• Never make a decision today that can reasonably be put off to tomorrow.
• Don't form opinions if you don't have to. Think gray.
• Shoot your own horse. Don't force others to do your dirty work.
• The best leaders don't keep up with the popular media and the trades.
• Machiavelli can help make you a more moral leader.
• Know what hill you are willing to die on-and keep its exact location to yourself.
• Know the all important difference between being leader and doing leader.
• You can't copy your way to the top.

"This is an intoxicating read, a bushwacker's delight. With swift, sure strokes, Steve Sample cuts down a lot of bad ideas about leadership and opens up a new path for the next generation to follow. No wonder he has turned around not one but two major universities."
--David Gergen, noted commentator, bestselling author, and adviser to four United States Presidents