Changes

It has often occurred to me how quite a small action can change the course of history. The line between hero and zero is a small one. Gordon Brown's famous "off air" comment about that lady which contributed towards labour losing the election. Would people have felt any differently about it if he had refused to retract what he said and brazened it out (as John Prestcott probably would). After all, he meant it didn't he?

People like myself do not usually consider themselves world changers, we leave it to the front runners, the authority figures to carve out a path, but like a lot of preconceptions this is wrong. The out front leader often has to contend with the drag effect of the people he is trying to lead. This is especially true of the kind of leader who is controlling and interventionist whose specialist manouever is the U turn. The gentle hand on the rudder, the imperceptible movement, the smooth transition the minor intervention is incredible effective.

For those of us who prefer conciliation to confrontation, the danger in the face of a pressing problem is that we do nothing and hope it goes away, or that the blunt instrument specialist leader type will comes in and bash it. Doing nothing is a poor choice, trying to wield the hammer is worse in the the hands of a mild mannered man. Enough people who are committed to bringing about small changes will be more effective and in the long run more fruitful. We cannot avoid those moments of pain when upset is caused to some but we should not see that as a mark of our authority, rather as a necessary bi product of change.