TC Clements has been a deputy chief of police, state representative and Bedford Township trustee. Today, he’s the CEO of Monroe County Business Alliance. He also operates Cruise Planners with his wife, Jamie.
Now, Clements is also an author. After a year and a half of work, he just published “The Legacy of Leadership: It’s the Small Things.”
“It dives into several areas where leaders have simply been taught wrong habits, given bad information and been allowed to seek average over excellence,” Clements said.
The 131-page book has 20 chapters with names like: Secret Sauce: Filling with Zero Calories; People Before Policy: ALWAYS; Don’t Just Take a Seat, Shape the Table.
“No single chapter, focus or lesson is more than five to seven pages. This makes it more digestible and was purposely done to be impactful with the ‘meat and substance’ delivered over a ton of jargon and endless examples,” Clements said. “This isn’t another manual written from a mountaintop. It’s a roadmap from the trenches.”
The book is also not just for leaders.
“It’s for anyone who finds themself in or wants to be in a leadership role. A great deal of it has to do with mastering the art of connecting with others. It is a fit for parents, spouses, coaches. I have always been a fan of ‘The Art of War,’ which, while written from a military strategy perspective, can be applied to so many elements of life,” Clements said.
Clements never planned to write the book. It was supposed to be a letter to his kids.
“I have three children. My oldest son is 25. My next son is 14, and my youngest child is my daughter, who is 12. The letter that initiated the concept of the book was more aimed at the 12- and 14 year-olds, giving them insight into the often competitive and unaligned values I have of being a fierce competitor, while truly working hard to be humble, kind and caring to others. That morphed into ideas that really are foundational to effective leadership, and I realized that in the last 20-30 years, many of these key concepts have gone by the way-side based on distractions, convenience and, at times, laziness,” Clements said.
Clements hopes to talk about the book and his ideas.
“I am actively working on speaking engagements to share this and general leadership information with others,” he said.
“The Legacy of Leadership: It’s the Small Things” is available in hardcover, paperback and Kindle on Amazon. The paperback is $19.99. To learn more, visit Clements’ website.
What is Monroe County Business Alliance?
Clements joined the Monroe County Business Alliance in May 2023 as the vice president of economic development. He later became CEO.
Monroe County Busines Alliance was formed from the merger of the former Monroe County Chamber of Commerce and the Monroe County Business Development Organization. Its office is at 23 E. Front St., Suite 202, in Monroe.
A non-profit business, MCBA coordinates economic development in Monroe County. Today, it has a staff of seven.
MCBA partners with companies of all sizes.
“We have helped over 85 entrepreneurs with some element of the development of their ideas/businesses. We work with, not only existing businesses who we support, but we also attract new business to our county,” Clements said.
It offers several services to its partner businesses.
“In addition to traditional chamber services and economic development, we also have a small business and entrepreneur incubator and accelerator to assist businesses to start and grow. We provided resources, connections and programs that strengthen Monroe County’s economic ecosystem. We also run GoToMonroe.com, a community calendar by our neighbors, for our neighbors,” Clements said.
— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at swisler@monroenews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: ‘A roadmap from the trenches’: TC Clements writes leadership book
Reporting by Suzanne Nolan Wisler, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
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