a person’s motivation for getting out of

bed every morning. A person’s mission is the thing that he or she would do every day even if he or

she wasn't getting paid for it. That's how important it has to be. Marching to a Mission is

absolutely necessary to achieving authentic success in life. A person’s greatest joy in life will come

from serving others from that authentic place of mission within him or her.

Professional Application: More and more organizations are beginning to realize the importance

of finding alignment between an individual’s work and their personal “life mission.” When an

individual’s goals are quantified and understood, and if they fit within the mission and values of

the organization, both parties have a higher probability of meaningful alignment and success.

Successful organizations are characterized by a leadership team and employee population that

model the way and live out the mission. The workforce demonstrates daily through the way that

they act and communicate the organization’s defined values and reason for existing. This provides

a model for new employees and a reminder for others of the behavior that should be emulated.

An individual’s actual mission in the workplace can be to help his or her organization accomplish

its mission. When that happens everybody wins and other employees can see the value of being

engaged and contributing to the success of their organization daily! When this becomes the norm,

organizational morale, performance, productivity and team efficiency are greatly enhanced!

– Help Others Identify Their Mission

– Help Others Link Their Mission to the Organization

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COMITTMENTS PRINCIPLES (I-Z-E-R-S)

Integrate All of Life

This Character Competency teaches how to balance priorities, attitudes and goals in all

areas of life. When individuals get out of balance and lose control they become highly

susceptible to unnecessary stress, anger, fear, depression and even burnout. There is a deep

need to rebuild personal balance for individuals to maximize their productivity, overall job

performance and personal contribution to the team.

Personal Application: Who can say with confidence, "I have all the areas of my life prioritized,

integrated and in balance?” Most of the time, people do well to keep one or two areas of life

running smoothly. The seven primary areas of responsibility in life are: Faith, Family, Fun, Friends,

Finance, Firm (career), and Fitness. Balance is achieved when all areas of life are trained, engaged

and working in harmony for the purpose of Integrating All of Life. It might seem like a person

would be busier than ever if he or she is attempting to Integrate All of Life, but actually just the

opposite occurs. When someone is balancing life and integrating all the pieces, he or she is more

attuned to what pieces don't fit the personal puzzle of life. A person has to know when to say

"No." When an individual’s life is balanced his or her mind, spirit and body will indicate when it is

time to slow down, stop and get the seven areas of life back into balance.

Professional Application: A successful organization must clearly establish its vision, mission and

core values that are communicated and lived out on a daily basis. This is the heart and soul of the

organization; its reason for existing. It is what defines its culture and its character, shapes its

policies, and establishes the shared values and beliefs that create deep bonds with its leaders,

managers and employees. This is what makes work meaningful and rewarding, but not at the

expense of burning-out its employees. If an organization wants to retain its valued Human Capital

assets it will stress the importance of every employee giving attention to finding balance in his or

her life. Those individuals that have already learned to Integrate All of Life will provide value to

the organization in a consistent and professional manner and will most likely be retained longer in

their position, which reduces the high costs associated with employee turnover. These types of

individuals typically strive to achieve the goals of the organization but not at the price of their

integrity, health or personal and professional relationships.

There is a deep need to establish life/work integration for individuals so they can maximize their productivity, overall job performance and personal contribution to the team.

When individuals get out of balance and lose life integration they become highly susceptible to distress, anger and fear, depression and even burnout.

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Zero In on Caring for People

This Character Competency teaches how to listen to, confront, empathize with and coach

others to help them achieve authentic success in life. Research studies are quite clear;

unhealthy relationships are highly stressful and lead ultimately to mental, emotional and

physical illness. Clearly the development of relational skills such as listening, empathizing,

resolving conflict, anger management and encouraging others is essential to overall health

and productivity.

Personal Application: Maximizing one’s Personal Leadership Effectiveness is impossible without

excellent relationship skills. This ability to relate well with others is often referred to as

"emotional intelligence" in the modern school of interpersonal skills development. One axiom

that kind of gets at the heart and soul of emotional intelligence is: People don't care what you

know unless they know how much you care. If an individual wants to effectively influence, lead

and develop other people then he or she needs to master this particular MAXIMIZERS Principle.

Successful people zero-in on the ways that they care for friends, family members and anyone else

with whom they share life. When a person puts the success of the people around him or her first,

there is a very good chance that person’s success will increase as well. Remember, that other

people are your greatest asset! When a person is determined to invest in other people, the return

on that investment becomes exponential.

Professional Application: High-performing organizations have a “talent mindset” whereby great

care and concern is placed on the organization’s greatest assets, their people. A considerable

amount of time, money, and energy is focused on acquiring, assessing, developing, and retaining

the right talent. These organizations help individuals develop their full potential by uncovering

their passions, developing their gifts, and aligning them with roles in which they can make the

greatest contribution. They acknowledge that everyone is responsible for maintaining the culture.

A highly developed skillset that is focused on elevating the performance of others in the

organization will be eagerly sought-after. Of all the Character Competencies this one might

possibly bring the most value to an organization that is competing in a global marketplace,

because ultimately people are an organization’s greatest asset.

Clearly, the development of important relational skills such as listening, empathizing, resolving conflict, anger management and encouraging others is essential to the total health and productivity of any relationship or organization.

One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody and everything before you go to bed.

