Being Strategic

Friends,

I read a lot of business and leadership books. I'll admit it...I'm addicted. I appreciate the varieties of perspectives out there "in the arena" about what I call the business of leaders. Unfortunately, I rarely commend many of them to my friends. Frankly, I find most of them to be only marginally useful, rarely based in reality, and downright dull.

I have an exception. Erika Andersen is a consultant, advisor to CEOs, and author/blogger. I first saw some of her thoughts on her blog, The Simplest Thing That Works. And now that I've read her book, Being Strategic, I know she has broken the mold on business books. This one's a keeper. Read my interview with Erika below. If you are intrigued about her approach to strategic leadership or want a superb book for yourself or some aspiring leader, order a copy. I guarantee you will not be disappointed! Here's my interview with Erika:

First of all Erika, I thought you did a terrific book with Being Strategic. You found a way to connect with real people and real leaders using a framework I can really appreciate. Great job! I know that the readers and followers of Leader Business will not regret picking up a copy of your book and learning from a great writer and strategic thinker. Here are a few questions.

1. Erika, you frame your book around a "Castle on the Hill" and the leadership of Llewellyn Fawr, Prince of North Wales. Why him and what can we learn from his leadership?

Llewellyn Fawr was an unusually strategic leader. At a time when other Welsh leaders were simply arguing over bits and pieces of land, worrying about their relatives and counting their cattle, Llewellyn envisioned a united North Wales. He was able to look clearly at what and who he was dealing with – his current reality of strong-minded and independent Welshmen, and what motivated them and didn’t, what they had and hoped for – and to see the possibility of bringing them together. Then he was able to craft strategies and execute tactics for making it happen. He died in his bed, still Prince of North Wales and in his mid-sixties…a good long life by medieval standards. It was an astonishing accomplishment, and unique in the history of Wales.

2. I love your definition of "Being Strategic." You're right. I could not come up with a better definition. Tell us about being strategic!

I think the most important thing I’ve learned over the years about being strategic is that it is primarily a learnable skill. I’ve noticed that people tend to talk about being strategic as though it’s an inborn – and unchangeable – thing, like having blue eyes, or being tall! But I’ve found that almost anyone can improve his or her ability to think and act strategically, if they understand and practice the mental models and the skills involved. That’s really the core reason I wrote the book; I wanted to share these skills with as many people as possible, in a format that would make them accessible, engaging, and reasonably easy to learn.

And why, you might ask, would I want people to be able to improve their ability to think and act strategically? Well, it goes back to Llewellyn – if you have professional and personal dreams, things you truly want to accomplish, I believe that being strategic will make it much more likely that you’ll achieve them.

3. The first step to Being Strategic is to "Define the Challenge." You write, "people often propose solutions to problems before they're clear on what the problem is." This is huge. So many times we jump right into problem solving and getting to what you call the tactics before we have framed the issue. What are key elements of this first step?

As I’ve noted in the book, the first step is to take the time to clarify what isn’t working – that is, what’s the problem or challenge you’re trying to address. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worked with people who sail right past this step and get themselves into seemingly inextricable knots. For instance, let’s say there are two adolescent brothers who want to go to a concert. The first kid is convinced the only problem is that their parents won’t want them to go, though he hasn’t said that out loud. The second kid doesn’t think that will be a problem; he’s just worried about getting there (though he hasn’t really said that out loud, either); they’re not old enough to drive, and none of their friends are going.

So imagine the conversation: brother A just talks about how to sweet-talk their parents, while brother B focuses solely on ideas for arranging transportation. That’s going to be a frustrating conversation, where each person’s focus is going to seem weird and nonsensical to the other. I call it ‘dueling solutions,’ and a more complex but equally frustrating version of it happens in boardrooms all over the world every day!

But once you’ve clearly defined what the true problem is, then you’re ready to start solving it. In the brothers-going-to-the-concert situation, both things might actually be problematic. So their challenge might be “How can we get our parents to let us go, and find a safe way to get there?” And if solving the problems posed in their “How can we…” question would feel like success to both of them – then they’ve defined their challenge, and can now start to try to address it.

4. You talk about "clarifying what is" by "pulling back the camera." I love this concept and know you use this term throughout the book. I call it "seeing yourself." Why is this important for being strategic? And why do we need to do this before we start formulating strategies?

