Who and Where? Need for New Leaders and Directions

These are tough times, the toughest since the great depression, according to many experts. Often you need to hit the bottom before great things start to happen. Michael Jordan used to say that you can be great only after failing and learning from those failures.

I have seen political changes and demands for government transparency, at a national and local level, as never before. It also seems unprecedented the way people are questioning boards and executives of major corporations. These organizations must change and adapt to the needs of the new market to survive crises like these. Answering to the demands of Wall Street alone, may not be enough to survive, anymore.

The question now is what next? How do we get out of this mess? Who is going to lead us to a better place?

We need a new class of leaders, in the private and public sectors. We need honest and reputable leaders that can help us get out of the deep holes we are in. Peter Senge, American scientist and director of the Center for Organizational Learning at the MIT Sloan School of Management, believes that the era of individualism and self-interest needs to come to an end and that the future is in a holistic vision where organizations grow and collaborate and we all see ourselves as part of a whole. Bangladeshi Economist and Nobel prize Muhammad Yunus, believes that we can have strong economies and win the war on poverty at the same time. Is this too utopist? Dr.Yunus with his book “Banker to the Poor” explains how he has done it.

Many third-world countries are at a crossroad: they could head toward democracy or back to chaos, poverty and civil wars. They need our help, our leadership and encouragement to move toward an era of growth and stability.I see opportunities as never before around the World. Africa is headed toward an unprecedented stability, China established itself as a new economic power, Brazil is showing that a Country can grow its economy even without ignoring its poor, hospitals and medical researchers from around the world are sharing information, programs and protocols via online conferences and International seminars. We live in a planet that is more global than ever. Ignorance, prejudice, diseases, and bad governments tend to spread and become everyone's problems. AIDS, terrorism, religious bigotries have shown us how everyone can be impacted.

We need leaders who believe in creativity, honesty and who empower the creative souls and change-enablers inside their organizations. Our government and private corporations need to reinvent themselves to be competitive and admired once again. Steve Jobs (with the Apple iPod/iPhone), Google and Pixar showed us that America can still create products that everybody from India to Canada, knows and wants. The opportunity of a next "Renaissance" is within reach.

With this blog-azine I want to capture the essence of great leadership, great people and great organizations that can take us “there” and win the upcoming battles against our past, our failures, interests and roadblocks that want to block us from moving forward. Winning is not necessarily about taking down our competitors. Winning is about meeting our goals, proving ourselves, getting better.

I would like YOU to be part of the “Risers” community and provide your advice, comments on what is needed to mold and grow a new era of mature organizations and better leaders.

Stefano Paolinelli