Lead with a Story

CHAPTER 3

Set goals and build commitment

“ ‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’ said Alice.

‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat.

‘I don’t much care where—’ said Alice.

‘Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.”

—LEWIS CARROLL, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

UNLIKE ALICE’S MEANDERINGS in Wonderland, in politics the goals are amazingly clear, and the level of commitment is extremely high. In fact, rarely does anyone look beyond the next election cycle, sometimes not even the next news cycle. That’s because unlike business, politics is an all-or-nothing endeavor. If a company’s sales only measure $228 million this year, instead of its goal of $229 million, all is not lost. ...