Because it is a Lizard, F3 is an Organization of leaders rather than an Organization with leaders. As such, every Member of F3 is asked and expected to be a leader both within F3 and in the other Groups in which he is a Member. This ethic arises from our Mission , which is to plant, serve and grow men’s small workout groups in order to invigorate male community leadership.

Within F3 a leader is called the Q, which we define as a leader who takes responsibility for the Outcome in the Groups of which he is a Member.

Some Outcomes are envisioned beforehand by the Q while others are thrust upon him by unexpected and sudden circumstance. For envisioned Outcomes, the Q can anticipate and get prepared for what will be expected of him to be Effective. But the Q cannot do that for unexpected Outcomes because they come upon him suddenly–for those Outcomes he must already be prepared to be Effective.

As a result, to Effectively respond to both the envisioned and circumstance-driven Outcomes that arise along the his path, the Q must gradually but consistently accelerate his Preparedness through the process of becoming more Right in the Mission essential aspects of his life. He does this by pursuing Right-ness in four distinct quadrants: get Right, live Right, lead Right and leave Right. Together, these four quadrants form the G3L:

–First Quadrant (Q1): Get Right

To properly align himself the Q takes the Daily Red Pill (the DRP). This is his daily commitment to accelerate his fitness, fellowship and faith.

–Second Quadrant (Q2): Live Right

To be purposeful the Q focuses on IMPACT. This is the forcible contact to strong effect that the Q will have on the other Members of his Groups if his personal alignment is proper.

–Third Quadrant (Q3): Lead Right

To practice Effective leadership, the properly aligned and purposeful Q continually hones the skills he needs to enable his Communities to be healthy, his Organizations to be Effective and his Teams to be dynamic.

–Fourth Quadrant (Q4): Leave Right

To build a legacy, the aligned and purposeful Q exerts Disruptive leadership with IMPACT throughout his lifetime and beyond.

The process of Preparedness is deliberate and sequential

Although each quadrant of Preparedness stands on its own merits, the G3L is not randomly arranged. Each provides the foundation for the one succeeding it such that the Q cannot Live Right if he has failed to first Get Right. Nor can he Leave Right if he did not Lead Right. By accelerating his Preparedness through the G3L, the Q gradually grows into a great leader who leaves a legacy that continues to guide people even after he has passed away.

Each quadrant of the G3L is comprised of a series of QPoints that are designed to sequentially build upon one another. Like the quadrants themselves, the QPoints are not randomly arranged, such that the Q will find that his work relationships will be unhealthy if he has not first ensured that his marriage is accelerating. He also will find that very little in his life works if he is not accelerating his physical fitness, which is why the daily discipline of physical training is one of the very first QPoints. A Q must Get Right with his own body before he can help anyone else.

The QPoints should not be viewed like specifications on an engineer’s blueprint. They do not provide a precise prescription of life and how to live it. Rather, they are Guardrails that encourage the Q to develop his own path to Preparedness by providing as little structure to the effort as necessary.

Each QPoint is organized into five components that are designed to convey the essence of the QPoint and make it sticky and and easy to pass along within a Group’s LDP. The four components are the Statement, the Socratic, the Synthesis and the Spur.

–Statement

: the organizing principle of the QPoint. The Statement provides the QPoint’s definition and reason for its inclusion in the quadrant.

–Socratic

: three questions designed to elicit thought and discussion about the QPoint.

–Synthesis

: a short essay expounding and explaining the QPoint. Sometimes it will tell a story. Sometimes it will be more thematic. The Synthesis broadens the principle provided by the Statement and provides practical examples of its application.

–Spur

: three concise takeaways from the QPoint. They serve as points on the Q’s emotional compass that help him stay on the proper azimuth under the stress incumbent from an unexpected Outcome.

Love is the accelerant of Preparedness

Each QPoint is a simple call to a difficult action that is designed to help the Q lay the Bricks necessary to form the Guardrails that will enable him to accelerate his G3L throughout his entire life. We call this process of Preparedness Bricklaying , and we know that it is not easy. It requires both the knowledge that change is required and the willingness to make it. While the former can be learned through Schooling (something every man is accustomed to doing), the latter requires a change of heart (something very few men do in the course of their lives).

Heart change requires passion, and by that we mean the willingness to suffer through the obstacles that always appear in the path of any Movement toward Advantage. Nothing good comes easily, nor should it, for it is what a man learns about himself during a difficult journey that makes him an Effective guide for those that come afterward. It is not the just the willingness to take the journey that makes a leader great, it is the quality of the map he draws along the way and his desire to share it with others for their Advantage.

For nothing a man attains in his life has any value whatsoever until the very moment that he freely gives it away. That is the moment he transitions from being merely a leader into being a great leader.

The Q’s commitment to Preparedness will only take him so far down the road to greatness. He could have the heart of a lion and still fail for lack of a critical ingredient, and that is love. If he does not love the people he leads more than he loves himself he cannot put their interests above his own. And that is what Preparedness is ultimately about–the Q’s willing readiness to answer the unexpected call to subordinate his personal benefit for the benefit of those who depend upon him.

Preparedness is built upon Bricks, but its impetus and accelerant is love. When all else falls away, it is only love that will remain.