I love this concept too, and it works for almost everyone because most people watch TV or movies. We all know what happens when you don’t “pull back a camera”: when a camera is pulled in really close to a shot, you only see whatever it’s focused on. For example, there might be a really close-in shot of a piece of paper with the word “no” written on it. Because the camera’s in so close, you don’t really know what that’s about – it could be referring to anything. You can speculate all you want, but you don’t really have enough context to understand what you’re seeing.

Then let’s say you pan the camera back a little, and you see there’s another piece of paper next to it that says “yes,” and that both are taped to pieces of wood. Hmmm, that’s a little more context, but still not enough to really make sense of what you’re seeing. So you pull the camera back even more, and now you can see that both papers are taped to piles of 2x4s; those in the “no” pile are warped; those in the “yes” pile are all straight. Ah-ha! Now it makes sense!

In the same way, when you’re trying to look at your current state relative to your challenge, and you really want to see it clearly, it’s essential to “pull the camera back” far enough to allow you to understand the critical elements IN CONTEXT. For example, let’s say your challenge is “How can I build a productive motivated team of employees?” You might think that someone on your team is a poor employee because she’s not fulfilling a part of her job responsibility. But then, when you ‘pull the camera back,’ you find that her previous boss never held her accountable for doing it and she doesn’t actually know it’s supposed to be part of her job! And when you pull the camera back a bit more, maybe you find out that the old boss was actually pretty unclear with everyone about what their jobs were. That new view would certainly lead you to deal differently with the situation: your strategies and tactics would change significantly!

5. Talk about "envisioning the hoped for future" as I know this is truly key to being a visionary, strategic leader. Can anyone get there or is this something we either have from birth or...don't have?

I think everyone can envision the future if it’s important to them. We do it all the time: lovers talk about what it will be like to be married; kids think about what it will be like when they get that new bike for Christmas; junior employees imagine how life would be different if they got a promotion.

The approach I outline takes that basic human capability to envision a different future and helps you to exercise it, strengthen it, and learn to direct it consciously. And, by employing that capacity to envision within the context of the whole process I recommend, you can make it really work for you.
That is, by grounding your “envisioning” in an accurate sense of the current state, you can ensure your hoped-for future is a “reasonable aspiration.” And by then considering the obstacles to your vision, and creating the strategic and tactical path to get there, you’re making it practically achievable.

Not everybody can be world-class at this – there are only a handful of truly great Nadal-and-Federer-level tennis players, for example…but almost everyone can learn to play fairly well if they practice. And many people can get really good!

6. Strategy, then tactics. What's the difference and can you talk about the concept of "FIT" to help ensure both are appropriate?

Strategies are “core directional efforts.” They’re the big paths you’re going to walk down to get to your vision. When I’m working with groups, I often say, “a strategy isn’t ‘I’m going to do this particular thing,’ it’s ‘I’m going to move in this direction.’ Tactics are then the specific things you do to move in that direction.

For instance, when my own company, Proteus, did our last vision and strategy session, one of our strategies was “Establish and sustain ways of operating that support our growth.” That’s not a particular thing you can run right out and do; it’s a statement of intention, of direction. It was us saying that we were going to focus time, energy and resources on improving our systems and processes…a necessary strategy for many growing businesses that have outpaced their infrastructure! Some tactics under that strategy were to document our current client processes; to identify gaps and ‘pinch points’; to find a resource for helping us upgrade our technology, etc. Specific, measurable things we could do to implement the strategy.

And FIT is just a great, simple screen for choosing both strategies and tactics: it stands for “feasible, impactful and timely.” And you use it by asking yourself, when you’re thinking about whether or not a strategy or tactic is right for you:
- “Can we actually do this? Do we have the skills, resources, bandwidth?” (feasibility) “
- “Will this move us farthest toward our objective with the least amount of effort? That is, does this give us the biggest ‘bang for the buck’? (impact)
- “Do we need to do this first? And is there a window of opportunity – that is, if we don’t do this now, might we be unable to do it later? (timeliness)

7. Finally, I would ask if this approach to being strategic is for individuals or for groups? Is it the same approach for both?

