• Since creativity is vital - the enlightened leader is supportive, sets high aspirations, demands excellence from investments in creativity.
• The enlightened leader knows how to be tough but also fair.
• The enlightened leader never ducks the hard calls. They explain their decisions - they listen, they learn -- they consider - but they are always decisive. And always fair. (Pause)
• The enlightened leader subscribes to the management style of "WE." The "I" word loses power, meaning, impact.
• The new world is ever more about: cooperation, teamwork. The company leader must reflect that attitude.
• Finally, the enlightened leader must be the foremost cheerleader, advocate, and supporter of the consumer - the customer's interests.

The third strategy: New Competencies and Some Old Ones.

Let's start with the basics, and here I'll be brief. Know the business (and in your case, your clients' businesses). Know the inner wirings of that business. Know the drivers which bring business success and profitability to that business. Know their competition. How will they behave in critical head-to-head battles?

Next, hire good people. Surround yourself with better, smarter people than you are. You'll be surprised, there's plenty of them around! Then, concentrate on keeping and motivating your, good people. It's not a now-and-then part of your job - it's a lifetime business commitment.

Be analytical, rigorous in your decision-marking process. Listen to your intuition, your hunches, but prove those with hard facts, and impeccable logic. Trust your right brain, but check it out, with your left side.

Develop a healthy work ethic. There are no shortcuts to success. Know the difference between the necessary hard work and compulsive work. A reasonably balanced life, brings fulfillment.

And now to some newer competencies:

1. Your customer (your consumer), is your number one asset. Period. So know your customer and consumer as well as you know your business. Know them in depth. Know them intimately. Know their hopes, dreams, their aspirations. And know their fears and anxieties. Then know, what that person wants from the product category and more importantly, from the brand.
2. Know how to build brands. In today's excess supply world, strong brands will win the day, in every instance. So align yourselves with organizations that know the art and science of brands. For example, Y&R has invested over $70 million in brand knowledge over the past decade. There are a few, but very few, other legitimate sources of brand knowledge. I suggest you seek them out and avail yourselves of those insights. Your clients want and must have that understanding.
3. Every client enterprise must develop a strategic intent. You probably know all about that. A dynamic, organic vision statement - of what the business is about. A statement - identifying those differentiating promises - which make that one brand (or company) different from all competitive offerings - and relevant to consumers. A vision statement that is simple, is kept relevant over time, is communicated to, and totally embraced by the key members of the enterprise's management group, and ultimately accepted by all employees. Finally, an effective vision statement, always starts with a customer or consumer perspective. Get your clients to do it. They can't win without it.
4. Commit to a lifetime of learning. Let me suggest a few critical areas:
   1. The creative process (already discussed).
   2. Economics and finance: The fundamental measurements of any business enterprise. You know this well, but it's worth reinforcing. While marketing, relationships with consumers, Will become the key discipline for all companies, profitable revenue growth will become "de rigour" for business in the 21st Century. Profitable growth is mandatory for business success. To that end, you've got to know the mechanics of how you get growth to be profitable. You must become totally knowledgeable about the dynamics of your clients' income statements.
   3. Next, Marketing Sciences: Beyond brands, become experts at behavior-driven segmentation schemes. And the application of database marketing using traditional media and the Internet. Again, intelligent customer and prospect segmentation - all the way to a single prospect - will lead to maximizing profits.
   4. Finally, become comfortable, with the practical aspects of geopolitics. All business, is now a global business - to one degree or another. Know enough to understand the risks, and opportunities afforded to your business - and even more importantly, your clients' businesses. Believe me, they worry about this lots. And therefore, so must you.