Saj-Nicole A. Joni is the founder of Cambridge International Group, Ltd., a high-level advisory services firm. She has written three books dealing with the power of connection and collaboration, especially as it relates to C-level leadership. This book is the first of the three, published in 2004. The subtitle gives you the best summary of what you can find in this book. Ms. Joni does a good job of illustrating the points with terrific stories, which I won’t try to dive into too deeply here – because my goal is to spark your curiosity enough to want to read the book. I am hopeful that this series of summaries will give you enough substance to consider how you may be able to leverage connection and collaboration to improve your own leadership. 
Chapter 1
The book begins with the story of a corporate leader facing a complex challenge. Facing numerous questions, he finds himself alone in his office wondering not only what to do, but who to collaborate with so he can make the best decision. He wants to hash this out with somebody, but realizes as the company’s #1 — he’s got nobody. Every person he thought about got immediately excluded for a variety of reasons. Employees were excluded because they have self-interest to consider so they’re not prone to be as candid as he might like. There was no way he was going to talk with colleagues around the world who held equivalent positions as him. That would be a surefire way to let this challenge leak out to the public. Confidentiality was critical because his challenge involved protecting the reputation of the company. 
The requirements for leadership have changed through the years. Leaders from all over the globe face complex issues, uncertainty, and sensitivity. Speed has also changed the game as leaders realize precise thinking and judgment must now happen faster than ever. These changes have been incremental. 
Speed is a given – and it has changed more than just time. Increasingly businesses are having to operate all phases of their business in real-time or near real-time. Technology provides instant feedback. 
Expertise is fleeting. Most leadership careers require people to learn, function and lead in areas well beyond their educational background and experience. 
Learning to deal with trust issues in an environment of change is trickier than ever. Cooperation and competition are tricky waters of trust to navigate. At every level.
Cross-industry change and competition is the name of the game. The barrier to entry for many industries is rapidly getting lower. New forms of competition and opportunity abound. 
Maintaining a profit margin is increasingly a matter of complexity. Competition continues to pressure change. Companies can no longer pound out the same widgets year and year. Maintaining your profit margins is increasingly a matter of being able to outplay your competition in the complexity game.
Globalization is the norm in every business. To thrive you’ll have to do business in countries outside your own. The opportunities are larger, but so are the risks. 
Information and network complexity have increased. We’re all overwhelmed with information. Being able to see several moves ahead is critical.
Authority has given way to influence. Shared information and decision making are now everywhere because we’ve moved to an information-based world. Leaders must get their organizations and their partners’ organizations to work together by exerting influence instead of merely relying on authority. 
New technologies continuously disrupt markets. Relentless scientific innovation will continue to foster disruptive changes that will transform businesses in ways you can’t predict. 
Top talent is harder to come by. It’s a demographic issue. It’s also a supply-demand quandary.