It is for both, and the core skills and mindset are exactly the same. The differences are all in application. That’s why I wrote the book the way I did, with the first half focusing on clarifying and teaching the approach itself, and the second half layering on the skills and understanding necessary to use the approach with a group.

And we teach and use it with both: we’ve taught hundreds of folks to use this skill in their own careers and lives, and we’ve worked with dozens of companies and teams to support them in working through this process to envision and achieve the future they want for their organization or their department.

And I hope the book enables many, many more people to do the same! Thanks for these great and thought-provoking questions, Tom.

Thank you, Erika. Your book is great. I know that "Being Strategic" will help anyone on the way to their "castle." I trust that you are on your way to yours! Being strategic is a key component of the growth of every leader. That makes it...Leader Business.

Synergy - Part III

T-shirts don't make a team. Neither do cheers, logos, posters, or the most talented individuals in a particular field. Ask the Los Angeles Lakers, the 2009 NBA Champions. After a long drought in which the best player in the game never could get back to the top, it took much more to create the conditions for success. It took SYNERGY!

Synergy as we have described it can be reduced to a simple math equation: 1+1+1>3. The whole is made greater than the sum of the parts. Leadership is the action verb (made greater) that enables this possibility.

For the Lakers (or any other team), greatness was not achieved until the sum of the parts was actually made greater. That took leadership -- from the coaching staff, from the front office, and most importantly, from the players on the court. And if you follow the sport as closely as you follow this blog (ha!), you know that the synergy that we saw in this year's Laker team (or last year's Celtics, or any other championship team in any profession) validated the formula for synergy that we have been talking about on this page:

Synergy =Common vision and goals +Big TEAM, little me +Interdependence +Accountability.

And while we described each component in the last post, here are a few final thoughts on this important leadership deliverable:

While jerseys do not a team make, leaders must be aware of the need to build a unique brand around their team of teams (they are, after all, the LAKERS!). Use cross-training and developmental assignments between organizations to foster a better understanding of new acquisitions or within subordinate units who otherwise might not have reason to interact. Build a new brand. Celebrate team accomplishments and organizational progress toward the common vision.

Synergy is only possible when everyone is involved and is forged by leaders who get 100% from every team member. Mergers and acquisitions almost universally come with baggage – suspicions and concerns generated by ignorance of the potential for the new team of teams. Barriers must be knocked down, stove pipes eliminated.

Leaders must model the behavior that values the contribution of every single team member. Identify excess capacity and determine how to make it available to those who are over tasked. Think of your organizational diversity as an opportunity. How might someone in human resources help with an engineering design? Who better than a salesperson could serve on a process design team? And how can a superstar like Kobe Bryant subordinate himself to the goals of the team while making those around him better?

Synergy is fueled by communication and cross-talk. Economies of scale, opportunities for cross-selling and cross-promotion, and a better use of shared resources will not generally identify themselves. Leaders must constantly “wire brush” the organization to bring these issues to the surface. Constant dialogue about best practices and lessons learned, coupled with teammates held accountable to one another, will drive growth across the board. The total can exceed the sum of the parts - many times over.

If 1+1+1=3 - that’s not synergy. That result was achievable in the organization’s formerly independent state. Of what value is a merger, acquisition, or organizational growth that shows no value added? Bigger is not better. Better is better.

The leader’s job is to create synergy, to add value. Make the new condition, the newly combined business unit, or the organizational team of teams better than its former, independent state. That kind of measurable growth does not occur by itself. That’s where you come in. That's what it took for the Lakers to win the championship this year. And that is why creating synergy is...Leader Business.

Synergy - Part II

Wearing the same shirt does not make you a team.
-- Buchholz and Roth

During the time I was serving as a trainer at the Army's National Training Center, the Army formed a new combat organization within its fighting Brigades – the Special Troops Battalion (STB). Created by joining signal, intelligence, engineer, military police, and other specialized units under a common command, this new team's leaders faced a daunting task - build a team of teams out of these diverse functions; combine these dissimilar units into a cohesive, fighting organization – and make them better than when they operated independently. The mission – create synergy.

Many STB team members were challenged however, to embrace the promise of this new organization. They were encumbered by memories of life as independent entities. They could not yet comprehend the advantage of replacing independence with interdependence. They did not know the potential greatness of the new team. They had not yet seen the value of working, fighting, and succeeding – together.

