famine, or depression. The third of the scientist’s key prob-
lems that could bring about the destruction of society is the
quality of the management and leadership of our institutions.
Today we must add global warming, the widening gap be-
tween rich and poor, and international terrorism to that list of
major dangers. But the relative lack of leadership continues to
be an enormous threat. The simple truth is that 304 million
people cannot long abide together without leaders, any more
than 304 million people can drive on our roads and highways
without certain rules, or eleven men can play football without a
quarterback, or four people can hike from X to Y unless at least
one knows where Y is.
One person can live on a desert island without leadership.
Two people, if they’re totally compatible, could probably get
along and even progress. If there are three or more, someone
has to take the lead. Today we have a more nuanced view of
leadership. We no longer think in terms of the Lone Ranger or
the Great Man. But no matter how collaborative our organiza-
tions, someone still needs to choreograph the players and make
final decisions. Leadership might rotate among the three in-
habitants on a desert island, as it does in three-engineer teams
at Google, but leadership is needed nonetheless.
So let’s admit it: in a nation, in a world, as complex and fluid
as ours, we cannot function without leaders. Our quality of life
depends on the quality of our leaders (as the sorry economy of
2008 reminded us so painfully). And we need more than one. As
never before, we need leaders in all our organizations and all
our institutions. We need leaders in every community, corpora-
tion, and country. That leadership vacuum creates an enormous
opportunity. If you’ve ever had dreams of leadership, this is the
place, now is the time.
On Becoming a Leader