From Values to Action: The Four Principles of Values-Based Leadership

CHAPTER 2

BALANCE AND PERSPECTIVE

Early on in my career, I perceived the world as black and white, with virtually no gray. Given my background in mathematics, economics, and finance, I had the impression that the right answer to nearly every question could be derived simply by performing calculations and solving the problem. What else was there to think about? I couldn't understand why bosses struggled so hard to make decisions.

As a young manager, I prided myself on being decisive. I was not going to be one of “those guys” I had observed during my days in “the cube,” as I called the cubicles—the managers who, for some unknown reason, could ...