It just isn t enough to have the great vision people can trust. It has to be manifest in some external products and results. They step up and take their shots every day, perhaps knowing that you miss 100 percent of the shots you don t take, to borrow another line from ice-rink philosopher Gretsky. Strike hard and try everything, wrote Henry James. You re never going to get anywhere unless you risk and try and then learn from each experience.
Leaders have to play even when it means making mistakes.
And they have to learn from those mistakes. Companies are the direct reflection of their leaders. All the leaders I know have a strongly defined sense of purpose. And when you have an organization where the people are aligned behind a clearly defined vision or purpose, you get a powerful organization. Effective leaders are all about creative collaboration, about creating a shared sense of purpose.