Shakespeares Hamlet said Conscience makes cowards of us all, but he was wrong. Needless currying of the opinions of other people, especially in matters of our personal happiness, career objectives, and mating decisions, thats what makes us cowards. Someone quite great remarked that nothing great has ever been accomplished by a committee. The real movers and shakers of society are individuals, and generally speaking theyre pesky, prickly, persistent types who arent popular, particularly when theyre pioneering. Whenever a true leader spearheads a project, others, especially obstructionists, feel the tips of those spears, and sometimes more than that. If genuine innovators asked for permission for every step of their journeys, theyd be hobbled before they left the door. A Xerox client, who assisted me in implementing one of my nationwide consulting projects, had a motto which says it well: Its easier to ask for and to get forgiveness than permission! I recall taking a former professor to lunch after I had successfully launched my consulting practice. Tooling up to his house in my brand new, red and gold Mercedes, the top of the line, he asked me with genuine admiration and no little astonishment: Where did all of this come from? He wasnt referring just to the car and the clothes but to the topical area I had discovered, developed, and advanced as my stock and trade. Where did all of that come from? Deliberately, I had never written a paper on the subject in graduate school, sensing that I would spawn needless competition and envy. So, after I had earned my Ph.D. and without anyones permission, I set forth quietly. in the direction of the pristine territory where my instincts told me the gold was to be found. Later, my professors tried to copy me, anyway, but by then I had staked my claim. Intellectual and practical ownership of the field was mine. Remember this, especially if you hear what has been termed A different drummer, and you perceive value where no one else has yet to tread. One courageous man makes a majority! Or if you prefer, take to heart the words of philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand. She advises: Dont Ask Who Will Let Me? but Who Will STOP Me? |
