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 Business leadership in the past was dominated by managers who ruled
from the top down; organizational hierarchies were structured along
military lines and people climbed the ranks. But today’s wise
general needs to be like Sun Tzu, the ancient philosopher who went
on to become one of history’s greatest military commanders.
Twenty-first century leaders are reshaping the best-led global
companies. Authentic leaders need to be focused on customers and not
on serving short-term shareholders.
If you are a wise general you will come to work to empower your
colleagues and your customers. I have a famous saying: “I come to
work each day to delight my customers; the result is I make money.”
In the 21st century the most successful leaders focus on creating
superior performance by aligning people around a corporate culture
and living and breathing that culture while concentrating on wowing
customers. In my book, “Wake Up or Die,” (www.wakeupordie.us), a
comprehensive guide to the use of intelligence in the contemporary
business environment, I talk about one of the most important traits
for a wise general or leader today: emotional intelligence.
Managing and directing employees involves a great understanding and
application of emotional intelligence, which leaders, wise generals
and CEOs too often simply ignore or don’t understand.
As a leader deploying your troops, you’ve got to engage them in your
vision, connect with them, and assure cohesiveness among them.
The good news is that this distinguishing feature of your personal
nature can be strengthened over time. Through experience I have
learned the importance of acquiring and using emotional intelligence
because of its impact on business success.
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Emotional intelligence (EI) -- or in casual shorthand, EQ (emotional
quotient) -- helps define both incoming and outgoing behaviors,
either of which can be detrimental to simple relations like customer
service and co-worker partnerships. The biggest surprise for me has
been the impact of EI in the world of business, particularly in the
areas of leadership and employee development.
The Harvard Business Review has hailed emotional intelligence as “a
ground-breaking, paradigm-shattering idea,” one of the most
influential business ideas of the decade. I believe EI to be so
vital to the success of any organization that I have devoted an
entire chapter in my book to it.
A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is
done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. —Lao
Tzu
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] About
Corrine Sandler - Corrine Sandler is the founder and CEO of
Fresh Intelligence Research Corp, a global market research agency;
international professional speaker and author of “Wake Up or Die,” (www.wakeupordie.us)
a new book that applies lessons from Sun Tzu’s ancient classic, “The
Art of War,” to contemporary businesses. Corrine has been on
Profit’s top 100 Female Entrepreneurs list two years in a row. With
more than 20 years’ experience, she has established a reputation for
unparalleled consumer understanding and insight development working
with Fortune 500 companies.
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