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| The revival of interest in World War II experiences, including 1998’s Saving Private Ryan and Tom Brokaw’s book, The Greatest Generation Speaks, underscores our turn-of-the-century yearnings for worthy challenges and stirring leadership. Back then, leaders were heroic. Winston Churchill rallied the British by saying, “Let us so bear ourselves that if the British empire and commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, This was their finest hour.” On D-Day, officers in the army wore white stripes on the backs of their helmets so that, as they charged across bullet-swept beaches, the troops would see their leaders and rally behind them. I believe past should be prologue. Although today’s business environment doesn’t pose life-or-death questions, the level of uncertainty and the amount of change are so great that we need to hark back to the more heroic leadership styles of the past. The digital economy has shredded the rational, hierarchical, “scientific” management style that has ruled for most of this century. Today, leaders need to engage their troops emotionally. Everyone has to pitch in if organizations are going to act creatively enough, execute well enough, and transform themselves quickly enough to meet the harsh demands of the Internet economy. Drudges won’t measure up. Emotionally vibrant people may. That’s why this issue of Context is about the phenomenon of leadership, in all its many complex forms. In our cover interview [“Follow the Leader,”], retired Gen. Colin Powell offers an intriguing bit of advice delivered by a grizzled sergeant when Powell was a 21-year-old second lieutenant: “A good leader is someone whose troops will follow him, if only out of curiosity.” This nugget served Powell well through a distinguished career—which culminated in his being chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, managing the world’s largest defense establishment. One striking thing about Powell, in person, is that he triggers a visceral response because he projects an image not just of accomplishment but of great moral character. This sort of charisma is explored in Marvin Zonis’s Inner Game of Work column. Zonis says charisma provides the emotional underpinning of leadership. He criticizes today’s leadership style as bankrupt because it depends on striking a cold bargain: Do that for me, and I’ll pay you this. Zonis proposes a number of psychologically proven techniques for honing our leadership potential. Executives have to understand the landscape if they’re to lead their troops in the right direction. In the CEO User’s Guide, Mel Bergstein says, though, that many executives are making a crucial mistake. He says they think they’re attempting innovative killer apps when they are really just attempting incremental progress—what he calls faster, better, cheaper. He shows why the distinction is so important for senior executives who are trying to figure out what battles to fight. He then explains how to understand the difference. Leadership is tested every day, and two features show how current chief executives have handled their challenges differently. “Bland Ambition” explores how Bank One Chief Executive John McCoy launched an on-line bank, Wingspan, which wasn’t as innovative as he had hoped, and is suffering from numerous problems. “Malling the Competition” chronicles how Simon Property Group Chief Executive David Simon launched what seems to be a truly innovative on-line venture despite carrying the baggage that comes with being the biggest mall operator in the country. I hope you find this issue half as thought-provoking as I have. Cheers, Paul B. Carroll |
