the reaction of environmental groups; the possible impact on
other action groups—consumers, tax reform, antinuclear, pro-
desert, pro-recreational vehicles, etc; the constraints of govern-
ment—DOE, EPA, OSHA, ICC, FTC, etc., etc.—and the states
and the municipalities; the effect on inflation and on the govern-
ment’s anti-inflation program; labor union attitudes; the OPEC
cartel. Oh yes, I almost forgot, the anticipated economic profit,
the degree of risk, the problem of obtaining funds in a competi-
tive market, the capability of our organization, and—when there
is time—the competition.Because they are conscious of stakeholder symmetry, lead-
ers are wary of the Dick Ferris Syndrome (I’m resisting an
urge to call it the Ferris Wheel). Ferris, who was the head of
UAL, had vision—a kaleidoscopic vision of a full-service or-
ganization that not only flew people where they were going,
but also owned the limos that met them at the airport and the
hotels where they were staying. To this end, he even changed
the name of the corporation. It would no longer be UAL, the
old United Air Lines. The new name for the new venture was
Allegis. It didn’t mean anything, but it had style. But Ferris’s
vision was skewed. He forgot that there were other players in
the game: the pilots’ union and the board of directors, to name
only two. He could see only the wonderful world outside the
organization, not what was going on in his immediate vicinity.
The pilots tried to buy the airlines, the board had a fit, and
when the wheel came full circle, Ferris was out and the com-
pany was UAL again.
The reality of the world, the complexity of the immediate
environment, the need for stakeholder symmetry, must not be
lost in the colorful glories of the kaleidoscopic vision.
On Becoming a Leader