Real Leadership is Influence not Control

Spotted this one on LifeHack.org, and thought pretty useful to share. If you're an office or mid-field General and constantly feel frustrated that those around you cannot see your vision or implement what you request, then maybe the issue may lie with you and your communication rather than with those around you.

Michael S. Hyatt here promotes the effectiveness of influence as opposed to control, with a few simple tenets to help you along the way. Nothing new here, but by focusing on yourself, as Saint Seraphim of Sarov said, “Save yourself, and you will save a thousand.” and casting the vision, you will soon have the world eating out of your hands.

The Seductiveness of the Internet: Or how not to get caught in the Web

No I'm not promoting anyone's book, but this guy Andrew Keen is pretty much interested in the same things as me. Namely, the impact of the internet and wider technology on our culture and society. However, where I generally see both the positives of empowerment of the masses and the negatives of disconnection and dumbing down, Keen seems to promote a pretty hopeless picture, where authoritative integrity (if there was such a thing) is swept aside by the tide of individual opinions.

Whereas much of his argument is sound, I find it hard to wholeheartedly agree, as I feel the challenge of traditional business models a refreshing thing, since now the dis-empowered no longer have to face those old barriers to entry. Now anyone with an idea can put it out there, and in doing so, challenge the status quo. Thus, new forms of power are created which exist outside of the traditional's dynamic.

The internet or more generally, technology, is a good thing, if only we understand it's power and learn to shape it, rather than allow it to shape ourselves.