There is nothing inherently bad about benevolent dictatorships.
ADAGE
Be a Benevolent Dictator
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RESPONSE
There is nothing inherently bad about benevolent dictatorships. They are the most efficient way of organizing group endeavors. Their main disadvantage is that they tend to be unstable. They can too easily degrade into non-benevolent dictatorships. Democracies, while more stable than benevolent dictatorships, don’t work under battlefield conditions. When you operate as a benevolent dictatorship, pay particular attention to maintaining robust and high-quality feedback loops. Without them it is only a matter of time until the benevolent dictatorship self-destructs by losing contact with the reality of what is happening on the front lines where the organization meets the irresistible forces and immovable objects of the real world. John Boyd’s OODA Loop and his monograph “Patterns of Conflict” provide a framework for understanding the relationship between superiors and subordinates in high-performance organizations. Enterprise leaders need to lead the enterprise. They’re not servants, teachers, confidants, or friends. Over the past several years, the evolution of “servant leadership” has reduced many CEOs to administrative wet nurses. Leadership requires courage, initiative, and motivation with control of the objective but allows employees to determine the best means. Own the direction but allow others freedom to accomplish the means.
SCRIPTURE
Nehemiah 2:17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”
1 Chronicles 18:14 (ESV) So David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and equity to all his people.
QUESTIONS
How do the Scripture(s) apply to the business adage?
Was Moses a dictator? Explain.
If you own the business for which you mortgaged your house and personally guaranteed all of the debt, shouldn’t you be a “dictator”? Explain.
The Old Testament has many kings and judges. Were any of them benevolent? Explain.
Can you run a business as a democracy? Explain.
DOWNLOAD
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