I recently attended the funeral of a man who epitomized what it meant to be a community leader.   He was a businessman first but he understood that for his business to grow that the community needed to grow and that in order for the community to grow it needed people willing to step forward with a vision for the community.  My friend never served as an elected official but he did serve in nearly every volunteer capacity in the community.  As a result the community grew and his business prospered.

In a world that has at times been self consumed, we need to be reminded that we all have a responsibility to make our corner of the world a better place and that by taking that responsibility we will not only improve our community we will improve ourselves.  Communities need people willing to step forward and make a difference.  Real leaders ask the question ”How can I make a difference? How can I change the world?”  They never ask the question “How will I gain from volunteering” or “What’s in it for me?”   They already know the answer to those questions.

I was thinking about my friend at his funeral the other day.  I wondered, who are the people stepping forward in my community volunteering to make things better.  No personal agenda, other than to know that by making this community a better place that their own life will be better.   I think that when we are looking around for someone else to lead we abdicate our own role.  There is an old rule about 20% of the people do 80% of the work.  I think the challenge for us all is to be in that 20% that are focused on making the world better by their actions not just by their words.

Finally, I agree with my friend’s perspective that your business grows when you volunteer to lead and I would add that when you choose not to volunteer and choose not to lead, your business will shrink and eventually die.  The bottom line for business is step up to the plate, change the world and know that with it your business will change and grow as well!