Seeing the Big Picture
This quote from Bob Iger, head of Disney, is quite interesting for his perspective as a leader of a big company:
There is a human side to it that I try to apply and consider. [But] the harder thing is to balance with the reality that not everything is perfect. In the normal course of running a company this big, you’re going to see, every day, things that are not as great as you would have hoped or wanted them to be. You have to figure out how to absorb that without losing your sense of optimism, which is part of leadership — without losing faith, without wanting to go under the covers and not come out, without being down or angry to a counterproductive level, and without demanding something of people that is unfair, inhuman, impossible. (“Bob Iger on Shanghai Disney, Parting With His Chosen Successor, and His Pursuit of Perfection“, Variety)
Note that he’s not saying ignore the problems; he’s not saying don’t get angry; he’s not saying don’t demand improvement. He’s saying don’t get so angry that it’s counterproductive. He’s saying be demanding, but be demanding in a fair way. He’s also saying that you can remain optimistic in the face of problems.
There’s lessons here for security professionals.