The Blueprint
6 Practical Steps to Lift Your Leadership to New Heights

Part leadership manifesto, part practical manual, Doug Conant teaches leaders how to work through six incremental steps to lift their leadership and make meaningful change in their organizations and in the world.

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The Blueprint

Praise for The Blueprint

“Doug Conant has long been one of America’s 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 you’re hungering to become a better leader, The Blueprint belongs on your shelf and by your side.”
— Daniel Pink, author of When and Drive

“Longtime Fortune 300 CEO Doug Conant has translated a career’s 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 today’s organizations must now be more courageous, well-equipped, and resilient than ever before. Conant’s 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 what’s 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

“Doug Conant has proven himself to be a very disciplined CEO – focused, able to let go of what doesn’t 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

“Doug Conant and Amy Federman’s 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 & CEO, Medtronic; and author of Discover Your True North

“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

“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

“Today’s busy leaders often question how they can lift their leadership profile while staying true to themselves. The Blueprint is the answer.”
— Indra Nooyi, Former Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo.

“Doug Conant hasn’t just been a highly successful leader—he’s 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

Upgrade Your Leadership and Your Life

The Blueprint Process: 6 Steps

1: Reach High — Envision

Envision what success looks like to you and set the intention to do better. In this step, you will take your first crack at articulating your Leadership Purpose.

2: Dig Deep — Reflect

Reflect on your experiences to uncover your leadership beliefs and dig deep to uncover what makes you, you. In this step, you will uncover the life lessons that anchor your leadership and develop a deeper understanding of your unique personality and skillset.

3: Lay the Groundwork — Study

Study to fill in all the cracks from your dig, laying the groundwork with all the learnings and insights from the world that exists beyond your personal experiences. You will find inspiration all around you, in high and low places.

4: Design — Plan

The fun part. Using design thinking as well as thinking prompts, Post-Its, and pen and paper, conceive your Plan: an exquisite design for your personal Leadership Model, derived from your Leadership Purpose and Leadership Beliefs.

5: Build — Practice

Practice your change process. You will brainstorm small, actionable practices that you can begin to fold into your habits and begin to create your Practice Treasury, a stable of behaviors that will help you bring to life the leadership Plan you designed.

6: Reinforce — Improve

Improve, continually learning from what you did right and what you could have done better, reinforcing the strength of your Foundation in perpetuity. Here you will also work to align your personal leadership approach with the expectations of your organization.

Ready to Take Your Leadership to the Next Level?

The Blueprint6 Practical Steps to Lift Your Leadership to New Heights