7 Principles of Transformational Leadership

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The Promises Principle

The Difference Between Promises, Commitments, and Vows

Four years ago, my wife Alyson found a great house in a quiet beach community one block off Puget Sound. She was convinced that the home, which had not been updated since it was built in 1957, would be a fabulous blank canvas from which we could create our northwest contemporary oasis overlooking Puget Sound. I didn’t see it. I saw a house with a chopped-up floor plan, old carpet, no office, and a rooster next door that would drive me bonkers.

But Alyson took me on three tours and created a mental picture that I started to see. She won me over when we walked into the downstairs area and she stood me in front of a fireplace. She turned me around to look out a 6-foot ...