Prologue

If you were asked to identify the most precious resource in the world, what would you say? I know what my answer would be: leadership.

I believe leadership is the single most valuable, most important commodity there is—and the scarcest. Not oil, not land, not cash, not technological know-how, but tenacious, focused leadership. Leadership is everything.

There are many different styles of leadership. One of the most colorful leaders of World War II, with his brilliance and his ivory-handled revolvers and his ego bigger than a Sherman tank, was George Patton. Patton certainly got results. But I lean toward being more of an Omar Bradley kind of guy. General Bradley spoke quietly and wore a uniform so plain he was occasionally mistaken for ...

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