Given enough time, gory days turn into glory days, and pedestrian leaders begin to look like superstars.

it’s especially important for successful organizations and the leaders who help spearhead that success to be humble and honest enough to highlight and even memorialize their mistakes as well as their victories.

3. THE HUMILITY AND HONESTY TO HIGHLIGHT PAST FAILURES

We refused to drop our right to have a school because, while it would have perfectly aligned with my leadership values and priorities, it also would have tied the hands of our future leaders.

One of the best things we can do to leave behind a legacy of continual change and innovation is to look for ways to make sure that those who follow us will have the freedom to do things we would never do.

2. THE FREEDOM TO DISAGREE

make sure that all of our current policies, procedures, and programs have an expiration date — if not literally, figuratively. Eventually, they’ll all have to be tweaked or abandoned. So why not explicitly state that on the front end?

Expiration Dates

When everything is spelled out, there’s no room for leadership. There’s room only for enforcement.