The Prepared Mind of a Leader : Eight Skills Leaders Use to Innovate, Make Decisions, and Solve Problems

Bill Welter and Jean Egmon


Description and Reviews
From The Publisher:

In today's complex business climate, people—no matter what their role in the organization—need to make informed decisions and learn how to think flexibly.

A leader's most important asset is the ability to anticipate changes in the environment and adapt to them quickly. The Prepared Mind of a Leader presents an original and effective way to think more flexibly about innovation, strategy, change, and problem solving. Throughout the book, the authors include triggers for exploring how these ideas apply to an organization's unique circumstances. The Prepared Mind of a Leader helps readers prepare for the future by laying out a program for developing, maintaining, and mobilizing the key mental skills that define Prepared Mind leadership. These eight skills can be applied in a wide range of settings, from large-scale organizations to small entrepreneurial firms:

Observing—search out confirming and non-confirming information about your world view

Reasoning—clearly explain why you are following a course of action

Imagining—visualize new ideas for your company's policies and practices

Challenging—question your organization's assumptions and test their validity

Deciding—make or influence decisions that will propel action to progress

Learning—master the information you need to keep you moving forward

Enabling—offer the people around you the knowledge, means, and opportunities to progress

Reflecting—invest time thinking abouttrade-offs and the consequences of those trade-offs that result from our decisions

These skills provide a framework that the thoughtful leader or manager can use to approach issues of strategy and innovation. The authors also show how to develop the skills further and apply them in everyday life.