Leadership in a turbulent season

It is a challenge to lead

In a turbulent season,

But leadership must execute

When danger looms

As contaminated fruit;

When prophets of doom

As tainted mushrooms

Try to poison the multitude

With their way of thinking,

That the ship is in trouble

On the verge of sinking.

It is a challenge to lead

In a turbulent season,

To watch competitors

Who were invincible

Resort to measures

Unscrupulous, unprincipled.

While gasping for survival

And self preservation,

They slander, spread fiction

And false allegations.

It is a challenge to lead

In a turbulent season,

When victory is uncertain

And champions lose their clout;

The naive get nervous

When the outcome is in doubt;

When the bench is untested

And the team on the floor

Is weary from the pressure

Of being accountable

For the score.

It is a challenge to lead

In a turbulent season,

When markets are immune

To traditional thought;

When experts are puzzled

Because logic and reason

Fail to explain why

The climate has changed,

And theorems taught

Yesterday are obsolete.

It is a challenge to lead

In a turbulent season,

But leaders earn their medals

At the height of the storm,

Not when the seas are tranquil.

They must use courage

And character to form

The passionate will to speak

Of winning with novel skills,

To power bold visions

And imaginative techniques.

Copyright ã 2004 Orlando Ceaser