You’ve probably had your fill of articles and blogs about how New Year’s resolutions don’t work. So I want to give you a positive framework to begin the New Year. Creating your personal vision for the future is a different way to look at setting and achieving goals. A clear vision is made up of […]
4 Business Practices for Government Leaders
Four years ago, I wrote a blog post about how disappointed Americans were with our political system and activities that were taking place during the months leading up to the presidential election. I followed that with a series of blogs offering advice to both political parties about how to lead at a higher level. As […]
Applying Servant Leadership
Continuing with the servant leader theme, I want to share a real-life example that I experienced. To help you realize that servant leadership can occur in any organization, consider what happened when I visited the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). When you mention the DMV, most people would say it’s a government bureaucracy that often […]
The Visionary Role of the Servant Leader
I love the saying “A river without banks is a large puddle.” The banks permit the river to flow and give it direction. In my last post I explained that the visionary part of servant leadership is about providing clear direction. If people don’t have a compelling vision to serve, they can’t work toward a […]
What Great Leaders Know and Do: It All Begins with “Seeing the Future”
One of our favorite publishers, Berrett-Koehler, just released the 10th Anniversary Edition of The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do—the first book I coauthored with Mark Miller. The message in The Secret is as powerful in today’s increasingly complex world as it was when it was published ten years ago: You can serve without leading, […]
Is there such a thing as servant leadership in government?
(This is the eleventh installment in my twelve-part blog series A Leadership Vision for America.) I realize that what I have been saying about creating a servant leadership culture in Washington is not easy to sell. To a lot of people, it sounds like “soft management.” When I am confronted by these kinds of concerns, I […]
Elect Servant Leaders
(This is the tenth installment in my twelve-part blog series A Leadership Vision for America.) Now let’s look at the fourth and final secret for fixing Washington. This secret will encompass and bring to life the first three secrets. The Fourth Secret: Elect Servant Leaders Assumption: The more that our leaders are in Washington to serve […]
Bounded Set Thinking vs. Centered Set Thinking
(This is the ninth installment in my twelve-part blog series A Leadership Vision for America.) In my last post I stated that business and government can’t solve all of America’s problems by themselves. Ideally, our leaders in Washington would involve every sector of society in problem solving. The three sectors encompass nine different domains: The Public […]
Invite every sector of society to the table
(This is the eighth installment in my twelve-part blog series A Leadership Vision for America.) Our leaders need to create a clear, compelling vision for America. They also need to start treating Americans as true business partners. Now let’s look at the third secret for helping to fix Washington: The Third Secret: Involve Every Sector of […]
What are America’s key national goals?
(This is the sixth installment in my twelve-part blog series A Leadership Vision for America) In the past several weeks, I have gone into detail about the first secret our government leaders need to know to improve our system in Washington: Have a compelling vision. For a compelling vision to endure, all three elements—a significant purpose, […]