Motivation and inspiration energize people, not by pushing them in the right direction as control mechanisms do but by satisfying basic human needs for achievement, a sense of belonging, recognition, self-esteem, a feeling of control over one's life, and the ability to live up to one's ideals. Such feelings touch us deeply and elicit a powerful response.

Most US corporations today are over-managed and under-led. They need to develop their capacity to exercise leadership.

Because management deals mostly with the status quo and leadership deals mostly with change, in the next century we are going to have to try to become much more skilled at creating leaders.

We know that leadership is very much related to change. As the pace of change accelerates, there is naturally a greater need for effective leadership.

Managers are trained to make incremental, programmatic improvements. They aren't trained to lead large-scale change.

One of the most common ways to overcome resistance to change is to educate people about it beforehand. Communication of ideas helps people see the need for and the logic of a change. The education process can involve one-on-one discussions, presentations to groups, or memos and reports.

Never underestimate the magnitude of the power of the forces that reinforce the status quo.