Most books and articles written about leaders address major corporations or superstar leaders (think Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet) – the “big names” in leadership.  The unwritten expectation is that if you, as an everyday leader, follow the steps that these leaders did, you’ll produce the same results.  You’ll find the answer to your own leadership problems.  But it’s not true.

 

99.7% of businesses in the U.S. are firms that employ fewer than 500 employees.  89.4% employ less than 20 workers. (2014 U.S. Census Bureau data, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council)  Who’s leading these businesses?  How are they leading?  Why isn’t there more said about them?

 

Over the past 20 years, I’ve spent thousands of hours, one-on-one, with more than 400 leaders and have walked with them through some of the most incredible challenges and breakdowns and watched them navigate safely and, in many times, incredibly, through the rough waters.

 

I’d like to tell their story so that the thousands and thousands of small business leaders can realize that you don’t have to be Steve Jobs or Carly Fiorina to be an outstanding leader.  You just need the character, competence, and courage to face the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) of today’s environment and achieve the compelling vision that drives each of these incredible leaders.