Revolutionary leadership may sound like a very unstable way to run an organization, agency, or business. Maybe so, although then there is Steve Jobs, and the way he ran Apple. There are so many cases of companies that really shook up the corporation and led like revolutionaries, outperforming the competition, leading the field, and running away with market share. Of course, all of this is easier said than done, but if you pay attention and develop a solid plan of attack, you can win in business using these methodologies. Okay, so let’s talk about this for a second, okay?
You see, there is a very good book that I have that I would recommend to you. This is a book on my business library shelf, and it’s perfect for the average entrepreneur, corporate executive, or manager who wants results, who wants to win. The name of the book is;
“Leading the Revolution”, by Gary Humel, Plume Publishing, 2002, 352 pages, ISBN 978-0452283244.
The author posits that incumbency in the market is worth nothing in the information age, it doesn’t matter if you are the largest, you can lose market leadership overnight, or in a very short time. Your company’s future threats are most likely not your current competitors, so you need to innovate more than the innovators, beware of the revolutionaries, and indeed become one. Newcomers win by changing the sales of the rules. Humel, which is often true, also read Motley Fools’ Rule Makers and Rule Breakers to fully understand that concept.
Microsoft’s Bill Gates was constantly worried that some new garage company would come along and challenge the behemoth, in fact I guess it might be Google in hindsight, but before that they battled all sorts of up-and-coming competitors, Netscape for example.
The book also looks at things like growth strategies and compares tactics from the past, such as
mergers, restructurings and budget cuts, but the author suggests that this is not enough, sure it makes sense to function as efficiently as possible, but if you want to lead, you have to be a revolutionary; must also read; “Rules for Revolutionaries: The Capitalist Manifesto for Creating and Marketing New Products and Services,” by Guy Kawasaki.
Leading the Revolution by Gary Humel ends the book with lots of insights and advice for businesses big and small, and even the combination, in fact, it might be possible for you to grow your business big time and use these strategies to gain market share. brand loyalty and a high number of customer referrals, easily outperforming your competition. In fact, I hope you will please consider all of this and think about it.