“It’s time for you to become the CEO of the NRG Company,” Jack commanded with the confidence of a seasoned leader as he fixed his tie and brushed off his suit jacket.

George thought this guy had completely lost his mind. “Sir, I’m just a manager. Not even an executive. I’ve got two days. Please tell me how I’m going to be the CEO of my company and what it has to do with leading from the heart.”

“First, call me Jack. Second, CEO doesn’t stand for chief executive officer anymore. It stands for Chief Energy Officer. Why energy? Because energy is the currency of personal and professional success today. If you don’t have it you can’t lead, inspire, or make a difference. And the great thing about being a Chief Energy Officer is that anyone in your company including you can become one. Deciding to become a Chief Energy Officer means that you share positive, powerful, and contagious energy with your co-workers, employees, and customers! It means you communicate from the heart,” Jack said as he put his hand on his chest. “Now, George, I’m sure you heard that the big buzzword in business today is emotional intelligence.” George nodded as Marty yelled from the back, “Research says it’s responsible for 80 percent of adult success.”

“Yes, it is, Marty,” Jack added, “and what emotional intelligence (EI) really is all about is tapping the power of your heart when you are leading, selling, and communicating. EI and heartfelt leadership are one and the same. It’s all about communicating effectively and contagiously with others. And you know what this means when you really simplify it? It means that people like you respect you and they want to follow you. Now I’m not saying you can become a Chief Energy Officer overnight but if you are going to lead your team to victory on Friday, you have to start now.”

Then quietly he asked, “Can I tell you a little story?”

“Of course,” answered George.

“Before your eyes, you see me, a confident leader. I know who I am. I know what I am here to do and I know how to lead. Not only am I the chief executive officer of my company but I am indeed one of the Chief Energy Officers as well. But several years ago this was not the case. Several years ago, just like you, I was on this bus and Joy, dear Joy, truly an angel sent from heaven, saved my job, my company, and my life. Do you want to know how?” George nodded as his eyes were fixed on this confident leader.

“I was running a major division in my company. They had handpicked me out of business school years before and many of the higher ups called me the Chosen One. I had all the knowledge in the world. I had the resume, the pedigree, and the work ethic. Man, I worked hard. For 25 years I walked, no, I ran up the corporate ladder of success.

“But looking back, what I see I didn’t have was heart. I wasn’t a real leader. I kicked people off my bus all the time without thinking about it and I led by fear, and fear doesn’t last. It had worked early in my career but over time we had a severe retention and morale problem in my division and productivity had dropped significantly. Performance plunged. Negativity grew and sales dropped so low we almost caused the company to go into bankruptcy. The board wanted to fire me but one guy, my mentor, who was the president of the company, believed in me and said he would give me a chance to turn the situation around. But I didn’t have any hope. I had failed and decided to give up and I mean give all of it up. But wouldn’t you believe on the one day I had decided to leave early to give up not just my job but my life, I met Joy.”

George just sat there in shock, saying no under his breath.

“Yes, George, I was going to give it all up. The pain was too big, the failure too large. The expectation I had never lived up to. I know what you are thinking. Looking back it’s hard to believe. I can’t even believe that had been my thought process back then but I was down, real down, until Joy lifted me up. Her smile made my day. Her words energized me. She woke me up.

“So I decided not to give up and started taking her bus to work. You know, I drive 20 extra minutes just to get to the bus stop on her route. I became a Chief Energy Officer because of her and now I have developed a thriving company filled with Chief Energy Officers who use her 10 rules to create success and positive energy every day. She saved my life and job so now I want to help you, George. That’s how positive energy works. A life touches a life that touches a life. It spreads, one person at a time. And to help you spread positive energy to your team and the world you need to know rule #7, which answers your question about how to lead with heart.”

With happy tears in her eyes, Joy directed Danny to show George rule #7. Here’s what it said.

Joy wanted to speak but she was still choked up. No matter how many times she had heard Jack tell that story it still brought tears to her eyes. She remembered the day they had met. In fact she remembered every meaningful conversation she had ever had on her bus. And as she looked at George she saw another great opportunity to help change the life of someone who had so much to give but just needed to learn how to give it. She wanted him to succeed as much as he did and knew he was in good company with a man who had not only learned her principles but who lived them and shared them every day at his company.

Jack looked at the sign Danny held up and looked at George. Their eyes met and Jack continued sharing his energy and knowledge with a guy who needed him more now than ever. “Chief Energy Officers live and work with enthusiasm, George. They tap the power of their heart by getting excited about being alive, by filling up with loads of positive energy, and by being optimistic about life and work. They don’t let fear stop them. No, they charge forward with positive and powerful energy and look at challenges like the one you are facing on Friday as an opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed.”

