Page 26 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

Introduction • 7

and poverty, humanitarian relief, corruption, West Islamic world dialogue,
information technology (IT) access for everyone, wellness and health
issues (e.g., HIV, malaria, etc.), education initiatives, and at the very least,
an equal opportunity for people to grow and prosper.
“You can pair self-interest that is the hallmark of capitalism with
interest in the welfare of others,” says Bill Gates, chairman of the board
of Microsoft, speaking at Davos (who put $33 billion into his foundation
to improve health care worldwide).
This kind of stewardship is a gift not many people get to have. You
need initiative, influence, and resources to do what Gates promotes—
and that can come only from being a leader.
You know what you’re about: ambitious, technologically adept,
adaptable, civic-minded, socially conscious, success-driven, unafraid to
question the status quo, confident, a multitasker, and generally optimistic.
You already have the foundation of what makes up leadership; you might
as well go all the way.
If you’re reading this and you think, “Oh, I don’t want to work in a
big company. I want to do my own thing, start my own business, be the
boss—the CEO—from the start.” Fine. Good for you. You know what
you want, so everything in this book is all the more important for you.
Each aspect of producing results, being a generalist, self-development,
confidence, integrity, developing others, communicating, getting and
staying connected, being decisive, and keeping balance to lead are
demanded of you, but sooner. No, immediately!
Venture capitalists tell me that they see, on average, 1,000 business
plans a year and invest in 8. The 8 are chosen as much for the idea as the
CEO and his or her leadership skills. If you choose to ignore any part pre-
sented in this book, you risk working for a jerk—if you’re self-employed.
An important thing to realize is that you can home school yourself on
being a leader instead of waiting for any big organization’s institutional rigor
to click in. In fact, you can’t wait. Starting today, take on your own author-
ity to think and act like the owner, the top boss, the CEO; do it regardless
of your current job and title. Do it for yourself, your family, your career,
your future, your organization, your team, your life, and your legacy.
Public companies, on average, replace their top leaders every five
years, according to the search firm, Spencer Stuart. (This is much lower