Leadership is an Art: Signs of Entropy

The book Leadership is an Art by Max De Pree, is the single book that has had profound influence on my leadership style. I'm fortunate enough to lead some of the most outstanding and humble folks and the ideas of the book has helped me to make a small difference in their lives. I'll share key concepts of the book in a few posts.

Everything has a tendency to deteriorate. One of the important things leaders need to learn is to recognise the signals of impending deterioration.

Here are some signs of entropy:

• A tendency towards superficiality
• Not having time for celebration and ritual
• Growing feeling that rewards and goals are the same thing
• When problem-makers outnumber problem-solvers
• When pressures of day-to-day ops push aside our concern for vision and risk
• When folks confuse heroes and celebrities
• Leaders who seek to control than liberate, rely on structures instead of people
• Orientation to dry rules, rather than value orientation that takes into account such things as contribution, spirit, excellence, beauty, and joy

“If you and your corporation are committed to being as good as you can be, beware of entropy"