Wednesday, 4 August 2010

Introduction: Business books are boring (why this book is about science fiction)

I'd welcome your comments, feedback, agreement, disagreement about the below:

Business books are boring because they're abstract. They present ideas and models that we just can't picture. 

Sci-fi, on the other hand, is generally not boring. It's exciting, it's full of drama, moral dilemmas and crazy situations.

And if you've been in business, you'll know if's also exciting, full of drama, moral dilemmas and crazy situations. Even if we're not "going where no one has gone before", we're often going where we haven't been before. Business is a journey of exploration - self-exploration as well as exploring the world.

So why not run them together? Watch most science fiction shows on TV, and you'll see that leadership and decision-making are the most important ingredients. 

Why sci-fi in particular? Because sci-fi takes us where ordinary drama can't. Non-sci-fi fans don't realise this but ultimately science fiction is all about us, not aliens or space. It's a way of putting humanity under the microscope and seeing what makes us tick.

We've identified two main leadership models from our favourite sci-fi shows, and a third alternative for those who work alone. It's not that one is right and the others are wrong, it's just that some models work better in the times we're in. 

We'll go over the benefits and pitfalls of each approach in future posts (and in the book!).

Posted via email from Ragtag Leadership

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I agree completely! I cannot read more than 20 pages of business books because of this very issue.