The Unknown Leader

Our world has many obvious leaders: captains of industry, high-achieving academics, CEOs, statesmen, champion athletes. But we also depend on leaders whose work is usually not so visible. They are all around us, filling crucial roles at every level of society, in all kinds of organizations and in our communities, enriching the lives of those around them and making the world a better place. The Unknown Leader celebrates these leaders among us and invites you to join them. Hussein A. Al-Banawi shares the inspiring stories of some of today's Unknown Leaders and shows how they discovered their hidden talents through hard work, reflection and continual learning. He also recounts his own lifelong journey toward leadership and the invaluable lessons he gained from unusual friendships, daunting challenges, tough decisions, victories and defeats. And Al-Banawi explains the six crucial qualities every aspiring leader must develop, with specific advice about how to enhance these qualities in yourself. Whether you are a student, a mid-career professional, an entrepreneur, or anyone seeking a richer and fulfilling life, The Unknown Leader will be a powerful guide and companion in your own lifelong journey.

The dangerous work of leading change--somebody has to do it. Will you put yourself on the line? To lead is to live dangerously. It's romantic and exciting to think of leadership as all inspiration, decisive action, and rich rewards, but leading requires taking risks that can jeopardize your career and your personal life. It requires putting yourself on the line, disrupting the status quo, and surfacing hidden conflict. And when people resist and push back, there's a strong temptation to play it safe. Those who choose to lead plunge in, take the risks, and sometimes get burned. But it doesn't have to be that way say renowned leadership experts Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky. In Leadership on the Line, they show how it's possible to make a difference without getting "taken out" or pushed aside. They present everyday tools that give equal weight to the dangerous work of leading change and the critical importance of personal survival. Through vivid stories from all walks of life, the authors present straightforward strategies for navigating the perilous straits of leadership. Whether you're a parent or a politician, a CEO or a community activist, this practical book shows how you can exercise leadership and survive and thrive to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

If life is an adventure, no one will ever live it more fully than Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the rumored Northwest Passage, Lewis and Clark instead discovered a seemingly endless land whose very existence foretold a future America infinitely different from what had been imagined. May 2004 marks the beginning of a two-and-a-half year bicentennial celebration of their incredible journey and its significance to the history of America. Against staggering odds, these unique men inspired such absolute loyalty in each other and in their group that they are still widely regarded as the most successful leadership team in American history. Today's leadership adventures unfold in the rugged terrain of business, and who better than Lewis and Clark to lead us through its toughest challenges? Their story resonates with business leaders of our time because they had to: * Think strategically * Make tough and timely decisions * Surround themselves with good people * Manage resources * Motivate the team * Deal with different cultures * Assimilate information from many sources * Balance long-term goals against short-term realities * Learn from their mistakes * Try new approaches Most importantly, they had to persevere and change course in the face of adversity. Their lessons will inspire business leaders to take their teams to new adventures of great discovery.

Explains how the legendary military commander's principles of leadership can be applied to contemporary business situations in the '90s.

Chapter 5: Customers, Products, Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Close Customer Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Customer Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Dependence on the Customer and Risk Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Achieving Closeness to Customer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Product and Service Spectrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Chapter 6: Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 What Does Innovation Mean?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 High Level of Innovativeness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Driving Forces of Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 The Origin of Innovations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Leadership and Organizational Aspects of Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Chapter 7: Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Competitive Structure and Conduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 The Hidden Champions in the Light of Porter’s “Five Forces” . . . . . 195 Competitive Advantages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Sustainability of Competitive Advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Demonstration of Competitive Superiority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 Competitive Edge and Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Sparring Partners for Competitive Fitness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 Excessive Competitive Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 Chapter 8: Financing, Organization, and Business Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 Contents ix Organization of the Value Chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 Business Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 Entrepreneurial Clusters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 Chapter 9: Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 Job Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 Corporate Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 Quali?cations and Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 Creativity of Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278 Recruiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282 Chapter 10: The Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285 Structures of Ownership and Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286 How Crucial Is Leadership? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289 Leadership Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289 Young to the Top . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 Powerful Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294 Internationalization of Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298 Personalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 Leadership Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305 Management Succession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310 Chapter 11: Hidden Champions: Audit and Strategy Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 What Is Strategy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316 Hidden Champion Strategy: For Whom? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316 Hidden Champions – Audits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 Strategy Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325 Strategies for Value Propositions and Pricing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 Organization and Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The New York Times bestseller by the acclaimed, bestselling author of Start With Why and Together is Better. Now with an expanded chapter and appendix on leading millennials, based on Simon Sinek's viral video "Millenials in the workplace" (150+ million views). Imagine a world where almost everyone wakes up inspired to go to work, feels trusted and valued during the day, then returns home feeling fulfilled. This is not a crazy, idealized notion. Today, in many successful organizations, great leaders create environments in which people naturally work together to do remarkable things. In his work with organizations around the world, Simon Sinek noticed that some teams trust each other so deeply that they would literally put their lives on the line for each other. Other teams, no matter what incentives are offered, are doomed to infighting, fragmentation and failure. Why? The answer became clear during a conversation with a Marine Corps general. "Officers eat last," he said. Sinek watched as the most junior Marines ate first while the most senior Marines took their place at the back of the line. What's symbolic in the chow hall is deadly serious on the battlefield: Great leaders sacrifice their own comfort--even their own survival--for the good of those in their care. Too many workplaces are driven by cynicism, paranoia, and self-interest. But the best ones foster trust and cooperation because their leaders build what Sinek calls a "Circle of Safety" that separates the security inside the team from the challenges outside. Sinek illustrates his ideas with fascinating true stories that range from the military to big business, from government to investment banking.

Recognizing that education systems have been temporarily paralyzed in the past and likely will in the future—whether it’s because of a natural disaster or a pandemic—this important volume offers critical insights about how schools can effectively carry forward the mission of educating all children even in the face of system turbulence and disruption. Featuring Narratives from expert leaders in urban, rural, and suburban school systems, this book explores important questions about the "new normal" such as the ways in which students can and should learn, how educators can teach and lead effectively, and how schools can carry out important functions beyond their instructional mission. Chapters present inspiring stories of leaders and teachers who have rallied, rebuilt, and problem-solved in face of the pandemic and amid adversity, ultimately providing a roadmap for how it’s possible to rebuild and adjust while preserving the fundamental core of education. Full of takeaways and first-hand insights into how systems and their schools faced turbulence, disruption, and adaptation, this book is a must-read for today’s educators committed to making a positive impact on the students they have the duty to serve.