Chapter 14: A Little Dialogue About The Epilogue

Thought leadership, at least the way I see it, doesn’t start and end with the business side of matters, as many people believe. It begins (and ends) with understanding that you cannot be a thought leader, in any industry, of any substance, and with any dignity, until you realize that it’s part of your life, an amalgamation of what makes you a decent human, particularly in a world where decency is in short supply, or until you think long and hard about the significance of an examined life (taught to us by Socrates), and the importance of Eudemonia (compliments of Aristotle).

That’s because thought-leader-pretenders are such nitwits in the tightly knit thought leadership community. They simply can’t pass muster when it comes to understanding that knowledge is the food of the soul (Plato’s words, not mine), or recognizing what Peter Drucker instilled in us, “Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things.” Sure, that’s an oversimplification of the complexities of today’s management difficulties, but sure-as-shit, there is something inherently wonderful about companies, and the people who work for them, who take the time to do it right; by their clients, their employees, for those less fortunate, and always for those who have been harmed through no fault of their own.

For the most part, and there are exceptions, the Greeks saw it that way; the Romans, not so much. We can learn a lot from Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Aspasia, about their beliefs in education, knowledge, Eudemonia, an examined life, and Teleological, Deontological, and Nichomacian Ethics.  Devote a little time to the masters, they mastered how to bring forth the goodness you find in people today. But they also saw to it that those who place harm onto others, should be the ones placed in harm’s way, too.