The Leader as Artist

photocredit: istockphoto

Artists see things other people don't see, and are driven to make it somehow real in the world. They are relentless, and often perfectionist.

In his book "The Craftsman", philosopher Richard Sennett looks at the nature of craft, and in particular the need to always be improving, always searching for a clearer expression of what they see and understand.

I've always liked the story of how the Impressionists got off the ground. Initially, they couldn't get their art seen because the Salon (aka "the establishment") didn't think it was "proper art", and so even when it was shown it was in an obscure part of the Salon often lost amongst 30,000 other paintings.

Things changed when they found their own space up in Montmartre, made their own rules and in between the absinthe and the angst, made themselves the force that they remain. (For more of the story, see Malcolm Gladwell's "David and Goliath" where it's beautifully recounted)

I think that today, we have a similar issu…