uiscZ

Follow the Leader
Purple Cow
Why do birds fly in formation Because the birds that follow
the leader have an easier flight. The leader breaks the
wind resistance, and the following birds can fly far more
efficiently. Without the triangle formation, Canadian
geese would never have enough energy to make it to the
end of their long migration.
A lot of risk-averse businesspeople believe that they can follow
a similar strategy. They think they can wait until a leader
demonstrates a breakthrough idea, and then rush to copy it,
enjoying the break in wind resistance from the leader.
If you watch the flock closely, though, you’ll notice that
the flock doesn’t really fly in formation. Every few minutes,
one of the birds from the back of the flock will break away,
fly to the front, and take over, giving the previous leader a
chance to move to the back and take a break.
The problem with people who would avoid a remarkable
career is that they never end up as the leader. They decide
to work for a big company, intentionally functioning as an
anonymous drone, staying way back to avoid risk and criticism.
If they make a mistake and choose the wrong bird to
follow, they lose. When a big company lays off ten thousand
people, most of those people probably don’t deserve
to get fired. They were doing what they were told, staying
within the boundaries, and following instructions. Alas,
they picked the wrong lead bird.
Even if you find a flock that’s pretty safe, in our turbulent
world, it’s harder and harder to stay in formation,
and we often find ourselves scurrying to find a new flock.
The ability to lead is thus even more important because
when your flock fades away, there may be no other flock
handy.
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