STB leaders quickly realized that it took more than a common headquarters for combat units to fight as a team. Commanders quickly recognized that t-shirts and logos did not create synergy. Accomplished team builders know that much more is required. Successful mergers and acquisitions, in the military or in business, do not happen by themselves. Nope…that’s the leader’s job.

Synergy can be reduced to a simple math equation: 1+1+1>3. The whole is made greater than the sum of the parts. Leadership is the action verb (made greater) that enables this possibility. Making teams better, adding value, is the role of the leader. That makes it Leader Business.

As I indicated before, it was in the "heat of battle" at the Army's National Training Center that I learned these critical elements for creating synergy (another math equation!) --

Synergy =
Common vision and goals +
Big TEAM, little me +
Interdependence +
Accountability.

Common vision. Common goals.

Leaders must create the common purpose for which the team will fight – together. Groups, no matter how mature, must have a reason for working together that makes sense to all team members. Without a shared vision, organizational tendencies are to form stovepipes, build up barriers, and focus on themselves.

Synergy comes from teams and team members who are truly committed to working together. Leaders must forge the overarching organizational vision that describes the intended end state. Whether through mergers and acquisitions or when brought about by combining functions within existing organizations, the tendency will be for teammates to believe that “it was working fine before the change.” What they cannot know and what leadership must uniquely transmit is – “compared to what?”

Leaders provide the vision of how great the team can be under these new conditions. As is always the case with “the vision thing,” leaders must believe it themselves and then share it (frequently…and with passion), first with internal customers (get your team to believe) and then with everyone else.

Recently, I led my own team through a major transformation. The reasons NOT to change were plentiful: we were doing well, reaching all of our goals; we would lose our brand identity through the proposed changes; and the new organization would be so dysfunctional given the diversity of skills on the future team that the product would be of lesser quality.

I heard it from all sides and struggled personally and professionally with the pending change. But all issues paled in comparison to the importance of providing the best service to our customers. A shared vision that recognized that it was about those whom we served, not about us, was the reality we needed to embrace.

Discussions about how we would work together, about how we could be a better team and better serve our customers, enabled by the strength of our new diversity, and about how we could each grow, personally and professionally, quickly took hold within the organization. We became a better team – and our customers were better for it. It started with a vision.

BIG TEAM – little me.

Synergy is created when team members subordinate their personal or small unit goals to those of the bigger team. They must have the belief and understanding that they are successful only if the team is successful. The old way of doing business must be replaced with a new way – better and fully integrated into the higher organization.

Emphasize team goals at every opportunity. Use team rewards to highlight the benefits of working together. Reward behaviors that demonstrate the desired corporate mindset.

Leaders must balance the need to work as a team while still sustaining the competitiveness that drives subordinate teams to do their best? Sales teams need to push each other for the big goals. But the top prize is reserved for when the company achieves its intended results. Teachers should strive for individual recognition – yet take greatest satisfaction in their school’s “Exemplary” status.

Synergy is achieved by teammates who seek ways to do their best while striving to make each other better. Streamlined processes and cost savings are realized by team members who look outside themselves to help others. Information and lessons learned are shared. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Interdependence.

Synergy is only made possible through team members who replace independence with the newness of interdependence. Organizations whose members are mutually dependent on each other’s unique skills, experiences, and capabilities are more inclined to work together toward a common, higher goal. They are also less inclined to grow in size and scope versus leveraging unused capacity elsewhere in the organization.

The Department of Defense is working hard to force its services to embrace interdependence, a concept known as “jointness.” Does the artillery need a new howitzer when aviation – Army, Navy, or Air Force - can service those same targets with existing weapon systems? Does the Army need more bomb disposal personnel when the Navy has world class capabilities available to do this mission? Difficult concepts with high stakes, interdependence is the only way to get the most out of a military force with as many commitments as ours.

The US Army Corps of Engineers is another example of a large government organization wrestling with the need to create interdependence. Current budgets no longer afford each regional organization to create fiefdoms known as “districts” with full functionality whose sole focus is internal - district goals and district customers.

Now, regional and national centers of expertise are available to each Army Corps district, with designs for projects in one district completed by teams with unique capabilities in another. Business processes have been modified to reflect the elimination of stovepipes and local behavior. Not only does interdependence make better business sense, it produces a better product and leads to a more satisfied customer. The Army Corps is working hard to do more – better – with less. That is synergy.