- Author Unknown

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Energize Internally

This Character Competency teaches how to live a centered, character-based lifestyle.

People need to get back to this taproot principle of cultivating their character. As true

character is developed an individual becomes integrated or “in sync.” Outward behavior

flows from inward character. That is what constitutes true “integrity” in a person.

Personal Application: This MAXIMIZERS Principle is considered to be the “taproot principle.” In

order to live out all the other nine MAXIMIZERS Principles successfully a person must have an

irrepressible inner strength that flows from the taproot of his or her character. The ability to

Energize Internally implies reaching deep inside oneself to that taproot of personal identity and

strength of character. Research concludes that there is a positive link between character,

principle-centered values, mental health and happiness because these values provide community,

commitment and contentment. When the average person reaches deep down inside, what does

he or she find? Does he or she find the strength and resiliency of character necessary to face life's

biggest challenges?

Professional Application: Regardless of an individual’s particular worldview or spiritual beliefs, it

is important for anyone to understand that ultimate power comes from the inside out. The same

is true for an organization to realize that its culture is also developed from inside the walls, not

outside the walls. For those high-performing organizations that have an infectious enthusiasm for

continuous improvement and winning, they realize that they need to have a culture that is built

upon authentic character and the behavior of its executives, managers and employees. It is

important that these “Human Capital Assets” display high levels of energy that inspire others to

go the extra mile, not just for short-term financial gain, but for building something truly special

and lasting. They need to harness a restless energy for always doing more and doing something

greater. Most organizations are searching for self-motivated, character-based executives,

managers and employees who will constantly dig deeper into themselves to achieve greater levels

of performance, productivity and team efficiency.

This Taproot Principle is the Foundation to “Authenticity”

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Realign Rigorously

This Character Competency teaches how to deal with constant change and make the

necessary mid-course corrections. Most people are constantly trying to prove the illusion

that “life is supposed to be easy.” This principle teaches people how to face the obstacles and

difficulties of life and how to make appropriate mid-course corrections. This learning process

mitigates the emotional stress created by the fear of the unknown. No one can predict the

future, but he or she can have a strategy for coping with it.

Personal Application: Life is often difficult and challenging. Mid-course corrections are frequently

necessary to lead a successful, maximized life. Think about it, who doesn't get blown off-course

every now and then? Even the best laid plans can be thrown off-course by some unexpected

event or some newly revealed piece of information. Developing this Character Competency helps

us establish a framework for handling the constant changes that impact our personal and

professional life. If a person is going to experience authentic success by living a maximized life,

then he or she has to learn how to adjust to the effects of living in a constantly changing world.

And if a person is not skilled at Realigning Rigorously then he or she is going to spend tremendous

amounts of reserve energy putting out fires, dealing with people's issues, putting projects back on

track and wondering if it all was worth it in the first place.

Professional Application: High-performing organizations are anchored by non-negotiable

principles and values, and are still able to effectively respond and adjust to a constantly changing

environment. By exploring new ideas and approaches, eliminating sacred cows, demonstrating

ingenuity, being willing to work without a script and becoming comfortable with ambiguity, they

are able to dream up new approaches to solving problems that have hindered others. Those that

have mastered this Character Competency will have learned how to navigate around roadblocks

and challenges that they will face in the workplace. They will be taught to expect the unexpected

and to not waste their energy on complaining about or denying problems and challenges when

they arise. To achieve and sustain success in today’s working environment it is imperative that

organizations empower their workforce to learn how to let their thoughts propel them toward

being creative, principled and focused as they make innovative mid-course corrections. When this

happens organizational purpose and mission stays on track in a productive and positive manner.

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Stay the Course

This Character Competency teaches how to stay focused and never quit on the important

issues. The American Management Association has indicated that the most universal

Character Competency of successful leaders is that they just don’t quit. Those who succeed at

creating a healthy and dynamic life personally and professionally will fail occasionally, but

they fail forward. They learn to stick with it and persist, focusing on the roots of building

right principles into their personal and professional life.

Personal Application: Once a person understands the basic principles that promote authentic

success and increase Personal Leadership Effectiveness, there is only one thing left to do: Stay

the Course! Do not quit; remain faithful. Stay focused by keeping the end-goal in sight! This

MAXIMIZERS Principle is not about perfection, but the satisfaction of a life well-lived and the

attainment of worthy personal goals. A compelling vision of a preferred future can be a powerful

driving force in a person’s life. Successful people do not let the challenges of life get in the way of

reaching that preferred future. Staying focused and committed to “keeping the main thing the

main thing” is one of the secrets to Achieving Authentic Success in life.

Professional Application: Organizations today need to hire and retain quality employees that

realize that when things get tough at work with a boss, fellow employee or a task that needs to be

accomplished, they simply will stay focused and not give up! High-performing organizations place

great value on an individual’s ability to stay focused, commit and persevere to get the job done in

a professional and timely manner. Individuals that have mastered this Character Competency also

recognize that it is often necessary to depend on the strength of others to help finish the project

at-hand. When a work-team is committed to collaborating and uniting to Stay the Course until the

project is completed successfully it creates exponential degrees of success as that work-team

drives organizational performance, productivity and profitability to unprecedented levels. When

this happens the entire organization is empowered to truly live “inside out” as it impacts

everything and everyone it touches with its mission, vision and core values.