As this glossary provides models, frameworks, tools, and techniques for building future-ready organizations and shared progress, one critical element determines whether these approaches succeed or fail: YOU.

The Leader, the Change Professional, the innovator—you have the most significant impact on enabling progress and shared success. No system or process alone can achieve an Always-Innovative outcome or an Adaptive Advantage. Your role is indispensable. Why are you so central to these efforts?

You set the vision and direction. You define what success looks like and determine priorities to guide others. Without your vision and leadership, efforts lack purpose or coherence.

• You shape culture and environment. You establish the conditions that empower or inhibit innovation and adaptability. The culture you cultivate will accelerate or limit progress.
  
• Your time and effort. You choose where to invest time, talent, and funds to enable important work. Your decisions reveal actual rather than stated priorities and drive real results.
  
• You develop and motivate others. You hire, support, and inspire the teams that do the work. Their ability and willingness to take risks, challenge assumptions, collaborate, and discover new possibilities depend on you.
  
• You make critical decisions. You weigh options and determine the course of action, especially when facing significant uncertainty or disruption. The choices you make have lasting consequences.
  
• You model desired mindsets and behaviors. You set an example through your own attitudes and actions. If you seek to build an Always-Innovative culture, you must demonstrate an appetite for discovery, a tolerance for failure, and an optimistic outlook. Your behavior and thinking shape those around you.

While this glossary provides a vision and framework for building future-ready companies, that vision remains theoretical until YOU decide to put it into action. You hold the future of your organization in your hands. Your leadership, decisions, and influence—for better or worse—will decide the way forward. Progress starts and ends with YOU sharing your passion to change the world. Your role is not just important but imperative. The models in this glossary are merely tools, but you're the driver and will determine your destination. Choose wisely and forge ahead—the future awaits!