The Nub of Leadership: Helping/Inviting Others to “Discover Their Greatness” Tom Peters & Friends/10.04.05

The Context

“The Creative Age is a wide-open game “The Creative Age is a wide-open game.” —Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class

“A focus on cost-cutting and efficiency has helped many organizations weather the downturn, but this approach will ultimately render them obsolete. Only the constant pursuit of innovation can ensure long-term success.” —Daniel Muzyka, Dean, Sauder School of Business, Univ of British Columbia (FT/09.17.04)

“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.” —General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” —Charles Darwin

The Invitation

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." —John Quincy Adams

from being.” —Dustin/Comment/tp.com/09.05 “I don't think we inspire people to ‘become more,’ I think we help them discover who they really are. In a way, we help them become who they already are. Who they were created to be. We don't take them BEYOND their being, we help remove unnatural obstacles that keep them from being.” —Dustin/Comment/tp.com/09.05

Organizing Genius / Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman “Groups become great only when everyone in them, leaders and members alike, is free to do his or her absolute best.” “The best thing a leader can do for a Great Group is to allow its members to discover their greatness.”

Leadership’s Mount Everest “allow its members to discover their greatness.”

Item #1 … from Tom Peters’ “Leadership50”: 1 Item #1 … from Tom Peters’ “Leadership50”: 1. Leadership Is a … Mutual Discovery Process.

Leaders-Teachers-Mentors Do Not “Transform People” Leaders-Teachers-Mentors Do Not “Transform People”! Instead leaders-mentors-teachers (1) provide a context which is marked by (2) access to a luxuriant portfolio of meaningful opportunities (projects) which (3) allow people to fully express their innate curiosity and (4) engage in a vigorous discovery voyage (alone and in small teams, assisted by an extensive self-constructed network) by which those people (5) go to-create places they (and their leaders-teachers-mentors) had never dreamed existed—and then the leaders-teachers-mentors (6) applaud like hell, stage “photo-ops,” and ring the church bells 100 times to commemorate the bravery of their “followers’ ” explorations!

The Tough Guy as Beggar: In the end, management doesn’t change culture The Tough Guy as Beggar: In the end, management doesn’t change culture. Management invites the workforce itself to change the culture.” —Lou Gerstner/IBM

Are you Ready?

“Human creativity is the ultimate economic resource “Human creativity is the ultimate economic resource.” —Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class

“dream more, learn more, do more , become more” Imagine … “dream more, learn more, do more , become more” “help them become who they already are, who they were created to be” “free to do his or her absolute best” “allow members to discover their greatness” “allow people to fully express their innate curiosity; to go to-create places they had never dreamed existed” “invite the workforce itself to change the culture”

Brand = Talent.