Paralysis of leadership is due in part to the unseen grip of the special interests.
John W. GardnerRead
I think that all human systems require continuous renewal. They rigidify. They get stuff in the joints. They forget what they cared about. The forces against it are nostalgia and the enormous appeal of having things the way they always have been, appeals to a supposedly happy past. But we've got to move on.
Interpretation
Human systems must continually evolve to avoid stagnation and embrace progress.
In this quote, John W. Gardner emphasizes the necessity of continual renewal within human systems to prevent rigidity and decay. He points out that there is a natural tendency to cling to nostalgia and a seemingly happy past, but to thrive, it is essential to acknowledge these tendencies and actively work towards progress and adaptation for the future.
In practice
In a speech about innovation, one might say, 'As John W. Gardner reminds us, we must embrace change and renewal.'
Paralysis of leadership is due in part to the unseen grip of the special interests.
More and more Americans feel threatened by runaway technology, by large-scale organization, by overcrowding. More and more Americans are appalled by the ravages of industrial progress, by the defacement of nature, by man-made ugliness. If our society continues at its present rate to become less livable as it becomes more affluent, we promise all to end up in sumptuous misery.
Storybook happiness involves every form of pleasant thumb-twiddling; true happiness involves the full use of one's powers and talents.
Leaders come in many forms, with many styles and diverse qualities. There are quiet leaders and leaders one can hear in the next county. Some find strength in eloquence, some in judgment, some in courage.
We pay a heavy price for our fear of failure. It is a powerful obstacle to growth. It assures the progressive narrowing of the personality and prevents exploration and experimentation. There is no learning without some difficulty and fumbling. If you want to keep on learning, you must keep on risking failure-all your life.
What leaders have to remember is that somewhere under the somnolent surface is the creature that builds civilizations, the dreamer of dreams, the risk taker. And remembering that, the leader must reach down to the springs that never dry up, the ever-fresh springs of the human spirit.
The moral imperative to make big changes is inescapable...that what we take for granted may not be here for our children
No great movement designed to change the world can bear to be laughed at or belittled. Mockery is a rust that corrodes all it touches.
Even the simplest choice can make a jaw-dropping difference in our world.
If you want to see a rainbow you have to learn to see the rain.
I want to say to you who think women cannot succeed, we have brought the government of England to this position, that it has to face this alternative: either women are to be killed or women are to have the vote.
It is over one hundred years since the abolition of slavery. The Negro people in the United States have taken plenty and they have reached a stage where they have decided that they are not going to take any more.
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