On Leading

Breeze into their waxing comfort

Change what they notice

Audacitize them.

 

Prioritize and scandalize them

Show them by example

            how to think unthinkable thoughts

Gently rip their bureaucracy

out of their guts

Tear ‘em a new one.

 

Show them how to care in a bona fide way

With the rational mind instead of

fuzzy emotion for the poor and needy

With pragmatism. Unlike social workers.

Show them how to milk the greed

of the high, the powerful, the arrogant,

with capitalism. And cunning.

Show them how to think at a forest

The whole entire bloody damn forest system

with originality

creatively, innovatively,

in a new way, a ducky way

from a different perspective

using their wasted God-given genius.

 

Show them how to translate

a negative into a positive

Show them how to make everybody win

Show them how to create and pull off

            a huge practical joke—author anonymous

Show them how to love life

by having fun as they work.

They still don’t understand?

Well, keep on demonstrating the example.

 

Show them how to politic quietly

And how to give all the credit away

to others who just love to get it

Show them how all good comes back with interest.

Stroll with silent farting through a crowd of pomposity

Demonstrate the springing cup of workahol

Assure them they need not drink it

Then praise them

for being themselves

Demonstrate your respect

for their integrities

Your tolerance for their frailties

for the unworthy carping

Sow love, show caring on each personal level.

 

Get angry, get excited, get depressed, get thoughtful

Be enthusiastic, beat your phone to death

Be at all times steadfast

in the purpose you lead

Be clever, down-home, witty, proud

intellectual, action-oriented, modest

then brag a little

Intensively churn out some major workpiece

that no one else thought of.

 

Love Muhlenberg, love Kentucky, love people

Respect your inner temple. And your own drummer

Do all these things incessantly,

incorrigibly

The way the old teachings say we ought to.

 

Show us all, by your irrepressible example

how to beat the system, how to have fun,

how to be ourselves, how to accomplish some good.

 

Gadfly. Radical damn Turk.

Lead on, my friend.

To Jack Rodman, Leader

February 1984

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