2. Live with Passion and Direct It with Precision

"She leads with passion.... He has a passionate commitment to that cause." Have you heard people make such statements about leaders they admire? The best leaders live with passion. Passion motivates them beyond the normal, routine, and ordinary. It drives them to stand out as "born to lead." Passion creates the leader's intensity and zest. It energizes the leader toward a direction or issue. Passion can also distort, create a limiting fixation, generate a foolish frenzy, or misguide thinking and action. Passion can overrule clarity and become an enemy against purpose. Consider how Henry Ford's passion drove Ford Motor Company to a 57 percent market share in 1925. That same quality caused him to ...

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