Christopher T. Sealy

Leaders and Followers: Hey guys, I know it’s been a long time since my last Blog.

I’ve begun the living on an airplane thing again. It’s that time of year when we need to start putting the relationships together that are necessary to build for the future and prepare for new advancements. As much as I truly enjoy the people we do business with all over the globe the travel gets to you a bit after a while. Not that I am complaining, I live a blessed life - but airport after airport gets taxing on the body. It’s like living in a Flintstones world, where you walk by the same faces in the same scenes over and over again, as if you hit the rewind button on your DVD controller. I am becoming a little burned out. I need to go sleep in a place with no phones for a couple of weeks I think. Unfortunately that option doesn’t exist right now.

I just sat down to wait for another delayed flight and I began reading from Iacocca’s book Where Have All The Leaders Gone. He doesn’t really holdback any punches. That’s good. I like that in a person. He makes some relevant points to my generation, some that should be listened to. We have been charged with the responsibility - whether we like it or not - to fix damages. Damages to the corporate structure, to trust, government and public responsibility. Many of these we have no responsibility in creating but nevertheless we need to do what is necessary to fix them.

You don’t have to look far to realize that the government system that our grandparents and great grandparents fought to establish is failing us. The corporate system is filled with mistrust that makes it hard for us trying to create legitimate businesses to gain recognition and legitimacy. So what do we do? It may be time to stop thinking in such short time frames. We may have to start thinking about lasting impact over a lifetime.

We all listen to ipods because we have an unlimited choice of entertainment at out fingertips. We watch 5 minute web video news clips because we don’t have to sit through the rest of the program, we have our groceries delivered because we don’t need to be bothered wasting time in picking them up ourselves. All of these things I can except. It’s evolution. Heck, I make a living off making some of these changes. The problem we face is when we change our state of mind in such a way that our patience becomes limited, we begin to train ourselves to think that way in the rest of life. I think that thinking about a 45 year plan or even a 5 year plan scares people of my generation. The reality, however, is some things will take that long and longer. We need discipline ourselves in the matters of environment, business and government if we are to prepare this world for positive change.

We just finished post-production on a partnering company that has probably left me with a lifetime of inspiration. This private company just celebrated their 50th anniversary and was built on morale values and the mission of benefiting all partied involved with their endeavors. The best part is that with that foundation they have has stood the test of time, flourished while others failed, and created relationships that have lasted for decades. So, if someone tries to use the argument that you cant do business like that anymore, I use them as an example.

Check out http://www.bordersstores.com/features/feature.jsp?file=wherehavealltheleader - it is definitely worth reading.