Leadership Code: Rule #1--Shape the Future

This is the 1st of 5 posts based on a book review of The Leadership Code: Five Rules to Live By written by Dave Ulrich, Norm Smallwood, and Kate Sweetman (Harvard Business Press, 2008).

This rule focuses on the leader as strategist. Leaders must have a compelling vision of where want to go in order to persuade others to follow them on the quest. Otherwise, the leader is just out for a nice walk! The good strategists are practical and know how to create the future using current resources, all in service of showing people how they get from here to there. Some key issues covered by this rule:

--Stay curious about the future
--Invite outsiders in, especially smart ones
--Engage the organization is critical
--Create traction inside the organization