Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Pirate Leadership

The accepted truth about pirates is that they elected their leaders and shared in the spoils. Implied in the second part was that they wanted to enjoy the spoils.


In modern practice, this reflects principles of servant leadership. The crew members needed what the spoils would bring. The chosen captain was accepted as the best for providing for this need.


Mitch McCrimmon, Ph.D. critiques servant leadership with some flawed arguments. His argument boils down into two areas: 1. Serving your subordinates' needs means catering to their desires. I.E. becoming their butler. 2. Developing your subordinates is a management activity, not a leadership activity.


Allocating time for training is a management activity. Measuring performance is a management activity. However, employee development is much more then a collection of management tasks. Convincing employees that development is important is a leadership activity. Creating a vision of the possible is a leadership activity. Self development is a leadership activity. The leader sets the example of what people can become; this is a leadership activity. Teams must grow or die. For a team to grow, the members must develop and the team must develop. The leader has the duty to ensure the team grows. This is leadership.


I am sure pirate captains were not butlers to their crew. They realized the authority the crew provided them was to be used to provide for the entire crew's needs. Select decisions would have been unpopular to the crew or to individuals, but this was not a concern. As long as the decisions were generally understood, successful, and provided for the needs of the crew, the captain would retain his authority as leader.


The Pirate Leader is empowered by the team to make decisions for all because the collective individuals trust that the chosen leader will be the best at creating an environment that will satisfy their needs.


Additional Reading:

Journey to the East by Hermann Hesse (1932)

Microcosmographia Academica by F. M. Cornford (1908)


Friday, November 14, 2008

Resisting the Tyranny of the Masses

Here is a list of media I recommend where the underlying theme is "resisting the tyranny of the masses." By this I mean that someone woke up, realized that the masses have made a bad trade for their safety and security, and tries to restore something lost to society.

Network
Blade Runner
V for Vendetta
A Scanner Darkly
Soylent Green
Brazil
Zardoz
1984
Brave New World
Catch 22
The Razors Edge
Repent Harlequin said the Tick Tock Man
The Mouse that Roared
Tambu

From Again Dangerous Visions
  • Bedsheets are White
  • For Value Received
  • The Funeral
  • Bounty
  • In the Barn
  • Soundless Evening
  • Elouise and the Doctors of the Planet Pergamon
  • Moth Race
  • A Mouse in the Walls of the Global Village
From Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction 1999
  • Maneki Neko
  • Solitude
  • First Tuesday

Friday, November 7, 2008

Christ, Old Student in a New School

I am currently reading "The Art of the Long View" by Peter Schwartz. In the chapter "Information-Hunting and -Gathering," Peter lists various sources of new trend and ideas. I notice conspicuously missing are old sources of trends, ideas, behaviors, and attitudes. The old is often new again. In this age new technological advancements enable old social behaviours in new ways. The concept of tribes still exists. The new technologies enable old behaviors and motivations using new means. But what are the old behaviors? How do we discover them and project how they will be expressed? When projecting the future, don't forget to analyze the past. Look for a Ray Bradbury poem: "Christ, Old Student in a New School."