Monday, December 7, 2009

On Leadership...

Among other things, last week's exchange on The Planet ought to be a reminder to all of us of how hard good leadership is to come by. I'm sure you've heard the term "thought leader", but it's always been a bit of an oxymoron to me. Ideas are cheap, and thinking can often get you into trouble (I should know, I've been there). Yes, actions do speak louder than words, so a more appropriate term for someone who displays true leadership, in my mind, would be "action leader" or, even better, "action hero". It's ironic that use of the latter isn't more prevalent in our industry. Forget being a rock star, I want to be an action hero.

When I think (danger, Will Robinson!) about it, it's the posts from people doing amazing things at Eclipse that tend to earn more of my respect. So, rather than accusing anyone of biting the hand that feeds or questioning whether others have poisoned the well, I'm looking to the action heros at Eclipse to continue doing such a stellar job of leading by example. Indeed, it is they, and others like them, who, if anyone, will keep our ecosystem from collapsing under the weight of our collective self-importance. In truth AND in deed.