Solitude and Leadership

I couldn’t think of a more brilliant piece of inspiration to plunge into the new year with than this. An essay based on a lecture at the US Military Academy at West Point in 2009. It’s about leadership, in general, not in the military, and about how leadership is not about being on top, not about excelling, not about leading the pack, but first and foremost about thinking. About taking the time and enduring the solitude that are prerequisite to being able to think. My favourite quote from an essay filled with quotes worth highlighting: “I find for myself that my first thought is never my best thought. My first thought is always someone else’s.”