Inspire! What Great Leaders Do

Praise for Inspire! Inspire! What Great Leaders Do is a very important book. The ideas it contains have changed our lives and our organizations and the lives of tens of thousands of our employees. It has touched the lives of millions of people whom we serve every day. And it could change your life–and your organization too . . . Excerpt from the foreword of Inspire! written by 15 CEOs and senior leaders "Lance Secretan’s message is a great testament to the need for a renewed type of leadership–one that serves with courage, authenticity, service, truth–telling, and love. Our businesses, governments, communities, and the world need this critical mass of inspiration now more than ever before." —Bill George former Chair and CEO of Medtronic, author, Authentic Leadership "Lance Secretan first inspired me in 1996 when I read his book, Reclaiming Higher Ground. I had taken over the Canadian operation of The Home Depot and faced many difficult challenges. His words influenced me. This new book, Inspire!, What Great Leaders Do, is a road map for leaders who want to inspire people in their organizations. Lance has an ability to read the needs of our society. Post Enron and 9/11, leaders need to find better ways of responding to the changing needs of the human spirit. Lance has found that way." —Annette Verschuren Division President, Expo Design Center (a Home Depot Company), and Home Depot Canada "This is a tour de force, a must–read for everyone who leads others–Lance’s groundbreaking work is inspiring people, changing their lives, creating jobs, building organizations, and changing the world!" —Marianne Williamson author, Everyday Grace "Leaders know that they have to be on higher ground and guide others there. That’s the easy part. Knowing what the high ground is–that’s the hard part. Secretan’s Inspire! guides us through the hard part." —Gerald Schwartz Founder and CEO, Onex Corporation "Lance Secretan has touched our leaders with his message of values, spirit, and soul in the workplace, inspiring us to greater levels of achievement. His principles have universal application that can guide any organization to be a workplace that honors the individuals within and those they serve." —Pam Bilbrey Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, Baptist Health Care, Pensacola, Florida "Inspire! takes on the biggest question facing corporations, nonprofit organizations, and even nations today: how do we overcome fear and tension and replace it with confidence in the potential of the human spirit? Most importantly, Secretan offers a road map for leaders, showing them a way to build confident and inspiring organizations that succeed. What a treasure!" —Tim Shriver Chairman, Special Olympics "I started reading Inspire! and found myself so absorbed that I could not put it down–so much profound thought. Lance introduces a refreshing approach to corporate culture that will not only inspire greatness in organizations but will also help us be more responsible stewards of this planet." —Don Ziraldo CEO, Inniskillin Wines

Foreword. Acknowledgments. Meditation of a New Story Leadrer. Introduction. Chapter 1. Stuck in the Old Story. Chapter 2. Moving from the Old Story to the New Story. Chapter 3. Step One: Defining Our Destiny— The Uniqueness Within that Calls to Be Lived. Chapter 4. Writing Your Own Destiny Statement. Chapter 5. Step Two: Defining Our Cause. Chapter 6. Writing Your Own Cause Statement. Chapter 7. Step Three Defining Your Calling. Chapter 8. Writing Your Own Calling Statement. Chapter 9. Step Four: Aligning Destiny, Cause, and Calling. Chapter 10. Aligning Your Own Destiny, Calling, Cause, and Calling Statements. Chapter 11. Step Five: Serving Followers. Chapter 12. Step Six: Guiding the Contribution of Brilliance. Chapter 13. Step Seven: Magic Ingredient X — Creating the Environment that Inspires Others to Inspire Use. In Summary: The Seven Key Questions. Blessing for a Higher Ground Leader. The Higher Ground Leadership Commitment. Notes. Index. 

LANCE SECRETAN is one of the world’s foremost thinkers and teachers of effective leadership. His breakthrough ideas about how to become inspired and how to inspire others have led to the transformation of individuals, teams, communities, and organizations. An author, award–winning columnist, corporate mentor, advisor to corporations and governments, and one of America’s most sought–after keynote speakers, he frequently addresses audiences around the world. The former architect of Manpower Limited, he has been the ambassador to the United Nations Environment Program and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the 1997 Special Olympics World Winter Games.