Posted on 03/14/2012 2:36:36 PM PDT by presidio9
Captain James T. Kirk is one of the most famous Captains in the history of Starfleet. There’s a good reason for that. He saved the planet Earth several times, stopped the Doomsday Machine, helped negotiate peace with the Klingon Empire, kept the balance of power between the Federation and the Romulan Empire, and even managed to fight Nazis. On his five-year mission commanding the U.S.S. Enterprise, as well as subsequent commands, James T. Kirk was a quintessential leader, who led his crew into the unknown and continued to succeed time and time again.
(Image via Wikipedia) Kirk’s success was no fluke, either. His style of command demonstrates a keen understanding of leadership and how to maintain a team that succeeds time and time again, regardless of the dangers faced. Here are five of the key leadership lessons that you can take away from Captain Kirk as you pilot your own organization into unknown futures.
1. Never Stop Learning
“You know the greatest danger facing us is ourselves, an irrational fear of the unknown. But there’s no such thing as the unknown– only things temporarily hidden, temporarily not understood.”
Captain Kirk may have a reputation as a suave ladies man, but don’t let that exterior cool fool you. Kirk’s reputation at the Academy was that of a “walking stack of books,” in the words of his former first officer, Gary Mitchell. And a passion for learning helped him through several missions. Perhaps the best demonstration of this is in the episode “Arena,”
-SNIP-
2. Have Advisors With Different Worldviews
3. Be Part Of The Away Team
4. Play Poker, Not Chess
5. Blow up the Enterprise
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
2. Have Advisors With Different Worldviews
3. Be Part Of The Away Team
4. Play Poker, Not Chess
5. Blow up the Enterprise
6. If she is attractive, get her in your bed.
There, fixed it.
Great article. What was even MORE interesting though, was the link there to the five mistakes of the Galactic Empire in Star Wars. It reads like the Obama administration. Seriously.
In contrast, a leader who has lived as a world traveler, not as a traveler between worlds, follows these rules:
1. Never Start Learning - You already know everything you feel, and that’s what matters in life.
2. Have Advisors With Your Worldview - Why listen to others? After all, you won!
3. Be Part Of The Home Team - Send others out there to take the risk, and you can take the credit if they succeed (e.g., kill Osama) or throw them under the bus if things don’t work out.
4. Play Tiddly Winks, Not Chess - It’s more your speed intellectually.
5. Blow up the Country - You never liked it anyways, and if you get lucky it might be replaced with something you do like.
8) If part of an away team, never wear a red shirt (they always die).
“6. If she is attractive, get her in your bed.”
7. If she is attractive and green, see if she has a sister. It will make for a great story over a bottle of Romulan ale.
7. never wrestle a Gorn.
2. Never Stop Learning
3. Have Advisors With Different Worldviews
4. Be Part Of The Away Team
5. Play Poker, Not Chess
6. Blow up the Enterprise
NOW it's fixed...
I once read that the Captain’s character was based (loosely of course) on Captain Hornblower.
(BTW, the entire three seasons of the original Star Trek are available for free download for tablet owners with Amazon Prime membership).
11. If some drunk Scot in the back tells you “I dinna think they will take any more, Captain! “ - ignore him and floor it. Those alien babes won’t wait forever.
Sing "When you wish upon a star" to female Thralls.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.