8 Strategies for Effective Leaders –– Introduction

This is an excerpt from 8 STRATEGIES for EFFECTIVE LEADERS

by Jim Bouchard © 2015––All rights reserved.

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8 Strategies

of the sensei leader “Study strategy over the years and achieve the spirit of the warrior.

Today is victory

over yourself of yesterday;

tomorrow is your victory over lesser men.”

~Miyamoto Musashi Musashi is the iconic face of Japan’s legendary sword heritage.

His legacy is a book commonly known as The Book of Five

Rings, which has become one of the most respected books on 1

JIM BOUCHARD strategy ever written and is required reading in business and

leadership studies around the world.

We don’t live in feudal Japan, and I doubt Musashi could have imagined the challenges we face in our times.

We’ve never enjoyed so much freedom, yet we’ve never been more willing to surrender our freedom for the illusion of safety and security.

Our expectations have never been greater.

Our basic human needs remain the same, but the levels we feel obligated to reach in order to feel satisfied have never been higher.

Technology and instant global communication have changed the way we connect and do business with people all over the world.

These new times require a new type of leader—a new type of leader that understands some very old strategies of

leadership.

Today’s leader must be tomorrow’s leader—respectful of the past with a clear vision for the future.

I’ve taken the lessons I’ve learned over 30 years of practice and study and condensed them down to 8 basic strategies for effective leadership.

I believe Musashi would recognize some of them: 2

8 STRATEGIES

1) Never limit yourself to one leadership style.

2) Be tough, yet compassionate.

3) Commit yourself to personal and professional Mastery.

4) Be confident, yet humble–– lead by example.

5) Be flexible, adaptable and

comfortable with uncertainty.

6) Be a skilled communicator.

7) Be a dedicated teacher, coach and mentor.

8) Lead by sharing,

not by accumulating.

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JIM BOUCHARD Now I’m sure you could add more items to these 8 Strategies, but the point is not to make it more complicated, but to find the most essential things you must do consistently to attract, serve and maintain a strong base of loyal and willing followers.

The Masters I admire most are reductionists. They operate on the principle that all complex systems and processes are simply combinations of actionable steps and basic techniques.

Let’s keep it as simple as we can.

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