There are some remarkable lessons for all of us-a real case study.

Born in Hawaii to a mother from Kansas and a father from Kenya. Raised largely by his grandmother. A period of his childhood in Indonesia. A community organizer. A constitutional-law professor. And don't forget that scary middle name!

For an inexperienced single term African-American senator to defeat the heir apparent(Hillary Clinton) in his own party and then go on to defeat the Republican machine -is a truly remarkable achievement. Much of it has to do with Obama's leadership qualities.

In fact, it is the difference in these qualities that made Obama unstoppable. Obama didn't win despite the fact that he is so different. He won precisely because he is so different.

Vision

Start with the granddaddy of leadership principles: a clear, consistent vision.Obama's goal wasn't simply to win an election, garner votes, or run a great campaign. It was larger and more urgent: to change the world.

Obama ended his last speech before the election by saying: "let's go change the world." The vision caught on as the world driven by economic meltdown, religious conflict, resource scarcity, and intractable poverty and violence world needs changing.

If you want to galvanize followers, you need to think of the message and stick with it. Obama's message was simple and aspirational. He talked about the failings of George W. Bush. He talked about change and hope and health care for all. Over and over, he painted a picture of the future that excited people.

He also set a perfect example for business leaders: Stick to a limited number of points, repeat them relentlessly, and turn people on. You cannot confuse , divide or scare people and expect them to be excited.He united the people by saying: "we rise or fall ... as one people.".

Innovation

So often, people try to milk the same time tested old thinking. But winning means keeping the old customers and finding new customers and opening new markets along the way. You can't just beat your rivals by the old rules; to grow, you have to invent a new game and beat them at that, too.

Here is Obama's list of innovation

A self-organization design. What was really different about Obama's organization? We design organization as tall, or flat?
They force us to think - spatially and literally - in two dimensions: tall organizations command unresponsively, and flat organizations respond uncontrollably.

Obama's organization was able to combine the virtues of both tall and flat organizations. It was a spherical organization with a tightly controlled core, surrounded by self-organizing cells of volunteers, donors, contributors, and other participants at the fuzzy edges. The result? Obama's organization was flexible ,quick and was able to react quickly while McCain's organization was lethargic and followed the stifling command-and-control mechanism.

Use of new age media

Obama converted the empathy into tangible support by leveraging the new age communication media- blogs, social networking sites, web sites and games . More citizens volunteered time and money to help the Obama campaign than any previous presidential candidate. Indeed, he attracted more donors than the entire Democratic or Republican party nationwide. Almost half of Obama's unprecedented $639 million in funds raised from individuals came from small donors giving $300 or less.

Think of new Solutions

Obama reached out to all citizens. He targeted his message beyond previous or likely voters. He built a coalition that energized young, first-time voters and registered thousands of previous non-voters. His organization encouraged early voting by Democrats to build well-publicized poll leads and to reduce the chances of supporters being discouraged from voting by long lines at polling places on election day. This policy of inclusion meant that voting records were set in the general election and the primaries.

Recognized the Importance of Well-Placed Allies

From the start, Obama had support from the media, which chose to downplay controversies involving him. Meanwhile, after the primaries, McCain began to take a beating. In the end, no one could dispute that Obama's relationship with the media made a difference.
As a business leader, you can't succeed without the endorsement of your board. Every time you try to usher in change, some people will resist. They may fight you openly in meetings, through the media, or with the subterfuge of palace intrigue. And you'll need to make your case in all those venues. But in the end, if your board has your back, defeat can be turned into victory.

That's why you need to start any leadership initiative with your "high-level friends" firmly by your side, convinced of the merits of your character and policies. But that's not enough. If you want to keep your board as an ally, don't surprise them. Think about McCain's "gotcha" selection of Sarah Palin. Scrambling to catch up with the story, the media was not amused.

Communication

A leader to communicate his/her vision to the people. They need to be perceived to be in control and unflappable during attacks and crisis by their gestures, reaction and demeanour .Communication is the most important and critical tool of leadership.

Obama has an incredible ability to move people with oratory in both his behavior and content - and he took advantage of that when he had his most important audience of perhaps hundreds of millions of people across the world.

-Presidential: He looked and spoke like a President. He did all the right things, under pressure.

- All About people: He talked about the people of his campaign, the people of his country, and the people who did not vote for him. He did not gloat, but he spoke as one who wanted to unite. This speech was not about him.

On Point: He had a Point Of View, and stayed on message - just as his campaign did. It was all about change. Change from a country of slavery to a country where a black man could be elected President. Change from a broken country to a healing country. It was a disciplined speech, just as he ran a disciplined campaign.

-Story: He used his usual picturesque language, and had a great story of Ann Nixon Cooper, a 106 year old woman from Atlanta who waited to vote for 4 hours. She was born a generation from slavery, and when women couldn't vote, couldn't drive and couldn't fly. Powerful contrasts to today, and the task at hand.

-Likability: This is one of the most important factors in communicating - and determines most elections by influencing the doubtfuls. Barack Obama has the unique quality of being both Presidential and likable. He is measured (actually professorial), easy going yet energetic. He smiles, has an open face and appears thoughtful (a listener). His personality and ability to connect with eyes, gesture and voice is impressive, and certainly helped him influence the vote in his favor.