In this final chapter of Back To The Cottage, John focuses on the art of leadership: who are the leaders? What exactly do they do? How are they developed? Here is an excerpt:

I believe the core values and principles we hold are the foundations for our lives. They anchor us in our attempts to accomplish great things. The history of business is populated with stories of individuals, groups, and communities who built and achieved great and enduring success. The common thread through all these stories – old and new – is their values and principles.

But increasingly and I think disturbingly, it appears the foundations of business are shifting, even crumbling.

Why? We still see foundational values and principles in new Cottage businesses. Some are 21st century mom & pop ventures; others survived the 20th century intact. Some, like Procter and Gamble, have retained their Cottage roots from the 19th century! All of them are organized around values and principles that hold people together and guide their business behavior. But many other companies lost those foundations in the crush of the industrial age – or have yet to find them for the first time. The result is greed, shoddy design and production, poor customer care, abusive labor practices, high turnover, shortsighted vision, employee theft, executive looting, lost fortunes . . .

I think the future demands that we lead a return to the Cottage, bringing that heart and those values and principles to every business we touch.

Click here to download Chapter 12: Final Practicum