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My most recent post was on Choosing between being a Follower or a Leader. I’m going to summarize and add to that post; so this one hopefully makes some sense:

• Leaders make unpopular decisions and are often chastised, ridiculed, and/or ostracized. They start as Thought Leaders, then evolve with support and belief to Action Leaders (Che Guevara).
• Due to force of will, charisma, good looks, DNA, parenting, luck, or timing… sometimes their believers outnumber and out-verbalize their non-believers.
• Followers (i.e. believers) make up most of humanity.  Which is OK for the Followers AND the Leaders of the world. Leadership is a yoke of responsibility to your constituency that is often unappreciated, and sometimes even punished (if you don’t believe me…. ask Jesus).
• Followers outnumber Leaders. I would approximate 25,000-to-1.
• Being a Follower is OK. Being a Thought Leader can be scary, and clearly unappreciated. Sometimes poorly paid; Edgar Allen Poe was paid $15 for The Raven and was never paid more than $100 for anything he wrote.; he died poor. Nietzsche died insane and poor.
• Followers make the Leader. Sometimes following a Leader is a bad decision. Which is When and Why the Follower must evolve. How, incidentally, is never known by a Leader; it is defined through decisive actions. The How inevitably evolves.
• Followers must, at a bare minimum, be responsible for Who they follow. Blind faith is stupid. Unused muscle inevitably atrophies.

Which conveniently leads us to this post:

I was watching Stargate SG-1 with my 19 yr old son. The episode involved a complex paradox that lead to a robotic-artificially-intelligent humanoid named Lotan, deciding the fate of one innocent and peaceful race’s demise vs. another innocent and peaceful race’s demise; due entirely to circumstance. Without belaboring the episode: Lotan was not programmed to save the race of the people at risk, despite seemingly having the power to do so. Through the introduction of empathy and self-preservation, he eventually saw that he had to consider the Purpose of his Mission, or the “Integrity of his Mission,” vs. the simple hierarchical commands he was given.

While that sounds all sci-fi and weird, it was a beautiful episode that taught a simple message.

Followers are responsible to insure that the purpose of the Leader is honored. Beyond the Leader, the purpose or vision of their Mission… the Integrity of their Mission must be honored through their actions. Not simply following hierarchical commands without thought or consideration. Followers are responsible.

Another example of this same message is found in one of my favorite movies, The Last Samurai. Katsumoto is loyal to the Japanese Emperor, yet wages rebellion against him. At one point the Emperor, a teenager being mislead through inexperience and fear, asks Katsumoto why he rebels. Katsumoto responds that he would gladly take his life for the Emperor, but he is convinced the Emperor’s decisions are wrong and is fighting him… for him. For his people. For the Purpose, Integrity, Mission, Goals, and Intent that the Emperor wanted, needed, stood for, and had mistakenly abandoned.

Followers still have to make decisions. Responsible decisions. This is inescapable. Since most people reading this are more likely Followers than Leaders, please consider YOUR Power:

1. Who is the Leader I am following; more specifically, what do they represent to and for their constituency?  (Is there value, to self and others, in this daily effort?)

2. Ignoring past actions, are the Leader’s current directives properly representing the constituency? (Are the commands, words, and intent consistent…am I doing the ‘right’ thing?)

3. How can I honor the INTEGRITY OF MY MISSION, supporting the constituency that the Leader is obligated to serve; even in the absence of clear direction or if said direction is not cohesive with the Mission? (If the Leader does not have the information you have at your disposal, would he / she prefer you seek an alternative, creatively finding new solutions, in order to support the constituency?)

Some Leaders want unquestioning Followers, and there are clearly plenty out there in this world of ours (one that encourages and cranks out Followers through the educational system, large corporations, even the stifling of the word ‘why’ in our youth). But the BEST Leaders, those who TRULY serve their Purpose, Mission, and Constituency…are those that take responsibility for their actions and seek to follow the Integrity of their Mission. Even if it means subtle rebellion.

Every executive in my company, and every past or present employee that I respect, is someone with the guts to question my commands.

Confident Leaders honor their rebels. Nothing is more valuable to a Leader than a Follower with the guts to ask Why.

And once someone has lost sight of the Integrity of their Mission, they no longer deserve to Lead or Follow.

I’ve noticed many people think they lead; when in fact they follow.

Followers are easily identified by their unwillingness to make tough decisions that aren’t first dictated or lead by their alleged glorious leader. Followers prefer someone to make decisions for them; and Leaders like to make decisions… take action.  Thing is, the fact that someone makes decisions and takes action might make them a Leader, but it does not make them a Good Leader. Positive impact on their constituency. Nor does it make them a Leader worth Following: Jim Jones, Hitler, Charles Manson… those are obvious examples of decisive action taking Leaders. I used to sit and cogitate on one question: ‘How the heck did they attract followers?’

