Frank Capra’s seasonal classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” turned 75 years last year and, like many, once again I watched the movie during the holiday period. This time around, however, coloured no doubt by our present environment, I saw something different. I saw it primarily as a treatise on the fragility and uncertainty of life.
George Bailey has big dreams of adventure way beyond small-town Bedford Falls but his aspirations are thwarted at every turn and, just when he thought he had scaled every hurdle, hope gets dashed one more time. The fragility of life is best illustrated when George is dancing with sweetheart Mary and, owing to a prankster, the dance-floor begins to separate without their awareness until finally they plunge headlong into the swimming pool below.
So, in a world where the ground can be taken from right under our feet at any moment how do you lead – yourself and others?
Building on my previous episode of Chaos as the new constant, I’ve composed a Leadership Manifesto for the absurd times we live in titled :
22 Principles for Leading in Chaos of’22
Leadership Principles include: