Leadership
Leaders are called to stand
in that lonely place
between the no longer and the not yet
and intentionally make decisions
that will bind, forge, move
and create history.
We are not called to be popular,
we are not called to be safe,
we are not called to follow,
we are the ones called to take risks,
we are the ones called to change attitudes;
to risk displeasures,
we are the ones called to gamble our lives,
for a better world.
--Mary Lou Anderson, April 1970
Ozymandias
I MET a Traveler from an antique land,
Who said, "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desart. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is OZYMANDIAS, King of Kings."
Look on my works ye Mighty, and despair!
No thing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that Colossal Wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
-- Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
(Analysis)
A leader is best when people barely know that he
exists.
Less good when they obey and acclaim him.
Worse when they fear and despise him.
Fail to honor people, and they fail to honor you.
But of a good leader, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
they will say, "We did this ourselves."
-- Lao-Tzu
"When people feel trusted, they'll do almost anything under the
sun not to disappoint the person who gave them the gift of trust."
-- Rob LeBow
"God grant that men of principle shall be our principal men."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"The greatness of a leader is measured by the achievements of the led.
This is the ultimate test of his effectiveness."
-- Gen. Omar Bradley
"When things go wrong in your command, start searching for the reason
in increasingly large circles around your own desk."
-- Gen. Bruce Clarke
"You must underwrite the honest mistakes of your subordinates if you
wish to develop their initiative and experience."
-- Gen. Bruce Clarke
"I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself."
-- Gen. Robert E. Lee
"A reflective reading of history will show that no man ever rose to
military greatness who could not convince his troops that he put them first,
above all else."
-- Gen. Maxwell Taylor
Admiral Hyman Rickover Quotes
"It is necessary for us to learn from others' mistakes. You will not
live long enough to make them all yourself."
-- Admiral Hyman G. Rickover
"Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into
practice with courageous impatience. Once implemented they can be easily
overturned or subverted through apathy or lack of follow-up, so a continuous
effort is required."
-- Admiral Hyman G. Rickover
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