Why do our leaders think so small?

January 5th, 2008 · No Comments

My wife and i attended our daughters school prize giving ceremony last night and it was an inspiring night. Not only for the poise and confidence of the school kids but for a funny and thought-provoking address from an astronomer. Astronomy, Dr. Watson argued was concerned with answering the big questions. Are we alone? Where did we come from? To highlight just two. These are big, noble and important questions. When i compare these types of quetions with those that our leaders ask i am often disappointed. A typical leadership question might be how do we increase our sales and efficiency by 3%. These types of managerial questions do not inspire or engage us. And, sometimes in asking a bigger question you answer smaller questions along the way. I would encourage you to ask big questions. Questions that you do not know the answers to, that stretch you and make you feel uncomfortable. These are the questions of a creative life.