I remembered the value of cleaning the office desk recently as I happened upon my notes from Willow Creek's 2007 Leadership Summit. During the conference, I made a specific point not to capture every single word possible, which I am prone to do, thanks to my background as a journalist. Instead, I attempted to listen and soak up what I could from the summit's impressive list of speakers.

But I broke that self-prescribed rule when I listened to Pastor Bill Hybels' pre-recorded interview with General Colin Powell. Looking back on those notes, I'm glad I did.

Powell, the former U.S. Secretary of State for President George W. Bush, provided his thoughts on leadership. I counted no less than 15 tips he offered, some of the obvious nature, some not. And while I recall feeling somewhat disappointed at the time that the interview didn't cover any leadership lessons Powell drew from his experiences in the events leading up to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, I was pleased with the rest of the ground ...