Two weeks ago I wrote about the fourth and final cornerstone in my model called The Four Cornerstones of Business Success. Last week I wrote about a Big Lesson I learned about leadership. Today I want to make a connection between the two topics. Perhaps the Biggest Lesson of all for me has been the realization of the dramatic impact that a leader has, whether the context is within a family, a business, a community or a government. Whatever the situation, I have seen time and again that the success of the group/organization depends largely on the quality of the leaders. In case you think this is self-evident, I remind you of Edward R. Murrow’s observation that “The obscure we see eventually; the completely apparent takes longer.”

Food for Thought ~

After I had been consulting for a dozen years or so, guiding clients in planning, marketing, and organizational development projects, I began to fully comprehend the crucial variable of leadership effectiveness. The success of the enterprise depended more on the skills and traits of the leader(s) than the strategies, products, or marketing budgets. Quality of leadership is the Number One issue for sustainable success. To be quite explicit, if you are not doing everything you can do to be the best leader you can be, you are not going to realize your personal potential nor that of your enterprise.

Question for the day ~

How close are you to fulfilling your potential?

Link to my article ~

My new column on Leadership as the Fourth Cornerstone was recently published in the NorthBay Business Journal. Usually my column is posted concurrently on-line, but it was delayed this time. So for those of you who would like to read the column, here is the working link to my article!
Thanks for your interest in the topic and your patience with the technology.

Mary