Douglas R. Conant - The Blueprint: 6 Practical Steps to Lift Your Leadership to New Heights

Doug Conant has long been one of Americas most effective and enlightened leaders. And now he has written an essential book on leadership. Unlike many books in this genre, his is not a collection of wispy platitudes but an eminently smart and practical guide for building a foundation for your entire professional life. If youre hungering to become a better leader, The Blueprint belongs on your shelf and by your side.

Daniel H. Pink, author of When and Drive

A must-read for anyone in an existing or new leadership role at any level. Doug Conant provides a practical and powerful six-step process to accelerate your personal leadership growth. Leveraging his personal experiences, The Blueprint will teach you how to unlock your true leadership voice, improve your contribution, and achieve your full potential.

Sara Mathew, retired chair and CEO,
Dun and Bradstreet

Doug Conant and Amy Federmans brilliant book will change your life and your leadership if you incorporate its ideas, using their in-depth six-step approach. The Blueprint shows you the importance of courage, integrity, humility, and staying true to yourself as you grow into the authentic leader you are called to be.

Bill George, Senior Fellow, Harvard Business
School; former chair and CEO, Medtronic;
and author of Discover Your True North

Doug Conant has proven himself to be a very disciplined CEO focused, able to let go of what doesnt fit, building greatness step-by-step, laying foundations for decades down the road while delivering results today. His example shows how effective business leadership can be quiet and bold, studious and decisive, disciplined and creative. Conant has so much to teach, and aspiring leaders at all levels would do well to learn from him.

Jim Collins, bestselling author of Good to Great

Longtime Fortune 300 CEO Doug Conant has translated a careers worth of wisdom into a practical manual on leadership in the face of turbulence. The Blueprint is a rare offering with perfect timing. Leaders at every level in todays organizations must now be more courageous, well-equipped, and resilient than ever before. Conants process will help you to explore your unique strengths fearlessly. The Blueprint will help you find your own clear voice as a leader (no matter whats swirling around you). Read this book now and better yet, buy a copy for everyone on your team.

Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor
of Leadership and Management,
Harvard Business School

As a leader, being self-aware and deliberate are keys to success. The Blueprint provides a simple but powerful opportunity to leverage the experience and wisdom of Doug Conant to refresh your thinking and approach. It can help you maximize your impact.

Doug McMillon, president
and CEO, Walmart

Doug Conant is a special breed: a hard-edged corporate CEO with an introspective nature who attributes his success to reflection, study, and thoughtful inner work rather than birthright or bombast. In The Blueprint he offers a powerful and approachable process for more fully connecting with the unique gifts that will allow your special leadership voice to come alive and impact the world.

Susan Cain, bestselling author of Quiet

Doug Conant hasnt just been a highly successful leader hes an unusually thoughtful one. In this hands-on book, he shares a model that you can apply right away to elevate your impact.

Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author
of Originals and Give and Take, and host of the TED
podcast WorkLife

Todays busy leaders often question how they can lift their leadership profile while staying true to themselves.Read The Blueprint for answers.

Indra Nooyi, former chairman
and CEO, PepsiCo

DOUGLAS R. CONANT

with AMY FEDERMAN

Copyright 2020 by Douglas R. Conant. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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ISBN 9781119560029 (Hardcover)

ISBN 9781119560074 (ePDF)

ISBN 9781119560098 (ePub)

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Image: ZlatkoGuzmic/Getty Images

We dedicate this book to the leaders of yesterday who have
inspired us and to the leaders of tomorrow in hopes that they
will honorably lift the craft of leadership to new heights of
service, performance, and contribution.

Its a privilege to introduce you to this book, and, of equal importance, to Doug Conant. Hes remarkable and so is this work. Let me tell you about both.

When I was in school, my father, Dr. Stephen R. Covey, often said to me, You dont take classes, you take teachers. That insight has proven helpful to me in both my education and my career. The reality is that those of us who work in organizations dont report to the organization; we report to a person. Thus, our pairing with a leader or mentor, like a teacher, can be transformative.

In The Blueprint, you will find a transformative opportunity with Doug Conant. As you study and apply the principles he teaches, you will come to feel that he not only knows and understands the practical leadership process hes guiding you through, but that he also knows and understands