Colin Powell on Leadership

Lesson #8  Organization doesn't really accomplish anything.  Plans don't accomplish anything, either.  Theories of management don't much matter.  Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved.  Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds.

In a brain-based economy, your best assets are people.  We've heard this expression so often that it's become trite.  But how many leaders really "walk the talk" with this stuff?  Too often, people are assumed to be empty chess pieces to be moved round by grand viziers, which may explain why so many top managers immerse their calendar time in deal making, restructuring and the latest management fad.  How many immerse themselves in the goal of creating an environment where the best, the brightest, the most creative are attracted, retained and, most importantly, unleashed?