Leaders must grow interdependent organizations who share everything – resources, customers, skills, people, and facilities. It is only in doing so that the new organization is made greater than the sum of its parts.

Identify unused capacity and determine how it can be applied to help the team. Cross level resources and capabilities between subordinate teams to meet higher level goals. Build bridges and bonds between mutually dependent sub-organizations that will create an effect that exceeds what could be done individually.

Accountability.

Synergy is only realized when the team is literally, measurably, actually made greater. The parts must function together to make a better product – cheaper, faster, more sustainable, more reliable, safer…better. True synergy must result in increased revenue or higher market share. Economies of scale must be realized. Customers, internal and external, must see progress.

Teams do well what a leader measures. Develop metrics for the team and for each subordinate organization that can be used for mutual accountability. Create an environment where subordinates are free to “look outside their cubicles” while holding each other accountable for meaningful, quantifiable advancement.

Team members must be accountable to one another to ensure a better team. This is only possible when they understand each other and appreciate how they each uniquely contribute to their success - and the accomplishment of team goals.

Education programs such as new employee orientation and formal and informal professional development help grow teammates who understand the team of teams. Peer reviews provide perspective on subordinates who work well within the team concept. Sharing best practices across functional areas will help make each component of the whole better than if it were operating separately.

Subordinates who understand that their success is only enabled by the success of every team member will begin to think outside themselves to help, and hold accountable, others. Salesmen will give constructive feedback to manufacturing partners. Marketers will interact with operations folks like never before. Peers and subordinate organizations that formerly had little interaction will develop productive, mutually beneficial relationships.

Nope...T-shirts won't make a team. Without common vision, interdependence, accountability, and the subordinating of self to something bigger, 1+1+1 will equal 3 (or less). Leadership is required to add value to this equation and to make individuals function as a TEAM. That makes creating synergy...Leader Business.

Synergy - Part I

Synergy is the increase in performance of the combined firm over what the two firms are already expected or required to accomplish as independent firms.
-- Mark L. Sirower

Are you familiar with the concept of synergy? How do you define it? What does it mean to you? I can tell you this. Never has the importance of leaders creating synergy been more important than it is in business units and other teams today. If you are not thinking about synergy -- what it means and how you can get some -- you are missing out on what leadership is all about!

Synergy: The whole is made greater than the sum of the parts.

Since I am an engineer, I like to reduce this concept to a simple math equation: 1+1+1>3. Leadership...is the action verb (made greater) that enables this (seemingly impossible) possibility.

Synergy, like so many other characteristics of leadership, is only enabled by dynamic, visionary, positive leaders. Without leadership, you’ll end up with acquisitions that never quite fit together (think AOL TimeWarner) and an organization whose parts may actually decrease the value of the sum. Leaders are uniquely positioned and specifically employed to add value to the team, to create functional, profitable teams of teams. So that makes creating synergy -- Leader Business, right?

Successful organizations function as a team of teams. Mergers bring separate, independent units together to grow production capacity or leverage common customers. Functions in existing operations are combined to streamline processes and harvest efficiencies. And business units are grouped together to leverage capabilities that may not exist without each other.

Leadership makes this work. It is the grease that eliminates the friction inherent in team building. It is the forcing function that ensures the team of teams is, in fact, better than its former condition – more efficient, higher productivity, greater access to customers, and a better product.

But putting a group of good performers together under one roof does not guarantee synergistic success. How many companies have failed following a big merger or acquisition? How frequently do we see organizations whose family tree can only be described as dysfunctional? How about sports teams that acquire more and more superstar athletes, yet still can't win the championship? Think about all the consolidation going on in financial markets today. Bigger is not better. Better is better!

Over the next several posts, I'd like to share with you an example from my own experiences where the concept of synergy took form in my own mind as well as what I found it takes to make the whole greater than the sum of the parts. It was in the "heat of battle" at the Army's National Training Center that I learned these critical elements for creating synergy (another math equation!) --

Synergy =

Common vision and goals +

Big TEAM, little me +

Interdependence +

Accountability.