Theory / Hypothesis; consider this: What if you follow the “Right” thing to do according to Society; you know, the norm dictated by people and media around you at that time? Your preacher, your Imam, your military leader; they all are in charge, they know what’s right and wrong, they were democratically elected or voted or believed into power! Right?

Society, the rule of numbers, the people, democracy … that’s always right. Right? NO! Sometimes leaders rule through the pretension of acceptance, dictation of societal norms; this is how they control the masses. The unthinking people. Those who hate to make action oriented decisions. You’ve felt it before…. follow. Follow what you dare not question. Follow because we are all doing it… Right?

These dictatorial decision makers are not the people who may be perceived as psycho. They are usually middle-men. Intermediaries. Preaching ideology, dangerously rooted in “righteousness” or “ethics.”

This is the most nefarious thing on the planet. Not the occasional bizarre-nut-bag like Mao Zedong, Idi Amin or Pol Pot; not even present day nut-jobs like Reverend Moon (his son is largest arms dealer in Korea), or Kim Jong-il (er…Team America…need I say more).Those people are obvious to the intelligent book-reading crowd.

I am talking about the people who push or promote ideological justifications, ultimately for the purpose of following the bold and decisive actions of a ‘Prophet.’

See….it isn’t the nut-jobs that are dangerous; it is the legions of enforcers and thought leaders that convince everyone else that following this new and perfectly communicated ideology is the Right (i.e. Righteous) thing to do.

WHY ????????

Because the followers never question the alleged ethical or righteous authority of their Beloved Leader; particularly when / if they believe wholeheartedly in the ideology. Which allows the prophet forgiveness for their obvious flawed human-ness.  That is how Hitler attracted an entire country, or three, to his mad ramblings and insanity-inspired musings.

OK…so… who is wrong here? The leader or the follower?

IMHO ~ I believe it is society as a whole. See… when you have a society that doesn’t reward individualism, a society that doesn’t reward people who break out from the pack, a society that instead rewards unquestioning followers…. you get a beautiful opportunity for well communicated, shiny and pretty , yet flawed, even psychopathic leaders.

Honeslty… Korea and Germany (Japan to a lesser degree / pre 1945)…. are hot-beds for goofy-0ass followers. Their societies are engineering dreams. Particualrly potent during the Industrial Revolution. Do as you are told. No individuality. Self-expression is the Devil. So is Football (Water Boy metaphor for the slower readers).

What a shame.

I have personally and carefully crafted a brand for myself over the years. A brand that allows me some freedoms. These freedoms were what that I knew I would require… because I am a little crazy. Like a Fox.

Crazy enough not to follow society’s rules.

Crazy enough to tell people to F-Off if I didn’t believe in their ideologies.

Crazy enough to reject ideology as THE rule of life.

And so I became an entrepreneur. Someone who could craft my own world. My own rules. My own destiny.

And yet… I live within your world. Your rules. Your perceptions and allegations. Trust me, it ain’t always easy to Lead vs. Follow. Few supporters and friends, even amongst family and loved ones.

Here is what I learned from Ayn Rand, author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead: I learned…the world is yours to craft. The leaders of this world create, without concern for acceptance or recognition; without concern for wealth or assimilation. Leaders are alone – because they create new rules. They Lead … They Thought-Lead.

Now… who are you? A leader or a follower? A thinker or a non-thinker?

Leaders are disdained and ostracized. They test limits. The bulk of humanity doesn’t have the cojones to test the limits. This is A-OK, as long as you understand how important it is to choose Who and What you Follow.

Do you Lead? By making tough decisions and suffering occasional judgment and ostracism? Do you Follow? If so, Who and What are you Following? Yesterday’s leadership; those who are well rounded, dictated, processed, ideological? The Bizarre Nut-jobs on the fringe?  Who?

Do you follow tomorrow’s leadership? Angry, mistaken, often humiliated, maybe even ostracized? Present day nut-jobs?

I can assure you; Leadership is a yoke. For those who bear this yoke, I encourage you to keep on KEEPING ON! Humanity needs Leaders. Despite the fact you may not see this today; or feel appreciated, or even have followers.

For those who Follow… please choose your Leaders wisely.

Today’s leaders have been tested. Tomorrow’s leaders are risky. Sometimes risk equals reward. Sometimes it does not.

No matter what… Leader or Follower…you must understand that YOU dictate YOUR future.

Enjoy the song…. I did: Breaking Benjamin Follow