I just finished reading Turning the Flywheel by Jim Collins (highly recommend). This is a short book that builds on the flywheel concept he first illustrated in his earlier book, Good to Great (also highly recommend). This sentence from his new book struck a chord with me: “To build an enduring great organization…you need disciplined people, who engage in disciplined thought and take disciplined action to produce superior results…” What resonated with me is that the people you have “on the bus,” as Collins would say, is where everything starts. It’s what matters first and foremost. No thing can become what it can ultimately become without the right people. So, as leaders, if we want to realize our thing, whatever that is, then our people should be our primary focus. And, if we assume that position, then another question arises: “What does it mean to make my people my primary focus?” Aha! This is where the rubber meets the road. This is why we get the big bucks. Because this is where we tie our philosophy to our daily actions.