This is one of my favorite topics. I have spoken about this critical trait to leaders across the country dozens of times in a variety of different contexts (and perhaps this is something your group could use some encouraging words on). Until then, think about areas in your company or in your own life where synergy would be important. You'll find, as I have, that creating synergy is...Leader Business.

Synergy Part II.

Synergy Part III.

New Employee Orientation at West Point

I was reminded of the importance of new employee orientation when my buddy got back from dropping his son off at the United States Military Academy at West Point to start his journey as a new cadet. With tears still in his and his wife's eyes, his accounting took me back in time to my orientation.

First of all, I can't believe I am old enough to have friends whose babies are entering (or in some cases have already graduated from) West Point. Ouch! But I am equally amazed at how effective the orientation process still is. In one day, young men and women are transformed from civilian individuals to members of a high performing military team (see this video here for the parade at the end of Day 1).

While my own orientation (R-day for Reception) is still a blur, I remember some of the key components. I received uniforms, got a haircut, met my new leadership team, received some briefings, signed some forms, and learned the basics of marching. And by the end of the first day, I was "New Cadet Magness," participating in my first parade in front of parents and friends of the West Point Class of 1985. Aaaah...good times. (At least I will remember it that way for you here. I won't go into how I cried myself to sleep in my bunk...scared to death about what I was getting into! Ha!).

How does your orientation process measure up? Are you ensuring that you provide the time and energy necessary to give that good first impression, to make new employees feel like part of the team, and to help all team members see the big picture for the team they have just joined? How does your program compare against these key elements from my own orientation program?

-- Issue new equipment to enable success. I received uniforms, linens, a room assignment, foot locker, a bunk in the barracks, and everything I needed to function.

-- Provide information about the team and learn how to use all new equipment. On R-day, I learned plenty of rules. "Pick up your bags! Drop your bags! Salute, left turn, right turn, forward march! Your only responses are yes sir, no sir, and no excuse sir. Do you understand new cadet?" Wow...just typing that last part made me nervous! I learned how to make my bed (and how to sleep in it without messing it up so it would always be ready for inspection. More good times!), how to walk, march in formation, and sit in a chair (ok, some of these elements may not directly apply).

-- Learn about organizational culture. R-day provided an overview of the cadet honor code and the basics of the military which we had just joined. We raised our right hand and took an oath of allegiance to defend our country.

-- Take care of all administrative and HR issues. While again most of it was a blur, I remember signing plenty of paperwork to enter into the system for pay, benefits, and notification of next of kin (you may not all need that last item!). We were told when we could take time off (Christmas) and when we could retire (24 years seemed like a long time but wow did it go by fast!).

-- Meet the leadership team and be formally welcomed into the organization. I was one of 11 young men assigned to a squad leader. This cadet junior would be our mentor and instructor for the first summer (yes, orientation extended for a couple of months -- NOT good times!). We heard from the cadet chain of command and the leadership at the Academy. All of these leaders welcomed us and provided an orientation to what we had just joined.

There are any combination of elements for an effective orientation. In sum though, new employees must feel like they have the necessary skills and tools to be effective, they understand the fundamental administrative elements of the organization, they know their leaders, and they are educated on the company's culture, vision, and goals and objectives. New employees should know and understand their role and see where they fit on the team.

How does your orientation measure up? Are your troopers marching as one by the end of the day? It can be done! That's...Leader Business!

Independent Leaders

Leadership can be defined as the act of motivating people to achieve a common goal. It is doing the right thing for the right reasons. It is taking action, no matter the consequences. It is subordinating self for something much bigger. It is the act of rallying people to accomplish things together which they could not necessarily do by themselves. It is ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things. Leadership is vision, purpose, courage, discipline and passion. It is not who we are but what we do. Leadership is an ACTION verb!


When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security....

Think of the leadership involved in crafting these words. Think of the courage involved with putting one's name at the bottom, declaring a willingness to die for one's convictions. Think of the leadership that the signers exhibited in creating this shared vision and then inspiring a Nation to join them.

On this American Independence Day, let us remember that leadership is an action verb. Sometimes...it can change the "course of human events." That's...Leader Business!


Thanks to Dan McCarthy for including this post in the July Leadership Development Carnival over at Great Leadership!

Image courtesy of www.friendsacrossamerica.com