Futuristic Leadership A-Z

Futuristic Leadership A-Z Ever since I had read the book, 'G-Forces: The 35 Global Forces Restructuring Our Future' by Frank Feather during the early nineties, I had been impressed by the work of this author. What I liked most about this wonderful book was the author's ingenuity of using the alphabet system to illustrate twenty six key action steps to help one prepare for the future. 'To prepare' means to 'see' & 'map' the future. I may not have agreed with his selection: for example, instead of 'Justify' & 'Uplift' I would have preferred 'Juxtapose' & 'Understand', which make more sense, if one is ready to anticipate the future. Nevertheless, I had found all the author's illustrations of the twenty six action steps to be highly illuminating & personally meaningful. I reckon, the best way for readers to get a glimpse of the intellectual relevancy, is for me to take the liberty of reproducing the author's preface of the book here: "Futuristic leaders ACHIEVE results because they truly BELIEVE a different future is possible. They CHANGE their own and their organiza­tion's behavior, habits, and culture, in order to obtain their collective DREAM. Futuristic leaders fully EXPECT to reach their goal -- and also fully "expect the unexpected" along the way -- because they unswervingly FOCUS on that goal. Aware that reaching the future requires that they and their organizations GROW -- both mentally and spiritually -- futuristic leaders HEAR things: they listen intently for clues and pieces of vital information that will guide them in that growth. Futuristic leaders vividly IMAGINE what the future will be like, what needs to change to get there, and how the charted course might need to vary along the route. They JUSTIFY their mission, not only based on profitable returns, but in the proper ethics and values that will bring it to fruition. Futuristic leaders KNOW both what they know and what they don't know, and what more they and their teams will still need to know in the future. They const­antly LEARN, day by day, decision by decision, as they move forward. Futuristic leaders MOTIVATE themselves, and inspire those around them to do the same, to adventurously NAVIGATE previously uncharted territory. They ORGANIZE and optimize every available capacity and resource to help them PERSEVERE until every part of the mission is accomplished. Futuristic leaders always QUESTION their advisors, their information, and themselves. Then they can best RESPOND to challenges and opport­unities in ways that STRATEGIZE the most responsible and best possible future outcomes. Futuristic leaders TEACH everything they know to the highest-qualified teams of individuals. They UPLIFT them to VISUALIZE and drive towards their collective future. As well, in today's "webolutionary" Internet Age, futuristic leaders encourage their teams to literally WEBIFY their organizations into value-creating networks, or "biznets." Futuristic leaders also XEROGRAPH themselve

Psychologists tell us that most people either believe that the future is out of their control . . . or that they can make a positive future occur. I've seen that division in practice at a college reunion where half of a group sat around waiting for someone to save them while the others were out figuring out how to save the world. That's fine as far as it goes, but what about people who want to go from passive to active. What can they do? My suggestion is that they get a copy of Futuristic Leadership A-Z and begin studying the 26 verb lessons in this book. With enough repetition, I think many people will find themselves understanding the frame of mind that creates positive results due to intention and action. Think of Futuristic Leadership as a more practical version of that classic, Think and Grow Rich, that has guided so many people. Frank Feather picks up on the famous Peter Drucker quote in his introduction: "You can't manage change. You can only be ahead of it." Feather's comment is that "You can only manage 'what hasn't happened yet.'" He's right. Most of the 26 sections in this book are four pages long. You can read them in a few minutes . . . and learn from them for a lifetime. Let me give you an example. T stands for "Teach" in Futuristic Leadership. He refines the word into its futuristic meaning: "To impressively impart future-relevant skills or knowledge to others." He then provides synonyms (such as counsel, coach, instruct, inform . . . .) and opposites (ignore, leave to founder, confuse . . . . ). That's followed by a page of inspiring quotations. My favorite is "I talk in order to understand; I teach in order to learn." Robert Frost is credited with that fine wisdom. Then there's a futuristic leadership principle: "Teach that which supports your goals; eliminate what hinders your progress." Then there's a page-long example. In this case, the example is built around mentoring someone, harking back to the Greek counselor, Mentor. Peter Drucker is also used as an example. The example ends with the observation that we tend to model ourselves after those we admire. "The key is to emulate not imitate, by remaining true to yourself." The section ends with questions to ask. My favorite question in this section is "With whom should I share the knowledge I have gained over the years?" As you can see, this is a book of highly distilled wisdom that draws on centuries of human progress, many different cultures, and adds many helpful perspectives. It's a book so heavy in wisdom, it'll keep you from being blown away by the winds of fashion. Yet it's so light that you'll feel comfortable keeping it with you for daily inspiration. Go ahead: Create the future!

. Every once in a while a book comes along that presents a subject in a completely new way that takes the topic to a new level. This is such a book. . The material is so simply structured that any serious student of management will immediately view leadership in a different way than before. Rather than trotting out well-worn leadership traits, the author looks at leadership through a futuristic lens. He explains how leadership in uncertain times demands new action-oriented characteristics that constantly focus on the future. . While some might think the A-Z treatment of the 26 characteristics to be a tad corny, the chosen 26 verbs flow naturally and are treated brilliantly. He redefines each of the 26 words, explaining in a few cryptic sentences exactly what they do and don't mean for furturistic leadership. Then he presents a page full of quotes from world-recognized leaders and spells out the basic principle of the particular word under review. Each word is then examined in detail by referring to exemplars of that word (either well-known individuals or organizations) and describes how the characteristic should be applied. . All of this is accomplished astonishingly well in only 4 pages per word, and concludes with provocative questions to ask yourself about this verb. The author concludes by recommending that you "take one verb daily" by reading up on it before you start your daily routine. . All in all, this is a truly remarkable little book which will have a big impact on all who read it. .