Recently I was privileged to attend a celebratory event for Jim Kouzes—a colleague friend of mine. Actually the event was for both Jim and Barry Posner—Jim’s business partner. In my world, Jim is a rock-star. His and Barry’s book—The Leadership Challenge—has sold over two million copies in over 20 countries since its initial publication. In the world of business publishing, that’s unheard of.
Jossey-Bass, their publisher, put on a fantastic event for Jim and Barry at an upscale venue in San Francisco to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the book. Incidentally, the fifth edition of The Leadership Challenge comes out around August 1st. It’s been updated, and, as always, it’s a terrific read.
Jim tells the story of how the book came to pass. Turns out, it all started with a question. The question was, “What did you do when you were at your personal best as a leader?” Through diligence and hard-work Jim and Barry went about answering that question across the globe—with people young and old, leaders of all stripes representing every industry and function imaginable. They’ve been working on that question for 25 years. Turns out, they’ve gone a long way in answering it. Check out the book for their conclusions and insights.
My own book—The Power of Professionalism—was also spawned by a question. The question was, “what does is really mean to be a professional ?” Based on the terrific response we’ve received from the book, it’s entirely possible I’ll spend the next 25 years (God willing) elaborating on that question just as Jim and Barry did theirs.
Questions are powerful—more than we know. They change perspectives, they change lives. They’ve changed history. Humans are the only species on the face of the earth capable of asking questions. You’d think we’d ask more of them!