When I lived in Santa Fe New Mexico, my neighbor was Danny Rubin who wrote the original book and screenplay for one of my favorite movies, “Groundhog Day.” It’s a favorite not merely because Danny wrote it, but also because of its implications for aspiring leaders.

If you’ve seen the movie you know that Bill Murray plays TV weather man Phil Connors who is assigned to capture a live broadcast of Groundhog Day ceremonies in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Phil is a master of sarcasm and cynicism; he’s also in a hurry to have his personal needs met and to receive the acclaim he thinks he so richly deserves. Those around Phil feel the full weight of his self-absorption and find little to admire in his conduct or motives.

The film takes a twist when Phil finds himself forced to relive Groundhog Day over and over. After attempting in several ways to escape this time trap he finally resorts to learning. He learns to be more observant of his behavior and its consequences. He learns to listen to others and to consider their perspective and their value. He learns the value of gratitude and the importance of extending himself to others in need. He learns to take his work seriously and himself lightly. He learns to love someone in addition to himself.

Periodically, all of us feel trapped in Groundhog Day. We seem to face similar problems over and over. We’re forced to repeatedly deal with our poor habits and their consequences. Each of us have certain types of people that provide us with special challenge and these people seem to reappear in different forms like groundhogs until, as a last resort we learn about ourselves and we take a more effective approach to dealing with them.

You may have heard the popular definition for the word crazy: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The most effective leaders I have met learn quickly from experiences - their own and others; they capture the lessons; and they continually adopt practices that produce better results. My friend and colleague Robert Ginnett has written a best selling text book on this topic entitled, Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience.

George Santayana once wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” If you agree or don’t I’d love to hear how you’re learning from experience.

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