“I had a chip on my shoulder, since my father had left
my mother to marry a (much younger) Hollywood model. While I was in California
for a high school contest, he asked me to work at his nascent business for the
rest of the summer. But for that offer, I would not have stayed—I needed a job
in any event. He knew that the way to recruit a resisting son-employee was to
give me independence—not only in things like deliveries, but in sales and
purchasing of household equipment. If I failed, that might break down my
resistance. If I didn't, pride in the work might renew a bond that had been
broken. Paradoxically, by giving me independence he got me to do his will. That
is the way leadership works
—reciprocally engaging two wills, one leading
(often in disguised ways), the other following (often while resisting).
Leadership is always a struggle, often a feud.”—Historian-journalist Garry
Wills, “What Makes a Good Leader,” The Atlantic Monthly, April 1994Happy Labor Day, friends—and remember the inherent value of work (even, God help us, Judge Reinhold's job at Captain Hook Fish and Chips in Fast Times at Ridgemont High).
(Photo of Garry Wills by Lauren Gerson, taken on March
10, 2015 at the LBJ Presidential Library, where he was joining the Friends of
the LBJ Library to discuss his book, The Future of the Catholic Church with
Pope Francis.)
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