Lightning: The Nature of Leadership

by Bob Scher

Poetry. Literary Nonfiction. Photographs by Jane English. The distilled wisdom of over a dozen years of corporate consulting and a twenty-year meditation practice, LIGHTNING: THE NATURE OF LEADERSHIP combines powerful words with evocative nature photography to reminds us of the larger context in which we live our professional lives. Scher shows us how our actions in our work lives are intimately connected with the larger world we live in, and how natural laws apply to such seemingly mundane activities as meetings, phone calls, and the daily decisions each of us are called to make. The book is a gift to keep nearby for inspiration and guidance, and as a constant reminder of the bigger picture.

142 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brief book of poetry is very earnest. Lovely black and white photographs by Jane English. I particularly like the one of geese chasing a rabbit opposite the poem "CRAZY LEADERS."

This is the poem I flipped to when I picked this up while browsing:

FAILURE

After victory
failure
may be the next
best thing

In a bad performance it is easy to tell
what went wrong
In a good one
it is often hard even to find the seams

The primary lesson of failure
is to welcome being alive
then the deep learning you need
comes by itself

And this one is my favorite:

PROMOTION

One who manages
to keep good advisors
with whom she is
comfortable
is a person of ability

One who manages
to keep good advisors
with whom she is
decidedly uncomfortable
is a person of superior ability

Advance the latter