when a new show didn’t become a hit right away. Thanks to
Lear’s success, other worthy shows were given a second
chance: It is no exaggeration to say that television would not
now be airing such highly touted, groundbreaking shows as
“30 Rock,” “Entourage,” and “Dexter,” if it were not for Nor-
man Lear and “All in the Family.”
Of course, Lear resides at the extreme. He is the creator of
his circumstances and surroundings in a way that few of us are
able to match. But there are Norman Lears in all walks of life
who master the context wherever they are. And leaders have al-
ways fought the context. Mathilde Krim, the scientist who has
long been a leader in the fight on AIDS, said, “I have little tol-
erance for institutional restraints. Institutions should serve
people, but unfortunately it’s often the other way around. Peo-
ple give their allegiance to an institution, and they become
prisoners of habits, practices, and rules that make them ulti-
mately ineffectual.”
If most of us, like Ed, are creatures of our context, prisoners
of the habits, practices, and rules that make us ineffectual, it is
from the Norman Lears, the people who not only challenge
and conquer the context but who change it in fundamental
ways, that we must learn. The first step toward change is to re-
fuse to be deployed by others and to choose to deploy yourself.
Thus the process begins.
Mastering the Context