A leader is someone whose actions have the most profound consequences on other people's lives, for better or worse, sometime forever and ever.

What job is worth the enormous psychic cost of following a leader who values loyalty in the narrowest sense.

Create strategic alliances and partnerships: Now and in years to come, shrewd leaders will create allegiances with other organizations whose fates are correlated with their own.

All of great leaders evidence four basic qualities that are central to their ability to lead: adaptive capacity, the ability to engage others through shared meaning, a distinctive voice, and unshakeable integrity. These four qualities mark all exemplary leaders, whatever their age, gender, ethnicity, or race.

You are your own raw material. When you know what you consist of and what you want to make of it, then you can invent yourself.

Understand stakeholder symmetry: Find the appropriate balance of competing claims by various groups of stakeholders.

Great leaders love talent and know where to find it. They surround themselves with talented people who can work effectively together.