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"In 1968, Andy Warhol proclaimed, 'In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.' With the advent of memes and viral videos, we now live in that future—one in which any trending joe (or his grumpy cat) can make a quick buck. So why is all this short-termism leaving so many of us feeling shortchanged?
We now live an increasingly short-term world, one where the products we buy often outlive the brands that make them. It's not just the inherently trendy brands. All brands are equally susceptible to the traps of short-term thinking. In the face of change, short-term thinkers see a fork in the road—choosing to either cling to what worked in the past or abandon it in an effort to reclaim the spotlight. Therein lies the key difference we at The Legacy Lab have observed between short-term thinkers and their long-term counterparts: The former focus only on their immediate circumstances—their 15 minutes of fame. The latter aspire to a lifetime of significance."
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"Leaders and leadership are often thought of in a poor light. Leadership is often viewed as a necessary evil. There is even a growing voice to the idea of leaderless organizations. I'm not sure where that is headed, but I do know I don't want to be a part of a leaderless organization.
My experience is that people want to be well led. We all seem to thrive when we are under great leadership. We know it when we see it because our talents are being leveraged, our purpose is clear, our contributions are appreciated, our ideas are welcomed and we're making progress organizationally and personally.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Most of us have had an experience or two—or more, in which we were NOT well led. We were doing time and watching the clock. We weren't giving extra effort because that was not what we were told to do and doing what we were told to do is ALL we were supposed to do!
Which of these scenarios matches your experience with leadership – necessary evil or liberating force?
People and organizations are much more likely to thrive if the leader subscribes to what Robert Greenleaf called Servant Leadership. It is not a new idea—Greenleaf didn't invent it nor did I. However, it is an idea whose time has come... It is time to Lead Differently!"
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