Full Steam Ahead!
More Praise for Full Steam Ahead!
“Inspiring a shared vision is the signature leadership competency. It’s also the most difficult practice to learn and apply. In this wonderful gem of a book, Ken Blanchard and Jesse Stoner show you how to find a meaningful purpose, picture a compelling future, and clarify your values. This engaging story is full of practical advice that you’ll be able to apply immediately. It’s essential reading for any leader who needs to answer the question, ‘Where are we going?’ Come to think of it, that would be all of us!”
“So many of the lessons I share with my teams revolve around attaining goals by having a clear vision of where we are headed as a group and also individually. Full Steam Ahead! emphasizes the ways in which those visions can not only help you reach greatness but also maintain it for you and your team. In the past I’ve shared this book with friends and coaching peers alike and continue to do so in order to share the wisdom and effective guidance that Ken and Jesse provide on each and every page.”
“I LUV this heartwarming lesson from Blanchard and Stoner and urge anyone who wants to develop a clear vision to study the messages clearly and articulately delivered on each page of Full Steam Ahead!”
“In order to do your personal best, you must have a vision. To me a clear vision answers the question, ‘What mountain do we want to climb?’ Full Steam Ahead! is a wonderful guidebook that will not only help you find your mountain but give you all the road maps and tools you’ll need to make it to the top. Highly recommended!”
“A clear vision gives an organization heart. Without it, work will have no meaning. Full Steam Ahead! is a must-read.”
“Before beginning any kind of planning, everyone on the team should read this book. It will ensure you’re headed in the right direction. Full Steam Ahead! should be required reading.”
“Leadership is about going somewhere. Without a clear vision your leadership doesn’t matter. Full Steam Ahead! will help your leadership efforts get started in the right direction.”
“Great things come from a powerful vision – fortunes are made, diseases get cured, and democracies are born. Blanchard and Stoner teach readers not only how to develop a potent vision in Full Steam Ahead! but also how to bring it alive in the hearts and minds of the people who will make it happen.”
“Blanchard and Stoner demonstrate how clear vision helps you focus on the results you desire. Time is a precious commodity. Full Steam Ahead! shows you how to get the most out of your efforts.”
To my children Michael and Noah,
who have added a richness I never could have
imagined to my own personal vision.
To Scott and Debbie
and the wonderful grandchildren they’ve given us:
Alec, Kyle, Kurtis, Atticus, and Hannah.
They help me move full steam ahead!
Foreword
I’m not going to lie to you. Many sophisticated readers will be tempted to dismiss this wonderful little book. To them, the lessons will seem simple, even obvious, and the storylike manner in which it is told might come across as homey.
But as they keep reading, something will hit them. “You know, this stuff makes all the sense in the world.” And not long after that, something else will hit them. “Hey, I’m not doing half of this stuff that makes all the sense in the world!” If they have enough humility and genuine desire to make their lives better, they’ll start taking Ken Blanchard and Jesse Stoner’s advice and watch their organizations and families be transformed.
Once again, though, I’m going to be honest. I think the reason some people might be reluctant to implement these ideas is fear. Maybe they don’t see themselves as capable of acting like Jim or Ellie – the main characters in the story – people who are passionate, emotional, even vulnerable. Maybe they had a vision in the past that failed to materialize, and now they’re afraid that creating an emotionally and intellectually compelling vision will be met with skepticism or, worse, cynicism.
And I don’t blame people for having those fears, because they’re reasonable ones. Anyone who wants to create a transformation – in either one’s personal or professional life – will have to face the distinct possibility of rejection. But for those who do face and overcome that fear, who extract the lessons from this wonderfully powerful and simple book and put them into practice, the rewards will be extraordinary.
So I guess the only question that remains for those who are holding this book in their hands right now is “Which type of person are you?” I hope you’ll have the courage, humility, and wisdom to read on and become the visionary leader that our world so desperately needs.
Preface
We are thrilled that our publisher, Berrett-Koehler, has asked us to write a second edition of Full Steam Ahead! It is one of the most important books we have been involved with over the years. The first edition was an international best seller, translated into twenty-two foreign languages. We’re delighted that the book has touched so many people.
In our work with organizations worldwide, we have observed that the biggest impediment to managers becoming great leaders is the lack of a clear vision – knowing who you are (your purpose), where you’re going (your picture of the future), and what will guide your journey (your values). Yet less than 10 percent of the organizations we have visited are led by managers who have a clear sense of where they are trying to lead people.
Lack of a clear vision is a problem because vision is the starting point of all leadership. After all, leadership is about going somewhere. If leaders are not working toward a shared vision, their leadership can become self-serving and, ultimately, fail.
Most of the people we talk with agree that vision is important. They know that without a clear vision, they are inundated with demands for their time that can pull them off focus and waste a lot of energy. They recognize the negative effect of lack of a vision, but they are unsure of how to create one. Yet in many organizations where a vision statement does exist, it turns people off. The statement may be found framed on walls, but it provides no guidance or, worse, has nothing to do with the reality of how things actually are.
If you have never had a vision – or if you have made a failed attempt to create one – this updated edition of Full Steam Ahead! can help you succeed. We have brought this seemingly complex subject down to earth, making it simple to understand and easy to apply.
In this expanded edition, we have added a chapter on sustainability, provided more detail on how to implement a vision, included more information on creating a team vision, and provided a new resource section at the