25 Rules for Leaders

Leadership. Innovation. Work. Brand. Technology.

Fast Company's flagship event centered around those themes for three days of real learning and just-in-time inspiration last week in San Diego. The roster of RealTime speakers included an Irish grocer, a socially responsible potter, and a pediatric physician, among others -- distinct characters who all shared one common message: This is your time to lead!

In calling Fast Company readers to lead change at work and at home, RealTime speakers shared their ideas about the state of business, the power of people, and the future of innovation. Here are 25 of the smartest insights that we took away from the event.

1. Audit Your Company Cultures
"Companies don't have one culture. They have as many as they have supervisors or managers. You want to build a strong culture? Hold every manager accountable for the culture that he or she builds."
--Marcus Buckingham, coauthor of First, Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths

2. Informed People Don't Fear Change
"People are not afraid of change. They fear the unknown."
--Dick Brown, chairman and CEO of EDS

3. Beware "Aspirational Accounting"
"Enron has changed things significantly. You used to be able to buy a company, account for it in bizarre ways, and make money on the sale. That world is over."
--Nolan Bushnell, founder, chairman, and CEO of uWink Inc.

4. Empower Your People -- Turn Them Loose
"Freedom is the greatest when the ground rules are clear. Chalk out the playing field and say, Within those lines, make any decisions you need."
--Dick Brown, chairman and CEO of EDS

5. Prevent Erosion of Human Assets
"We are systematically depreciating our human capital. For most people, the first year with the company is the best. It's downhill from there."
--Marcus Buckingham, coauthor of First, Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths

6. Be Generous With What You Know
"Knowledge sharing is the basis of everything. Share knowledge with reckless abandon."
--Tim Sanders, chief solutions officer at Yahoo

7. Expand Your Roster
"Think of your team as not just the people you pay, but as the people who pay you as well."
--Feargal Quinn, executive chairman of Superquinn

8. Don't Judge a Man by the Size of His Wallet
"The only thing wrong with poor people is that they don't have any money. That's a curable condition."
--Bill Strickland, president and CEO of the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and the Bidwell Training Center

9. Harness Your Skills for Good
"Technology has enormous potential to facilitate public-health problem solving. Marcus Welby needs you guys."
--Dr. Irwin Redlener, president and cofounder of the Children's Health Fund and president of the Children's Hospital at Montefiore

10. Groom Your People for Success
"Weakness fixing might prevent failure, but strength building leads to excellence. Focus on strength, and manage around weaknesses."
--Marcus Buckingham, coauthor of First, Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths

11. Promote Brand Awareness Throughout Your Enterprise
"Everybody throughout the enterprise should know what the brand can and cannot do. There's an imperative for education."
--Jim Goodwin, vice president of marketing at the Absolut Spirits Co.