Any successful business or organization begins with a workable business plan. It is our belief that two-types of business plans must be developed for a business or an organization to truly become values-based and have the ability to develop values-grounded leaders. The traditional business plan outlines the operations of the business including production, costs, services, profits, potential customers, etc. This is only one side of the business equation. The other type of business plan, which we believe foundational to a values-based organization, is definitive of its internal workings and demonstrates a commitment to leadership development. This plan defines the internal culture of an organization or company and is built on the strengths and commitments of value-based leaders. These values are anchored in the beliefs and vision of the organization and prepare its employees for a lifetime of service and productivity.
Our purpose is to share with you our ideas for building the foundations for a values-based leadership culture. This is not an exercise divorced from the realities of the business or organizational world. “Leadership” is not an abstract concept; rather, “leadership,” in the words of Dr. Angus L. Koolbreeze III, “Requires skill, and a unique set of abilities, a skill of creating an atmosphere of trust, and the ability to convince people to follow where you want to go. It requires for a person to have a Vision, or a concept of a desired end, based on a dream of how he or she wants to better society, or better the people they have influence over. It also involves an ability to communicate that Vision in such a way as to persuade people to buy into that Vision, or the concept being aimed at here.”
In this book we utilize the business experience and insights of H.D. Young and the ethical concepts developed by Dr. Joseph P. Hester. Young, a former CEO of healthcare information system companies is currently serving as CEO of Transformance Concepts, a company committed to helping organizations create and develop Institutes for Leadership Development. Young is an example of someone dedicated to continuous learning and applying what is learned in the laboratory of his working life. Hester, who is trained in ethics and moral philosophy, spent eleven years in the university classroom and several decades as a public school administrator. For the past fifteen years he has devoted his time to exploring values-based leadership and it’s foundation in moral philosophy. Today Hester serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Values-Based Leadership. Young and Hester joined efforts to write Leadership Under Construction, which was published in 2004. Today, both of their philosophies have sufficiently evolved to add clarity and definition to their idea that any culture – business, organizational, school, church, or family – ought first to look to its deepest beliefs and values to support whatever mission its organization supports.