I have been thinking for some time about writing a book on leadership. I initially wanted to call it Leadership 2.0, based on a popular blog post I had written. In fact, I often speak on this topic. The basic thesis is that the Web 2.0 has changed the expectations of those who are led. As a result, leaders cannot lead in quite the same way that they did, say, twenty years ago.

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Many people have written on what it means to be a leader. Almost everyone identifies influence as the primary characteristic. By definition, this means that leadership and position are two different things. You can have a title, and a position of power, but this does not mean that you are a leader. Even people without these things can exert influence and thus leadership.

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Tough times present great opportunities to grow our leadership and shape our legacy. The current recession is no exception. The problem is that many leaders I have spoken with have grown weary of trying to keep things moving forward with fewer resources.

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Craig Groeschel is the founding pastor of LifeChurch.tv, a multi-campus church with dozens of weekly services in thirteen locations, including an Internet campus. In his book, It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It [affiliate link], he describes that illusive something that some leaders and organizations have and others don’t. In a moment, I will tell you how to get a copy FREE.

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In August of 2000, I received a big break in my career. However, as is so often the case, it came disguised as a seemingly insurmountable obstacle.

I had just become the publisher of Nelson Books, one of the two trade book imprints at Thomas Nelson at that time. I had inherited a division with a lot of financial problems. Based on almost every metric available, we were dead last compared to the company’s thirteen other publishing groups.

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Years ago, Gail and I went to Maui to celebrate our anniversary. On the second day, we took snorkeling lessons. We started in the swimming pool, then progressed to the coral reef next to our hotel. We loved it. It was like swimming in a huge aquarium.

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Vision and strategy are both important. But there is a priority to them. Vision always comes first. Always. If you have a clear vision, you will eventually attract the right strategy. If you don’t have a clear vision, no strategy will save you.

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