Introduction

Consider this scenario: you’re halfway through the semester and ready for midterms. You open your class notes and declare them “pathetic.” You regret scribbling everything so carelessly and skipping class so many times. That’s when it hits you: what if there was a note-taking service on campus? When you were ready to study for a big test, you could buy complete and legible class notes. You’ve heard that there are class-notes services at some larger schools, but there’s no such thing on your campus. So you ask yourself, why don’t I start a note-taking business? Your upcoming set of exams may not be salvageable, but after that, you’d always have great notes. And in the process, you could gain some practical experience in heading up a business.

You have come up with a great idea, that will help make the world a better place! (At least, the part of the world consisting of people on your course who aren’t great at note taking). You are getting ready to be a leader. But you are not one yet: first, you will need to find some people who are excited to join you in making this idea a reality. And before we get there, we need to define some terms.

What is Leadership?

Leadership is “the ability to influence and guide members of a team, organization, or society to a worthy goal.”

People often use the term ‘leader’ interchangeably with the word ‘manager.’ However, leadership and management are not the same. Leadership is about setting a goal – a worthy goal – and bringing others on board to achieve that goal. Management, while also very important, is secondary to leadership. Management is about achieving goals efficiently and effectively. It is essential for achieving a goal, but leadership comes first – there is no use being efficient and effective if the goal you are aiming for is not the right one. In this chapter you will learn about both leadership and management, leadership is primary, and so we will cover it first. The following story illustrates why:

The Kodak brand used to be synonymous with photography and were pioneers in bringing film cameras to the mass market. They were a very well-run business. However, they failed to adapt to the digital photography revolution. There was no problem with the management of the organization: it was still producing photographic film in an efficient and effective manner. The problem was with the leadership – the goal (selling equipment that relied on photographic film) had become the wrong goal to aim for. Today there are more photographs being taken than at any time in history, but Kodak no longer makes photographic equipment for the consumer market.

In the upcoming pages, you’ll learn about the essence of leadership—how it motivates, empowers, and mobilizes individuals to tackle the formidable challenges that the world faces. We’ll also talk about management, detailing how efficient operations and effective resource utilization play a pivotal role in any businesses’ success. By the end of this journey, you’ll understand that in any mission-driven endeavor, whether it’s a local business or a global corporation, leadership is the guiding light, and management is the vehicle that ensures every action is purposeful and effective.