Marty yelled once again from the back of the bus. “Enthusiasm comes from the Greek word entheos, which means ‘inspired’ or ‘filled with the divine.’ ”

“Indeed it does,” Jack confirmed, “and I’m here to tell you, George, that when you get excited and enthusiastic about your life and work you bring this powerful divine energy to everything you do, and people notice. They can see it and feel it. When you’re enthusiastic, people want to get on your bus. Your bus is energized and people say, ‘Hey, I want to get on that bus.’ Employees from different departments want to help you out. You get a reputation as someone people want to work for. Customers want to work with you. Salespeople come to you for advice because they’re looking for that enthusiastic energy to increase their sales. When you live and work with enthusiasm, people are drawn to you like moths to a light. Walt Whitman said that we convince by our presence, and when you are enthusiastic you project an energy that convinces people to get on and stay on your bus. It’s powerful energy, George. Joy taught me this and it works.”

Jack was convincing but he didn’t need to convince George that it worked. As Jack spoke, George remembered how enthusiasm had helped him get his first job. They had told him they loved his fire. He thought about how enthusiasm in trying to get a date with his wife eventually influenced her to give him a shot. He reflected on how enthusiastic he had been during his early years at the NRG Company and wondered what had happened. Where along the way had he lost his spark? But that was the past, he thought. Now he just wanted to feel that fire burn inside him again. He wanted to be everything Jack was describing, and as he was listening he was thinking about how to bring that energy to work today.

Jack continued his teachings. “Remember what Joy also said. ‘When you feel good, others around you feel good.’ Well, when you are enthusiastic you feel real good and this makes the people around you feel real good. I once had one customer tell me that he had bought from my sales guy not necessarily because they loved our product but because they loved his energy. They were excited because he was excited. They were excited about being on his bus.

“I don’t care what product you are selling,what division or team you are leading, or what product launch you are presenting. People are always buying you and your energy. The simple truth is that when you are excited people get excited about where your bus is going and this makes them want to get on and stay on your bus.

Joy had been quiet for some time and although she admired how her protégé had become a master of teaching her principles she wanted to make sure George knew something that Jack hadn’t mentioned so she joined the conversation. “But this doesn’t mean you’re all fake and annoying either, George. Enthusiasm doesn’t mean you bounce off the walls all hyper and all. The kind of enthusiasm Jack and I talk about is real. You don’t have to force it or push it. You just live it. You let your presence do the convincing. So just focus on getting excited and enthusiastic yourself and let your energy do the talking. Focus today on becoming the heart of your team. Realize that just as every cell in the body beats to the frequency of the heart, everyone around you will beat to your frequency and your energy. Just as the heart radiates energy to every cell you must radiate positive energy and enthusiasm to every member of your team. Most of all teach this to your team. Let them know they, too, can become a Chief Energy Officer. Let them know that anyone can become the heart of their organization because no matter where you are and what you do, when you live and work with enthusiasm people around you will beat to your frequency.

“Is that why my team was in such disarray?” George asked looking at Joy and Jack. “Because I was broadcasting a negative signal and negative energy on a daily basis?”

“Well, honestly yes,” Jack answered. “Negative people often tend to create negative cultures whereas positive corporate cultures are created by positive people. The energy of a company or team is cultivated by the energy and enthusiasm of the leaders and each person in the organization who contributes to the collective energy and culture of it. In turn this collective energy influences each person’s energy in the organization creating a perpetual cycle of positive energy or negative energy. So when people ask me what my company’s most important asset is I tell them it is energy. Not gas or oil, I say but the people and the energy they bring to their work. And this positive energy is what makes us successful.”

“The numbers don’t lie,” Marty said always looking to add research to the discussion. “Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence (Bloomsbury, 1996; Bantam, 1997), explains that a positive company with a positive corporate culture will outperform their negative counterparts every time. It’s also important to note that if you would invest in the companies voted the best places to work, where people are full of positive energy and enthusiasm, you would significantly outperform the stock market averages. So it appears that a positive culture is also good for revenue and the bottom line.”

“You hear that?” Joy said. “It’s all about energy, George. What’s been missing is enthusiasm. The most successful teams have it; every team wants it but very few have it. And it starts with you. When you have it, they’ll have it. When you get energized, they’ll get energized. So it’s time to take your energy meter to the next level. Are you ready, George?”

“Yes I am!” He was fired up and ready to take action. The bus was a few miles away from his office but he felt like jumping off and running the rest of the way. Yet he knew that would only tire him out and he needed all the energy he could muster right now. So he decided to stay on the bus and listen to what else Joy would have to say. This was a good thing because the next rule he would learn would completely change everything.