In 2013, I finished writing my first book, “The Walking Leader” which I started about six years earlier. Six years? Yes, I was still in school finishing my Masters and working for the state of Texas this it never took off until I said enough is enough.
There are many people who know that the only true way to be an authentic leader is to get up and get out. You read about that need in many business books and many more business gurus will tell you that. They tell you to get up and start walking around the company and get to know not only the people you are responsible but to meet and know everyone in the organization.
Unfortunately, that’s about all they tell you. Over the years, there have been numerous programs and systems that encourage leaders to get out there and interact with those they supervise. There was TQM, SIX SIGMA, LEAN, and so on and so on (ad nauseam). Yet, there were no rules as to what to do when the leader got out there.
Thus the reason for writing The Walking Leader became perfectly clear. The Walking Leader offers answers to one question that no one wanted to answer:
What do I do when I walk around the company?
The Walking Leader is the result of me trying to answer that question. I came up with twenty (20) rules or suggestions to give the leader something to do than to walk around aimlessly while trying to figure out on the fly what to do and NOT do.
Now I don’t promise you that it will make you the next Patton or Jack Welch but I can promise that it can help get you on the right direction when you get out there and start walking around. Thus, you will be a better leader.
Thank you for indulging me a little shameless self-promotion. Then again, if I don’t do it who will?
Dave Guerra
You can order your copy of THE WALKING LEADER from AMAZON
This quote by Machiavelli takes us down that same road as the quote about the fortress. It takes being highly regarded by people (especially those that follow you) to be respected to the point that there will be no problem when problems arise.