In most cases, no matter what it is, if you measure it and reward it, people will try to excel at it

Leaders are fascinated by future. You are a leader if and only if, you are restless for change, impatient for progress and deeply dissatisfied with status quo. Because in your head, you can see a better future. The friction between 'what is' and 'what could be' burns you, stirs you up, propels you. This is leadership.

True individuality can be lonely.

Clarity is the preoccupation of the effective leader. If you do nothing else as a leader, be clear.

The true genius of a great manager is his or her ability to individualize. A great manager is one who understands how to trip each person's trigger.

Forcing your employees to follow required steps only prevents customer dissatisfaction. If your goal is truly to satisfy, to create advocates, then the step-by-step approach alone cannot get you there. Instead, you must select employees who have the talent to listen and to teach, and then you must focus them toward simple emotional outcomes like partnership and advice....Identify a person's strenths. Define outcomes that play to those strengths. Find a way to count, rate or rank those outcomes. And then let the person run.

Obviously, you have to know what you need now and what you will soon need, then hire or promote from within to meet those needs.