What do Bill Gates and Lyndon Johnson have in common?

Neither can be accused of being charismatic, but both have shown the political and managerial competence necessary to move their agendas, drive their ideas and get results.

That’s the word from Samuel B. Bacharach, author of “The Agenda Mover: When Your Good Idea Is Not Enough,” published this summer by Cornell University Press.

Successful leaders focus on leadership by developing the micro-political skills necessary to get results, according to Bacharach, the McKelvey-Grant professor at Cornell’s ILR School.

“Whether you are trying to lead change and innovation in a large corporation or are an entrepreneur trying to gain support, a politician trying to expand your coalition or an individual trying to advance your career and build networks, you have to master the skills of an agenda mover,” he said.

The leadership skills of execution can be mastered, Bacharach said. Everyone can become an agenda mover. It doesn’t depend on personality or charm. It depends on having political and managerial competence.

Bacharach and his colleagues at the Bacharach Leadership Group have applied the perspective on training programs they have created for corporations, nonprofits and higher education institutions, including Cornell. “Leading Cornell,” a nine-month workshop series geared to the university’s high-potential leaders, launches its fourth cohort in October.

“The Agenda Mover” is Bacharach’s first installment in his new series of books on leadership. Cornell University Press is slated to publish related titles during the next 12 months.