Business leaders today are like chameleons–before a fresh challenge arises, they never fail to adapt. The days of static tactics are gone. Adaptation triumphs at present. Now change is no longer your enemy Clinton Orr Winnipeg; it is a reluctant or unwilling partner for life. A good image for today’s business leader would be a ship’s captain moving through waters running every which way. Charting courses through the uncharted, living off change’s high tides.

In today’s business world, sprinkling some empathy here and there and adding a dash of foresight is necessary for leaders. Today, they don’t only wear suits, they roll up their sleeves and get to work. The job requires more than just making decisions in the boardroom. It means connecting with not only customers but also employees – getting a feel for their dreams, even down to their preferred blend of caffeine. Picture a CEO making lattes for his staff. If that’s not good leadership, what is?

Innovation is popping up like mushrooms after a spring rain. Leaders must tend an open field in which ideas can grow like plants. They pick creativity from all quarters, ensuring an environment that teems with new ideas. This is the opposite of deadening conference rooms where grey suits and even greyer ideas throw a pall on the future. Open those windows wide! Innovativeness is like a gust of fresh mountain air for business.

Data! Leaders must decode these messages about more than just numbers. In the information age, it all depends on how you understand things. Decisions are no longer gut-based gambles. They’re calculated leaps, so that intuition is your assistant rather than your master.

Today’s leaders have to stay balanced on this teeter-totter of profit and purpose. It is about corporate procedures that touch the soul rather than just the wallet. Sustainability is not merely a catchphrase; it comes from within. It does not begin at the computer, as the older generation claims; it starts down the line from top leadership which plants trees for future generations, not simply ink on some balance sheet or other.

What about Communication? It’s the fuel in this engine of success. Clear, succinct and sometimes even with a hint of wit, these smooth out the gears. Did we say “listening”? Believe it or not, there is gold in feedback as well as acres of fluff. Work through it; you may find a nugget or two.

So if you are steering the ship of business today, swing your sails to the winds of change.Charts by a leader who is not just responsible but within reach-of ideas and other innovators, or those who look for what might be tomorrow that gone with wind.