Why smart people do dumb things: a lesson from the financial meltdown
As we dealt and continue dealing with the fallout from so many executives making such terrible decisions, the simplest advice seems the most appropriate. Figure out what you care about and devote yourself to that purpose. Stay the course, even when your colleagues wander off course. And never forget that if something sounds too good to be true—from no-money-down-mortgages to instant riches with a hedge fund—it probably is. “When you run with the pack, what you generally see are other people’s backsides,” Arkadi Kuhlmann says. “We know why we’re here, and it’s not to copy other people’s bad ideas. Every person who tries to do real innovation is going to be tempted by money, greed, acceptance, being in the middle of the action”.
Sometimes, the most important form of leadership is resisting an innovation that takes hold in your field when that innovation, no matter how popular with your rivals, is at odds with your long-term point of view.
Words to live by.