Leadership is the most important fundamental

A smart business concept with no leadership = no business.

In every venture, whether there is a good idea or just an average idea, there stands no chance of success if there isn't someone driving the machine!

It is easy to have a coffee with a bunch of friends and get all excited about an idea, but unless someone drives the idea home nothing is going to happen. Someone needs to own the idea and make it happen. Someone needs to put a team together and make sure that everyone is meeting a clear set of goals. And while those goals are being met, new goals need to be set. The machine must never run out of momentum!

You can take a bunch of the smartest computer programmers around, for example, but without solid leadership then generally nothing will happen. Well, that is my view.

All too often the "smart" guys, the artistic geniuses, the computer wizards, the Internet gurus, get very caught up in their ideas and then moan that life sucks when nothing happens. In a machine there are many parts, and they all have to be aligned, and they all need to be fired up and driven. In the same way, a company consists of many people, and someone needs to lead these people. Not to say that leadership is the domain of one person alone, but it all starts with one person.

The other thing about smart people is they often see themselves as great leaders but in my view this is generally not the case. And, it is generally a struggle to get them to eat some humble pie.

Remember one thing for today: real leadership is about growing and mentoring other leaders, not about creating followers.

Posted by Ronnie Apteker