The most important role of a leader is to set a clear direction, be transparent about how to get there and to stay the course.
It's not great if someone gives you sort of bland praise without giving you clear direction and say, "This is good, let's try it like this. " I have worked with someone who seemed quite inarticulate and just would say, "That's good, that's good. " That's very frustrating because - it's nice to know something is good but you know it can always change.
I think as a company, if you can get two things right--having a clear direction on what you are trying to do and bringing in great people who can execute on the stuff--then you can do pretty well.
In art and science we are now in a delta, at the end of the long flow of progress. In a delta there is no clear direction but there may be many choices. The best we can do is to enjoy the choices that we have and to be genuinely and creatively eclectic.
Often the lack of clear direction and goals can waste away our time and energy and contribute to imbalance in our lives. A life that gets out of balance is much like a car tire that is out of balance. It will make the operation of the car rough and unsafe. Tires in perfect balance can give a smooth and comfortable ride. So it is with life. The ride through mortality can be smoother for us when we strive to stay in balance.
