True to Yourself

Book description

How do you build the kind of company you've always wanted to work in—one that serves people and the planet while being financially successful, too? What do you do when you believe that business should serve the common good, but everyday business pressures—meeting payroll, battling competition, keeping customers and investors happy—are at a fever pitch? Leading a small business when you measure success more broadly than with a single financial bottom line is no easy task. True to Yourself is a practical guide to doing just that. It provides tools you can use to combine profit with purpose, margin with mission, value with values.

Drawing on insightful interviews with seventy-five forward-thinking leaders and his own extensive experiences as an entrepreneurial leader, Mark Albion details five critical leadership practices:

Turn your values into value
Walk toward the talk
Communicate with care
Facilitate personal growth
Collaborate for greater impact

True to Yourself shows how successful businesspeople have put these practices into action, and it provides hands-on exercises to help you integrate them into your own business. This trusted guide will help you avoid mistakes while making your job easier, your company more successful, and your life more fulfilling.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Letter from the Editor of the Social Venture Network Series
  5. Preface
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. INTRODUCTION Leading Differently
    1. The Challenge of Values-Based Leadership
    2. Social Venture Network: Creating a More Just and Sustainable World
    3. The Process of Leading Differently
    4. The Solution: Between These Covers
    5. Why I Wrote This Book: The Benefit
  8. 1 The New Values TRANSPARENCY, SUSTAINABILITY, AND RESPONSIBILITY
    1. It’s My First Day on the Job: What Should Be My Strategic Focus?
    2. Leading Transparency: How Much Openness Do You Want?
    3. The Power of Doubt and Not Knowing
    4. The Power of Open-Book Management
    5. Does Transparency Pay?
    6. Leading Sustainability: Can You Slow Down Your Business?
    7. The Power of Patience
    8. The Power of Matching Market Growth to Company Capabilities
    9. Does Sustainability Pay?
    10. Leading Responsibility: Is Altruism in Your Best Interest?
    11. The Power of Social Responsibility
    12. The Power of Industry Responsibility
    13. Does Responsibility Pay?
    14. Summary: The Three Leadership Values
  9. 2 The Three Cs COMPETENCE, COMPASSION, AND COMMITMENT
    1. What Qualities Epitomize the Best Values-Based Leaders?
    2. Competence: All of Us Are Stronger than One of Us
    3. The Importance of Boundaries for Values
    4. Negotiating Boundaries for Values
    5. Compassion: Selfishly Seeing Yourself in Others
    6. Treating People as Equals
    7. Loving and Being Loyal
    8. Commitment: It’s Not about the Money
    9. Commitment as If the World Is at Stake
    10. Finding the Best Form for Your Commitment
    11. Summary: The Three Leadership Attributes
  10. 3 Turn Your Values into Value
    1. Why Are Your Values Important?
    2. Myth 1: Leave Your Personality and Your Values at the Door. This Is Business.
    3. Myth 2: You Need Business Experience and a Business Background to Run a Business.
    4. Myth 3: Values Should Never Be Modified in Any Way.
    5. Mistakes: What If You Don’t Hold Your Values Sacred in Building Your Company?
    6. Doing It Right: Being True to Yourself
    7. How to Improve: Connect to More of Yourself
    8. Action Exercise: A Four-Step Process to Create a Values-to-Value Personal Inventory
    9. Summary: Turn Your Values into Value
  11. 4 Walk Toward the Talk
    1. Why Is It Important to Walk Toward the Talk?
    2. Myth 1: I’m the Founder, Not the Role Model; Building the Culture Is Not My Job.
    3. Myth 2: What Matters Is What You Can Measure; My Job Is to Increase Sales.
    4. Myth 3: Values-Based Leadership Is Primarily about Your External Impact on Society.
    5. Mistakes: What If You Don’t Walk Toward the Talk?
    6. Doing It Right: Providing Daily Meaning
    7. How to Improve: Give Up Control and Stay Involved
    8. Action Exercise: A Three-Step Process Using the “Four Ps” to Walk Toward the Talk
    9. Summary: Walk Toward the Talk
  12. 5 Communicate with Care
    1. Why Is It Important to Communicate with Care?
    2. Myth 1: As the Company Grows, I Need to Focus on Efficient Communication Methods.
    3. Myth 2: Effective Communication Is the Art of Persuasion for Mutual Agreement.
    4. Myth 3: Great Communications Are Great Speakers First and Foremost.
    5. Mistakes: What If You Don’t Communicate with Care?
    6. Doing It Right: Becoming More Mindful
    7. How to Improve: Increase Your Sensitivity
    8. Action Exercise: Communicating across Differences
    9. Summary: Communicate with Care
  13. 6 Facilitate Personal Growth
    1. Why Is It Important to Facilitate Personal Growth?
    2. Myth 1: The Organization Can Change, but I Don’t Have To.
    3. Myth 2: Fear and Crisis Best Motivate Personal Transformation.
    4. Myth 3: Transformation Should Be a Comfortable Process.
    5. Mistakes: What If You Don’t Facilitate Personal Change?
    6. Doing It Right: Growing Your Company by Growing Intimacy
    7. How to Improve: Attend to Inner Growth
    8. Action Exercise: Transforming Relationships
    9. Summary: Facilitate Personal Growth
  14. 7 Collaborate for Greater Impact
    1. Why Is It Important to Collaborate for Greater Impact?
    2. Myth 1: Establish Your Business First and Then Collaborate.
    3. Myth 2: Collaboration Does Not Appreciably Affect Your Role.
    4. Myth 3: Values-Based Leaders Should Do Business Only with Values-Based Leaders.
    5. Mistakes: What Kind of Collaborations Should You Be Careful to Avoid?
    6. Doing It Right: Collaborating to Build “Hybrid Value-Added Chains”
    7. How to Improve: Rethink Your Business
    8. Action Exercise: Thinking Outside the Industry
    9. Summary: Collaborate for Greater Impact
  15. SUMMARY Leadership Is Learning
    1. Make Values Visible
    2. Make It Personal
    3. Communicate Clearly, Consistently, and Simply
    4. Let Go of Control but Stay Involved
    5. Be Careful of Two Double-Edged Swords: Compassion and Responsibility
    6. In Conclusion
  16. Resources
  17. Index
  18. About Social Venture Network
  19. About the Author
  20. Other Titles in the Social Venture Network Series
  21. About Berrett-Koehler Publishers
  22. Be Connected

Product information

  • Title: True to Yourself
  • Author(s): Mark Albion
  • Release date: June 2006
  • Publisher(s): Berrett-Koehler Publishers
  • ISBN: 9781576759509