This week on Independence Day in the United States of America, many of us celebrated, and we absolutely should have.
The impetus, insight, guts and bias for action our forefathers possessed, are exactly what those who create, build, and innovate possess. These qualities, when used in service of a greater good, such as liberty, safety and opportunity, are to be admired. Yet, creation always involves loss. The revolutionaries, the “crazy ones,” are not naïve about such loss but they are willing to suffer it for something greater.
My clients, boards and senior executives, all want innovation. They may refer to it in other words, but they are all seeking progress in one way or another. Sometimes the need for change and innovation is not obvious until a crisis befalls them. Crisis and revolution are dramatic words and some avoid them, even when it is accurate and useful to do so.
The impetus, insight, guts and bias for action our forefathers possessed, are exactly what those who create, build, and innovate possess. Click To TweetThe value of thinking of change as a revolution or a crisis is that it is extremely clarifying to do so. It puts a fine point on an idea or a situation. Dramatic words capture our attention, activate our emotions and require us to make a decision about what to do. While not a legally binding document, The Declaration of Independence is one of the best examples of how words can clarify and inspire. I read it every year on July 4th and again every January 1st. It never fails to move me. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript.
Reading the entire Declaration of Independence it is clear how the act of its creation must have further inspired (and inflamed) its authors. We are the beneficiaries of their intelligence, courage, immense fortitude and revolutionary ideas.
The founding fathers had a philosophy and articulated principles consistent with their beliefs. It’s worth asking yourself – What is my philosophy about leadership? What are the principles upon which I stand?
