What if we replaced “Chief” with a new set of “C” words? What would happen to our organizations if excellence in these domains was the price of admission to the board room?
CHARACTER – key words: self-awareness, trial, values, openness, courage
“Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without strategy.” – General Norman Schwarzkopf
“My greatest enemy was not those who put or kept me in prison. It was myself. I was afraid to be who I am.” – Nelson Mandela
“If you must live an unexamined life, please inflict it on somebody else.” – Parker Palmer
COMPETENCE – key words: expertise, skill, standards, learning, teaching
“I am, as I’ve said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary.” – Billy Joel
“If the next generation is to face the future with zest and self-confidence, we must educate them to be original as well as competent.” – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
CONNECTION – key words: trust, relationship, vulnerability, consistency
“We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.” – William James
“Do what you did in the beginning of a relationship and there won’t be an end.” – Tony Robbins
“The influence of a vital person vitalizes. The way to bring the world alive is to be alive yourself.” – Joseph Campbell
CULTURE – key words: values, vision, meaning, learning, engagement
“An organization’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.” – Jack Welch
“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.” – Bill Gates
“Change almost never fails because it’s too early. It fails because it’s too late.” – Seth Godin
