Know more about the situation you're facing than a reporter who is writing a major article would.
People who succeed speak well of themselves to themselves.
As a leader, it is vitally important that you keep in touch with your boss on a regular, sacrosanct basis. Chances are your boss can provide an aerial view that will make your path more clear.
Nobody wins until we all do.
Perhaps the true mark of a leader is that she or he is willing to stand alone.
Forgetting your mission leads, inevitably, to getting tangled up in details-details that can take you completely off your path.