Bill’s Five Laws of Leadership

As always these are my opinions.

I attend the Heartland Workforce Summit in Chicago last week – ostensibly – to get the latest skinny in the new Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA). While there I attended a session called “The Seven Secrets of Leadership.”

This turned out be a lot of fun and postulated that leadership had demonstrably changed as we move into the 21^st century. I’m not sure about that, even though the presenter made some good points – actually they were pretty much the same points Tom Peters began making in the early 80’s with “In Search of Excellence.” An important though often forgotten text.

Anyway, I started thinking and thought I’d share my 5 irrefutable, undeniable laws of leadership.

Law #1. Things are never as good or as bad as first reported.

Law #2. No plan survives first contact with reality.

Law #3. People rise and fall to your level of expectation.

Law #4. There are only two types of poor performers – can’t dos and won’t dos.

Law #5 -- the most important  -- The leader gets the organizati